“No,” he replied, wholly master of himself. “No; but I’m considering.”
“Considering what?” she sneered.
“I promised her that she should go free and that she had nothing to fear. I mean to keep my promise.”
“You’re a little late about it, aren’t you?” she said and sneered again.
“No, Josephine: you’re going to let her go.”
She turned to Leonard and said: “What are you wasting time for? Be quick about it!”
“Stop!” said Ralph in a tone ringing with such a certainty of being obeyed that she hesitated.
“Stop and let her go,” he repeated. “You hear, Josephine? I wish you to let her go. It isn’t a matter of postponing the infamous thing you propose to do or of abandoning it. It’s a matter of instantly letting Clarice d’Etigues go and opening that door for her to go through.”
It must be that he was wholly sure of himself and that his will rested on truly extraordinary grounds for him to formulate it with so imperious a solemnity. Even Leonard himself was impressed and stood undecided; while Clarice, who had not grasped the full horror of their intention, appeared to take comfort.
Josephine, taken aback, murmured: “Words—just words. Some fresh ruse——”