he could see her as she entered. For a moment I thought that he might
have some homicidal intent; I remembered how quiet he had been just
before he attacked me in my own study, and I took care to stand where I
could seize him at once if he attempted to make a spring at her. She
came into the room with an easy gracefulness which would at once command
the respect of any lunatic--for easiness is one of the qualities mad
people most respect. She walked over to him, smiling pleasantly, and
held out her hand.
Good-evening, Mr. Renfield, said she. You see, I know you, for Dr.
Seward has told me of you. He made no immediate reply, but eyed her all
over intently with a set frown on his face. This look gave way to one
of wonder, which merged in doubt; then, to my intense astonishment, he
said:--
You re not the girl the doctor wanted to marry, are you? You can t be,
you know, for she s dead. Mrs. Harker smiled sweetly as she replied:--
Oh no! I have a husband of my own, to whom I was married before I ever
saw Dr. Seward, or he me. I am Mrs. Harker.
Then what are you doing here?
My husband and I are staying on a visit with Dr. Seward.
Then don t stay.
But why not? I thought that this style of conversation might not be
pleasant to Mrs. Harker, any more than it was to me, so I joined in:--
How did you know I wanted to marry any one? His reply was simply
contemptuous, given in a pause in which he turned his eyes from Mrs.
Harker to me, instantly turning them back again:--
What an asinine question!
I don t see that at all, Mr. Renfield, said Mrs. Harker, at once
championing me. He replied to her with as much courtesy and respect as
he had shown contempt to me:--
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