"Oh, yes; he has spoken of it to me."
"Then, why can you not speak of it to me in his presence?"
"I will write to you on the subject, Miss Patterson, and will endeavour to make my reasons clear."
He made as if to move towards the door. She placed herself in front of him.
"One moment, Mr. Wilkes. Any letter from you will be handed to Mr. Elmore, unopened. I will have no private communication with you, nor, if I can help it, will I have any communication with you of any sort or kind."
"I regret to hear you say so, Miss Patterson, and can only deplore the attitude of mind which prompts you to arrive at what I cannot but feel is a most unfortunate decision."
"You are impertinent, Mr. Wilkes."
The lawyer, with his dark eyes fixed on the lady's face, raised the hand in which was the envelope which contained the letter with the intention of slipping it into an inner pocket of his coat. Her quick glance recognised the handwriting of the address.
"It's from dad!" she cried. "It's a letter from dad!"
She had snatched the letter from between the lawyer's fingers before he had the faintest inkling of what she was about to do.