“Nothing matters about me, Mr. Hammond,” was her firm reply. “It’s only my boy of whom I’m thinking! I must save him!”
Hammond’s jovial countenance turned apoplectic in his sudden burst of rage as he looked at the shrinking, suffering mother and thought of the man he had just left who was responsible for so much of her sorrow, so proudly borne.
“What a beastly advantage to take of mother love!” he fumed. “Your own husband, the father of your children, forcing you to relinquish the doctrine in which you have always believed! In a fit of rage he turned Howard adrift, as it were, little dreaming at the time that you would come forward and accept his bribe. I’m sorry to hurt you, Mrs. Benton,” he apologized gently, as Marjorie buried her face in her arm and shuddered at the word, “but that is exactly what it is—his bribe! When you, in your beautiful loyalty and love for your son, offered him his freedom in return for the money, he considered it ‘an act of Providence’ providing him with the means to gratifying his desire.” Each word was cutting sarcasm that should have buoyed Marjorie Benton. But she was passed caring for most things. She scattered the petals in a shower at her feet, watching them fall idly.
“After all,” she sighed and shook her head sadly, “it doesn’t make any difference. I can’t hold him if he doesn’t care for me.”
“You may not be able to hold his love,” he replied, “but you can prevent him from remarrying if you wish to, as you need never divorce him. That is what I am here to tell you. I will take Howard’s case, I’ll save him, too, and it will never cost you a dollar!”
“Oh—Mr. Hammond.” The tears sprang to her eyes. “You are indeed a friend, and I’m at a loss for words in which to express my gratitude! But I’ve quite made up my mind to let Hugh have his freedom.”
“That is entirely up to you. Candidly speaking, I don’t think he’s worth holding, but I hate to see you hurt so deeply,” he asserted.
“Don’t you think there can come a time, when one is past being hurt?” Her lips formed a smile, but her eyes were heavy with tears. “There have been so many shocks the last few weeks, I just can’t seem to feel at all—any more.”
“It doesn’t surprise me—it seems remarkable to me, that you have been able to hold up at all. Ah—” he turned as Howard entered, “Good morning—I was just about to send for you.”
“Good morning, Mr. Hammond,” Howard’s heavy eyes betrayed the lack of sleep and the tension. “Hope I haven’t kept you waiting.”