She shook her head with the old bravado, but the keen eyes of the man watching saw that she was not sure of her ground.
He folded his arms and quietly began:
"For twenty years I have breathed the air poisoned by your presence. I have seen your insolence grow until you have announced yourself the mistress of my house. You knew that I was afraid of your tongue, and thought that a coward would submit in the end. Well, it's over. I've held my hand for the past four weeks until my duty to the people was done. I've been a coward when I saw the tangled web of lies and shame in which I floundered. But the past is past. I face life to-night as it is"—his voice dropped—"and I'm going to take what comes. Your rule in my house is at an end——"
"Indeed!"
"Helen leaves here to-morrow morning and you go."
"Really?"
"I've made a decent provision for your future—which is more than you deserve. Pack your things!"
The woman threw him a look of hate and her lips curved with scorn:
"So—you have kindly allowed me to stay until your campaign was ended. Well, I've understood you. I knew that you were getting ready for me. I'm ready for you."
"And you think that I will allow you to remain in my house after what has passed between us?"