Taking from her dainty escritoire a sheet of perfumed notepaper, she wrote hurriedly as follows:
"If you dare to come near my house to-night, I will have you put out by the servants."
Quickly folding the note, she crushed it into an envelope, sealed it, handed it to the girl, and said:
"Give that to the messenger."
The servant disappeared and Alicia resumed her work of drawing on her gloves in front of her mirror. How dare he write her such a letter? Was her house to be made the headquarters for his swindling schemes? Did he want to cheat more of her friends? The more she thought of all he had done, the angrier she became. Her eyes flashed and her bosom heaved with indignation. She wondered what her husband, the soul of honor, would say if he suspected that she had permitted a man of Underwood's character to use his home for his dishonest practices. She was glad she had ended it now, before it was too late. There might have been a scandal, and that she must avoid at any cost. Mr. Jeffries, she felt certain, would not tolerate a scandal of any kind.
All at once she felt something brush her cheek. She turned quickly. It was her husband, who had entered the room quietly.
"Oh, Howard," she exclaimed peevishly; "how you frightened me! You shouldn't startle me like that."
A tall, distinguished-looking man with white mustache and pointed beard stood admiring her in silence. His erect figure, admirably set off in a well-cut dress coat suggested the soldier.
"What are doing alone here, dear?" he said. "I hear carriages outside. Our guests are arriving."
"Just thinking, that's all," she replied evasively.