"Do you mean me to take you seriously, Miss Liddell?"
"Quite. Moreover, I fear my cousin means to demand the arrears of income—income which I have spent."
"But the fellow must be an impostor. Your man of business, Newton, will never yield to his demands. He must prove his case."
"I think he has proved it. Mr. Newton recognized him at the first glance; and he bears a strong resemblance to his father. I feel he is the man he asserts himself to be."
"Do you intend to give up without a struggle? What account does this intruder give of himself?"
Katherine gave him a brief sketch of the story, speaking with firmness and composure.
"What an infernal shame!" cried De Burgh, when she ceased speaking. "I wish I had had a chance of sending a bullet through his head, and as sure as there is a devil down below I'd have verified the report of his death! Why, what is to be done?"
"I still faintly hope Mr. Newton may persuade him to forego his first demand for the restoration of those moneys I have spent. If so, I am not quite penniless, and can hope to— At all events, I thought it but right to give you early information, as—"
"Why?" interrupted De Burgh (for she hesitated), throwing himself on the ottoman and leaning against the arm which divided the seats, till his long dark mustaches nearly touched the coils of her hair. "Why?" he repeated, as she did not answer immediately. "I know well enough. It is your loyalty that makes you wish to open a way of escape to the friend who is credited with seeking your fortune. I see it all."
"You can assign any motive you like, Mr. De Burgh, but I thought—I wished—I believed it better to let you know; for I shall always consider you my friend, even if we do not meet," said Katherine, a good deal unhinged by the excitement and distress he displayed.