“I suppose there is no change in him?”
“No; except that he is drinking harder than ever. His business is against him, though he would drink even if he didn’t keep a saloon.”
“Does he treat my mother well?”
“I think he does. I have never heard anything to the contrary. You see, he wouldn’t dare to do otherwise, as your mother has the property, and he wants to keep in with her in order to get a share.”
“I have been afraid that she would give a part to him.”
“Thus far I am confident she hasn’t done it. She is Scotch, isn’t she?”
“Yes; her name was Downie, and she was born in Glasgow, but came to this country at an early age.”
“The Scotch are careful and conservative.”
“She probably gives most of her income to Trimble—indeed, he collects her rents—but the principal she keeps in her own hands. Once I heard your stepfather complaining bitterly of this. ‘My wife,’ he said, ‘treats me very badly. She’s rolling in wealth, and I am a poor man, obliged to work early and late for a poor living.’”
“He pays nothing toward the support of the house,” said Edward, indignantly. “Mother pays all bills, and gives him money for himself besides.”