"Don't be silly—oh, be as silly as you like; I love you!" She broke into a clear trill of laughter. Then she sobered, and gave him a swift, grave look. "Tell me something, Reese. The day we were married—that meeting in father's library! Was it because of some emergency in his affairs that the wedding was delayed?"
Armstrong nodded. He had meant to speak of this before, but no opportunity had arisen.
"Sure, Dot. You may as well know that your father's business was in bad shape. Those fellows who were running things, Williams, and the rest, were heading to a smash—and the crisis happened to come that day. It's all over with, thank heaven! We've chucked 'em out and will run the business right."
"You're not going back to Evansville to manage it?"
Armstrong's gaze came to her suddenly, as he searched for the meaning behind her words.
"Listen, Dot; are we partners?"
"In everything, my dear. Why?"
"Then in business as in other things. Good! If Food Products had not been taken over by Consolidated, it would now be out of existence; we saved it from bankruptcy, and we'll make money by it. In order to keep faith with the stockholders, in order to let your father come clear and leave everything square and fair behind him, we have to dig pretty deep; some of the assets must be totally written off. Ultimately the company will be a good investment, but it won't be any exclusive affair for me, lady.
"You see, it's one of several companies owned and run by Consolidated—which is under my control. I can't attend to any one of these companies myself; I pay other men to do that. I attend to the loan and financing business, the stock-selling campaigns, which formed the prime object of Consolidated. So, you see, if I leave New York—"
Her hand fluttered swiftly over his mouth.