ghts, when they expressed themselves in words.
This explained the concealment of Miss Letitia's illness from her niece,
as well as the reiterated efforts of the old servant to prevent Emily
from entering the bedroom.

But the event which had just happened--that is to say, Mrs. Ellmother's
sudden departure from the cottage--was not only of serious importance in
itself, but pointed to a startling conclusion.

The faithful maid had left the mistress, whom she had loved and served,
sinking under a fatal illness--and had put another woman in her
place, careless of what that woman might discover by listening at the
bedside--rather than confront Emily after she had been within hearing of
her aunt while the brain of the suffering woman was deranged by fever.
There was the state of the case, in plain words.

In what frame of mind had Mrs. Ellmother adopted this desperate course
of action?

To use her own expression, she had deserted Miss Letitia "with a heavy
heart." To judge by her own language addressed to Mrs. Mosey, she
had left Emily to the mercy of a stranger--animated, nevertheless, by
sincere feelings of attachment and respect. That her fears had taken for
granted suspicion which Emily had not felt, and discoveries which Emily
had (as yet) not made, in no way modified the serious nature of the
inference which her conduct justified. The disclosure which this woman
dreaded--who could doubt it now?--directly threatened Emily's peace of
mind. There was no disguising it: the innocent niece was associated
with an act of deception, which had been, until that day, the undetected
secret of the aunt and the aunt's maid.

In this conclusion, and in this only, was to be found the rational
explanation of Mrs. Ellmother's choice--placed between the alternatives
of submitting to discovery by Emily, or of leaving the house.

Poor Miss Letitia's writing-table stood near the window of the
sitting-room. Shrinking from the further pursuit of thoughts which might
end in disposing her mind to distrust of her dying aunt, Emily looked
round in search of some employment sufficiently interesting to absorb
her attention. The writing-table reminded her that she owed a letter to
Cecilia. That helpful friend had surely the first claim to know why she
had failed to keep her engagement with Sir Jervis Redwood.

After mentioning the telegram which had followed Mrs. Rook's arrival at
the school, Emily's letter proceeded in these terms:

"As so