a few days later another ripple of excitement was created among the elite of the nation's capital when the contents of monsieur lamonti's will were made known, and it was learned that a young and beautiful woman had been made the guardian of the distinguished gentleman's granddaughter and the executrix of the important testament. the document was simple and concise, but betrayed careful thought, and the fact that the testator knew exactly what he was about, for there was not a flaw in it that could possibly have been contested, had any one been disposed to do so.
it provided that all real estate, horses, carriages, plate, books, pictures, and choice bric-a-brac, together with certain stocks and bonds therein named, were to become the sole property of his beloved granddaughter, lucille gillette, to be held in trust for her, without bonds, until she arrived at the age of twenty-one or married, by mademoiselle marie norton heatherford, for whom the testator entertained the most profound esteem, and in whom he placed the utmost confidence, and who was hereby authorized and entreated to carry out his instructions to the letter, to wit: that she would legally adopt said lucille gillette as her own child, allowing her to retain her present name, and rear and educate her as tenderly and carefully as if she were indeed her own flesh and blood. then there followed several minor bequests and requests, supplemented by something that was to make a radical change in mollie's future.
in return for assuming said responsibilities, said mademoiselle heatherford would please accept the testator's deepest gratitude, together with, as a slight testimonial of the same, the residue of all that he possessed.
the will further provided that mademoiselle heatherford was to exercise perfect freedom in the choice of a place of residence; she was at liberty to occupy the present home of the youthful heiress, retaining the same number of servants, horses, and carriages, or dispose of the property and reside elsewhere, as she chose; the only stipulation being that she should always live in a style befitting the fortune and position of the testator's grandchild, all expenses to be paid out of the income of said grandchild, the bequest of mademoiselle heatherford being intended for her own private use and disposal.
she was advised to retain monsieur lamonti's present lawyer, as the testator regarded him a trustworthy and competent attorney; but she was not bound in any way to do so, if circumstances or her judgment should at any time dictate otherwise.
of course, mollie had expected something of this kind, in the event of monsieur lamonti's demise, for she had agreed to accept the charge of lucille; but she was not prepared for, and was somewhat appalled by, the magnitude of the fortune which she would be required to manage in the future, and the absolute freedom from conditions and restrictions in which she found herself placed. regarding the bequest to herself, she did not at first give much thought to it. monsieur lamonti, when talking the matter over with her, had assured her that she would receive ample remuneration, and she had inferred that she would, perhaps, be paid a salary—possibly somewhat increased—the same as she had been getting from him monthly for her services as private secretary.
his stating her remuneration in the blind way "as the residue of his property" she imagined might have been so expressed to save her feelings and prevent the curious public from knowing the amount she was to be paid for her services.
but a great surprise was in store for her. she was, of course obliged to consult with monsieur lamonti's lawyer, mr. ashley, in order to become familiar with all the details regarding her duties in connection with the property which she was to administer, and then she found that "the little lucille" was a veritable little princess—that she was heiress to a most magnificent fortune.
"oh, mr. ashley! i never can manage it. i am utterly incompetent!" she exclaimed in deep distress, when she began to comprehend something of the condition of affairs. the lawyer smiled.
"of course, you are not expected to act alone; you must have help; your friend had no intention of having you harassed with pecuniary burdens. he left everything in excellent condition, and i assure you there will be no complications. i have everything in a nutshell, so to speak, though i confess it is a good big nut, and i am sure, from what mr. lamonti has told me regarding your business-capacity, that you will readily understand everything when i place my statements before you. but, miss heatherford, let us now talk about your own fortune. i shall want to know just what disposition to make of it."
"fortune!" repeated mollie, astonished. "i imagine you magnify monsieur lamonti's bequest to me; you dignify it by too high-sounding a name."
"he has left you exactly one-fourth of all that he possessed, miss heatherford," mr. ashley quietly returned.
"one-fourth!"
at first the words did not seem to mean much to mollie. then, as her active mind began to grasp the situation, she started violently, flushed, then paled.
"mr. ashley! you do not mean that! i—it cannot be possible!" she gasped in breathless astonishment. "why! that would be——"
"yes, exactly; since you already know what lucille's fortune amounts to, it is comparatively an easy matter to compute your own," smilingly returned her companion, and thoroughly enjoying the surprise of the beautiful girl, for whom, although he had only recently made her acquaintance, he was rapidly acquiring a great admiration and respect.
"but i never dreamed of anything like this!" mollie panted, for she was actually quivering with excitement. "oh! it does not seem right. i have done nothing to deserve so much. i cannot accept it."
"but, my dear miss heatherford, you have no alternative," mr. ashley quietly observed. "monsieur lamonti has decreed what shall be done with his property, and you gave him your solemn promise, in my presence, that you would attend to having his wishes carried out to the letter."
"ah! that was why he sent for me the night he—went away; that was why he was so particular, so explicit; that is why he tried to make me 'swear' that i would do as he wished," said mollie, still looking much disturbed. "did you know at that time why he was so insistent?"
"yes. i had been with him a portion of every day during his illness, helping him draw up the will," the gentleman replied. "you did not 'swear,' miss heatherford, but you told him that your word would be just as sacred to you as an oath."
"yes, i did; but i did not once suspect that he would put me to such a test; and, truly, i feel as if i have no moral right to such an amount, independent of all my expenses, as the will states. why! it will make me, also, a rich woman!" mollie concluded, with a look of real trouble in her eyes.
"yes, it is certainly a very handsome plum, my dear young lady," mr. ashley assented, with a satisfied nod of his head; "while as for the right of the matter, allow me to say i consider that you have every right to it. in the first place, you are wronging no one living by accepting it, for little miss lucille gillette will have more money than she will ever know what to do with. i will also say that i think you would wrong your late friend, monsieur lamonti, by rejecting the provision he has made for you, for he gave me some of his reasons for wishing to settle this amount upon you. for one thing, you saved the life of his granddaughter, did you not?"
"i—suppose i did," mollie admitted rather reluctantly, then added: "but any one else would have done the same thing under the same circumstances."
"that may be very true; at the same time, i cannot see that such a view of the case detracts in the least from the heroism of your act, or lessens one whit the obligation which monsieur lamonti would naturally feel," the lawyer argued. "then i understand that you were in his employ for some time, and not only served him most faithfully, winning his highest esteem and entire confidence, but——"
"well, but he paid me generously," mollie hastily interposed, and feeling decidedly uncomfortable to have her services so overestimated.
"pardon me, miss heatherford," mr. ashley laughingly retorted, "but i can't have my argument spoiled in that way. i was about to say that you also saved your friend a great loss, not only of money, but of valuables which no money could replace. am i right?"
"yes," faltered mollie. then she laughed out rather nervously, and continued: "i perceive, mr. ashley, that you are determined to corner me, and i think it might be well for me to withdraw from the argument."
"then it will have to be a one-sided one for a while longer, as i perceive you are not yet quite reconciled," her companion returned, with a smile. then he observed very gravely: "there are some things which money can never repay, miss heatherford, and i am sure that monsieur lamonti felt that when he was making his will. leaving all that had occurred, for which he felt there was no adequate return, out of the question, the fact that you were willing to assume the care of his little one relieved his heart of an incalculable burden."
"but i love lucille; she is a dear child, and it will be a pleasure to me to care for her," broke in mollie earnestly.
"you are condemning yourself, my young friend," said the lawyer, with twinkling eyes, "for don't you see that money is no recompense for such an interest in any one; then you have pledged yourself to be a mother to her, according to your highest conception of the word; you are to watch and guard her development; you are to see that she is properly educated for the position she will occupy by and by; you have sacredly promised to do everything in your power to make her a true and noble woman, and thus you are accountable in a great measure for her future. if i might be allowed to judge—and i have dear children of my own—i should say that no pecuniary emolument could ever balance such responsibilities. now, let me advise you not to feel burdened by the bequest of your good friend, but accept it in the same spirit in which it was bestowed; take up your new duties cheerfully, and try to be just as happy as possible in your future sphere—a sphere which, if i am not mistaken, you are eminently fitted to grace. don't you think that such a course would better please monsieur lamonti, if he could speak, than to reject, from an oversensitiveness, what i know he must have regarded as a small return for what he owed you in the past and all that he has asked of you for the future?"
mollie was silent for a few minutes, while she gravely considered what he had said, and tried to realize how she herself would have felt if the positions had been reversed. at length she looked up with clear eyes and her own sunny smile.
"you are right, mr. ashley," she said, "you have made me see things in a different light, and yet i think it will take me some time to get over the feeling, in view of all the wealth that has come upon me, like an avalanche, to manage, that i have an embarrassment of riches."
"do not be troubled," the gentleman kindly returned, "for if affairs are managed in the future as they have been in the past—i mean according to monsieur lamonti's system—you will find that everything will move along very smoothly."
"you are surely very comforting," mollie observed, her heart beginning to grow light once more. "of course, you must be my counselor, and i trust you will not mind if i come to you with all my troubles, as freely as if i were your own daughter, at least until i become accustomed to my new duties."
and the gentleman said he should be very happy to have her honor him with her confidence to such an extent.
in spite of the blind way in which monsieur lamonti had worded his bequest to mollie, it became noised abroad that the future guardian of the youthful heiress had herself been very handsomely dowered, and immediately all washington became intensely interested in her. the romantic incidents connected with the saving of the child's life and the capturing of the midnight burglar—for that, also, had been whispered about—the beauty and refinement of miss heatherford, whom numberless people now began to remember as a previous new york belle, became, for the time, the talk of society, and much interest and curiosity were manifested regarding her plans for the future.
would she remain in washington and maintain the fine establishment of the late millionaire, or would she retire to some place where she would not be so closely watched during the minority and educating of her young charge? would she enter society again, after a proper season of seclusion out of respect to monsieur lamonti, entertain and be entertained, and finally be won by some aspiring young man of the world?
of course, mollie's early life and training had well fitted her to preside in the palatial home of lucille, and to shine among the most distinguished people of washington, or, indeed, of any city; and, although she did not give much thought to society just now, there was much to induce her to remain where she was.
she believed that her friend would prefer her to do so, at least for the present, and preserve his home just as he had left it, that lucille might not too soon forget him; while, as she thought the matter over in all its bearings, it seemed almost like sacrilege to her to displace the beautiful furnishings and many treasures of art which had been so carefully purchased and arranged under his supervision; the servants were all well trained and trustworthy, and it would have entailed an infinite amount of perplexity and labor to make any change, and even though she felt that the responsibility of keeping up such an extensive establishment would be very great, she finally decided it was the right thing for her to do. moreover, and it was the greatest inducement of all, cliff was to remain indefinitely in washington, and she felt that she could not be separated from him.
so her modest little home, in the humble street where they had lived for nearly two years, was broken up. mr. heatherford was removed to the pleasantest suite of rooms in the lamonti residence, and the faithful eliza was retained to act solely as his nurse and attendant.
"poor, dear papa!" mollie sighed as she bent fondly over him, after he was comfortably settled in a sunny south window of his luxurious apartment, "if you could only realize the good fortune that has come to us, after our battle with poverty, i should be perfectly happy."
when faxon first learned of the great change that had come into mollie's life so unexpectedly he looked anything but pleased.
"so, dear, you now belong to another sphere," he observed, with a quickly repressed sigh, "or, perhaps, i should have said you have been restored to your proper sphere."
"cliff," said mollie reprovingly, but with a light on her face which expressed far more than her words, "i belong alone to you—your sphere will always be mine, unless—oh, you grand, aspiring fellow!—i am unable to keep up with you mentally as you climb the ladder of fame."
the young man's arms closed around her in a fond embrace, but a sudden contraction in his throat would not admit of his speaking for the moment. this little revelation of her great and absorbing love for him moved him deeply. mollie observed it, and, flashing a sly, mischievous glance into his face, she demurely remarked:
"i'm very sorry, cliff, if you are going to feel burdened to take me with the appendage that has been thrust upon me. of course, you know i would rather have you than the fortune—love in the proverbial cottage with you than the whole world without you—but since i cannot get rid of the fortune, i don't see but that you will have to take me just as i am, be it for 'better or worse.'"
"mollie! mollie!" murmured faxon, in a voice that almost made her weep—it was so intense from the emotion which nearly mastered him—"what a rare, sweet woman you are!"
he was silent for a moment, and then he resumed with more self-control.
"i dared to love you when you were 'miss heatherford the heiress,' but i should not have presumed to try to win you while you were rich and i was poor. i have been so glad and proud to have won you while we were on the same plane socially, and to feel that we love each other for just what we are. i have exulted in the thought that it would be my privilege to work for you, and, perchance, restore you to the position you once occupied; but since i am to be denied that i can only bend all my energies toward making my name one that you will be proud to bear by and by."
"i am already proud of it, dear," said mollie, with beaming eyes, "but i shall be even more so when it becomes my own."
clifford's answer to this loving tribute need not be recorded, but, judging from the sweet laugh which rippled over mollie's lips, it was entirely satisfactory.
