"From Richard?" he said. "He is coming home, I suppose."
"No," she answered, looking down at the closely written sheets,—"he is not coming yet. He was wise enough not to take a serious view of Janey's case. He is very encouraging, and expresses his usual confidence in my management."
There was nothing like bitterness in her voice, and it struck him that he had never seen so little expression of any kind in her face. She opened the letter and looked over the first page of it.
"He has a great many interesting things to say," she went on; "and he is very enthusiastic."
"About what?" Tredennis asked. She looked up.
"About the Westoria lands," she answered. "He finds all sorts of complications of good fortune connected with them. I don't understand them all, by any means. I am not good at business. But it seems as though the persons who own the Westoria lands will be able to command the resources of the entire surrounding country,—if the railroad is carried through; of course it all depends upon the railroad."
"And the railroad," suggested Tredennis, "depends upon"—
"I don't know," she replied. "On several people, I suppose. I wish it depended on me."
"Why?" said Tredennis.
She smiled slightly and rather languidly.