Leo stared and sat down. "You use very extraordinary words," he said at length. "I never heard that a man who was in debt could be called a felon. Come, mother," he went on, trying to be amiable--a difficult task with a woman like this. "Don't use big words for a trifle. I intended to enlist, but I thought I would come down first to see you and talk the matter over. You have been kind to me and I do not want to part in anger. Let us arrange matters in a kindly spirit."
Mrs Gabriel looked at him aghast at his boldness. "How dare you speak to me like this," she cried. "Are you not aware that everyone in Colester is talking of your crime?"
"Crime!" Leo started to his feet. "What crime?" He looked bewildered.
"As if you didn't know! I wonder you have the impertinence to come back here! How much did you sell the cup for?"
Leo still looked puzzled. "Cup!" he echoed. "What cup?"
Mrs Gabriel grasped him by the shoulders and shook him, her eyes blazing with anger. "You are absolutely shameless," she cried. "I mean the cup which Mr Pratt presented to the chapel, and you know too! It has been stolen, and _you_ are the thief."
Haverleigh stared at her for a moment and then burst out laughing. "Is this a joke, mother?" he said at length. "If so, it is a very poor one."
"It is not a joke," retorted Mrs Gabriel, still angry. "The cup was missing on the very morning you went up to London. You stole it, Leo, and took it away to pay your debts. I never--"
"Nor did I!" cried Haverleigh, now beginning to lose his temper. "Who dares to say such a thing about me?"
"The whole village says it, and everyone believes it."
"I don't know; nor do I care. And so far as she is concerned, you need not think to marry her. Mr Tempest will never let his daughter become the wife of a--"
"Stop!" cried Leo, before she could utter the shameful word. "How dare you call me by a foul name? I know perfectly well you hate me; but you have no right to believe that I did this thing. I know that Sybil believes me guiltless. She would never credit the man she loves with such a contemptible crime. And Pratt believes in me also. He sent me a telegram asking me to come back. I thought it had to do with some trouble you had made over my engagement to Sybil. I never expected this. How dare you accuse me of such a crime?"