CHAPTER XVIII 242
Miss Ingram rose solemnly : " I go first ," she said , in a tone which might have befitted the leader of a forlorn hope , mounting a breach in the van of his men .
" Oh , my best ! oh , my dearest ! pause -- reflect !" was her mama ' s cry ; but she swept past her in stately silence , passed through the door which Colonel Dent held open , and we heard her enter the library .
A comparative silence ensued . Lady Ingram thought it " le cas " to wring her hands : which she did accordingly . Miss Mary declared she felt , for her part , she never dared venture . Amy and Louisa Eshton tittered under their breath , and looked a little frightened .
The minutes passed very slowly : fifteen were counted before the library-door again opened . Miss Ingram returned to us through the arch .
Would she laugh ? Would she take it as a joke ? All eyes met her with a glance of eager curiosity , and she met all eyes with one of rebuff and coldness ; she looked neither flurried nor merry : she walked stiffly to her seat , and took it in silence .
" Well , Blanche ?" said Lord Ingram . " What did she say , sister ?" asked Mary .
" What did you think ? How do you feel ? -- Is she a real fortune-teller ?" demanded the Misses Eshton .
" Now , now , good people ," returned Miss Ingram , " don ' t press upon me . Really your organs of wonder and credulity are easily excited : you seem , by the importance of you all -- my good mama included -- ascribe to this matter , absolutely to believe we have a genuine witch in the house , who is in close alliance with the old gentleman . I have seen a gipsy vagabond ; she has practised in hackneyed fashion the science of palmistry and told me what such people usually tell . My whim is gratified ; and now I think Mr . Eshton will do well to put the hag in the stocks to-morrow morning , as he