I am the last person in the
world to involve my husband in a quarrel; but if you do not immediately
take steps towards restoring me to my own home, I shall certainly let
him know how deeply I have been wronged and insulted."
"I am not afraid of your husband, my dear Lady Eversleigh," answered
the surgeon, with cool insolence; "for I do not think Sir Oswald will
care to take up the cudgels in your defence, after the events of to-
night."
Honoria Eversleigh looked at the speaker with unutterable scorn, and
then turned towards the doorway which communicated with the staircase.
"Since you refuse to assist in my return, I will go alone and
unassisted," she said.
Victor raised his hand with a warning gesture.
"Do not attempt to descend that staircase, my dear Lady Eversleigh," he
said. "In the first place, the steps are slippery, and the descent very
dangerous; and, in the next, you would find yourself unable to go
beyond the archway."
"What do you mean?"
"Oblige me by looking down through that breach in the battlements."
He had risen from his lounging position, and pointed downward as he
spoke.
Involuntarily Honoria followed the indication of his hand.
A cry of horror broke from her lips as she looked below. The drawbridge
no longer spanned the chasm. It had fallen, and hung over the edge of
the abyss, suspended by massive chains.
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