It was not Lillian!
CHAPTER XXIII
THE MESSENGER WITH GOOD NEWS
Eric Darrell might have been frozen—he seemed so petrified with surprise.
Instead of Lillian’s sweet face, marked by horror, he saw that of the dashing widow, Mrs. Collingwood, she with whom Prescott had communicated in the opium joint.
It dawned upon the detective.
All along there had been a great mistake—many things remained to be explained away, but the one main point was assured—Lillian must be innocent of the charge.
He was a man of extraordinary sense, as well as a man of action.
Recovering himself, he turned gracefully to Paul Prescott, who was glaring at him.
“Mr. Prescott, there has been a grave mistake here on my part. I thought this lady was some one else. I beg your pardon. Let the ceremony proceed. I withdraw my objection. When it is over we will have a mutual understanding.”
These words restored everyone to good humor. The artist dropped his frown, the dominie found his place in the book, and the bride again stood up beside the man she was taking for better or worse and the ceremony went on.