"It is a very long story," she began tremulously.
"If the telling of it lasts till midnight, we must have it," said her brother in an inflexible voice.
And compelled by his resolute manner, the girl, whom they had always regarded as a frivolous butterfly, embarked upon her strange and thrilling narrative.
"It all arose out of the sale of those letters I spoke to you about. Carrie just now asked me the name of the man who wrote them. Well, I didn't get further than Roddie, which doesn't carry you very far. If it had not been for your threat of going to Scotland Yard, I should have stopped at that. A still tongue makes a wise head, you know."
They could quite believe that. In spite of her ceaseless chatter, Iris had always been very reticent about her own affairs. She had seen next to nothing of her brother for a few years, not very much of Carrie Masters. And, on these occasions, she had always avoided, in a marked manner, any allusion to her private affairs.
"I told you of a soppy young chap who started to make love to me last year. I didn't care a snap for him, but he was very persistent, and at last wrote me most urgent letters imploring me to be his wife. His full name was Roderick Murchison, a member of the great brewing family; his father has been dead for some time, he died during the war, and Roddie came in for tons of money, although he was not the eldest son. I don't know if you have ever heard of him?"
No, neither Davis nor Carrie had known of the existence of such a young man. They had a hazy idea that there was a big brewing firm of that name, that was all.
"Well, as I say, I didn't care a snap for him, although he was awfully good and generous, overwhelmed me with, all kinds of lovely presents: rings, bracelets, fur coats, etc. In our life, you know, one accepts these things from the mugs who are gone on us without attaching very much importance to the fact."
It was evident that Miss Iris had struck out her own line of life, and made a very good thing out of it.
"Well, then, Roddie began to grow desperate, and declared he couldn't live without me. It was all so genuine that at last I began to think seriously of it. There were tons of money, and although I didn't cotton much to the sort of life I should have to lead as his wife, still there were worse things than being Mrs. Roderick Murchison, with the future well assured, and a handsome settlement."