"That was my fault. After all, my lord, perhaps there is a God."
"You should have sooner told me so. If you are converted, go join the hypocrites of your ilk, and leave me. This deserted place, this night of conflagration and slaughter, this unconscious girl,—all suits me well. I have a fancy for adventure which has no vulgar tang about it."
Standing between the bed where Esther lay and young Mowbray, Lebeau did not move.
"Excuse me, my lord," he said steadily, "it is you who are to leave. You will not lay a finger upon this child."
"Why not?"
"Because I forbid you."
"And pray why do you forbid me?"
"Because she is my daughter and your sister!"
For an instant Mowbray stood transfixed with amazement; then he burst into a laugh.
"By my soul!" he exclaimed, "my father was right: you are the most amusing rascal in the world! Long live Lebeau! No human being but you could have conceived such an idea. The day that my father awoke in the bottom of that monster pie, the surprise was good, but it cannot hold a candle to this one! After this night's affair no one can ever say that you are degenerating; for your imagination, my dear man, was never so brilliant. Ask me a hundred pounds, or twice that amount; I will refuse you nothing. But go away now and let the farce end. I have enough of it."