The Salamanca Corpus: Yeoman Fleetwood (1900 ... - Gredos

The Salamanca Corpus: Yeoman Fleetwood (1900)
“Is there no answer?" inquired Simon unsteadily.
“No answer? Like your impudence! What do you mean by making me carry threatening
letters, eh?"
"Threatening letters! What do you mean?"
"Why, the young lady said so herself. I give it her as she came out of the dining-room,
and she tore it into twenty bits and threw it on the ground. ‘What have you got there?’
says her ladyship, not best pleased, I can tell you. ‘A threatening letter, madam,' says
Miss Charnock. Then her ladyship screeches out as we was all goin’ to be robbed and
murdered, and asks me who left the letter, and when it was left, and what not, till I was
very nigh crazy. I told her 'twas brought by a little boy an hour ago."
“Miss Charnock sent no message, you say?" said Simon, but half comprehending the
tale.
“No; she tore up the note, and said 'twas a threatening letter, and deserved to have no
notice taken of it. Aye, sir, she said that. Now, be off, I say."
“Wait a bit," resumed the yeoman. "The ladies have left the dining-room, you say?"
“That they have. I must take coffee in directly."
“Listen. Tell Miss Charnock privately that the writer of the note is waiting for an
answer. Do you hear? That message will be worth another guinea to you.”
[368]
“Another? Come, you seem to have plenty of 'em! I don't much like this 'ere kind of
work, but a few words is easy spoke"
Again he slammed the door to. This time he was not long in reappearing. Taking the
precaution of holding the door only partially open, he thrust his head out with an
insolent grin.
"Hand over. Well," pocketing the coin, "the answer is, you may wait and perhaps you'll
see something. He, he! That was it ' Let him wait,' says she, ' and he will see what he
will see.' Well, 'tis a fine night: you'd best take a seat upon the step."
With that he vanished, leaving Simon in a state of mind which can scarcely be
described. At one moment he imagined that the fellow must have invented the message,
and again an idea struck him, recurring with maddening persistency, that the words