Chapter 18 Law

Victor Hugo The next few days saw little progress.Mr. Claflin, presumably because of my interruption, ceased to come to his usual places, so that I lost my natural acquaintance with him, and my few evenings with Miss Leavenworth were as fruitless as ever. Suspense and anxiety. Retouching the manuscript was not as difficult as I imagined.However, I had ample opportunity to study Mr. Harwell's personality while editing the manuscript.It turned out that he was nothing more than a good secretary.Meticulous, strong and decisive, taciturn, carry out their tasks seriously, and trustworthy.I slowly showed respect for him, and even liked this man.Although he doesn't necessarily like me or respect me, it doesn't affect my opinion of him.He never mentioned Eleanor Leavenworth, nor the family or the present problem.I later learned that his silence was not just because of his nature, but that there was another reason for his silence.And even if he opened his mouth, he must have ulterior motives.Because of this suspicion about him, I kept my spirits high whenever he was around, sneaking glances at him from time to time, at his behavior when he thought no one was looking.Yet he remained the same, a passive, industrious, uninteresting worker.

Continuing this action was like banging on a stone wall in vain, and finally became unbearable.Claflin was shy, and the secretary was unapproachable.How on earth can I get a clue?My brief chat with Mary was of little use either.Her appearance was haughty, reserved, warm, irritable, and grateful, and it was different every time I saw her, never the same.I grew dreading meeting her and talking to her, even though I still really wanted to meet her.She seemed to be going through some kind of crisis, and it hurt her so much.I've seen her hold her hands up when she thought no one else was around, as if she was preventing a demon from approaching, or driving away a terrible image.I was also in the same situation. I saw her standing dejectedly, with her nervous hands drooping, and her whole body was sluggish, as if she was under pressure that she couldn't bear and couldn't push away, so she didn't even have a chance to resist.I've only seen her so decadent once, though.Usually she will show a noble demeanor in the face of difficulties.Even when her eyes begged at the lowest level, her chest was puffed out and she remained calm.Even if she met me in the lobby one night, her cheeks flushed and her lips quivering eagerly, she turned and sprinted away at last without revealing what she was trying to say.There was a poignant dignity in her manner which was quite touching.

I'm pretty sure there must be some truth to all of this, so I hold back and hope that one day she'll reveal the truth.Her quivering lips won't stay shut.The secrets that are closely related to Eleanor's personality and happiness, she will tell them all if others don't tell them.Although I can remember her berating my cousin severely, it still couldn't destroy my hope--it had become hope by this time, and the time I worked in the library with Mr. Harwell became shorter and shorter. Reasonably enough, the meeting with Mary in the reception room was prolonged until the stout secretary couldn't help complaining that he was often unable to work for hours.

However, as I said, time flies, and in the blink of an eye it is already the second Monday night.Two weeks ago, I started to investigate the issue, and still no progress.There wasn't even a mention of the murder between us, not even Hannah.But I noticed that as soon as the paper came, it was taken from the porch very quickly.The eldest lady and the servant are equally interested in what the newspaper publishes.All this is very strange to me, like a volcano that just erupted not long ago is extremely hot, but there is another new volcano just around the corner. At this time, I saw a group of people eating, drinking and sleeping next to the volcano as usual, without being affected at all.I longed to break their silence like glass, to call Eleanor's name through the gold-embellished rooms and the satin-hung hallways.However, this Monday night I was in a calmer mood.I decided not to expect anything from going to Mary Leavenworth's house.When I came to her residence that night, my mood was as calm as water.For the first time since I first entered their unfortunate gates, I felt such peace.

However, as soon as I entered the drawing room, I saw Mary pacing the room, as if waiting restlessly for someone or something, and I suddenly made up my mind to approach her and say to her: "Aren't you Alone, Miss Leavenworth?" She stopped her hasty movements, blushed, and bowed to me, but unlike her usual habits, she didn't invite me in. "Would it be rude for me to enter?" I asked. She scanned the clock uneasily, as if she was about to leave, but stopped suddenly, pulled a chair in front of the fire, and beckoned me to sit down.Although she tried her best to be calm, I feel that now is the moment when she is most excited. As long as I bring up the topic that has been in my mind, I will definitely see her proud expression melt like snowflakes before my eyes.I also felt that I didn't have much time, so I immediately went straight to the point.

"Miss Leavenworth," I said, "I'm not coming here on a whim tonight. I'm here because I want to ask you something." I knew right away that I had said the wrong thing in the first place. "Ask me?" she asked, with a icy look on her face. "That's right," I went on, feeling quite excited, "I want to know the truth, but I've run into a wall everywhere, so I come to see you, because I know you have a noble heart, and I hope you can help me solve this matter. Something is wrong. Even if there is no guarantee that you can save your cousin, at least it can guide us in the direction we are going."

"I don't understand you," she retorted, flinching a bit. "Miss Leavenworth," I went on, "I don't need to tell you that your cousin is in a difficult position. You should remember all the problems she faced during the interrogation, and you should understand everything without me explaining. But You probably don't know, unless she is cleared of the crime and the suspicion of tarnishing her name soon, or whether it is fair or not, this suspicion will eventually lead to—" "Oh my God!" she exclaimed, "Don't you mean to say that she will be..."

"Arrest? That's right." It was a big blow to her.Shame and panic were clearly written on her pale face. "It's all because of that key!" she murmured. "The key? How do you know about the key?" "Uh," her face flushed in pain, "I can't tell, didn't you tell me?" "I haven't." I replied. "Or it's in the papers." "Not a word in the papers." She is getting more and more excited. "I thought everyone knew. And since that's the case, I don't know either," she declared, in a tone suddenly filled with shame and regret. "I know the key is a secret, but, oh, Mr. Raymond, it was Eleanor herself. Tell me personally."

"Eleanor?" "Yes, she told me the night before she left. We were in the reception room." "What did she tell you?" "The key to the library was found on her." I could barely hide the disbelief on my face.Eleanor knew that her cousin was suspicious of her, so she even revealed to her a fact that increased her suspicion?I can not believe it. "But you already know that, don't you?" continued Mary. "I didn't tell a secret I should have kept?" "No," said I, "Miss Leavenworth, this key will doom your cousin, and, if not explained, will bring her into perpetual disrepute. No debater can destroy circumstantial evidence for her, however Denial would be futile. Only her hitherto innocence, and the efforts of those who believe her innocence, will save her from legal conviction. As for the key and the secrets about it, will put her in a position of no return, and no amount of her best friend's efforts will be enough to save her in the short term."

"You told me these were for-" "I hope you take pity on this girl who doesn't know how to protect herself, and I hope you explain some situations that are not a mystery to you, so as to help her escape the shadow of the suspect, otherwise the shadow will swallow her." "Are you implying," she exclaimed, turning to me glaringly, "that I know more about this than you? Are you implying that I'm keeping secrets that I haven't made public? This cruel tragedy has overwhelmed us Home turned into a desert, filling our lives with lingering fear. Did you finally point the arrow of suspicion at me? You came to my house to accuse me of—”

"Miss Leavenworth," I begged, "don't get excited. I'm not accusing you of anything. I just want you to let me know why your cousin is so tight-lipped about being in prison. Possible motives? You must know something. You are her cousin, almost equal to her own sister. You have been together every day in various occasions for many years. You must know who or what she is keeping secret about, and you must know She concealed the truth. If she told the truth, she would be able to follow the clues to trace the real murderer. But the premise is that you still believe in the innocence of the cousin, just as you believed in before." She didn't answer, so I got up and faced her. "Miss Leavenworth, do you believe that your cousin was not involved?" "Involved? Eleanor? Oh, my God, who in the whole world is more innocent than her!" "So," said I, "you must believe the same, that she refuses to explain some of the doubts, simply because she has a good heart to protect some guilty person." "What? No, no, I didn't say that. How did you come up with that explanation?" "It's because of her behavior itself. With Eleanor's personality, she will not do it aimlessly. Either she is insane, or she wants to protect others with her own innocence." Mary's lips were trembling constantly, but now they slowly stopped. "Have you identified the object of Eleanor's self-sacrifice?" "Ah," I said, "that's what I want to ask you for advice. As far as you know her past—" But Mary Leavenworth sank back into her chair with haughty gestures and quietly gestured for me to stop. "I'm sorry," she said, "but I'm afraid you're mistaken. My knowledge of Eleanor's private life is limited. If you want an answer, you won't find it in me." I had to change tactics. "When Eleanor confessed to you that the missing key was with her, did she at the same time reveal to you where she got it and why she hid it?" "No." "She only told you about having the key, but didn't give you any explanation?" "That's right." "A few hours ago, you accused her of murder in front of her face. A few hours later, she unconditionally provided you with such weird information. Isn't it strange?" "What do you mean?" she asked, her voice dropping suddenly. "You have no way to deny that you not only believed that she was involved in the case, but also accused her of being a murderer with specific actions." "You explain it to me!" she yelled. "Miss Leavenworth, on the morning of the interrogation, you and your cousin were alone in the upstairs room, just before Mr. Gritz and I entered the room. Do you remember what you said at that time?" Her eyes did not darken because of this, but were filled with sudden fear. "Did you hear that?" she whispered. "I didn't mean to listen, I was just outside the door, and—" "What did you hear?" I tell the truth. "Where's Mr. Gritz?" "He was with me." Her eyes widened as if to swallow my face whole. "Didn't you hear anyone talking when you entered the door?" "No." "You remember it well?" "How can we forget, Miss Leavenworth?" Her head was buried forward in her hands, and she suddenly lost her self-control, as if she had become hopeless and helpless.Then she got up and cried out in despair: "That's what you came here tonight for. You came to my place with this in mind, and you're giving me problems—" "I'm sorry," I interrupted, "I just asked about the situation of the people you spend time with. My attitude is very reasonable. Why don't you answer? I come to you in a low voice and ask why you have made such a serious accusation. At that time, the murder had just happened, and all the circumstances are still fresh in your memory, but now you insist on your cousin's innocence. In fact, you found that there are more reasons to blame than you assumed before, right?" She didn't seem to hear me. "Oh, wretched my life!" she whispered, "oh, wretched my life!" "Miss Leavenworth," I said, standing before her, "although you and your cousin live apart temporarily, you don't want to be thought of as hostile to each other. Tell me now, and let me at least know her Whom did you sacrifice yourself for. If you could give me a hint—" She stood up, with a strange expression on her face, and interrupted me with a stern tone. "If you don't know, I can't tell you. Don't ask me, Mr. Raymond." She glanced at the clock again. I will continue to work hard. "Miss Leavenworth, you once asked me if it was necessary for a man to confess if he had committed a crime. My answer was no, unless the confession would undo the wrong. Do you remember?" Her lips moved, but no words came out. "I began to think," I went on gravely, following her mood, "that confession is the only way out of this difficult situation, and that only your words can solve Eleanor's difficult situation. Why don't you treat me the most A sincere request to respond? It shows you're a woman who speaks the truth." This seemed to speak to her mind, for she moved slightly, her eyes full of expectation. "Oh, if only I could!" she murmured. "Why not? If you don't speak out, you will never be happy. Eleanor insists on not saying a word, but you have no reason to imitate her. Your silence will only make her position more suspicious." "I know, but I can't help it. The God of Destiny's restraint on me is too strong, and I can't break free." "Don't say that, anyone can break through your shackles made out of nothing." "No, no," she objected, "you can't understand." "I can understand that. The path to honesty is straight, but those who follow crooked paths will eventually lose their way." There was a gleam of light on her face, and she looked extremely pitiful.Her throat quivered as if crying bitterly.Her lips parted slightly, as if about to give in.And then—there was a shrill bell at the front door. "Oh," she exclaimed, turning abruptly, "tell him I can't see him, tell him—" "Miss Leavenworth," I said, taking her hands, "don't worry about the people outside the gate, and keep your mind on the present. I asked you a question, which is related to the whole mystery, and now you answer me. For your own soul's sake, tell me what unpleasant circumstances you encountered to—" She drew her hands back. "The gate!" she cried. "Open the gate, and—" I went into the lobby and met Thomas climbing up the basement stairs. "Go back," I said, "I'll call you when I need you." He bowed his back and left. "You want me to answer questions," she said aloud when I returned, "right now? I can't." "But--" "Impossible!" Her eyes were fixed on the front door. "Miss Leavenworth!" She trembled. "If you don't say it now, I'm afraid you won't have a chance to confess your love again." "Impossible." She repeated. The doorbell rang again. "Listen!" she said. I went into the lobby and called for Thomas. "You can go and open the gate now," I said, and went back to her. But she pointed upstairs with a commanding gesture. "Go away!" Then her eyes moved to Thomas, who stopped immediately. "I'll see you again before I go," I said, and hurried upstairs. Thomas opened the door. "Is Miss Leavenworth at home?" I heard a clear, trembling voice inquire. "She is here, sir," replied the butler in the most respectful and dignified voice. Leaning against the railing, I was surprised to see Mr. Claflin enter the vestibule and make his way to the drawing room.