now we''ve done it. Sue''s you, dear girl. And what we brought you here for is—''
''Listen, Maud!'' says Richard. I have closed my eyes and turned my head. Mrs Sucksby comes to me, lifts her hand, begins to stroke my hair.
''What we brought you here for,'' she goes on, more gently, ''is for you to start being Sue. Only that, dear girl! Only that.''
I open my eyes, and suppose look stupid.
''Do you see?'' says Richard. ''We keep Sue as my wife in the madhouse, and with the opening of her mother''s statement, her share of the fortune—Maud''s share, I mean—comes to me. I should like to say I will keep every cent of it; but the scheme was Mrs Sucksby''s after all, and half goes to her.'' He makes a bow.
''That''s fair, ain''t it?'' says Mrs Sucksby, still stroking my hair.