The Nine of Hearts

Witness. "I don't exactly know how to describe it. She loved and hated him all at once. She was torn to pieces with love and jealousy."

The Attorney-general. "Is that all you can tell us upon this subject?"

Witness. "That is all."

The Attorney-general. "I come now to the second subject. It is concerning the prisoner's family. You have informed us that not one was present at the wedding, and that not one recognized the union by sending a wedding present. Now, are you aware whether he had parents, or brothers or sisters?"

Witness. "All that I heard was that he had a father living. But I did not hear that till more than a year after the marriage."

The Attorney-general. "Who told you then?"

Witness. "My mistress. Although she confided nearly everything to me, she kept this to herself for a long time."

The Attorney-general. "Did not her father, Mr. Beach, speak about it?"

Witness. "I never heard him; I had very little to do with him. I had understood, at the time of the marriage, that Mr. Layton's father was abroad, but I had reason to believe afterwards that this was not so-that he was in England."

The Attorney-general. "Did the prisoner ever speak of it?"

Witness. "I never heard him."

The Attorney-general. "Did the prisoner's father never come to the house?"

Witness. "Never."

The Attorney-general. "Do you know whether he is alive at the present time?"

Witness. "I heard that he was dead. My mistress said so."

The Attorney-general. "Did the prisoner go into mourning?"

Witness. "He wore crape upon his hat for several weeks."

The Attorney-general. "Now, concentrate your attention upon the day and the night of the 25th of March. I wish you to narrate, concisely, all that passed, within your own knowledge, concerning the prisoner and his wife from the morning of the 25th of March until the morning of the 26th."

Witness. "At ten o'clock in the morning of the 25th my mistress's bell rang, and I went to her room. My instructions were, never to enter her room in the morning until she rang for me. There were two bell-ropes, one on each side of the bed, so that on whichever side she was lying one of them was within reach of her hand."

The Attorney-general. "Stop a moment. Did the prisoner and his wife occupy one room?"

Witness. "No."

The Attorney-general. "For how long had this been the case?"

Witness. "For a good many months. Ever since things began to get worse between them."

The Attorney-general. "Proceed. You heard your mistress's bell ring, and you entered her room at ten o'clock."

Witness. "She said that she had passed a very bad night, that she had had dreadful dreams, and that she was afraid something terrible was going to happen to her. She asked me if her husband was up, and I told her that he had just entered the breakfast-room, that I had met him on the stairs, and that he inquired whether she were awake, as he wished to speak to her before he went out. My mistress said that she also wished to speak to him, and she asked me if I knew where he was going. Of course I did not know, and I told her so. She often asked me questions which she must have known very well were not possible for me to answer. I washed her, and tidied up the room, and then she desired me to go and tell my master to come to her. I knocked at the door of the breakfast-room three or four times, and receiving no answer, I opened it. My master was sitting at the table, and he started up when I entered, just as if I had aroused him from a dream. His face was very pale, and he held a letter in his hand. I noticed that he had not touched the breakfast. I gave him my mistress's message. He nodded, and went to her room at once. The moment he entered my poor mistress began to talk, but he stopped her and ordered me out. 'Keep in the next room,' my mistress said to me-'I may want you.' I went into the next room, and remained there quite half an hour, until my mistress's bell rang again. My master rushed past me as I opened the door, and I saw that my mistress was dreadfully agitated. She was sitting up in bed, and-"

The Attorney-general. "Stop! While you were in the adjoining room did you hear anything?"

Witness. "Not distinctly."

The Attorney-general. "Do you mean by that that you could not distinguish the words that were spoken by your master and mistress?"

Witness. "I could not distinguish the words. I could only hear their voices when they spoke loudly."

The Attorney-general. "Did they speak loudly on this occasion?"

Witness. "Very loudly."

The Attorney-general. "In merriment?"

Witness. "Quite the contrary. They were quarrelling."

The Attorney-general. "That is your understanding of their voices?"

Witness. "I could not be mistaken. Nearly the whole of the time their voices were raised to a high pitch."

The Attorney-general. "Which of the two voices made the stronger impression upon you?"

Witness. "My master's. I am certain he was threatening her, as he had done many times during the last few months."

The Attorney-general. "That is an improper remark for you to make. Confine yourself strictly to the matter in hand, and to the time you are giving evidence upon. When you entered your mistress's room she was sitting up in bed, dreadfully agitated, and your master rushed past you?"

Witness. "Yes, and she called out after him, 'Never, while I am alive! You wish I were dead, don't you, so that you may be free to marry again? But I sha'n't die yet, unless you kill me!"

The Attorney-general. "You are positive she made use of these words?"

Witness. "Quite positive."

The Attorney-general. "Did the prisoner make any reply?"

Witness. "None; and his silence appeared to infuriate my mistress. She cried out after him, 'You are a villain! you are a villain!'"

The Attorney-general. "Did you see the prisoner again during the morning?"

Witness. "No. In a few minutes I heard the street door open and close, and my mistress told me to run and see whether it was her husband going out. I went to the front-room window, and saw him enter the carriage and drive away. I returned to my mistress and informed her of it. She was in a furious state, and if she had had the strength she would have dressed herself and followed him; but she was too weak, unassisted, to get out of bed."

The Attorney-general. "Upon that point you are also positive?"

Witness. "Quite positive."

The Attorney-general. "Did your mistress make you acquainted with the cause of the quarrel between her and the prisoner?"

Witness. "She told me a good deal. She said that when she married him it was the worst day's work she had ever done, and that he had deceived her from first to last. All he wanted was for her to die but although he had treated her so vilely, she had him in her power."

The Attorney-general. "What did she mean by that? Did she explain?"