I, Timothy Farley, being of sound mind,—
She had never seen a will before, and the unfamiliar phraseology fascinated her.
... in trust for my daughter, Nancy Corrigan Farley, for a period of twenty years from my decease, or until the death of said Nancy Corrigan Farley, should said death occur prior to the expiration of said twenty years, the sum of one hundred thousand dollars. The income from said sum shall be paid to the said Nancy Corrigan Farley on the first day of each calendar month....
Two hundred thousand dollars he gave outright to the Boys’ Club Association; fifty thousand to the Children’s Hospital; and ten thousand each to five other charitable organizations....
One hundred thousand dollars in trust! An income of five or six thousand—less than half the cost of maintaining the Farley establishment, exclusive of her personal allowance for clothes! And this was Farley’s idea of providing for her. She had always heard that the act of adoption conferred all the rights inherent in a child of the blood; it was inconceivable that Farley would deal in so miserly a fashion with his own daughter.
The will was dated June 17, a week after the row over Copeland. She had heard that Farley’s property approximated a million, and on that basis she was to pay dearly for that day at the Country Club!
The trusteeship,—in itself an insult, an advertisement of Farley’s lack of confidence in her,—was to continue for what might be all the years of her life, restricting her freedom, fastening hateful bonds upon her. In case she married and died leaving children, the trusteeship was continued until they attained their majority. A paltry hundred thousand, and Farley’s lean hand clutched even that!
Two hundred thousand for the Boys’ Club—just twice what he gave her—and without restrictions! The Farleys’ love for her was now reduced to exact figures. Her foster-father meant to humiliate her in the eyes of the world by a niggardly bequest. And he had been protesting his love for her and permitting her to sacrifice herself for him!
The revelations of the will reinforced Copeland’s arraignment of Farley as a harsh and vindictive man, who drove hard bargains and delighted in vengeance.
She lay awake for hours, torturing herself into the belief that she was the most abused of beings. Then her better nature asserted itself. She reviewed the generosity and kindness of her foster-parents, who had given her a place in the world to which she felt, humbly, that she was not entitled. A hundred thousand dollars was more money than she had any right to expect; and the trusteeship was only a part of Farley’s kindness—a device for safeguarding and protecting her.