"That is as you please, madam. You may leave my account to be settled by Mr. Harding, if you like."
"No, no," she said, going to her davenport. "In spite of what you say about money, I want you to have plenty of cash in hand, to feel that you have no occasion to stint outlay."
"That is what I never do, when character is at stake."
She handed him a hastily written cheque for five hundred pounds.
"This is a high figure, madam, to start with," said Faunce, as he slipped the cheque into his letter-case.
"Oh, it's only a trifle on account. Call upon me for whatever sums you require. I would rather beggar myself than exist under this odious imputation."
"There is one thing more I must ask for, madam."
"What is that?"
"Your photograph, if you will be so good as to trust me with it."
"My photograph?" wonderingly, and with a touch of hauteur.