“The reason is rather obvious,” he asserted crisply.
“Will you tell me what it is?”
He looked at me from under his gray eyebrows. “Is that all you want of me?” he demanded.
“Yes.”
“Well, then, Miss Walton refused to see you because she despises you.”
I felt my cheeks burn, but I gripped the arm of my chair and waited till I could speak coolly; then I asked, “For what?”
“You are ignorant of the fact that your father embezzled a part of Miss Walton’s fortune, and that you and he have since lived upon it?” he exclaimed, with no veiling of his contempt.
I sat calmly, for the idea was too new, and I had too many connecting links to recall, to have the full horror of the disgrace come home to me at once. He did not give me time for thought, but interrogated, “Well?”
Having to speak, I asked, “You are sure of what you say?”
“Sure!” he ejaculated. “Why, it’s been known to every one for years, and I was one of the trustees appointed by the court to look out for Miss Walton’s interest in what property your father couldn’t take with him!”