"Yes, John. You could not but know it well. But—" Then she paused a moment, looking into his face. "But I should wish to know what would become of it—eventually."
"If it were yours you could do what you pleased with it."
"But it would be yours."
"Then it would go with the rest of the property."
"To whom would it go? We have all to die, my dear, and who can say whom it may please the Almighty to take first?"
"In this house, ma'am, every one can give a shrewd guess. I know my own condition. If I die without children of my own every acre I possess will go to the proper heir. Thinking as you do, you ought to agree with me in that."
"But who is the proper heir?"
"My cousin Reginald. Do not let us contest it, ma'am. As certainly as I lie here he will have Bragton when I am gone."
"Will you not listen to me, John?"
"Not about that. How could I die in peace were I to rob him?"