"Your suggestion about Lynde Pyne is a stroke of genius. With several millions at his command he will be worthy of the hand of your illustrious daughter. Keep hold of the will and trust the rest to me."
Scarcely able to control her excitement, Leonie read the letters through.
"Surely that will be enough!" she exclaimed, her expression almost fierce. "I will take copies of these, I will show them to her, assuring her that the originals are in my possession, then surely she will not still refuse to abandon her plan of marrying Lynde Pyne. I can then place the will where the rightful heir can be restored and—go away."
The last words were scarcely more than a sob, but she resolutely closed her throat upon it, and turned to her work.
She began to look over them promiscuously.
First came several that amounted to nothing as far as she was concerned, then followed some smaller ones. The yellow one that she had in her hand was read twice.
It was the marriage certificate between Elizabeth Johnson and Benjamin Mauprat, dated thirty-two years before.
There was another one of the marriage of Eleanor Cuyler and Benjamin Mauprat dated between seven and eight years later, but across the face of it was written in Ben's own ungainly scrawl the words in red ink:
"An experiment in bigamy. For the edification of my daughter Evelyn. To be presented after my death, or immediately before."
There was a copy of the certificate of the birth of Evelyn Mauprat, and also another copy that was perhaps of more interest than all to Leonie.