The face of Irene turned deadly pale at the mention of this name.
"Ha!"
Emerson bent eagerly toward his wife.
"And is that true, also?"
"What? Speak out, sir!" Irene caught her breath, and grasped the rein of self-control which had dropped, a moment, from her hands.
"It is said that Major Willard bears you company, at times, in your rides home from evening calls upon your precious friends."
"And you believe the story?"
"I didn't believe it," said Hartley, but in a tone that showed doubt.
"But have changed your mind?"
"If you say it is not true—that Major Willard never entered your carriage—I will take your word in opposition to the whole world's adverse testimony."