I told him what he had done to the woman who was ten thousand times too good to be his wife-torturing her with his cruelties, degrading her with his infidelities, subjecting her to the domination of his paramour, and finally striking her in the face like a coward and a cur.
"Liar!" he cried, fairly gasping in his rage. "You're a liar and your informant is a liar, too."
"Tommy," I said, "will you step outside for a moment?"
Tommy went out of the room at once, and the woman, who was now looking frightened, tried to follow him.
I stopped her. Rising from the table, I stepped over to the door and locked it.
"No, madam," I said. "I want you to see what takes place between his lordship and me."
The wretched woman fell back, but the man, grinding his teeth, came marching up to me.
"So you've come to fight me in my own house, have you?" he cried.
"Not at all," I answered. "A man fights his equal. I've come to thrash you."
That was enough for him, he lifted his hunting-crop to strike, but it didn't take long to get that from his hand or to paralyse the arm with which he was lunging out at me.