FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107  
108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   >>  
way." "Well, you should write to her then." "She don't want to keep me, Nettie don't,--she's but a poor man's wife, and five chillen she 'as; it's not like as if she were me daughter, ma'am." "You have some small sum of money of your own every year, have you not?" Mrs. de Tracy asked. "Ten pound a year, ma'am; the same that me 'usband left me; two 'undred pounds 'e 'ad saved and 't is in an annuity; that's all I 'ave--that and me plum tree." "The plum tree is not yours, either, Elizabeth; that belongs to the land," said Mrs. de Tracy curtly. "'T was me 'usband planted it, ma'am, years ago. We watched 'en and pruned 'en and tended 'en like a child we did--an' now to be told 'er ain't mine!" "You're forgetting yourself, Elizabeth, I think," said Mrs. de Tracy. It was simply impossible for her to see with the old woman's eyes; all she remembered was the legal fact that any tree planted in Stoke Revel ground belonged to the owner of the ground. "But ma'am, 't is a big part of me living is the plum tree; only yesterday I says to the young lady--Miss Cynthia's young lady--I says, 'Dear knows how 't would be with me without I had the plum tree.'" "I cannot help that, Elizabeth: the plum tree is not yours, it belongs to Stoke Revel." "Then ma'am, you'll be 'lowing me something for it surely?" "No," said Mrs. de Tracy obstinately, "you have no legal claim to compensation, Elizabeth. I cannot undertake to allow you anything for what is not yours. If I did it in your case you know quite well I should have to do it in many others." There was a long and heavy silence. Elizabeth Prettyman was taking in her sentence of banishment from her old home; Mrs. de Tracy was merely wondering how long it would take her to walk down that nasty steep bit of path to the ferry. At last the old woman looked up. "When must I be goin' then, ma'am?" she asked meekly. Mrs. de Tracy considered. "The transfer of land from one person to another generally takes some time: you will have several weeks here still; I shall send you notice later which day to quit." "Thank you, ma'am," said Elizabeth simply, and added, "The plum tree blossoms 'ul be over by that time." "I don't see what that has to do with it," said Mrs. de Tracy, in whose heart there was room for no sentiment. "'T would have been 'arder leavin' it in blossom time," the old woman explained; but her hearer could not see the point. She rose slowly from her
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107  
108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   >>  



Top keywords:
Elizabeth
 

simply

 

planted

 

belongs

 

usband

 
ground
 
sentence
 

banishment

 
wondering

Prettyman

 

silence

 

taking

 
blossoms
 

sentiment

 
slowly
 

hearer

 
explained
 
leavin

blossom

 

considered

 

transfer

 

person

 

meekly

 

looked

 

generally

 

notice

 

pounds


undred

 

annuity

 

watched

 

pruned

 
tended
 

curtly

 

Nettie

 

daughter

 
chillen

Cynthia

 
living
 

yesterday

 
obstinately
 
compensation
 

surely

 
lowing
 
forgetting
 

belonged


impossible

 
remembered
 

undertake