The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1882-01-23

course hear from us again, and refer us to
your legal adviser"
The letter ended with an apology for delay
in writing to me, caused by difficulty in dis
covering my address.
And what did do?-Write to the rector
or to Mrs Fosdyke for advice? Not II
At first was to indignant to be able to
think of what 1 ought to do. Our post time
was late, and my head ached as if it would
burst into pieces. had plenty of leisure to
rest and compose myself. When / got cool
again, felt able to take my own part, with
out asking anyone to help me.
Even if had been treated kindly, I should
certainly not have taken the money when
there was relative living with a claim to it.
What did l want with large fortune? To
buy husband with it, perhaps? No, no!
from all that have heard, the great Lord
Chancellor was quite right when he said that
woman with money at her own disposal
was EITHER kissed out of it or kicked out of
it six weeks after her marriage The one
difficulty before me was not to give up my
legacy, but to express my reply with suffi
cient severity, and at the same time with
due regard to my own self respect. Here is
what wrote:
Sir, I will not trouble you by attempting
| to express my sincere regret on hearing of Sir
| Gerard Royland's death. You will probably
form your own opinion on that subject also;
| and have no wish to be judged by your
| unenviable experience OF humanity for the sec
| ond time.
With regard to the legacy, feeling the deep
| est gratitude to my generous benefactor, new
ertheless refuse to receive the money.
| BE pleased to send me the necessary docu-
| ment to sign, for transferring my fortune to
that relative of SirGerard's mentioned in your
| letter. The one condition on which insist is,
| that my name shall be kept secret from the
person in whose favor resign the money. L
do not desire (even supposing that Justice Is
done to my motives on this occaslon) to be
| made the object of expressions of gratitude for
only doing my duty
So it ended. 1 may be wrong, but l call
that strong writing.
! In due course of post, formal acknowl-
| edgment arrived. / was requested to wait
for the document until the will had been
proved, and was informed that my name
should be kept strictly secret in the interval.
On this occasion the executors were almost
as insolent as the lawyer. They felt it their
duty to give me time to consider decision
| which had been evidently formed on impulse
All, how hard men are-at least, some of
them!
I locked up the acknowledgment in dis
| gust, resolved to think no more of it until
the time came for getting rid of my legacy.
| kissed poor Sir Gerard's little keepsake.
While l was still looking at it, the good
children came in, of their own accord to
ask how I was. / was obliged to draw down
the blind in my room, or they would have
| seen the tears in my eyes. For the first time
since my mothers death / felt the
heartache. Perhaps the children made me
think of the happier time when was a child
myself.
CHAPTER VII.
The will had been proved, and I was in
| formed that the document was in course of
preparation, when Mrs. Fosdyke returned
| from her visit to Scotland.
She thought me looking pale and worn.
ssThe time seems to me to have come, she
said "when had better make you and Mr..
Sax understand each other. Have you been
thinking penitently of your own bad behay-
ior?''
/ felt myself blushing. l had been think
| of my conduct to Mr.. Sax-and l was heart
| lily ashamed of it, too.
Mrs. Fosdyke went on, half in jest, half in
| earnest.
ssConsult your own sense of proprietyP'
| she said. "Was the poor man to blame for
| not being rude enough to say No, when
| lady asked him to turn over her music?
| Could he help it if the same lady persisted in
| flirting with him? He ran away from her
| the next morning. Did you deserve to be
| told why he left us? Certainly not-after
the vixenish manner in which you handed
! the bedroom candle to Miss Melbury. You
| foolish girl! Do you think l couldn't see
| that you were in love with HIM? Thank
Heaven, he's too poor to marry you, and
| take YOU away from my children, for some
| time to come. There will be long mar
riage engagement, even if he is magnani-
NOUS enough to forgive you" She took
| pity on me at last, and sat down to write to
| Mr.. Sax. His reply, dated from country
| house some twenty miles distant, announced
that he would be at Carsham Hall in three
| days time.
On that third day the legal paper that l
| was to sign arrived by post. 1t was Sunday
morning; I was alone in the schoolroom.
In writing to me the lawyer had only al
| luded to "a surviving relative of Sir Gerald
| nearly kin to him by blood" The docu-
| ment was more explicit. 1t described the
relative as being Sir Gerald's nephew, the
son of his sister. The name followed.
| 1t was Sextus Cyril Sax.
| / have tried, on three different sheets of
paper. to describe the effect which this dis
| covery produced on me-and | have torn
| them up one after another. When l only
| think of it, my mind seems to fall back into
| the helpless surprise and confusion OF that
| time. After all that had passed between US
| the man himself being then on his way to
| the houseLwhat would he think OF me?
| what, in Heavens name, was to do?
How long I sat petriied. with the docu-
ment on my lap, never knew. Somebody
| knocked at the schoolroom door, and looked
| in and said something, and went out again.
| Then there was an interval. Then the door
| was opened again. A hand was laid kindly
| on nv shoulder looked up-and there
was Mrs. Fosdyke asking, in the greatest
alarm, what was the matter with me.
The tone of her voice reused me into
speaking could think of nothing but Mr..
Sax; could only say, 'SHas he come9'
"Yes-and waiting to see YOU"
Answering in these terms, she glanced at
the paper in my lap. In the extremity of
nv helplessness, / acted like a sensible
creature at last. I told Mrs. eFosdyke all
that [ have told here.
She neither moved nor spoke until had
done. Her first proceeding, after that, was
to take me in her arms and give me kiss.
Having so far encouraged me, she next
spoke of poor Sir Gerard
eve all acted like FOOLS" she announced
Gin needlessly offending him by protesting
against his second marriage don't mean
you-I mean his son, his nephew and my
self If his second marriage made him hap
DIV. what business had we with the disparity
OF wears between husband and wife? / can
tell YOU this, Sextus was the first of us to re-
greet what he had done. But for his stupid
fear of being suspected of an interested mo-
tive, Sir Gerard might have known there was
that much good in his sisters son.
She snatched up copy of the will, which
had not even noticed thus far. ''See whatthe
kind old man says of you," she went on,
pointing to the words. l could not see
them; she was obliged to read them for me.
s'I leave my money to the one person living
who has been more than worthy of the little
have done for her, and whose simple, un-
selfish nature I know that can trust" |
pressed Mrs. Fosdyke's hsnd; L was not
able to speak. She took up the legal paper
next.
ssDo justice to yourself. and be above
contemplate scruples," she said. "Sextus
is fond enough of you to be almost worthy
of the sacrifice that you are making. Sign
and will sign next as the witness
hesitated. "What will he think of me?''
| said.
sSgnp' she repeated, 'sand we will see to
that"
obeyed She asked for the lawyers let
ter. gave it to her, with the lines which
contained the mans vile insinuation folded