“Strange––strange,” said Bertrand. “After all, it is better to forgive. No one knows what transpired, and Richard is the real sufferer.”
“Do you suppose he’ll leave Hester there, Bertrand?”
“I hardly think she would be left, but it is impossible to tell. A son’s loss is more than any other––to a mother.”
“Do you think so, Bertrand? It would be hardest of all to lose a husband, and the Elder has failed so much since Peter Junior’s death.”
“Peter Junior seems to be the only one who has escaped suffering in this tragedy. Remorse in Richard’s case, and stubborn anger in the Elder’s––they are emotions that take large toll out of a man’s vitality. If ever Richard is found, he will not be the young man we knew.”
“Unless he is innocent. All this may have been an accident.”
“Then why is he staying in hiding?”
“He may have felt there was no way to prove his innocence.”
“Well, there is another reason why the Elder should withdraw his offer of a reward, and when he comes back, I mean to try what can be done once more. Everything would have to be circumstantial. He will have a hard time to prove his nephew’s guilt.”
“I can’t see why he should try to prove it. It must have been an accident––at the last. Of course it might have been begun in anger, in a moment of misunderstanding, but the nature of the boys would go to show that it never could have been done intentionally. It is impossible.”