"
"O papa!"
"In which case I may conclude that your mother would benefit in some
measure from your good fortune."
"Can you doubt that, papa? There should be no measure to her benefit from
any money obtained by me."
"I do not doubt that, my dear. And it is with that idea that I wish to
make a proposition to you--for your mother's possible advantage."
"I shall be happy to do anything you wish, papa."
"It must be done as a spontaneous act of your own, Charlotte, not in
accordance with any wish of mine."
"What is it that I am to do?" asked Charlotte.
"Well, my dear, you see it is agreed between us that if you do get this
money, your mother is certain to benefit considerably. But unhappily the
proceedings are likely to drag on for an indefinite time; and in the
course of that time it comes within the limits of possibility that your
decease may precede that of your mother."
"Yes, papa."
"In which case your mother would lose all hope of any such advantage."
"Of course, papa."
Charlotte could not help thinking that there was something sordid in this
discussion--this calculation of possible gain or loss contingent on her
fresh young life. But she concluded that it was the nature of business
men to see everything from a debased standpoint, and that Mr. Sheldon was
no more sordid than other men of his class.
"Well, papa?" she asked presently, after some moments of silence, during
which she and her stepfather had both been absorbed in the contemplation
of the fire.
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