"Yes?" he replied quizzically.
"Perhaps," she continued, coming nearer to the point of her self-imposed mission, "perhaps there may be some other way to settle this case than through Mr. Drummond."
"We might hold you," he shot out quickly.
"No," she replied, "you have nothing on me. And as for Mr. Mackenzie, I understand, you don't even know where he is—whether he is in New York, London, Paris, or Berlin, or whether he may not go from one city to another at any moment you take open action."
Wickham bit his lip. He knew she was right. Even yet the case hung on the most slender threads.
"I have been wondering," she continued, "if there is not some way in which this thing can be compromised."
"Never," exclaimed Wickham positively. "He must return the whole sum, with interest to date. Then and only then can we consider his plea for clemency."
"You would consider it?" she asked keenly.
"Of course. We should have to consider it. Voluntary surrender and reparation would be something like turning state's witness—against himself."
Constance said nothing.