“No, never! Miss Notley, Le’s great-aunt, who owned the place and who left it to Le in her will, never lived here at all. She left the place in the care of old Mr. Beever, her overseer, and he and the negroes worked the land and raised the crops, and Mr. Copp, her lawyer, attended to the sale and shipping of the tobacco and—and all that, you know.”
“I see.”
“And Miss Notley lived on her other place down in Florida. At least, she lived there all the year round except the summer months, when she always went to Europe. She died in Florida, and left Felicia—her estate there—to her Florida relations.”
“Ah!” said the colonel, trying to seem interested, while really brooding over his own schemes.
“And she left Greenbushes to Le, who is the only relative by her mother’s side.”
“Quite so.”
“And it is a great thing for Le and Odalite, for now they can marry and settle at once.”
“Precisely.”
“And as Wynnette and I shall spend half our time at Greenbushes, we mean to pick out our room and choose the paper and furniture for it.”
“In—deed!”