lady shut the door upon her. I did not want her to see me there, when
she turned round, so I slipped out of another door, and downstairs. I
took my supper, lingering, I dare say, half an hour; I don't think it
was much more than half after seven when I returned to the nursery for
baby. I found my lady asleep in the arm-chair besides the open window.
She had been crying--there were tears on her cheeks and eyelashes as
she slept. I did not disturb her. I lifted baby and carried him up to
the nursery. I left him in charge of the under nursemaid, and returned
to the room my lady was in. The clock was striking eight as I came
downstairs. I was going in to awaken my lady, not liking to have her
sleep in the night air. My hand was on the handle, when the door
opened and Miss Inez came out. She looked paler than common, I thought
but she spoke just as high and haughty as usual. She asked me what I
wanted there; I told her I wanted to waken my lady. She looked at me,
as though she would like to bite off my head--she was in one of her
tempers, I could see. 'You had better let my lady alone,' she says,
'and attend to your nursery. She's asleep still, and it isn't _your_
place to awaken her. Go.' I was in a fury; I don't mind owning that,
but I said nothing and I went. When Miss Inez looked and spoke like
that, every servant in the house knew it was as much as her place
was worth to disobey her. I went back and told Ellen Butters. Ellen
was drinking her tea; she couldn't abide Miss Inez, and the minute
she finished her cup she jumps up. '_I'm_ not afraid of her,' says
Ellen; 'she ain't _my_ missis; I'll go and wake my lady up.' She went;
we staid below. It might be five minutes after, when she comes flying
back, screaming fit to wake the dead, 'Murder! murder!' There was
blood on one of her hands, and before we could get anything more from
her except 'My lady! my lady!' she drops down in a faint. We left
her there, and followed Hooper upstairs. There was my lady lying in
the arm-chair under the window, as I had seen her last--stone dead.