"I've no idea who the other fellow was, and I gave my name as Smith because I felt sure you'd have heard of Furlonger."
"But why—why——"
"Come along, miss," interrupted Sir Gambier. "I won't have you talking to this scoundrel."
"But I want to know why he told me all those lies."
Her face had grown hard as well as white.
"He had very good reasons, I'm sure," sneered Strife.
Nigel suddenly found his tongue.
"Tony!" he cried, "Tony!"
"What damned impudence is this?—'Tony' indeed! You'll not dare address my daughter by that name, sir."
"Tony," repeated Nigel, too desperate to realise what he was calling her. "I swear I never meant you any harm. I know it looks like it—but you mustn't think so. I wanted to be your friend because—because you didn't know of my disgrace, you treated me like a human being. You talked to me about simple things—you made me feel good and clean when I was with you. That's why I 'told you all these lies.'"