"I do! I do," she said. And she did, as a year ago she had not known she
could. "Is it Lady Alanby?" she ventured.
"Yes. Tommy will be helplessly poor if she does not leave him her money.
And she won't if he makes her angry. She is very determined. She will
leave it to an awful cousin if she gets in a rage. And Tommy is not
clever. He could never earn his living. Neither could Jane. They could
NEVER marry. You CAN'T defy relatives, and marry on nothing, unless you
are a character in a book."
"Has she liked Lady Jane in the past?" Miss Vanderpoel asked, as if
she was, mentally, rapidly going over the ground, that she might quite
comprehend everything.
"Yes. She used to make rather a pet of her. She didn't like me. She was
taken by Jane's meek, attentive, obedient ways. Jane was born a sweet
little affectionate worm. Lady Alanby can't hate her, even now. She just
pushes her out of her path."
"Because?" said Betty Vanderpoel.
Mary prefaced her answer with a brief, half-embarrassed laugh.
"Because of YOU."
"Because she thinks----?"
"I don't see how she can believe he has much of a chance. I don't think
she does--but she will never forgive him if he doesn't make a try at
finding out whether he has one or not.
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