"You leave not the room till you consent to this union," interposed De Guy.
"Stand from my path, or I will summon assistance!"
"Your summons would be in vain."
With a proud step and a curling lip, Emily attempted to advance; but De Guy seized her by the arm, and restrained her. She struggled to free herself from the villain's grasp, without success. Knowing that Vernon was within hearing of her, she called "Jerome," at the top of her voice.
"No use, madam. The gentleman whose name you utter is a friend of mine," said the attorney. "He conveyed you here as an emissary of mine. Haven't you known him before?" said De Guy, with a mixture of sarcasm and triumph in the tones of his squeaky voice.
The door-handle was at this moment seized on the outside. The door was wrenched and pushed, but it did not yield, for De Guy had taken the precaution to lock it.
"Who is there?" shouted the attorney, alarmed at the intrusion.
"Open," said Jerome, "or I force the door!"
"What does this mean?" asked Jaspar, who had remained a quiet spectator to the violence offered his niece.
"I will soon ascertain," said De Guy, dragging Emily after him, towards a large closet on the other side of the room.