Page:The Professor's House - Willa Cather.pdf/69

 “Sometimes,” she murmured, “I think you feel I oughtn’t to have taken it, either.”

“You had no choice. For you it was settled by his own hand. Your bond with him was social, and it follows the laws of society, and they are based on property. Mine wasn’t, and there was no material clause in it. He empowered you to carry out all his wishes, and I realize that you have responsibilities—but none toward me. There is Rodney Blake, of course, if he should ever turn up. You keep up some search for him?”

“Louie attends to it. He has investigated and rejected several impostors.”

“Then, of course, there are other friends of Tom’s. The Cranes, for instance?”

Rosamond’s face grew hard. “I won’t bother you about the Cranes, Papa. We will attend to them. Mrs. Crane is a common creature, and she is advised by that dreadful shyster brother of hers, Homer Bright. You know what he is.”

“Oh, yes! He was about the greatest bluffer I ever had in my classes.”

Rosamond had risen to go. “I want you to be awfully happy, daughter,” St. Peter went on, “and Tom did. It’s only young people like you and Louie who can get any fun out of money. And there is enough to cover the fine, the almost imaginary obligations. You won’t be sorry if you are generous with people like the Cranes.”