Ferdy stared at the ground, and felt that he was being very hardly treated by the two before him. He stole a look at their set faces, and saw that he would have to lay bare the secrets of his shallow, false life. A bolder man would have braved the matter out; a weaker man would have fainted in the extremity of his terror. But Ferdy Baird, half fool, half knave, acted up to his double character--that is, he told all that could place him in a pleasant light, and suppressed what he could. But by questioning and browbeating the lovers got the truth out of him at last. In substance his story came to this, but he told it in a somewhat different way:--
"Since you must know all," he said, sullenly, and with his eyes on the carpet, "Jerce is the one to blame for the whole trouble; and Uncle Henry is also--"
"Not a word against him," said Clarice, sternly, and placed her hand in that of Ackworth's, for she felt that she needed what solace she could obtain in this hour of sorrow and disgrace.
"Uncle Henry should have allowed me more money," said Ferdy, doggedly, "and then I should not have got into trouble with Jerce. I thought that I would be able to get what I wanted, since I was heir to two thousand a year, and when I went to London I had a good time."
"A mad time--a reckless time--a wicked time," said Clarice.
"That depends upon the way you look at it," said the young man. "I had a ripping time, I say, but it cost money. Jerce lent me some, because he wanted to marry you, Clarry, and wished me to use my influence to bring about the marriage."
"You never had any influence," said Clarice, while Anthony looked at his future brother-in-law with the air of a man who wished to kick him out of the house.
"Jerce thought I had, and lent me money. But I got into debt. I was in love with Zara a year ago, and she made me spend no end of cash on motor-drives and flowers and jewels, and all the rest of it."
"But you told me of two thousand pounds, Ferdy. Was there more?"
"Much more. I gambled, you see, and lost heavily on bridge. But it's no use saying what I did, or how I spent the money, as I was simply desperate. I did not dare to go to Uncle Henry, so I asked Jerce again. He refused to help me, so I--I--" here Ferdy kicked a mat with his feet and blurted out the shameful truth unwillingly, "I forged his cheque for two hundred pounds."