"She'll try to; and there is no doubt that she has me on toast."
Claudia rose from her chair, and came round the table to sit beside him. "Do you mean to say that she can implicate my father in the crime, and demand your hand as a promise of silence?"
"No. I mean to say that she can drag me into the matter."
"Impossible!" Claudia stared aghast. "What have you to do with the death?"
"Nothing; and Lady Wyke knows as much. All the same, she can make things very unpleasant for me, and will, unless I give you up and marry her."
Claudia looked puzzled. "But how can she?"
"I'll toll you, dear." He took her hand and drew her to him. "Do you remember the letter which Hall, the postman, delivered that night?"
"Yes. My father told me something about it, although it was not mentioned at the inquest."
"Luckily for me it was not."
"Why? Oh, why?"