"He said you were
invited here to give advice to his niece, not to him." For the
first time his eyes met those of Winthrop boldly. The District
Attorney recognized that the man had taken his fears by the
throat, and had arrived at his decision."
"See here," exclaimed Rainey, "could I give you some
information?"
"I'm sure you could," returned Winthrop briskly. "Give it to
me now."
But Rainey, glancing toward the door, shrank back. Winthrop,
following the direction of his eyes, saw Vera. Impatiently he
waved Rainey away.
"At the office, tomorrow morning," he commanded. With a sigh of
relief at the reprieve, Rainey slipped back into the bedroom.
Winthrop had persuaded himself that in seeking to speak with
Vera, he was making only a natural choice between preventing the
girl from perpetrating a fraud, or, later, for that fraud,
holding her to account. But when she actually stood before him,
he recognized how absurdly he had deceived himself. At the mere
physical sight of her, there came to him a swift relief, a
thrill of peace and deep content; and with delighted certainty
he knew that what Vera might do or might not do concerned him
not at all, that for him all that counted was the girl herself.
With something of this showing in his face, he came eagerly
toward her.
"Vera!" he exclaimed. In the word there was delight, wonder,
tenderness; but if the girl recognized this she concealed her
knowledge. Instead, her eyes looked into his frankly; her manner
was that of open friendliness.
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