“Can it be that I have made a mistake about Ronald Trent?” she asked herself.
After all, she had heard him say only that he was having trouble securing money from the two sisters. But why, if his motives were honest, was he in league with Cora and Henry Sully?
Doris admitted that the problem was too weighty for her to solve at once.
CHAPTER XIV
A VALUABLE FIND
Doris found herself unable to reach any decision concerning the loan which the Gates twins had asked her to make, and the following morning she was still thinking of the matter. Azalea and Iris tactfully avoided mentioning the subject at the breakfast table but she knew that it was foremost in their minds.
Any day Ronald Trent might return and when he came, he would expect the money. Doris disliked the man and had no desire to help him, but she felt sorry for the Misses Gates and wished that she could aid them in obtaining their inheritance. If only she knew that Ronald was acting honestly and in good faith!
After the morning work had been done, Azalea and Iris joined the girls on the lawn. Conversation was rather labored and it was obvious to Doris that the twins were under a strain.
“I am sorry we told you our troubles,” Iris said after a time. “It has ruined your visit, and you undoubtedly think that our sole reason for inviting you here was to ask for money.”
“Oh, no,” Doris assured her hastily. “I have enjoyed every minute here at Locked Gates. And I truly want to help you. I was thinking—”
She did not continue for just at that moment she caught the faint hum of an airplane engine. Scrambling up from the grass, and shading her eyes with her hand, she gazed eagerly skyward trying to locate the sound.