'Five thousand dollars a year.'
'Exactly the amount necessary to let him live without working. I have
him placed now. I know his type. I could show you a thousand men in
this city in exactly the same position. They don't starve and they
don't work. This young man of yours is a loafer.'
'Well?'
Ruth's voice was quiet, but a faint colour had crept into her face and
her eyes were blazing.
'Now perhaps you would care to hear what I think of his principles. How
do you feel that he comes out of this business? Does he show to
advantage? Isn't there just a suspicion of underhandedness about his
behaviour?'
'No.'
'No? He lets you pay these secret visits......'
Ruth interrupted.
'There was nothing secret about them, to him. Aunt Lora brought me to
the studio in the first place, and she kept on bringing me. I don't
suppose it ever occurred to Kirk to wonder who I was and who my father
might be. He has been perfectly straight. If you like to say I have
been underhanded, I admit it. I have. More so than you imagine. I just
wanted him, and I didn't care for anything except that.'
'It did not strike you that you owed anything to me, for instance?'
'No.'
'I should have thought that, as your father, I had certain claims.'
Ruth was silent.
Mr. Bannister sighed.
'I thought you were fond of me, Ruth,' he said wistfully. It was the
wrestler yielding instead of resisting. Ruth's hard composure melted
instantly. She flung her arms round his neck in a burst of remorseful
affection.
'Of course I am, father dear. You're making this awfully hard for me.'
Mr. Bannister chuckled inwardly. It seemed to him that victory was in
sight. He always won, he told himself, always.
'I only want you to be sensible.'
Ruth stiffened at the word. It jarred upon her. She felt that they were
leagues apart, that they could never be in sympathy with each other.
'Father,' she said.
'Yes?'
'Would you like to see Kirk?'
'I have been wondering when he was going to appear on the scene. I
always thought it was customary on these occasions for the young man to
present himself in person, and not let the lady fight his battles for
him. Is this Mr. Winfield a little deficient in nerve?'
Ruth flushed angrily.
'I particularly asked Kirk not to come here before I had seen you. I
insisted on it. Naturally, he wanted to.'
'Of course!'
There was a sneer in his voice which he did not try to hide. It flicked
Ruth like a whip. Her painfully preserved restraint broke up under it.
'Do you think Kirk is afraid of you, father?'
