Morrice did not know of any woman of the name of Macdonald amongst his wife’s acquaintances. Still, that might mean nothing; it might be a begging letter which the writer had taken these unusual means of getting to her.
“Let me have a look at the envelope,” demanded Morrice.
The shabby, furtive-looking young fellow began to appear a bit uneasy, with the dictatorial master of the house regarding him with anything but a favourable eye, the young girl standing in the background who seemed no more friendly, and the tall footman standing before the door, barring a sudden exit.
“Beg pardon, sir, but my orders was most precise to only give it into the hands of the lady herself.”
Morrice saw that he must change his tactics. He took from his pocket a couple of treasury-notes which made a pleasant crackle as he flourished them before the youth’s face.
“You see these, don’t you? I take it you haven’t got too much money. They are yours if you let me see the envelope, only the envelope. I don’t want to take your letter,” he added with a cunning that was quite a recent development of his character. “As soon as I’ve seen that you can go out and come back in an hour when Mrs. Morrice will have returned home.”
The youth fell into the trap. Slowly he produced from his pocket the letter which he held gingerly between his finger and thumb for the inspection of the superscription on the envelope. Quick as lightning, Morrice snatched at it and put his hand behind his back, throwing at him with his disengaged hand the treasury-notes he had promised.
“Now get out of this, my fine fellow, and never dare to come to this house again with such an impudent message. Tell Mrs. Macdonald of Putney, or whoever it may be that sent you, that Mr. Morrice insisted on having that letter, and that it will be given to Mrs. Morrice on her return.”
The furtive creature slunk away; after that drastic action he had no more fight in him. Morrice remembered the waiting footman whose impassive countenance did not betray any surprise at this rather extraordinary scene over what seemed a trifle, and turned to his niece with a smile that was decidedly forced.
“Never heard of such cheek in my life. Some impudent mendicant, I expect. By gad, they are up to all sorts of dodges nowadays.”