"I didn't think she had any right to control me so."
"Not when she intimated there were reasons?"
"She told me things about Dr. Ballard—his people, rather, but I didn't, and I don't, consider them reasons. She has no proof, or, if she has, she certainly hasn't presented it. I don't consider it worthy of notice when a person says things about another which are not backed up by proof."
"As a matter of fact, then, you do know Dr. Ballard, in spite of your grandmother's prohibition?"
"Yes."
"You know him very well?"
"Quite well."
"My next question, Miss Crewe, you will answer notwithstanding its peculiarly personal and intimate character, because (I am authorized to tell you) upon your answer important issues hang. If Dr. Ballard asks you to marry him, is it your intention to accept him?"
For a long moment there was no sound in the room, except such as came, muted, from out-of-doors, and the leisurely ticking of the tall clock in the corner.
Then Katherine, rising, impetuously faced the lawyer and Madam Crewe.