"Of course you must."
"But he is my father, Herr."
"You are to do as I command you."
She drew a deep sigh and went on. "And he caught hold of me by the throat with one hand, and beat me with the other, and hissed in my ear: 'Unless you confess how you came by all that money, I'll squeeze the life out of you----' And when I could hardly breathe, I----"
He laughed harshly to himself. His father and her father--both had resorted to the same chivalrous measures.
Regina thought the laugh was at her expense.
"Ah, Herr," she went on with an imploring upward glance, "I was so dreadfully stupid then. Even a fortnight later, when they cross-examined me, they could have strangled me before they would have got anything out of me. But then--I suppose it was because he was my father----"
"Oh yes, I understand. You told tales out of school to your father. Well, what else?"
"The very same night my conscience pricked me, and in the morning when I took the gnädiger Herr his coffee--he would always have me take it--I told him all."
"And what did he say?"