"No, I don't want any to-night. Tell me if yours is right."
"Yes, it is very nice," he said absently, drinking some. Then rising suddenly, he put the cup on the mantleshelf, and said to me, "Send Ann away, I want to talk to you."
I told Ann I would ring for her when I wanted her, and sat down by the lamp again, with many apprehensions.
"You asked me if anything had happened, Pauline, didn't you?" he said.
"No," I answered. "But I was sure that something had, from the way you looked when you came in."
"It is something that--that changes things very much for you, Pauline," he resumed, with an effort, "and makes all our arrangements unnecessary--that is, unless you choose."
I looked amazed and frightened, and he went on.
"I made a discovery last night in the library. The will is found, Pauline."
I started to my feet, with my hands pressed against my heart, waiting breathlessly for his next word.
"Everything is left to you--and I have come to tell you, you are free--if you desire to be."