"Humph! You love this man?"
"With all my heart, although I don't see why you should ask me."
"I beg your pardon once more," said Browne dryly, "but I am the most intimate friend of Angus Herries, who is in dire peril, and I understood that you loved him."
Miss Tedder let fall her handkerchief to accentuate her denial with hard, indignant eyes.
"I never, never did," she said almost shrilly. "Of course I met him in Edinburgh, and thought he was good-looking, over two years ago; then he was my cousin, and clever. But papa did not approve, and Angus was poor, so I----"
"Obeyed your father and threw him over. Eh?"
"It was only a girlish fancy, doctor. I love Bruce, and Bruce is the man I intend to marry."
"So as to be Madame la President, I suppose. Well, with your fifty thousand a year, I have no doubt that Captain Kyles will be able to buy your Republic right out. However, this is none of my business."
"I should think not," said Maud, who looked cross.
"But the peril of Herries is my business. He has escaped, but may be captured at any moment. What do you intend to do?"