"You and Miss Fairclough," Lessingham went on, "have rather scoffed
at my presence here on behalf of our Secret Service. It seemed to
you both very ridiculous. Now you understand."
"It makes no difference," Philippa protested tearfully. "You always
told us the truth."
"And I shall continue to do so," Lessingham assured her. "I am not
a clever person at my work which is all new to me, but fortune
favoured me the night your husband was shipwrecked. I succeeded
in stealing from him, on board that wrecked trawler, the plan of
the mine field which I was sent over to procure."
"Of course you had to do it if you could," Philippa sobbed. "I
think it was very clever of you."
He smiled.
"There are others who might look at the matter differently," he said.
"I am going to ask you a question which I know is unnecessary, but
I must have your answer to take away with me. If you had known all
the time that your husband, instead of being a skulker, as you
thought him, was really doing splendid work for his country, you
would not have listened to me for one moment, would you? You
would not have let me grow to love you?"
She clutched his hands.
"You are the dearest man in the world," she exclaimed, her lips
still quivering, "but, as you say, you know the answer. I was
always in love with Henry. It was because I loved him that I was
so furious.
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