Read "The Strange Boarders of Palace Crescent" by E. Phillips Oppenheim online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
Miss Susannah Clewes did not hesitate to accept Mr. Luke's courteously worded invitation to visit him for a few minutes in his sitting room before dinner that evening, but she was in a very obstinate frame of mind. She sat in Mr. Luke's easy-chair, she produced her knitting and she listened to what he had to say with a faint but inexpressive smile upon her lips.
"That's all very well, Mr. Luke," she said, when he had finished, "but if it's justice that they want, why did they not let me tell the truth either time in that crowded court? Why did that usher come and stand over me so that I knew quite well I should have his horrible hand on my mouth if I tried to disobey the coroner? That's not the way to treat a gentlewoman who has an important statement to make. I am not sure that I am any longer interested in the course of justice."