Mrs. Hubbell paused for a second as if to select a cue. She chose it with quick decision and acted without delay.
“You should have looked into her references before you engaged her,” she said coolly.
He was grimly silent, looking at her as if wondering what the best tactics would be.
“That Christie girl,” she said, “seems to have her own reasons for maligning me. I’ve never looked into it closely but it appears—an office liaison with Jack——” she shrugged. “So she hates me—naturally.”
“That’s a wrong twist, Rose. In the first place I knew Jack. In the second place poor Miss Christie evidently idolizes the ground you walk on. No—you’ve become absurd. Where is that letter?”
“I don’t know what you are talking about and I haven’t any desire to argue with you if you’re drunk or crazy.”
He only laughed and sat down.
“A struggle, is it? Well, let’s see the possibilities. If I don’t get that letter I publish your story. I’m not afraid of the press, God knows. And Jack wasn’t. Make a good feature story. With a few pictures of you. The newspapers must still have some of yours on file.”
She looked at him with venomous hate.
“Beast!”