"How much do you suppose Jane is worth?"
"A half million, at the very least. When she was a girl she inherited
from Thomas Bradley, the man she was engaged to marry, and who was
suddenly killed in a railway accident, more than a quarter of a
million dollars, besides that beautiful estate of Elmhurst. I don't
believe Jane has even spent a quarter of her income, and the fortune
must have increased enormously. Elizabeth will be one of the
wealthiest heiresses in the country!"
"If she gets the money, which I doubt," returned the Professor,
gloomily.
"Why should you doubt it, after this letter?"
"You had another sister and a brother, and they both had children,"
said he.
"They each left a girl. I admit. But Jane has never favored them
any more than she has me. And this invitation, coming; when Jane is
practically on her death bed, is a warrant that Beth will get the
money."
"I hope she will," sighed the music teacher. "We all need it bad
enough, I'm sure."
During this conversation Elizabeth, who might be supposed the one most
interested in her Aunt's invitation, sat silently at her place, eating
her breakfast with her accustomed calmness of demeanor and scarcely
glancing at her parents.
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