CHAPTER VII. MRS. OAKLEY DECIDES WHAT TO DO.

 Mrs. Oakley was not only angry, but very much disturbed at the words which John had imprudently uttered. They startled her, because they intimated John's suspicion of something which she had good reason for knowing to be a fact.

Mrs. Oakley knew that her husband had executed a later will, and, though she did not know where it was, she believed it still to be in existence!

The will under which she inherited bore a date only two months after her marriage with Squire¹ Oakley. She had cunningly influenced him to make it. He did so without proper consideration, and gave the will into her custody². But, though his wife carefully concealed⁴ from him her real character, she could not do so entirely⁵. Little things, which came under his observation, led him to believe that she entertained a secret dislike for John, and, only three months before his death, Squire Oakley, to protect John's[83] interests, made a second will, which superseded⁶ the first, and limited his wife to that portion of his property which she could legally claim,—that is, one third.

He did not see fit to apprise⁷ his wife of this step. But she was watchful⁸ and observant, and something led her to suspect what had been done. She determined⁹ to find out secretly, and with this end went to the desk where her husband kept his private papers, one day when she supposed him to be absent, and began to search for the suspected will. After a while she found it, and, spreading it open, began to read:—

"I, Henry Oakley, being of sound mind," etc.

She had read so far, when a heavy hand was laid upon her shoulder. Turning with a start, she saw her husband, his face dark with anger, looking sternly at her.

"Give me that document, Mrs. Oakley," he said, abruptly¹⁰.

She did not dare do otherwise than obey.

"By what right do you come here to pry¹¹ into my private papers?" he demanded.

"I am your wife," she said.

"That is true. You are my wife; but that does not authorize¹² your stealing in here like a thief, and secretly examining papers, which would have[84] been shown you if they had been intended for your eyes."

"Does not that paper relate to me?" she asked, boldly.

"It relates to my property."

"It is your will."

"Yes."

"And it makes the one which I hold of no value."

"It does."

"So you are secretly plotting against my interests," she said, angrily. "I suspected as much, and I determined to find out."

"The will of which you speak never ought to have been made. It disinherits my son, and places him in your power."

"Could you not trust me to provide for him?" asked Mrs. Oakley.

"I fear not," said her husband. And her eyes fell before his steady glance. She felt that she was better understood than she had supposed.

"So you have placed me in John's power," she said, bitterly.

"I have done nothing of the kind."

"Have you not left the property to him?"

"You well know that you are entitled by law to one-third of my estate."

[85]

"One-third!"

"Yes."

"And he is to have two-thirds?"

"Why should he not? If I had not married a second time he would have had the whole."

"And my son Ben is left unprovided for?" questioned Mrs. Oakley, in a tone of mingled¹³ anger and disappointment.

"Ben has no claim upon me."

"Poor boy! so he will be penniless."

"You appear to forget that your share of the property will amount to twenty thousand dollars. He need not suffer, unless his mother should refuse to provide for him."

But this did not suit Mrs. Oakley's views. She was not at all reconciled to the thought that John Oakley, whom she disliked, would inherit forty thousand dollars, while she and Ben must live on half that sum. She was fond of money and the position it would bring, and although twenty thousand dollars would once have seemed to her a great fortune, her desires had increased with her prosperity, and she now thought it a hardship that she should be limited to such a trifle. She was by no means reconciled to the thought that Ben must play second fiddle¹⁴ to his rich stepbrother. Still John was young, and if she were[86] his guardian¹⁵ that would be something. So she smoothed her face and said:—

"I suppose you have appointed me John's guardian?"

Squire Oakley shook his head.

"I have appointed Mr. Selwyn to that position. It is more fitting that a lawyer should have the care of property," he said.

There was another reason which he did not mention. He thought that John's interests would be safer in Mr. Selwyn's hands than in those of his wife.

"This is an insult to me," said Mrs. Oakley, angry and disappointed. "It will be declaring to the world that you have no confidence in me."

"Nothing of the kind. Even were you his real mother, there would be nothing strange in my leaving him to the guardianship¹⁶ of another."

But Mrs. Oakley looked angry, and for days afterwards wore an offended and injured look. She appeared to forget from what poverty and dependence¹⁷ Squire Oakley had delivered her, and how many favors he had lavished¹⁸ upon Ben, who had no claim upon him save in his relationship to her.

Three days afterwards, Squire Oakley asked his[87] wife for the will which she had had in her possession for nearly three years.

"Why do you want it?" she asked.

"Because it is of no value now, since I have made a later will. I wish to destroy it."

Mrs. Oakley said she would look for it. If she did so, she took care not to look in the right place, for she reported that it was mislaid, and she could not find it.

"It is rather strange that you should have mislaid a document which might have been of such importance," said Squire Oakley, significantly.

"I am always mislaying things," said she, forcing a laugh. "I will look again to-morrow."

But the will was not found, and Squire Oakley drew his own deductions¹⁹ from this fact. Painful as it was to suspect his wife, he feared that his second will would not be safe if she could once get it into her possession. He saw, too late, that he had married a selfish and unscrupulous woman. He determined, therefore, to conceal³ the document, which so vitally affected²⁰ his son's interests, in a hiding-place where it would be safe from Mrs. Oakley's prying²¹ disposition²². He did so. But he did not foresee at that time how soon he would be struck with paralysis²³ that would affect his speech, and render it difficult for him to reveal[88] the secret to those who ought to know it. So it happened, however. From the time paralysis attacked him, Mrs. Oakley kept vigilant²⁴ watch over him, and did all she could to keep John away from his father's bedside, lest the secret should be revealed to him. Meanwhile, she sought everywhere for the missing will, but couldn't find it. The most she feared was that it had been placed in the lawyer's hands for safe-keeping. It ought to have been. Squire Oakley, as he lay on his sick-bed, regretted bitterly that it had not been so disposed of. It would have saved him from much anxiety. John obtained one interview with him, as we know, but his father was unable to impart to him the desired information, and the sudden entrance of Mrs. Oakley destroyed his last chance.

The rest we know. Squire Oakley died; his wife produced the earlier will, which she now had no difficulty in finding, and under that claimed and inherited the whole property. A search was instituted for the late will, under the lawyer's directions, but it was not found. Mrs. Oakley found herself, to her secret delight, the undisputed mistress of her late husband's handsome estate. She had hoped that John knew nothing of the later will; but the words to which he gave utterance²⁵ at the close of the last chapter undeceived[89] her. It was clear that he knew something of it, and he had expressed a determination to find it. That it was somewhere in the house, Mrs. Oakley believed, and, if so, it was very possible that John might stumble upon it. The result would be that she would be compelled to surrender two-thirds of the property, and he would become independent of her. Aside from the large pecuniary²⁶ loss, she could not bear to think of John's release from her persecutions. At present, she pleased herself with thinking that he was in her power, and that she could "break his proud spirit," as she termed it, though, as we have seen, John was disposed to be respectful, and only displayed such a proper spirit as his self-respect demanded.

"If I could only find the will myself," thought Mrs. Oakley, "there would be no further trouble."

She did not say to herself, that, should such a discovery be made, it would plainly be her duty to make it known to Squire Selwyn, who had always been her late husband's lawyer. She did not consider what she should do with it, but we who have obtained a glimpse of her character may easily guess that in her hands it would not have benefited John much.

The point for Mrs. Oakley to consider was how to protect herself against any sudden discovery of[90] John's. She saw that it would be dangerous for her to have him continue in the house, and she resolved to send him away. Where, she could not at once decide.

Having determined upon this, it occurred to her once more to visit her husband's desk, and examine it carefully, in the hope of discovering some secret drawer, in which the will might have been concealed.

It was now evening. She lit a lamp, and went to the small room which Squire Oakley had used for reading and writing in, and went at once to the desk. It was old-fashioned, with a variety of small drawers. These she had examined more than once, but she opened them again, in the hope of discovering some false bottom, which had served as a means of concealment²⁷. While she was intent upon her search, she heard a slight noise at the door, and, looking up, was startled to find John looking into the room.

"What are you prying into my actions for?" she demanded, sharply, a little embarrassed at being caught thus employed, and especially by John.

"I am not," said John.

"Why are you here, then?"

"By accident entirely; I was passing through the entry, and, seeing a light in here, I just glanced in."

"I wanted to find a receipt," said Mrs. Oakley,[91] thinking it best to offer some plausible²⁸ explanation. "A bill was presented me for payment that I think has already been paid."

"Can I assist you?"

"No," said Mrs. Oakley, coldly. "I shall probably find it soon."

John was not deceived by this explanation. He felt sure that Mrs. Oakley was searching for the will; but this he kept to himself.

"I must get rid of him at once," said his stepmother. "Once get him out of the house, and I'll explore it thoroughly²⁹. I shan't feel safe till the will is found."

1 squire   

n.护卫, 侍从, 乡绅

参考例句：

• I told him the squire was the most liberal of men.我告诉他乡绅是世界上最宽宏大量的人。
• The squire was hard at work at Bristol.乡绅在布里斯托尔热衷于他的工作。

2 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

3 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

4 concealed   

a.隐藏的，隐蔽的

参考例句：

• The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
• I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。

5 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

6 superseded   

[医]被代替的，废弃的

参考例句：

• The theory has been superseded by more recent research. 这一理论已为新近的研究所取代。
• The use of machinery has superseded manual labour. 机器的使用已经取代了手工劳动。

7 apprise   

vt.通知，告知

参考例句：

• He came to apprise us that the work had been successfully completed.他来通知我们工作已胜利完成。
• We must apprise them of the dangers that may be involved.我们必须告诉他们可能涉及的危险。

8 watchful   

adj.注意的，警惕的

参考例句：

• The children played under the watchful eye of their father.孩子们在父亲的小心照看下玩耍。
• It is important that health organizations remain watchful.卫生组织保持警惕是极为重要的。

9 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

10 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

11 pry   

vi.窥(刺)探，打听；vt.撬动(开，起)

参考例句：

• He's always ready to pry into other people's business.他总爱探听别人的事。
• We use an iron bar to pry open the box.我们用铁棍撬开箱子。

12 authorize   

v.授权，委任；批准，认可

参考例句：

• He said that he needed to get his supervisor to authorize my refund.他说必须让主管人员批准我的退款。
• Only the President could authorize the use of the atomic bomb.只有总统才能授权使用原子弹。

13 mingled   

混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系]

参考例句：

• The sounds of laughter and singing mingled in the evening air. 笑声和歌声交织在夜空中。
• The man and the woman mingled as everyone started to relax. 当大家开始放松的时候，这一男一女就开始交往了。

14 fiddle   

n.小提琴；vi.拉提琴；不停拨弄，乱动

参考例句：

• She plays the fiddle well.她小提琴拉得好。
• Don't fiddle with the typewriter.不要摆弄那架打字机了。

15 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

16 guardianship   

n. 监护, 保护, 守护

参考例句：

• They had to employ the English language in face of the jealous guardianship of Britain. 他们不得不在英国疑忌重重的监护下使用英文。
• You want Marion to set aside her legal guardianship and give you Honoria. 你要马丽恩放弃她的法定监护人资格，把霍诺丽娅交给你。

17 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

18 lavished   

v.过分给予，滥施( lavish的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I lavished all the warmth of my pent-up passion. 我把憋在心里那一股热烈的情感尽量地倾吐出来。 来自辞典例句
• An enormous amount of attention has been lavished on these problems. 在这些问题上，我们已经花费了大量的注意力。 来自辞典例句

19 deductions   

扣除( deduction的名词复数 )； 结论； 扣除的量； 推演

参考例句：

• Many of the older officers trusted agents sightings more than cryptanalysts'deductions. 许多年纪比较大的军官往往相信特务的发现，而不怎么相信密码分析员的推断。
• You know how you rush at things,jump to conclusions without proper deductions. 你知道你处理问题是多么仓促，毫无合适的演绎就仓促下结论。

20 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

21 prying   

adj.爱打听的v.打听，刺探（他人的私事）( pry的现在分词 )；撬开

参考例句：

• I'm sick of you prying into my personal life! 我讨厌你刺探我的私生活！
• She is always prying into other people's affairs. 她总是打听别人的私事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 disposition   

n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署

参考例句：

• He has made a good disposition of his property.他已对财产作了妥善处理。
• He has a cheerful disposition.他性情开朗。

23 paralysis   

n.麻痹(症)；瘫痪(症)

参考例句：

• The paralysis affects his right leg and he can only walk with difficulty.他右腿瘫痪步履维艰。
• The paralysis affects his right leg and he can only walk with difficulty.他右腿瘫痪步履维艰。

24 vigilant   

adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的

参考例句：

• He has to learn how to remain vigilant through these long nights.他得学会如何在这漫长的黑夜里保持警觉。
• The dog kept a vigilant guard over the house.这只狗警醒地守护着这所房屋。

25 utterance   

n.用言语表达，话语，言语

参考例句：

• This utterance of his was greeted with bursts of uproarious laughter.他的讲话引起阵阵哄然大笑。
• My voice cleaves to my throat,and sob chokes my utterance.我的噪子哽咽，泣不成声。

26 pecuniary   

adj.金钱的；金钱上的

参考例句：

• She denies obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception.她否认通过欺骗手段获得经济利益。
• She is so independent that she refused all pecuniary aid.她很独立，所以拒绝一切金钱上的资助。

27 concealment   

n.隐藏, 掩盖，隐瞒

参考例句：

• the concealment of crime 对罪行的隐瞒
• Stay in concealment until the danger has passed. 把自己藏起来，待危险过去后再出来。

28 plausible   

adj.似真实的，似乎有理的，似乎可信的

参考例句：

• His story sounded plausible.他说的那番话似乎是真实的。
• Her story sounded perfectly plausible.她的说辞听起来言之有理。

29 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。