Wentworth came to me and demanded twenty thousand pounds--the most
preposterous thing ever heard of--said I owed it to clear the good name
of Longworth. As if the good name were dependent on him, or anyone like
him! I turned him out of the office.'
Edith did not answer for a few moments, while her father gave
expression to his indignation by various ejaculations that need not be
here recorded.
'Did he say,' she spoke at length, 'in what way William had done wrong?'
'I do not remember now just what he said. I know I told him to come again
when my nephew was present, and then make his charges against him if he
wanted to do so. Not that I admitted I had anything to do with the matter
at all, but I simply refused to listen to charges against an absent man.
I paid no attention to them.'
'That certainly was reasonable,' replied Edith. 'What did he say to it?'
'Oh, he abused me, and abused William, and went on at a dreadful rate,
until I was obliged to order him out of the office.'
'But what did he say about meeting William when he returned, and making
the charges against him then?'
'What did he say? I don't remember. Oh yes! he said it would be too late
then; that they had only a few days to do what business they have to do,
and that is why he made the demand for twenty thousand pounds. It was to
repair the harm, whatever the harm was, William had done. I look on it
simply as some blackmailing scheme of his, and I am astonished that a man
belonging to so good a house as he does should try that game with me.
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