"Let me in and I will tell you everything," he added quickly. "It is an errand more urgent than any on which I have come before."
She opened the door slowly, belief and unbelief competing in her mind, and when it was closed again Prescott insisted upon knowing at once if Miss Catherwood were still in the house.
"Yes, she is here," Miss Grayson replied at last and reluctantly.
"Then I must see her and see her now," said Prescott, as he quietly took a seat in the chair before her.
"You cannot see her again," said Miss Grayson.
"I do not move from this chair until she comes," said Prescott resolutely, as he spread his fingers out to the tiny blaze.
Miss Grayson gave him one angry glance; her lips moved as if she would say something, but changing her mind, she took a chair on the other side of the fire and her face also bore the cast of resolution.
"It is no use, Miss Grayson," said Prescott. "I am here for the best of purposes, I assure you, and I will not stir. Please call Miss Catherwood."
Miss Grayson held out for a minute or two longer, and then, a red spot in either cheek, she walked into the next room and returned with Lucia.
Prescott knew her step, light as it was, before she came, and his heart beat a little more heavily. He rose, too, and bowed with deep respect when she appeared, feeling a strange thrill of pleasure at seeing her again.