Cecil Burleigh he bequeathed the handsome fortune
that it was intended she should bring him in marriage. He had the dower
without the bride, and though Lady Angleby and his sister quietly
intimated to astonished friends that they had good reason to hope Miss
Fairfax would ultimately be no loser by her grandfather's will, her
uncle Laurence was not the only person by many who judged her unkindly
and unfairly treated. But it was impossible to dispute the old squire's
ability to dispose of his property, or his right to dispose of it as he
pleased. He had been mainly instrumental in raising Mr. Cecil Burleigh
to the position he occupied, and there was a certain obligation incurred
to support him in it. If Mr. Fairfax had chosen to make a son of him, no
one had a right to complain. No one did complain; the expression of
opinion was extremely guarded.
Bessie was informed of the terms of her grandfather's will in the first
shock of surprise; afterward her uncle Laurence reflected that it would
have been wise to keep them from her, but the deed was done. She
received the news without emotion: she blushed, put up her eyebrows, and
smiled as she said, "Then I am a poor young woman again." She saw at
once what was absurd, pathetic, vexatious in her descent from the
dignity of riches, but she was not angry. She never uttered a word of
blame or reproach against her grandfather, and when it was indignantly
recalled to her that Mr.
Pages:
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508
509