Margaret Maliphant

								

father's head to consider whether Captain Forrester had money or not."
"Well, I think, for several reasons, it is just as well there should be
no mistake about the thing," repeated the squire, vehemently, walking
up and down the room in his excitement. "Frank has no money and no
prospects, excepting those which he may make for himself. I sincerely
hope that he may do something better than marry an heiress, which is
his mother's aim for him, but meanwhile he certainly has very little
property excepting his debts."
A light suddenly broke upon me. The words "marry an heiress," had
suddenly flashed a meaning on Squire Broderick's strange attitude.
He was afraid that Captain Forrester was winning Joyce's affections.
He was jealous. I would not have believed it of him; but perhaps, of
course, it was natural. I was sorry for him. The remembrance of the sad
bereavements of his youth made me sorry for him.
After all, though I did not then consider him a young man, it was sad
to have done with life so early, to have no chance of another little
heir to the acres that he owned, instead of that poor little baby of
whom mother had told us. For, of course, there was no chance of that,
and Captain Forrester would finally inherit them. I had not thought of
that before. No wonder he was bitter, and I was sorry for him. He spoke
no more after that last speech. He came and stood over me where I was
working.
"But after all," said he, presently, in his natural genial tones, "I
don't know why I troubled you with all that. You are scarcely the
person whom it should interest. I beg your pardon."
I did not know what to say, so I said nothing.
The squire moved to the window, and I put down my work and followed
him. The daylight had gone; there was no more sewing to be done that
evening without a lamp. As I came up I saw the tall, slight figure of
Captain Forrester standing up against the dim blue of the twilight sky,
and holding out his hand to help my sister up the last, steepest bit of
the ascent to our lawn. I glanced at the squire. His face was not sad
nor sorry, but it was angry. He turned away from the window, and so did
I, and as we faced round we saw mother standing in the door-way. She
had her bonnet and cloak still on; she must have come in quietly by the
back door, as she had a habit of doing, while we were talking. How much
had she heard of what the squire had said?
He went up to her and bade her good-day and good-bye in one breath.
He said he would not wait longer to see father. He went out and away
without meeting his nephew. I was very glad that he did, for thus
mother went up-stairs at once to take off her things, and being in a
garrulous frame of mind, from her experiences of the afternoon with
the new-born baby, she stayed up-stairs some time talking to Deborah,
and did not come down to the parlor again till after Captain Forrester
had taken his leave. So she never knew anything of that long half-hour