“No, not alarm. Curiosity, perhaps, but that is surely pardonable to a naturally timid woman in a strange house.”

“Then you did hear sounds. Can you describe them?”

“I do not think they were other than those made by the servants attending to their duties. But the putting on of coal or the fastening of windows are noticeable sounds when one is not accustomed to them.”

“You could discern, then, that it was the shovelling of coal or the fastening of windows that you heard?”

“No, I could not. My hearing is extremely acute, but as my room is on the third floor, all the sounds I heard were faint and muffled.”

“Did you hear Mr. Carleton’s cry for help?”