She looked up at him helplessly, and his heart bounded at the thought that she was his to protect as long as life should last, and that she already depended upon him.
“Don’t be frightened,” he soothed her. “He cannot do anything very dreadful, and if he tries we’ll soon silence him. What he has written in those letters is blackmail. He is simply a big coward, who will run and hide as soon as he is exposed. He thought you did not understand law, and so took advantage of you. I’m sure I can silence him.”
“Oh, do you think so? But Mamma! Poor Mamma! It will kill her! And George will stop at nothing when he is crossed. I have known him too long. It will be terrible if he carries out his threat.” Tears were in her eyes, agony was in her face.
“We must telephone your mother at once and set her heart at rest. Then we can find out just what ought to be done,” said Gordon soothingly. “It was unforgivably thoughtless in me not to have done it before.”
Celia’s face was radiant at the thought of speaking to her mother.
“Oh, how beautiful! Why didn’t I think of that before! What perfectly dear things telephones are!”
With one accord, they went to the telephone table.
“Shall you call them up, or shall I?” he asked.
“You call, and then I will speak to Mamma,” she said, her eyes shining with her joy in him. “I want them to hear your voice again. They can’t help knowing you are all right when they hear your voice.”
For that, he gave her a glance very much worth having.