Theodore stepped in front of me.
“Are you going to introduce her?” someone asked.
“Yes, by Heaven, since no one else has the pluck to do it,” Theodore said.
When we emerged onto the stage, the crowd surged forward, some perilously close to the gas footlights. I was suddenly acutely aware of every pair of eyes on me, examining me, scrutinizing my black silk dress with the white rose at my throat, silently comparing the woman in the flesh before them to the one they had dreamed up based on gossip and lies.
Theodore took center stage and opened his arms wide. “Ladies and gentlemen, happening to have an unoccupied night, which is an unusual thing for me in the lecture season, I came to this meeting actuated by curiosity to know what my friend would have to say in regard to the great questi
