第 五十二 章 · The fact that Gerhardt was dead made no particular difference to

Lester, except as it affected Jennie. He had liked the old German for

his many sterling qualities, but beyond that he thought nothing of him

one way or the other. He took Jennie to a watering-place for ten days

to help her recover her spirits, and it was soon after this that he

decided to tell her just how things stood with him; he would put the

problem plainly before her. It would be easier now, for Jennie had

been informed of the disastrous prospects of the real-estate deal. She

was also aware of his continued interest in Mrs. Gerald. Lester did

not hesitate to let Jennie know that he was on very friendly terms

with her. Mrs. Gerald had, at first, formally requested him to bring

Jennie to see her, but she never had called herself, and Jennie

understood quite clearly that it was not to be. Now that her father

was dead, she was beginning to wonder what was going to become of her;

she was afraid that Lester might not marry her. Certainly he showed no

signs of intending to do so.

By one of those curious coincidences of thought, Robert also had

reached the conclusion that something should be done. He did not, for

one moment, imagine that he could directly work upon Lester--he

did not care to try--but he did think that some influence might

be brought to bear on Jennie. She was probably amenable to reason. If

Lester had not married her already, she must realize full well that he

did not intend to do so. Suppose that some responsible third person

were to approach her, and explain how things were, including, of

course, the offer of an independent income? Might she not be willing

to leave Lester, and end all this trouble? After all, Lester was his

brother, and he ought not to lose his fortune. Robert had things very

much in his own hands now, and could afford to be generous. He finally

decided that Mr. O'Brien, of Knight, Keatley & O'Brien, would be

the proper intermediary, for O'Brien was suave, good-natured, and

well-meaning, even if he was a lawyer. He might explain to Jennie very

delicately just how the family felt, and how much Lester stood to lose

if he continued to maintain his connection with her. If Lester had

married Jennie, O'Brien would find it out. A liberal provision would

be made for her--say fifty or one hundred thousand, or even one

hundred and fifty thousand dollars. He sent for Mr. O'Brien and gave

him his instructions. As one of the executors of Archibald Kane's

estate, it was really the lawyer's duty to look into the matter of

Lester's ultimate decision.

Mr. O'Brien journeyed to Chicago. On reaching the city, he called

up Lester, and found out to his satisfaction that he was out of town

for the day. He went out to the house in Hyde Park, and sent in his

card to Jennie. She came down-stairs in a few minutes quite

unconscious of the import of his message; he greeted her most

blandly.

"This is Mrs. Kane?" he asked, with an interlocutory jerk of his

head.

"Yes," replied Jennie.

"I am, as you see by my card, Mr. O'Brien, of Knight, Keatley &

O'Brien," he began. "We are the attorneys and executors of the late

Mr. Kane, your--ah--Mr. Kane's father. You'll think it's

rather curious, my coming to you, but under your husband's father's

will there were certain conditions stipulated which affect you and Mr.

Kane very materially. These provisions are so important that I think

you ought to know about them--that is if Mr. Kane hasn't already

told you. I--pardon me--but the peculiar nature of them

makes me conclude that--possibly--he hasn't." He paused, a

very question-mark of a man--every feature of his face an

interrogation.

"I don't quite understand," said Jennie. "I don't know anything

about the will. If there's anything that I ought to know, I suppose

Mr. Kane will tell me. He hasn't told me anything as yet."

"Ah!" breathed Mr. O'Brien, highly gratified. "Just as I thought.

Now, if you will allow me I'll go into the matter briefly. Then you

can judge for yourself whether you wish to hear the full particulars.

Won't you sit down?" They had both been standing. Jennie seated

herself, and Mr. O'Brien pulled up a chair near to hers.

"Now to begin," he said. "I need not say to you, of course, that

there was considerable opposition on the part of Mr. Kane's father, to

this--ah--union between yourself and his son."

"I know--" Jennie started to say, but checked herself. She was

puzzled, disturbed, and a little apprehensive.

"Before Mr. Kane senior died," he went on, "he indicated to

your--ah--to Mr. Lester Kane, that he felt this way. In his

will he made certain conditions governing the distribution of his

property which made it rather hard for his son,

your--ah--husband, to come into his rightful share.

Ordinarily, he would have inherited one-fourth of the Kane

Manufacturing Company, worth to-day in the neighborhood of a million

dollars, perhaps more; also one-fourth of the other properties, which

now aggregate something like five hundred thousand dollars. I believe

Mr. Kane senior was really very anxious that his son should inherit

this property. But owing to the conditions which

your--ah--which Mr. Kane's father made, Mr. Lester Kane

cannot possibly obtain his share, except by complying with

a--with a--certain wish which his father had expressed."

Mr. O'Brien paused, his eyes moving back and forth side wise in

their sockets. In spite of the natural prejudice of the situation, he

was considerably impressed with Jennie's pleasing appearance. He could

see quite plainly why Lester might cling to her in the face of all

opposition. He continued to study her furtively as he sat there

waiting for her to speak.

"And what was that wish?" she finally asked, her nerves becoming

just a little tense under the strain of the silence.

"I am glad you were kind enough to ask me that," he went on. "The

subject is a very difficult one for me to introduce--very

difficult. I come as an emissary of the estate, I might say as one of

the executors under the will of Mr. Kane's father. I know how keenly

your--ah--how keenly Mr. Kane feels about it. I know how

keenly you will probably feel about it. But it is one of those very

difficult things which cannot be helped--which must be got over

somehow. And while I hesitate very much to say so, I must tell you

that Mr. Kane senior stipulated in his will that unless,

unless"--again his eyes were moving sidewise to and fro--"he

saw fit to separate from--ah--you" he paused to get

breath--"he could not inherit this or any other sum or, at least,

only a very minor income of ten thousand a year; and that only on

condition that he should marry you." He paused again. "I should add,"

he went on, "that under the will he was given three years in which to

indicate his intentions. That time is now drawing to a close."

He paused, half expecting some outburst of feeling from Jennie, but

she only looked at him fixedly, her eyes clouded with surprise,

distress, unhappiness. Now she understood. Lester was sacrificing his

fortune for her. His recent commercial venture was an effort to

rehabilitate himself, to put himself in an independent position. The

recent periods of preoccupation, of subtle unrest, and of

dissatisfaction over which she had grieved were now explained. He was

unhappy, he was brooding over this prospective loss, and he had never

told her. So his father had really disinherited him!

Mr. O'Brien sat before her, troubled himself. He was very sorry for

her, now that he saw the expression of her face. Still the truth had

to come out. She ought to know.

"I'm sorry," he said, when he saw that she was not going to make

any immediate reply, "that I have been the bearer of such unfortunate

news. It is a very painful situation that I find myself in at this

moment, I assure you. I bear you no ill will personally--of

course you understand that. The family really bears you no ill will

now--I hope you believe that. As I told your--ah--as I

told Mr. Kane, at the time the will was read, I considered it most

unfair, but, of course, as a mere executive under it and counsel for

his father, I could do nothing. I really think it best that you should

know how things stand, in order that you may help your--your

husband"--he paused, significantly--"if possible, to some

solution. It seems a pity to me, as it does to the various other

members of his family, that he should lose all this money."

Jennie had turned her head away and was staring at the floor. She

faced him now steadily. "He mustn't lose it," she said; "it isn't fair

that he should."

"I am most delighted to hear you say that, Mrs.--Mrs. Kane,"

he went on, using for the first time her improbable title as Lester's

wife, without hesitation. "I may as well be very frank with you, and

say that I feared you might take this information in quite another

spirit. Of course you know to begin with that the Kane family is very

clannish. Mrs. Kane, your--ah--your husband's mother, was a

very proud and rather distant woman, and his sisters and brothers are

rather set in their notions as to what constitute proper family

connections. They look upon his relationship to you as irregular,

and--pardon me if I appear to be a little cruel--as not

generally satisfactory. As you know, there had been so much talk in

the last few years that Mr. Kane senior did not believe that the

situation could ever be nicely adjusted, so far as the family was

concerned. He felt that his son had not gone about it right in the

first place. One of the conditions of his will was that if your

husband--pardon me--if his son did not accept the

proposition in regard to separating from you and taking up his

rightful share of the estate, then to inherit anything at

all--the mere ten thousand a year I mentioned before--he

must--ah--he must pardon me, I seem a little brutal, but not

intentionally so--marry you."

Jennie winced. It was such a cruel thing to say this to her face.

This whole attempt to live together illegally had proved disastrous at

every step. There was only one solution to the unfortunate

business--she could see that plainly. She must leave him, or he

must leave her. There was no other alternative. Lester living on ten

thousand dollars a year! It seemed silly.

Mr. O'Brien was watching her curiously. He was thinking that Lester

both had and had not made a mistake. Why had he not married her in the

first place? She was charming.

"There is just one other point which I wish to make in this

connection, Mrs. Kane," he went on softly and easily. "I see now that

it will not make any difference to you, but I am commissioned and in a

way constrained to make it. I hope you will take it in the manner in

which it is given. I don't know whether you are familiar with your

husband's commercial interests or not?"

"No," said Jennie simply.

"Well, in order to simplify matters, and to make it easier for you,

should you decide to assist your husband to a solution of this very

difficult situation--frankly, in case you might possibly decide

to leave on your own account, and maintain a separate establishment of

your own I am delighted to say that--ah--any sum,

say--ah--"

Jennie rose and walked dazedly to one of the windows, clasping her

hands as she went. Mr. O'Brien rose also.

"Well, be that as it may. In the event of your deciding to end the

connection it has been suggested that any reasonable sum you might

name, fifty, seventy-five, a hundred thousand dollars"--Mr.

O'Brien was feeling very generous toward her--"would be gladly

set aside for your benefit--put in trust, as it were, so that you

would have it whenever you needed it. You would never want for

anything."

"Please don't," said Jennie, hurt beyond the power to express

herself, unable mentally and physically to listen to another word.

"Please don't say any more. Please go away. Let me alone now, please.

I can go away. I will. It will be arranged. But please don't talk to

me any more, will you?"

"I understand how you feel, Mrs. Kane," went on Mr. O'Brien, coming

to a keen realization of her sufferings. "I know exactly, believe me.

I have said all I intend to say. It has been very hard for me to do

this--very hard. I regret the necessity. You have my card. Please

note the name. I will come any time you suggest, or you can write me.

I will not detain you any longer. I am sorry. I hope you will see fit

to say nothing to your husband of my visit--it will be advisable

that you should keep your own counsel in the matter. I value his

friendship very highly, and I am sincerely sorry."

Jennie only stared at the floor.

Mr. O'Brien went out into the hall to get his coat. Jennie touched

the electric button to summon the maid, and Jeannette came. Jennie

went back into the library, and Mr. O'Brien paced briskly down the

front walk. When she was really alone she put her doubled hands to her

chin, and stared at the floor, the queer design of the silken Turkish

rug resolving itself into some curious picture. She saw herself in a

small cottage somewhere, alone with Vesta; she saw Lester living in

another world, and beside him Mrs. Gerald. She saw this house vacant,

and then a long stretch of time, and then--

"Oh," she sighed, choking back a desire to cry. With her hands she

brushed away a hot tear from each eye. Then she got up.

"It must be," she said to herself in thought. "It must be. It

should have been so long ago." And then--"Oh, thank God that papa

is dead Anyhow, he did not live to see this."