“See this man myself, and force him to deny it—to declare that it is not true. My husband cannot sit down patiently with that charge flung against his wife’s honour and his own.”
Me sat gazing at her from beneath his thick eyebrows for a few minutes as she paced the room, agitated almost beyond bearing; and then he spoke in the most matter-of-fact way.
“You’ll do nothing of the kind.”
“Not speak?”
“No; I forbid it.”
“Forbid it?”
“Yes. Do you suppose I want my leave stopped? Do you want to send me back to the gang who are chained like dogs?”
“Hush!” she cried, with a shudder; and she covered her face, as if to shut out some terrible sight. “Do you not feel that you are running risks by remaining silent?”
“I should run greater risks by having the matter talked about. That great fool, Steve, must be warned to be more cautious in what he says, for all our sakes.”
“Robert!” in a tone of horror.