"You must remember, Lady Corsoon, that Ida is a spoilt child----"
"Spoilt!" interrupted the lady; "I should think so. Many a time have I implored Martin not to ruin her; but I might as well have spoken to a block of stone. You will have no easy task to manage her when you make her your wife, Colonel."
"I am quite certain that when Ida is removed from the companionship of Miss Hest I shall be able to manage her with the greatest ease," said Towton emphatically; "but the question is how to get her away. I look to you to use your influence, dear lady."
"Mine? Why, I never had the least influence with that headstrong girl, my dear Colonel. I'll go to-morrow and give her a talking to, and perhaps I may be able to induce her to return with me to London. But while she is the mistress of ten thousand a year she can defy me. Now, if The Spider can give me that fortune, as he declares, I shall soon bring Ida to see that she must behave like a sensible human being. I suppose Mr. Vernon told you of the letter I received? He hinted as much to me, though I think he should have held his tongue."
"He did hold his tongue about your business, more or less, Lady Corsoon. It was Mr. Maunders who let slip the secret."
"And what business is it of Mr. Maunders', I should like to know?" asked Lady Corsoon, putting up her lorgnette and looking haughtily at Towton.
"This much--that he wrote the letter."
"What!" Lady Corsoon bounded from her seat. "Then he is The Spider?"
"No," said the Colonel prudently, who did not intend to tell his companion more than he could help, as he placed no reliance on her tongue; "but, knowing from yourself about the first letter you received from The Spider, and anxious to marry your daughter, he made use of the blackmailer's scheme to secure his own ends."
"What audacity! Can he--Mr. Maunders, I mean--really place me in possession of Martin's money?"