The old lady was Mrs. Barry, who was spending the day at Maple Shade. She had been sitting in the front parlor with Mrs. Laurens, and they had been talking of the subject that was nearest to both their hearts, the desired union between Cecil and Louise.
When Mrs. Laurens left her to go and sound Cecil on that important theme she slipped into the back parlor, and sat down to doze a little in the large arm-chair. The sound of voices in the next room roused her, and sitting there quietly, she heard every word that passed.
When the pretty child came in, Mrs. Barry stared at her in angry amaze. The little beauty, with her yellowish hazel eyes and falling yellow curls, was a miniature edition of Louise Barry.
“What does it mean?” the old lady asked herself, nervously.
She sat still, watching the little one with fascinated eyes, unheeding the lapse of time, until she was roused again by voices in the next room.
Mrs. Laurens had brought Cecil in, after first telling him all that John Keith had explained to her; and after the lapse of five years, the two men were face to face again.
Mutual explanations ensued, and the treachery of Louise Barry was fully unveiled at last.
“She and I were lovers before she had any expectations of a fortune from her aunt,” he said. “Mrs. Everett objected to me because I was a traveling salesman, and Louise and I were married secretly, taking no one but Molly into our confidence. Very soon afterward I lost my situation, and was away for months seeking work in vain. My wife found herself in a delicate situation, and became enraged because I was not in a position to declare our marriage and support her properly. Then came that fatal letter from Mrs. Barry that ruined all my life.”
Sighing heavily, he continued:
“That rich, heartless old woman wrote to Louise that she should be her heiress in case she were unmarried and would accept the man she had in view for her; but if she were a married woman, the matter ended there, and she should leave her property to build an orphan asylum.”