Her smallness, her weakness, her trembling, were emphasised by the fact that she seemed to tower over Lew where he sat, and to stand like a rock between the two strong men.
“You’re a plucky old girl,” said her antagonist, with a laugh--“I always said so--game to the last: but we can’t stand jabbering all night, don’t you know. Business is business. You must fork out if you were the Queen, my fine old lady. Sit down, for there’s a good deal to say.”
“I can hear what you have to say as I am, if it is anything reasonable,” Mrs Ogilvy said. She felt, though she could scarcely keep that upright position by reason of agitation and fear, that she had an advantage over him as she stood.
He sprang to his feet before she knew what was going to happen, and with two heavy hands upon her shoulders replaced her in her chair. I will not say forced her back into it, though indeed that was how it was. She leaned back panting and astonished, and looked at him, but did not rise or subject herself to that violence again.
“I hope I did not hurt you--I didn’t intend to hurt you,” he said: “but you must remember, mother, though you treat us as boys, that we’re a pair of not too amiable men--and could crush you with a touch, with a little finger,” he added, looking half fiercely, half with a jest, into her eyes.
“No,” she said very softly, “you could not crush me--not with all your power.”
“Give that paper here, Bob,” said his chief.
Robert scarcely moved, did not reveal himself in any way to the light, but with a faint stir of his large shadow produced a folded paper which had been within the breast of his coat. Lew took it and played with it somewhat nervously, the line of white like a wand of light in his hands.
She made as if she had said “No!” shaking her head, but took no other notice of the question.
“We have reason to suppose you are well off, at least. You have got your income, which can’t be touched, and you have got a lot of money well invested.”
She did not make any reply, but looked at him steadily, marking every gesture.
“It is this,” he said, “to which Bob has a natural right. I think we are very reasonable. We don’t want to rob you, notwithstanding our great need of money: you can see that we wish to use no violence, only to set before you what you ought to do.”