But I
couldn't take a cent of the money," she went on with quick decision.
"Even had it been willed to me in the first place, it would have made
no difference. I don't want to be unkind or to hurt anybody's
feelings. But can't you see that Madam Lee was really nothing in my
life? She came in and went out of it like a phantom, and she did not
begin to mean to me what she did to this old friend of hers. Just
because at the close of her days it was discovered that I was of her
kin, it established no bond of affection between us--nothing but a
legal claim. If she had lived and we had grown dear to one another,
and she had given the fortune to me out of her heart, then I should
have accepted it gladly. But to have it bestowed on me merely by right
of succession--I couldn't think of touching a penny of it!"
She caught her breath, and her chin rose a trifle higher.
"And besides," she continued, "I would rather just be indebted to Zenas
Henry and my own family. My grandmother was unjust to my parents,
unkind. Although she lived to be sorry for it and would, doubtless,
have done differently when she was older, she was harsh and cruel to
them.
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