The sign of evil

“But it’s absurd,” Jack Derwick declared. “We have been engaged for two months. Our happiness is complete. What right has your father to shatter it in this fashion?”Estelle did not reply. He noticed that her fingers, which rested on the edge of the table, were pale at the tips from the pressure which she was exerting on them.“I shall see your father at once.”“Oh, no!”Her voice now had a piteous ring in it. She came to him and grasped him by the arm.“For my sake, Jack—promise me that you will not speak to father about it.”She looked so terrified that instinctively he put his arm around her waist.