He had ever been to her as her son, and yet
he was aware of a propensity on her part to enrich her own noble
relatives with her hoards,--a desire from gratifying which she had
hitherto been restrained by conscience. Morton had been anxious
enough for his grandmother's money, but, even in the hope of
receiving it, would not bear indignity beyond a certain point. He
had therefore declared it to be his purpose to marry Arabella
Trefoil, and because he had so declared he had almost brought
himself to forgive that young lady's sins against him. Then, as his
illness became serious, there arose the question of disposing of
the property in the event of his death. Mrs. Morton was herself
very old, and was near her grave. She was apt to speak of herself
as one who had but a few days left to her in this world. But, to
her, property was more important than life or death;--and rank
probably more important than either. She was a brave, fierce,
evil-minded, but conscientious old woman,--one, we may say, with
very bad lights indeed, but who was steadfastly minded to walk by
those lights, such as they were. She did not scruple to tell her
grandson that it was his duty to leave the property away from his
cousin Reginald, nor to allege as a reason for his doing so that in
all probability Reginald Morton was not the legitimate heir of his
great-grandfather, Sir Reginald.
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