She saw by the pallor of his face and the flash of his eyes that she had gone too far, and her heart sank as he said, haughtily:
"Take care that you do not transcend your authority, madame, in thus threatening to send away the future fair mistress of my home! Yes, I will trifle with you no longer. You shall hear the truth, and govern yourself accordingly. Dainty Chase is my promised bride, and we will be married on the first of August, my happy birthday!"
She could have killed him for the pride and joy that rang in his voice, as he towered above her, proclaiming the truth. An insane rage rose within her, as she hissed:
"It is as I feared and suspected. The sly minx has made a fool of you, and you will be insane enough to marry her; but she does not love you. She only angled for you because you are rich! She had a lover in Richmond, poor like herself, whom she threw over as soon as she found she had a chance to win you. Already he has followed her here, and they have had two secret meetings in the grounds at twilight. Even the servants are gossiping about it."
His eyes blazed, his face grew ashen, and his teeth clinched, as he stormed in bitter wrath:
"It is a hellish falsehood!"
"Do you say so? Then here are the proofs—the notes she lost, that were picked up by a servant, and brought to me. Read them, and be convinced!" she cried, in coarse triumph.
His eyes flashed on her like sheet lightning, as he clinched them in his hand.
"Read them!" she repeated, sharply; and she shrank back in bitter humiliation, as he thundered:
"Do you forget I am an Ellsworth—a descendant of that grand old race whose motto is: 'Honor before everything'?"