They had reached a very tender and solemn pause—so self-revealing had been the woman's admission—and Britt was looking at his plate as his hostess began again with assumed brightness. "Well, now, about this girl. Can you take me to see her? She interests me beyond anything."
"Certainly. I should be delighted. But your brother knows her—she would be pleased to see you both, I've no doubt."
"My brother thinks she is a fraud, and does not wish to see her—"
"I derive my knowledge from you, Dr. Britt."
Britt was undisturbed. "I think she is a fraud, too, but a very charming one."
"That ought to make her all the more convincing," said Kate.
"And all the more dangerous," replied Britt. "She baffles me—when face to face with her."
"What are they going to do with her—exhibit her to the public?"
"Not for the present. Clarke has been making notes industriously all the year and is about ready to publish. He now wants a few of the big fellows, like Uncle Simeon Pratt, to help boom his book. The Lamberts are not in this for money—please give them credit for that—and as for the mother, she is entirely honest—she believes implicitly in her spirits."
"That puts the girl in a horrible position—if she is deceiving," Morton interposed. "Imagine her state of mind if she realizes that her own mother has come to rest upon her system of deceit. The thought is horrible."