consulting Mark, he proposed the
notion to Rose, who was enthusiastic in its support.

It is not necessary to give his letter to Father Molyneux, which had to
be long and careful, and was written after consultation with Mr.
Murray.

Mr. Murray was quite in favour of an informal interview, and disposed to
agree in the choice of Father Molyneux as ambassador. "I am not afraid
of your letting Miss Dexter know the strength of our case," he said.
"Father Molyneux must judge for himself how far it is wise to frighten
Miss Dexter for her own sake. He is, as I understand, to try to persuade
her to produce the will, and I suppose he will assume that she does not
know of its existence among her mother's papers. This would save her
pride, and you might come to terms if she would produce it. If you fail,
the next course would be for me to insist on an interview, and to carry
things with a high hand. I should say, in effect: 'We are aware that Sir
David Bright made a will on his way to Africa, and we can prove that it
was sent by mistake to your mother, because we have a witness who saw it
in her box. It was in her box when it was handed to Dr. Larrone, and it
has been traced, therefore, into your hands. We have a copy of it which
we can produce if you have destroyed the original, and, if you have not
done so, we can get an order of the court compelling you to produce it.
You cannot deny the fact that the will was sent to Madame Danterre by
mistake, for you have the letter which accompanied it, and we have the
postscript to the letter taken from the box by a witness whom we are
prepared to call. Will you produce the box in which, no doubt, the will
has escaped your notice, or shall we get the order of the court? The
will has, as I have said, been traced into your hands.' I doubt if any
woman (at all events one such as you describe Miss Dexter) would resist,
and no solicitor whom she consulted, and to whom she told the truth,
would advise her to do so--no respectable solicitor, that is to say,
and no prudent one."

When Edmund showed Rose his letter to Father Mark she had only one
criticism to make. She felt that Edmund took too easily for granted that
the priest would be ready to put his finger into so very hot a pie.
Father Mark must be appealed to more earnestly to come to the rescue,
and less as if it were quite obvious that he would be ready to do so as
part of his natural business in life. Edmund agreed to add some
sentences