“There, John Keith, is your false wife,” she said grimly. “But she is no longer niece or heiress of mine!”
CHAPTER XLIV.
Perhaps Louise had dreaded this scene for years; perhaps she had tutored herself to meet it with calmness.
She paused in the center of the room and contemplated the striking scene like one thunderstruck, for a moment, then she crossed gracefully to her aunt’s side and grasped her arm.
“Dear Aunt Thalia, what does this mean? Why is Molly Trueheart’s husband here? How dare he come here?” looking expressively at Cecil.
He returned her glance with scorn.
“Spare yourself the trouble of prevarication, Miss Barry; your treachery is fully known. Four years ago you made my wife the heroine of a parlor scene. Now, the tables are turned, and you find yourself in the same position.”
She stared with apparent innocence at his angry face, carefully avoiding John Keith’s eyes.
“I deny that I have been guilty of any treachery,” she said defiantly.
Mrs. Barry caught her roughly by the shoulder and whirled her around to face her accuser.