Her mind, working with incredible speed, had another instantaneous fear. Every instant she expected Clifford to enter and add to the complications swarming upon her.
Loveman’s round, keen eyes swiftly took in the situation. To him this coming together of the four of them face to face, of Mr. Morton, Jack, Mary, and the girl Jack had been directed to marry, could have but one meaning, one outcome. His speech followed his conclusion so promptly that there was barely a moment between his entrance and his first word.
“Pardon my coming up here, Mr. Morton,” he said rapidly, stepping forward, “but the matter is so immensely important as to abrogate formalities. I have just made a discovery—”
“Mr. Morton,” Mary interrupted sharply, pressing between the two men. She knew that yet a new destruction was in Loveman’s next eager words; and her instinct to keep on fighting to the very end instantly controlled her. “Mr. Morton—before you hear him, read my letter!”
“Your letter?” queried Mr. Morton, taken aback by the suddenness of all this.
“The letter I gave you in the Japanese Room. The letter I told you to hold until I gave you permission to read it. You have it with you?”
“Yes, here it is, Mrs. Gardner.” He drew an envelope from an inner coat pocket.
“Mr. Morton, I’ve just discovered—”
“Read my letter first,” Mary again broke sharply in upon Loveman. “The time has come that I spoke of, Mr. Morton,—the time when you have my permission to read my letter. It tells you all that Mr. Loveman has discovered and more!”
“Mr. Morton—”