"Well," drawled Pratt, taking a pleasure in bringing her to her knees, a position to which she was quite unaccustomed. "You have persecuted my poor son so that I think he should have something to hold over your head. It would serve you right." "I don't want to know your wicked secrets," said Leo, very pale, but otherwise calm. "It seems to me that you are an evil couple. And I--Heaven help me!--have a father who is a thief." "What of that!" said Mrs Gabriel, getting angry again. "You are a thief as well, are you not? The cup--" "I did not steal it," said Leo, proudly. "You know as well as I do that this--this"--he winced--"father of mine took it away from the chapel." "That is just where you are wrong. He did not--" "Mrs Gabriel!" Pratt's voice sounded dangerous. She was quiet at once, and looked at him in a frightened way. But Leo had heard enough to arouse his suspicions. He turned on Pratt and seized him by the arm. "Have you been telling a lie?" muttered the unhappy young man. His father shook him off. "It's no use telling another one," he said in a dogged way; "now you know so much you may as well know all. I know nothing about the cup; but, to clear you, I took the blame on myself. You see, Leo," he said calmly, "my character is already so bad that a robbery more or less does not matter. I did it for you, my boy, as I have done everything else. I wanted you to be a gentleman and marry the girl of your heart. Sybil loves you, and I thought when the vicar knew you were innocent that he would let you marry her." "He might have done so," said Leo, sitting down in absolute despair; "but since Mrs Gabriel told him that I was illegitimate, he has never been the same. He is a proud man." "Too proud to let the son of a thief marry his child!" taunted the woman. "He doesn't know that Leo is my son," said Pratt, fiercely. "I intend to tell him as soon as you are away," she said. "You will do nothing of the sort," said Pratt in a slow, venomous way which made her shrink back. "By speaking to the vicar and telling a lie you have caused trouble enough. He must know no more." "I did _not_ tell a lie." "You did. My son was born in lawful wedlock." "Then why didn't you bring him up yourself?" said Mrs Gabriel, with a sneer. "You gave him to me in London, and made me adopt him. I had to say that he was my nephew. Oh, how you have used me!" "And I have not done using you. Hold your tongue, or it will be the worse for you. You know the power I have. I will not scruple to use it if you dare to do anything against my orders. Now, you can go. I want to speak to my son alone." Mrs Gabriel seemed inclined to dispute this order, but a look from her tyrant cowed her. With a defiant flinging up of the head she walked out of the room, and closed the door. "She will tell the servants," said Leo. "Oh, no, she won't," said Pratt coolly. "You don't know the power I have over her. She will not dare."