"Meddlechip won't like that,"
"Pish! I don't care two straws for Meddlechip."
"No; but you do for his money."
"Of course; that goes without saying."
"You're a hardened little devil, Caprice."
"God knows I've had enough to make me hard," she replied bitterly, throwing herself down in her chair, with a frown.
There was a knock at the door at this moment, and, in reply to Mortimer's invitation to "come in," Ezra and Keith appeared.
"Well, you two are late," said Mortimer, glancing at his watch; "a quarter-past eleven."
"I'm very sorry," said Ezra quietly; "but it was my fault. I was telling Stewart about some business."
"Well, we won't take long to settle this affair," remarked Mortimer, looking over his papers. "Be seated, gentlemen."