But it was evident to her that he half suspected she was running away
from the Randolphs, and that she wished to avoid the embarrassment of
being overtaken even in persuasive pursuit. It was not possible that
he knew the cause of her flight, and yet she could not account for
his evident desire to befriend her, nor, above all, for his apparently
humorous enjoyment of the situation. Had he taken it gravely, she might
have been tempted to partly confide in him and ask his advice. Was she
doing right, after all? Ought she not to have stayed long enough to
speak her mind to Mrs. Randolph and demand to be sent home? No! She had
not only shrunk from repeating the infamous slander she had overheard,
but she had a terrible fear that if she had done so, Mrs. Randolph was
capable of denying it, or even charging her of being still under the
influence of the earthquake shock and of walking in her sleep. No! She
could not trust her--she could trust no one there. Had not even the
major listened to those infamous lies? Had she not seen that he was
helpless in the hands of this cabal in his own household?--a cabal that
she herself had thoughtlessly joined against him.
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