Then he looked at her closely as he answered her. 'I have no right to
say that she was my friend, Mrs Askerton,' he said; 'indeed there was
hardly what might be called an acquaintance between us; but you
certainly are extremely like a certain Miss Vigo that I remember.'

'I often wonder that one person isn't more often found to be like
another,' said Mrs Askerton.

'People often are like,' said he, 'but not like in such a way as to
give rise to mistakes as to identity. Now, I should have stopped you in
the street and called you Mrs Berdmore.'

'Didn't I once see or hear the name of Berdmore in this house?' asked
Clara.

Then that look of pain returned. Mrs Askerton had succeeded in
recovering the usual tone of her countenance, but now she was once more
disturbed. 'I think I know the name,' said she.

'I fancy that I have seen it in this house,' said Clara. 'You may more
likely have heard it, my dear. My memory is very poor, but if I
remember rightly, Colonel Askerton did know a Captain Berdmore a long
while ago, before he was married; and you may probably have heard him
mention the name.' This did not quite satisfy Clara, but she said
nothing more about it then. If there was a mystery which Mrs Askerton
did not wish to have explored, why should she explore it?

Soon after this Clara got up to go, and Mrs Askerton, making another
attempt to be cheerful, was almost successful. So you're going back
into Norfolk on Saturday, Clara tells me. You are making a very short