"You won't get her into the witness-box, to swear to that."
"Well, we shall see. There's no sense in haggling with you over that. We will leave it out, as you advised. I was talking about Susan. She and your precious Humphrey had spent the money that they had got from the sale, or pawning, or whatever it was, of the pearls she had stolen."
"I have already said," he interposed quietly, "that Humphrey knew nothing of it."
"And I have already said, 'That's a likely story!' However, we need not press the point now. Say she had had all the money if you like, and that he—dear innocent—never noticed that she was spending some thousands of pounds more than he allowed her. If you like to believe that it's your affair; we shall have plenty of opportunities of judging what view other people will take of it, by and by. At any rate, the money was spent—the stolen money—and you, a rich man, can sit down quietly and let somebody else bear the loss of it."
He knew he was giving himself into her hands, but he could not help himself. "That's not true," he said.
She looked at him, her lip curling. "Oh! you sent it back—anonymously perhaps. You did have that much honesty."
"You can make what use of the admission you like," he said. "I told Lord Sedbergh the story, and offered him the money."
This set her a little aback. "He knows the truth, then," she exclaimed. "Another man of honour! He lets me lie under the stigma of having stolen something that he's got the price of in his pocket all the time. Upon my word! You're a pretty pair! I'm not certain that he's not worse than you are."
He struggled with himself, but only for a moment, and then said, "He refused to take the money."
She was quick to take that up. "Oh! I see. Dear me, how I should have enjoyed being present at that interview. You go to him with the delightful proposal that he shall make himself party to your meanness, and he refuses. Yes. I suppose he would. I've no reason to suppose there are two men of supposed honour who could act quite as vilely as you have done. Come now, Mr. Clinton, I've given you a piece of gratuitous information. Supposing you return it by telling me what he said to you. Did he tell you what he really thought of you, or only hint it?"