When he returned, she was in a nervous crisis, but it took a different form—she clung to him, and sobbed, “Help me to do what I ought. Aziz is good. You heard your mother say so.”
“He’s good; I’ve been so wrong to accuse him.”
“Didn’t she?” she asked, quite reasonable, open to every suggestion anyway.
“Pure illusion. You can’t be quite well, can you, to make up a thing like that.”
“I was listening to all she said, as far as it could be listened to; she gets very incoherent.”
“When her voice dropped she said it—towards the end, when she talked about love—love—I couldn’t follow, but just then she said: ‘Doctor Aziz never did it.’”
“Never, never, my dear girl. Complete illusion. His name was not mentioned by anyone. Look here—you are confusing this with Fielding’s letter.”
“That’s it, that’s it,” she cried, greatly relieved. “I knew I’d heard his name somewhere. I am so grateful to you for clearing this up—it’s the sort of mistake that worries me, and proves I’m neurotic.”
“So you won’t go saying he’s innocent again, will you? for every servant I’ve got is a spy.” He went to the window. The mali had gone, or rather had turned into two small children—impossible they should know English, but he sent them packing. “They all hate us,” he explained. “It’ll be all right after the verdict, for I will say this for them, they do accept the accomplished fact; but at present they’re pouring out money like water to catch us tripping, and a remark like yours is the very thing they look out for. It would enable them to say it was a put-up job on the part of us officials. You see what I mean.”
Mrs. Moore came back, with the same air of ill-temper, and sat down with a flump by the card-table. To clear the confusion up, Ronny asked her point-blank whether she had mentioned the prisoner. She could not understand the question and the reason of it had to be explained. She replied: “I never said his name,” and began to play patience.
“I thought you said, ‘Aziz is an innocent man,’ but it was in Mr. Fielding’s letter.”
“Of course he is innocent,” she answered indifferently: it was the first time she had expressed an opinion on the point.
“You see, Ronny, I was right,” said the girl.
“Red nine on black ten——” from the card-table.