“Why not, may I ask?”
“Don’t believe in it. It’s a pagan custom and usually hypocritical.”
“I cannot agree with you,” retorted the other weightily. “On principle, I cannot agree with you. In the present instance, would it be an evidence of hypocrisy to have shown a formal mark of sorrow for the loss of your great-aunt?”
“It would.”
“You felt, then, no affection or esteem for the late Miss Editha Greer?”
“What business is that of yours?”
“It is so much the business of my firm that I have traveled a thousand miles to ascertain your attitude.”
“The condition!” cried Jeremy, aloud. “I beg your pardon,” he added. “If you had told me that this was a legal cross-examination—”
“Not precisely that, Mr. Robson. I should have thought that you would appreciate its purport,” returned the other in a tone of grave rebuke.
“I do.” There was a grim set to the other’s lips. “I know Aunt Edie well enough to appreciate her practical jokes.”