"Don't be in too great a hurry to do that," she rejoined coolly. "I have yet to reckon with Mr. Busham and his suspicions." "You can disprove those, can you not?" "I do not know; I cannot say. I must first learn what his suspicions are, and that will be easy enough. I have only to show Mr. Busham the will and he will come out with his accusation. Whether I can refute it remains to be seen; and it is for this reason that I wish you to visit the lawyer with me." "Visit Mr. Busham?" said Ellis, considerably astonished at this unusual proof of confidence. "But what can I do?" "Two things. Firstly, you can be a witness to the charges, which, I feel certain, Mr. Busham will bring against me." "Then you trust me so far as to let me hear those charges?" "I do, because in the face of all circumstantial evidence to the contrary you believe that I am innocent. For that reason I regard you as my friend, for that reason I ask you to stand by me in my time of trouble." Ellis looked at her doubtfully, not knowing what to make of this speech, which, indeed, was puzzling enough. An honourable woman, entangled in the net of villains: a scheming adventuress, bent upon arriving at her own ends--Mrs. Moxton was one or the other; and the love which Ellis had for her inclined him to believe she was honourable. Still, there must have been some shadow of doubt on his face, for Mrs. Moxton became bitter and angry and unmeasured in speech. "Am I mistaken in you?" she demanded sharply. "Have you repented of what you said to me the other day? Is it with you as with other men--words! words! words! If so, tell me, and I go--go never to trouble you or see you again. You must trust me in all or not at all." The doctor was astonished at this sudden outburst, and hastened to assure Mrs. Moxton that she did him an injustice. "I firmly believe in your innocence, and I feel certain that you can explain away the charges against you." "They have yet to be made, doctor," replied the widow, cooling down, "And when they are I wish you to be present. That desire will show you whether I can answer them or not. Another reason why I desire you to visit Mr. Busham in my company is that I am anxious for you to protect me from his violence." "Confound the fellow!" cried Ellis, firing up. "Will he dare to lay hands on you?" "Not on me, but on the will. If I defy Mr. Busham, he is quite capable of taking the will from me by force and destroying it." "We shall see about that," said Ellis, after a moment's thought. "However, I guess from what you say that Busham is a tricky, shifty scoundrel. Certainly I will come with you, Mrs. Moxton. When are you going?" "To-morrow morning. We can take the underground railway to Esher Lane." "Very good. I will see you in the morning. In the meantime will you leave this will for me to look over?"