Lawrence’s response to Hastings’s suggestion is somewhat alarming, since it seems so unlikely that his stepmother died of natural causes. The mere suggestion that this is what happened throws some suspicion on Lawrence, though Hastings doesn’t seem too bothered by the comment. Instead, he quickly makes his way to the house’s library to read about strychnine, indicating that he has a good hunch about the specific poison that killed Emily. Hastings therefore proves that he
is capable of using his intuition, though he doesn’t seem to be very skilled in the art of reading other people.