“I did,” said Blanche wildly. “And the steel mantelpiece. Mr. Blatchbourne forgot and leaned on it just before I left. Of course he was terribly burned, and he says you did it on purpose, and he’s going to have your blood. I tell you——” “He can’t,” said Titus calmly. “If he likes to take my advice, that’s his look-out. Probably his burning was a judgment for abusing me. Besides, when all’s said and done, whether the room looks well is purely——” “I’m not going to argue,” cried Blanche. “But we must close down at once. That’s certain. If, as you say, you’ve done other rooms like that——” “I should think about fifty,” said Titus. “I tell you——” Blanche felt rather faint. “I say,” she said shakily, “that we must close down. It’s only a question of hours—it must be—before a mob arrives. And then we shall be torn in pieces.” “My dear,” said Titus, “come home and sleep it off. Of course you can’t please everyone, and of course we’ve had complaints. Every firm has.” “When? You never told me.” Cheviot shrugged his shoulders. “It wasn’t worth while.” He pointed to a file on the table. “There are some of them. But business keeps up.” Blanche fell upon the file with shaking fingers. As she peered at their contents, sentence after sentence flamed. _A barefaced attempt . . . I defy you to take action . . . the most horrifying result . . . brazen impudence . . . I shall do my utmost to expose . . . actuated by malice . . . an offence against decency . . . full particulars to the Commissioner of Police . . . inwardly ravening wolves. . . ._ Blanche let the file go and put her hands to her head. “And yet he’s gone on!” she wailed. “Of course he’s gone on,” said Titus. “The vast majority are as pleased as Punch. I tell you, business is wonderful. Last week——” “You must stop at once,” screamed Blanche. “I won’t have another——” “My dear,” said Titus, “come home. I’ve a full day to-morrow, and I want you——” “You haven’t. You shan’t have. You—Titus, for Heaven’s sake——” “The orange,” said Titus firmly, “is not yet sucked. I’m not going to turn down ten thousand quid a week because two or three gents prefer their taste to mine. My conscience is perfectly clear and my hands are clean. There isn’t a letter there that isn’t libellous. If I liked to take ’em to Court, I could get a verdict on every one of them. What authority have I professed? None. It’s all very well to get excited because they don’t like my advice. I never asked them to take it. I never said it was worth having. But as long as they like to seek it——” Blanche was down on her knees. “Ti, I implore you to give it up. By all that’s holy, I beg you——” “Why?” “Because if you don’t I shall go mad. Because someone else will go mad and try to kill you. Each time you go out to cipher you take your life in your hand. If Blatchbourne had been at home when you went to approve that hall, he’d ’ve broken your back. You’ve not the faintest idea——”