man, Lieutenant, that I am glad to know that he is dead.”
“But you see, Mrs. Siddons, he isn’t dead.”
He thought for a minute that she was going to faint and instinctively leaned forward to support her. She stood up unsteadily but refused the offer of his hands.
“If you will pardon me, sir, I believe I will lie down. There has naturally been a certain strain—a—”
She bowed and found her way to a door that led into an inner room. Lieutenant Valcour listened for a moment at its panels after she had closed it.
He could not determine whether the muffled sound he heard was of peculiar laughter or a sob.