“You have probably understood, Miss Farley, that in case your foster-father died intestate, that is to say, without leaving a will in proper form, you would, as his heir, be entitled to the whole of his property.”
“Yes; I think I have heard that,” she answered uneasily.
The cold-blooded fashion in which he had stated his purpose to contest the will on the ground of Farley’s insanity had shocked her. Copeland had suggested the same thing, but it was a preposterous pretension that Timothy Farley’s mind had been affected by his long illness. Even the assertion that his mother had been a victim of mental disorder, plausibly as he had stated it, would hardly stand against the fact that Farley’s faculties to the very end had been unusually clear and alert.
“In case there should be no will,” Harlowe continued, “your rights would rest, of course, upon your adoption. It would have to be proved that it was done in accordance with law. The statutes are specific as to the requirements. I’m sorry, very sorry indeed, my dear Miss Farley, that in your case the law was not strictly complied with.”
“I don’t know what you mean; I don’t understand you!” she faltered.
“Please don’t be alarmed,” he went on, with a reassuring smile. “I’m sure that everything can be arranged satisfactorily; I am not here to threaten you—please remember that; I merely want you to understand my case.”
“But my father never dreamed of anything of that kind,” she gasped; “it’s impossible—why, he would never have made a mistake in so serious a matter.”
“Unfortunately, we are all liable to err, Miss Farley,” he answered, with a grotesque affectation of benevolence. “And I regret to say that in this case the error is undeniable. What Mr. Farley’s intentions were is one thing; what was actually done to make you his child in law is another. We need not go into that. It is a legal question that Mr. Thurston will understand readily; the more so, perhaps,” he added with faint irony, “because he was not himself guilty of the error, not being Mr. Farley’s attorney at the time the adoption was attempted.”
The room swayed and she grasped the arms of her chair to steady herself. The man’s story was plausible, and he spoke with an easy confidence. All Farley’s deliberation about the disposal of his property would go for naught; her victory over the temptation to destroy his wills had been futile!
“Please don’t misunderstand me, Miss Farley,” the man was saying. “My clients have no wish to deprive you wholly of participation in the estate. And we should deplore litigation. In coming to you now, I merely wish to prepare you, so that you may consider the case in all its aspects before taking it up with your lawyer. No doubt a satisfactory settlement can be arranged, without going into court. I believe that is all. Henceforth I can’t with propriety deal directly with you, but must meet your counsel. I assume, however, that he will not wholly ignore your natural wish to—er—arrange a settlement satisfactory to all parties.”...