“I have made up my mind, Lorinda. The will must be changed—now—tonight, while I have the strength.”
“Very well, if it will make you rest easier,” Lorinda said reluctantly. “Celeste, bring ink, a pen and paper.”
Celeste made no move to obey. “My mistress is not strong enough to write,” she mumbled.
“Mother wishes to change the will. Please bring the materials.”
“To change the will while one lies on a sick bed is to invite great trouble.”
“Celeste! No more of such talk! Do as you are told!”
Penny thought the servant would refuse to obey, but she shuffled off. Many minutes passed before she returned with the requested materials.
Lorinda sat down at the bedside, and wrote at her Mother’s dictation. It was a simple will in which Mrs. Rhett left all of her property to her daughter.
“If I thought my husband ever would return, I would want him to receive all my holdings,” she said. “As it is, I think the money should go to you, Lorinda.”
Penny was tempted to speak of her own belief that Mr. Rhett might be alive and in the city. However, realizing she had not a scrap of proof, she wisely remained silent.