CHAPTER XX.
THE SECRET OF THE FOOT-REST.
For a moment Gerald was stricken dumb with astonishment by the unexpected announcement that John Hubbard had married the heiress to Adam Brewster’s fortune, and all that it implied.
Then there arose with him a terrible indignation in view of what he believed to be a foul wrong—the successful consummation of the long and cunning plotting of a skilful knave.
“Do I understand that you have married this so-called Miss Anna Brewster?” he finally demanded in a strangely calm voice.
“Exactly; that is just what I have done,” replied the man, showing his teeth. “Miss Anna was a handsome girl, of whom almost any man might feel proud—well educated and—ah—amiable. She is a few years older than Allison. She was naturally grateful for the interest which I manifested in her affairs; we found, upon a closer acquaintance, that we were mutually congenial, and she consented to honor me with her hand.”
“And her fortune, also—it goes without saying, I suppose?” scornfully interposed Gerald, who was fast losing command of himself, as he realized what consummate villainy lay behind this revelation.
“Certainly; Miss Brewster being the only child of her father, of course inherits the bulk of his property, although the widow has her third; while the lady having become my wife, it naturally devolves upon me to manage her interests,” the man responded, a ghastly, malicious grin expressing his enjoyment of the situation.