“Indeed, mamma, I won't!”
The two ladies looked at one another with such animosity that Sir Justin felt called upon to interfere.
“Suppose the Baroness were to read us as much as is necessary to convince us that there is no possibility of a mistake,” he suggested.
So profoundly did the Countess respect his advice that she graciously waived her maternal rights so far as actually following the text with her eyes went; while her daughter, after a little demur, was induced to depart this one step further from her husband's injunctions.
“You have no objections to my glancing at the post-mark?” said Sir Justin when this point was settled.
With a toss of her head the Baroness silently handed him the envelope.
“It seems correct,” he observed cautiously.
“But post-marks can be forged, can't they?” inquired the Countess.
“I fear they can,” he admitted, with a sorrowful air.
Scorning to answer this insinuation, the Baroness proceeded to read aloud the following extracts: