"They will be very angry, I am sure," said the lawyer; but when it was told to them, they did not make as much ado as their sister-in-law. They looked grave and sorry, indeed, but Maud, the elder, said, sensibly:
"It is very bad, but indeed, Bryant, I do not see how Eliot could have acted otherwise. Noblesse oblige, you know."
It was the motto that had ruled the lives of the Van Zandts for generations, and Bryant could not say one word; but his wife made a little moue of disdain.
"Noblesse oblige has nothing to do with it," she said; "or, if it had, it was the other way. He was bound to stay free for your and Edith's sake."
Pretty Edith answered quickly:
"No, no, for we shall not want him to help pay for our dresses much longer. Maud's book and my picture are almost done, and if we sell them, we shall have money of our own."
"Châteaux en Espagne!" Mrs. Van Zandt muttered softly, with a covert sneer.
She had no talent only for looking pretty and dressing well, and envied that of her more gifted sisters-in-law.
They were used to her sneers, and they winced, but seldom retorted. The dreamy, dignified Maud looked out of the window with a little sigh, and the more self-assertive Edith exclaimed: