She inflicted no unnecessary shame on Captain Paget;
she made no complaint of her neglected childhood and joyless youth; but
she told Gustave that her father had been an adventurer, keeping doubtful
company, and earning his bread by doubtful means.
"I hope and believe that if a peaceful home could be secured for his
declining years, he would live the rest of his life like a gentleman and
a Christian; and that, the bitter struggle for existence being ended, he
would be sorry for the past. I doubt if the sense of shame ever deserted
him when he was living that wretched wandering life, leaving debts and
difficulties behind him everywhere--always harassed and hunted by
creditors, who had good cause to be angry. Yes, Gustave, I do believe
that if it should please Providence to give my father a peaceful home at
last, he will be thankful for God's mercy, and will repent the sins of
life. And now I have told you the kind of heritage I can bring my
husband."
"My dear love, I will accept the heritage, for the sake of her who brings
it. I never meant to be less than a son to your father; and if he is not
the best of fathers, as regards the past, we will try to make him a
decent kind of father as regards the future. I have long understood that
Captain Paget is something--ever so little--of an adventurer. It was the
pursuit of fortune that brought him to me; and without knowing it, he
brought me my fortune in the shape of his daughter.
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