“But have you much to forgive? And, after all, men do sometimes marry twice.”
“And sometimes oftener! No doubt they’re good enough for the women who take them; but the love of a true man or woman is stronger than death!”
There was a warmth in the voice of this apparently unsentimental aunt that surprised Ruth.
“You seem to speak with feeling,” the girl said, half mockingly.
A shadow crept into Miss Dexter’s eyes as she gazed, unseeingly, at a seabird poised over the water; but almost immediately she turned to her niece with her usual matter-of-fact calm.
“We were talking of your father’s affairs,” she said. “I notice a sinful extravagance here: servants you do not need, a gasoline launch, and two automobiles.”
Ruth laughed.
“Father must get to town quickly, and cars sometimes break down; besides, I believe he can afford them all. I sometimes think you are rather hard on him.”
“I’ll admit that I have often wondered how he got his money. One cannot make a fortune quickly without meeting many temptations. I suppose you know your Uncle Charles had to lend him a thousand dollars soon after you were born, and it was not paid back until a few years ago? Does your father never tell you anything about his business?”
“I haven’t thought of asking him,” Ruth answered with some warmth. “He has always been very kind to me, and I know that whatever he does is right.”