He raised a finger, and almost smiled.
'You are not ready to admit that you are Maud Rivers. Hmm? That is quite a different thing. And when you are ready to admit to it, our work shall be done. Until then— '
'You shan't keep me here. You shan't! You keep me, while those swindling villains— '
He folded his arms. 'Which swindling villains, Mrs Rivers?'
'I am not Maud Rivers! My name is Susan— '
'Yes?'
But here, for the first time, I faltered.
'Susan Smith,' I said finally.
'Susan Smith. Of— where was it, Dr Graves? Of Whelk Street, Mayfair?'
I did not answer.
'Come, come,' he went on. 'That is all your fancy, is it not?'
'It was Gentleman's fancy,' I said, thrown off. 'That devil— !'
'Which gentleman, Mrs Rivers?'
'Richard Rivers,' I answered.
'Your husband.'
'Her husband.'
'Ah.'
'Her husband, I tell you! I saw them married. You may find out the vicar that did it.
You may bring Mrs Cream!'
'Mrs Cream, the lady you lodged with? We spoke at length with her. She told us, very sadly, of the melancholy temper that stole upon you, in her house.'
'She was speaking of Maud.'
'Of course.'
'She was speaking of Maud, not me. You bring her here. You show her my face, see what she says then. Bring anyone here that has known Maud Lilly and me. Bring Mrs Stiles, the housekeeper at Briar. Bring old Mr Lilly!'
He shook his head. 'And don't you think,' he said, 'your own husband might be supposed to know you, as well as your uncle? And your maid? She stood before us, and spoke of you, and wept.' He lowered his voice. 'What had you done to her, hmm, to make her do that?'
'Oh!' I said, twisting my hands together. ('See her colour change now, Dr Graves,' he said softly.) 'She wept, to trick you! She's nothing but an actress!'
An actress? Your maid?'
'Maud Lilly! Don't you hear me? Maud Lilly and Richard Rivers. They have put me here— they have cheated and tricked me— they have made you think me her, and her me!'
He shook his head again, and drew close his brows; and again, he almost smiled. Then he said, slowly and very easily:
'But, my dear Mrs Rivers, why should they go to the trouble of doing that?'
I opened my mouth. Then I closed it. For, what could I say? I still supposed that if I only told him the truth, he would believe it. But the truth was I had plotted to steal a lady's fortune; that I had made myself out a servant, when I was really a thief. If I had 265
not been so afraid, and so tired, and so bruised from my night in the pads, I might have thought up a clever story. Now I could not think, at all. Nurse Bacon rubbed her hands and yawned. Dr Christie still watched me, with a humouring expression on his face.
'Mrs Rivers?' he said.
'I don't know,' I answered at last.
Ah.'
He nodded to Dr Graves, and they began to move off.
'Wait! Wait!' I cried.
Nurse Spiller came forward. 'That's enough from you,' she said. 'You are wasting the doctors' time.'
I did not look at her. I watched Dr Christie turn from me, and saw beyond him the pale old lady, her fingers still chafing at her mouth; and the sad-faced woman with her hair pulled all before her eyes; and Betty, the idiot girl, her lip gleaming with sugar; and I grew wild again. I thought, 'I don't care if they put me in a prison for it! Better a prison, with thieves and murderesses, than a madhouse!' I said,
'Dr Christie, sir! Dr Graves! Listen to me!'
'That's enough,' said Nurse Spiller again. 'Don't you know what busy men the doctors are? Don't you think they got better things to do than hear all your nonsense? Get back!'
I had stepped after Dr Christie and was reaching for his coat.
'Please, sir,' I said. 'Listen to me. I haven't been perfectly straight with you. My name ain't Susan Smith, after all.'
He had made to shake me off. Now he turned a little to me.
'Mrs Rivers,' he began.
Susan Trinder, sir. Sue Trinder, of— ' I was about to say, Lant Street; then knew that of course I must not say it, for fear it should lead the police to Mr Ibbs's shop. I closed my eyes and
shook my head. My brain felt hot. Dr Christie drew himself from my hand.
'You must not touch my coat,' he said, his voice grown sterner.
I clutched it again. 'Only hear me out, I beg you! Only let me tell you of the terrible plot I was made to be part of, by Richard Rivers. That devil! He is laughing at you, sir!
He is laughing at all of us! He has stolen a fortune. He has fifteen thousand pounds!'