[CHAPTER XLVII.]
There was a moment's silence, then Bertram Chesleigh said, quickly:
"Come with me, Mr. Glenalvan. Let the secret you have kept so long be revealed in the hearing of your father and Richard Leith."
The guilty man recoiled from the demand. He said, hoarsely:
"I refuse to do so. I will reveal it to you, and you may bear the news yourself to them."
Bertram Chesleigh considered the reply a moment, then answered, firmly.
"I prefer that they should hear it from your own lips."
John Glenalvan regarded him with furious eyes.
"You wish to humble me all you can," he said.
"Not so," replied Mr. Chesleigh. "But I consider that they have too decided a right to hear your confession, for me to exclude them from this momentous interview."