Chapter Fifteen
This was so startling that even Maud momentarily forgot the loss of her book. Paula demanded: "Then who gets Uncle Nat's money?" "I don't know," answered Stephen. "His next of kin, presumably."
"But I'm his next of kin!" exclaimed Joseph, much agitated. "It's absurd! I don't want it! I shouldn't know what to do with it! Really, Stephen, you're taking a most exaggerated view of things! I feel quite sure that when the matter is explained -"
"No, Stephen's right," Mathilda said. "I know what a fuss there was when my Aunt Charlotte died, leaving a will on half a sheet of notepaper. The Law's extremely sticky about wills. Besides, how can you explain such a piece of lunacy as not admitting the two witnesses into the room?"
"But, Tilda, it was hard enough to bring Nat to the point of making a will at all!"
"Well you'd better keep quiet about that," said Mathilda unkindly. "We know you persuaded him with the best intentions, but it might not sound so good to anyone who hasn't the pleasure of knowing the Herriard family."
Joseph looked quite stunned, and was for once bereft ,of the power of speech. Maud's flat voice made itself heard. "Well, I am sure Nathaniel never meant Joseph to inherrit all his money," she said. "It is not at all what he wished, for he did not consider that Joseph had any sense of money."
"Do you mean to tell me," said Paula ominously, "that I sharn't get my legacy after all?"
"Not a penny of it," replied Stephen. "You may, of course, be able to bully Joe into disgorging it."
That roused Joseph into exclaiming: "How can you, Stephen? As though I should have to be bullied into it! If you are right about this unlucky business - but I feel sure you're not! - you can't think that I should let the matter rest at that! I know well what poor Nat's wishes were!"