A costly bribe had sealed the lips of the little French maid, and the truth of the little boy's parentage was a dead secret with her.
Immediately after her arrival at home, Xenie had placed her case in the hand of a noted lawyer.
He undertook it in perfect faith. He did not dream that he had been employed as the necessary aid to carry out a wicked scheme of revenge and perpetrate a gigantic fraud.
He took immediate steps to regain the possession of the deceased millionaire's property in the interest of his posthumous child.
The case immediately attracted public attention and interest, both from the high position of the parties to the suit and the great wealth involved.
But for several months nothing could be heard from the defendant, who was still absent in Europe, although the lawyer who managed his property in his native city wrote him frantic and repeated appeals to return and defend his case.
At length, when patience had ceased to be a virtue with the plaintiff, and the opposition was about to push the suit for judgments without him, a brief letter was received from Howard Templeton, instructing the lawyers to postpone everything until after his arrival.
He would sail on a certain day and upon a certain steamer, and be with them four weeks from date.
Mrs. St. John was quite content to wait after she heard of that letter.
She felt so sure that she would win that she was willing to wait until her enemy came. She wanted to triumph over him face to face.