"You ought not to let that boy drive you out. He might have lost all control and you would have been killed."
"It was not Robert's fault that the horses ran away."
"They wouldn't have run away had I been driving them."
"Frederic, I think it is about time that this farce came to an end. You know well enough what made our team run away in the first place."
The young man drew back.
"Why--er----" he stammered.
"You scared them with your white sheet and the pistol."
"It's false, aunt. Was that yokel of an Englishman here with his lying story?"
"Mr. Parsons was here, yes, and he told the truth, Frederic. You are an out-and-out rascal. My eyes are open at last, and you shall no longer deceive me."
As Mrs. Vernon spoke she faced the young man so sternly that he felt compelled to fall back, while his eyes sought the floor.