Miss Cornelia gave him the letter of warning. “Read this,” she said.
The Doctor adjusted a pair of pince-nez—read the two crude sentences over—once—twice. Then he looked shrewdly at Miss Cornelia.
“Were the others like this?” he queried.
She nodded. “Practically.”
He hesitated for a moment like a man with an unpleasant social duty to face.
“Miss Van Gorder, may I speak frankly?”
“Generally speaking, I detest frankness,” said that lady grimly. “But—go on!”
The Doctor tapped the letter. His face was wholly serious.
“I think you ought to leave this house,” he said bluntly.
“Because of that letter? Humph!” His very seriousness, perversely enough, made her suddenly wish to treat the whole matter as lightly as possible.