It appears most strange to me with whom she could have been quarrelling--if indeed it was Rachel that was quarrelling." "It is all strange together," cried Lionel Verner.

"What took Rachel that way at all, by night time ?" "What indeed!" echoed Mr.Bitterworth.

"Unless--" "Unless what ?" asked Mr.Verner; for Mr.Bitterworth had brought his words to a sudden standstill.
"Well, I was going to say, unless she had an appointment there.

But that does not appear probable for Rachel Frost." "It is barely possible, let alone probable," was the retort of Mr.
Verner.
"But still, in a case like this, every circumstance must be looked at, every trifle weighed," resumed Mr.Bitterworth.

"Does Rachel's own conduct appear to you to have been perfectly open?
She has been indulging, it would seem, in some secret grief latterly; has been 'strange,' as one or two have expressed it.