Poor man, he little knew how much she had him in her power, and all the precautions she had taken. Otherwise he would have reflected twice before sending such an answer. Something suddenly occurred which obliged him to mortgage even the house itself—the cause is a mystery—and now Aunt Sophia might have been revenged; but for some inexplicable reason she countermanded her orders to Van Beek, who does not himself know why. Just before her death she sent for him to change her will, and it was on this occasion she made me her sole heir.
Chapter VII.
I was invited to stay to luncheon by my lawyer, and I accepted the invitation.
In the course of the conversation Van Beek said—
“The country seat, Runenburg, will be at your disposal on the 31st of October next; but the house in town is let till the May following, and the tenants would like to stay on, if it be agreeable to you. They are very respectable people. How am I to act in the matter?”
I stared at him in surprise and perplexity. Such a strange feeling came over me. I who have never possessed a stick or a stone in my life (in fact, I always felt it a relief when the quarter’s lodging bill was paid), now I had to decide about a house in town and a country seat.
“I think, Mr. Van Beek, everything had better remain as it is until the question of my marriage with Miss Mordaunt is settled.”
“The Jonker forgets that that condition is not binding.”
“I look upon it as binding, though such may not be the legal interpretation of the will.”