"He would have murdered you—you, Richard?" she cried, in such a storm of anger as I had never seen her. "Oh, he should hang for the thought of it! I have always suspected Grafton Carvel capable of any crime!"
"Hush, Dorothy," said her mother; "it is not seemly for a young girl to talk so."
"Seemly!" said Dorothy. "If I were a man I would bring him to justice, and it took me a lifetime. Nay, if I were a man and could use a sword—"
"Dorothy! Dorothy!" interrupted Mrs. Manners.
Dorothy sat down, the light lingering in her eyes. She had revealed more of herself in that instant than in all her life before.
"It is a grave charge, Richard," said Mrs. Manners, at length. "And your uncle is a man of the best standing in Annapolis."
"You must remember his behaviour before my mother's marriage, Mrs.
Manners."
"I do, I do, Richard," she said sadly. "And I have never trusted him since. I suppose you are not making your accusation without cause?"
"I have cause enough," I answered bitterly.
"And proof?" she added. She should have been the man in her family.