father realized that the financial burden would be too much for you.”
“The financial burden? But that’s ridiculous. There must be plenty of money for them and for me. There always has been.”
There was silence.
“There always has been,” she repeated, as though the phrase fascinated her with its specious sound of security.
“Well, there isn’t any more,” he said with curtness which might have been brutal or embarrassed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean you to hear about it in this bald way, but the fact is there, however nicely one wraps it up. Your father died practically penniless.”
CHAPTER TWO
FOR quite a minute there was silence in the room.
Then Hope said, “It’s impossible—quite impossible.”
Errol Tamberly shrugged. He didn’t even bother to reiterate his statement, and somehow that lift of his broad shoulders brought more conviction to her than any protestations would have done. He saw no reason even to argue about it. It was an accepted fact.
Upstairs she could hear the voices of the children, lifted in unmistakable pleasure and surprise over the discoveries they were making. To them this shattering new discovery downstairs would seem a very minor part of their worries. They liked their new home. It was as considerable, as secure, as luxurious as the one they were used to. Any talk of financial losses would be so much theory, so far as they were concerned.
But for her—and Richard—
‘I won’t think of that just now!’ Hope told herself frantically. ‘I’ll think about that later on, when I’ve taken in the central fact.’
With a tremendous effort she brought her wide and darkened gaze back to Errol Tamberly. He was watching her now, a little anxiously, she thought, but somehow she resented his anxiety, as though he were in some small measure personally responsible for the shock he had had to deliver.
“You aren’t going to faint, are you?”
She laughed slightly then.
“No, of course not.”
It passed through her mind, even at that moment, that Errol Tamberly’s remedy for faintness would certainly be to thrust one’s head between one’s knees with considerable lack of ceremony.
“I’m sorry, as I said, that you had to learn about this quite so brutally.”
“But, as you also said, the facts are the same, however nicely they’re dressed up. What I want to know is— why ? I mean, how does it come about that—that this has happened? There was always plenty—No, I’ve said that before, and it’s so stupid to keep on repeating it. But one can’t imagine how everything can be secure and—and lavish and unquestioned, and then suddenly it’s all gone—just like that! What happened ?”
“It wasn’t anything melodramatic that happened from one moment to the next.” He sat down in the chair opposite her, his strong, rather fine hands loosely clasped between his knees. “I don’t know if you were aware of the fact, but your father sank much the greater part of his capital in the building of the Laboratory. Don’t blame him for it. It’s paid for itself over and over again in the things that matter.”
“I shouldn’t blame him,” Hope said coldly, because she didn’t need Errol Tamberly to dictate her attitude towards her father.
“It was the old, old story of private enterprise doing what public regimentation fails to do. Your father was a man of vision and limitless ideas. He worked them out to their logical conclusion, and usually footed the bill himself. I don’t think he always realized how big the total was, that’s beside the point now. During the last few years, he had very little more than his admittedly large government salary. There was no reason to think he would not draw that for many years to come—certainly until long after you and the twins were comfortably settled in life.”
He paused for a moment, a little as though he expected Hope to make some comment. But she merely said rather softly, “Go on.”
“That’s really
“The financial burden? But that’s ridiculous. There must be plenty of money for them and for me. There always has been.”
There was silence.
“There always has been,” she repeated, as though the phrase fascinated her with its specious sound of security.
“Well, there isn’t any more,” he said with curtness which might have been brutal or embarrassed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean you to hear about it in this bald way, but the fact is there, however nicely one wraps it up. Your father died practically penniless.”
CHAPTER TWO
FOR quite a minute there was silence in the room.
Then Hope said, “It’s impossible—quite impossible.”
Errol Tamberly shrugged. He didn’t even bother to reiterate his statement, and somehow that lift of his broad shoulders brought more conviction to her than any protestations would have done. He saw no reason even to argue about it. It was an accepted fact.
Upstairs she could hear the voices of the children, lifted in unmistakable pleasure and surprise over the discoveries they were making. To them this shattering new discovery downstairs would seem a very minor part of their worries. They liked their new home. It was as considerable, as secure, as luxurious as the one they were used to. Any talk of financial losses would be so much theory, so far as they were concerned.
But for her—and Richard—
‘I won’t think of that just now!’ Hope told herself frantically. ‘I’ll think about that later on, when I’ve taken in the central fact.’
With a tremendous effort she brought her wide and darkened gaze back to Errol Tamberly. He was watching her now, a little anxiously, she thought, but somehow she resented his anxiety, as though he were in some small measure personally responsible for the shock he had had to deliver.
“You aren’t going to faint, are you?”
She laughed slightly then.
“No, of course not.”
It passed through her mind, even at that moment, that Errol Tamberly’s remedy for faintness would certainly be to thrust one’s head between one’s knees with considerable lack of ceremony.
“I’m sorry, as I said, that you had to learn about this quite so brutally.”
“But, as you also said, the facts are the same, however nicely they’re dressed up. What I want to know is— why ? I mean, how does it come about that—that this has happened? There was always plenty—No, I’ve said that before, and it’s so stupid to keep on repeating it. But one can’t imagine how everything can be secure and—and lavish and unquestioned, and then suddenly it’s all gone—just like that! What happened ?”
“It wasn’t anything melodramatic that happened from one moment to the next.” He sat down in the chair opposite her, his strong, rather fine hands loosely clasped between his knees. “I don’t know if you were aware of the fact, but your father sank much the greater part of his capital in the building of the Laboratory. Don’t blame him for it. It’s paid for itself over and over again in the things that matter.”
“I shouldn’t blame him,” Hope said coldly, because she didn’t need Errol Tamberly to dictate her attitude towards her father.
“It was the old, old story of private enterprise doing what public regimentation fails to do. Your father was a man of vision and limitless ideas. He worked them out to their logical conclusion, and usually footed the bill himself. I don’t think he always realized how big the total was, that’s beside the point now. During the last few years, he had very little more than his admittedly large government salary. There was no reason to think he would not draw that for many years to come—certainly until long after you and the twins were comfortably settled in life.”
He paused for a moment, a little as though he expected Hope to make some comment. But she merely said rather softly, “Go on.”
“That’s really
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