Rosa draws nearer to the housekeeper.
"I hear the rain-drip on the stones," replies the young man, "and I hear a curious echo--I suppose an echo--which is very like a halting step."
The housekeeper gravely nods and continues: "Partly on account of this division between them, and partly on other accounts, Sir Morbury and his Lady led a troubled life. She was a lady of a haughty temper. They were not well suited to each other in age or character, and they had no children to moderate between them. After her favourite brother, a young gentleman, was killed in the civil wars (by Sir Morbury's near kinsman), her feeling was so violent that she hated the race into which she had married. When the Dedlocks were about to ride out from Chesney Wold in the king's cause, she is supposed to have more than once stolen down into the stables in the dead of night and lamed their horses; and the story is that once at such an hour, her husband saw her gliding down the stairs and followed her into the stall where his own favourite horse stood. There he seized her by the wrist, and in a struggle or in a fall or through the horse being frightened and lashing out, she was lamed in the hip and from that hour began to pine away."
The housekeeper has dropped her voice to a little more than a whisper.

Rosa draws nearer to the housekeeper.
"I hear the rain-drip on the stones," replies the young man, "and I hear a curious echo which is very like a halting step."
The housekeeper gravely nods and continues: "Partly on account of this division between them, Sir Morbury and his Lady led a troubled life. She was a lady of a haughty temper. They were not well suited to each other, and they had no children to moderate between them. After her favourite brother was killed in the civil wars by Sir Morbury's kinsman, her feeling was so violent that she hated the Dedlocks. When the Dedlocks were about to ride out from Chesney Wold in the king's cause, she is supposed to have crept down to the stables and lamed their horses at dead of night; and the story is that once, at such an hour, her husband saw her gliding down the stairs and followed her into the stall where his own favourite horse stood. There he seized her by the wrist, and in a struggle or a fall, she was lamed and from that hour began to pine away."
The housekeeper has dropped her voice to a whisper.
