"In any case, Andrew, it will be for them to decide. Kenneth had already established himself as a lawyer back in the old home town. I shall urge him to return to that place with Viola as soon as they are married. His mother was a Blythe. There is no blot upon the name of Blythe. My daughter was born there. Her father was an honest, God-fearing, highly respected man. His name and his memory are untarnished. No man can say aught against the half of Kenneth that is Blythe, nor the half of Viola that is Carter. I should like the daughter of Owen Carter to go back and live among his people as the wife of the son of Laura Blythe, and to honourably bear the name that was denied me by a Gwynne."
He looked at her shrewdly for a moment and then, as the full significance of her plan grew upon him, revealing in a flash the motive behind it, he exclaimed:
"Well, by gosh, you certainly have done an almighty lot of calculating."
"And why shouldn't I? She is my child. Is it likely that I would give myself the worst of everything without seeing to it that she gets the best of everything? No, my friend; you must not underrate my intelligence. I will speak plainly to you,—but in confidence. This is between you and me. There is no love lost between Kenneth Gwynne and me. He hates me and always will, no matter how hard he may try to overcome it. In a different way I hate him. We must not be where we can see each other. I am sorely afraid that the tender love he now has for Viola would fail to outlast the hatred he feels toward me. I leave you to imagine what that would mean to her. He has it in his power to give her a place among his people. He can force them to honour and respect her, and her children will be THEIR children. Do you see? Need I say more?"
"You need say nothing more. I understand what you want, Mrs. Gwyn,—and I must say that you are in a sense justified. What is to become of young Gwynne's property here in this county?"
"I think I can be trusted to look after it satisfactorily," she said quietly; "perhaps even better than he could do for himself. I am a farm woman."
"I thought maybe you had some notion of buying him out."
"He would not sell to me. His farm is being properly handled by the present tenant. His lots here in town cannot run away. The time will come when they will be very valuable, or I am no prophetess. There is nothing to keep him here, Andrew, and his interests and my daughter's will be as carefully looked after as my own."
"We will be sorry to lose him as a citizen."
"If you are ready, we will step over to the Free Press office," she said, without a sign that she had heard his remark.