CHAPTER TWELVE
I
The calamity that had befallen Roy cast a shadow upon the Durland household. Ethel stalked about with an insufferable air of outraged innocence. Roy had ruined the family; after all the sacrifices that had been made for him he had flung away his chance and was lost beyond redemption. She was merciless in her denunciation of her brother, and hardly less severe upon her mother for spoiling Roy and condoning his sin.
Grace exerted herself to the utmost to dispel the gloom. Not since her young girlhood had she felt so closely drawn to her mother, and she endeavored by every possible means to lighten her burdens. Mrs. Durland’s attempts to make the best of Roy’s predicament, even professing to see in what she called the boy’s new responsibilities a steadying force that would evoke his best efforts, were pathetic; but Grace encouraged all these hopes though in her heart she was far from optimistic as to her brother’s future.
“Sadie isn’t really a bad girl,” Mrs. Durland had reported on her return from Louisville. “Her family are not just what we would have wanted, but they are respectable and we ought to be grateful for that. Her father is employed in the railroad shops and they own their own home. Sadie’s an only child and it wasn’t necessary for her to go to work, but she was restless and didn’t want to stay at home. There’s a lot of that spirit among girls these days. Sadie’s really fond of Roy and I think she understands that now she must help him to make a man of himself. She and her mother appreciated our kindness and I think, Ethel, when you see Sadie——”
“When I see Sadie!” cried Ethel, choking at the name. “You don’t mean to say you’re going to bring her to this house!”
“Not now, of course; she wouldn’t want to come. But in time we’ll all know her. You must remember Ethel that she’s one of the family, your brother’s wife, and no matter how much we may regret the whole thing, we’ve got to stand by her just as we stand by Roy.”
“I don’t understand you, mother; I don’t understand you at all! It isn’t like you to pass over a thing like this, that’s brought shame and disgrace on the family. And to think—to think—” she cried hysterically—“that you even consider bringing the shameless creature here to this house, with all its sacred associations that mean something to me if they don’t to the rest of you!”
“That’s right, Ethel,” said Grace ironically. “It’s perfectly grand of you to defend the family altar! I suppose when Sadie comes you’ll be for throwing her into the street and stoning her to death. And you’d be the only one who could cast the first stone!”
“Please be quiet, girls,” Mrs. Durland pleaded. “It doesn’t help any to fuss about things. You haven’t taken this as I hoped you would, Ethel. If we don’t stand together and help each other the family tie doesn’t amount to much. I had hoped you were going to feel better about Roy. We simply mustn’t let the dear boy think that just one misstep has ruined his life. We must try to believe that everything is for the best.”