Page:Richard Marsh--The goddess a demon.djvu/43



awoke next morning by Atkins bringing in my cup of coffee. He asked me a question as he arranged it on the small table beside my bed.

"Do you know, sir, if Mr. Lawrence slept in his rooms last night?"

He had aroused me from a dreamless slumber, and I was not yet sufficiently awake to catch the full drift of his inquiry.

"Slept in his rooms? What do you mean?"

"Because, sir, when I took him his coffee just now, as usual, I knocked four times and got no answer. And his door's locked; it's not his habit to lock his door when he's at home."

Atkins is one of the staff of servants attached to the Mansions, whose particular office it is to wait on the occupants of chambers on the first floor: a discreet man, who has a pretty intimate knowledge of the manners and customs of those on whom he attends.

"Mr. Lawrence was in his rooms last night. 31