“Because he wants to be senior partner,” Ada said grimly. “He wants it so badly he can see right through you. That was always clear to me. But where I made my mistake was in not letting Shelby head the whole thing off. I wanted you to have the satisfaction of being offered the presidency. I thought if you had that, it might be enough. I thought you might really hate to leave the law and might grab at the excuse Shelby would hand you. Oh, I was greedy for you, Clitus! I wanted you to have your cake and eat it, too. And now I’m paying for it the way greedy persons should pay.”
“Ada, you’re a wonder!” he cried happily. “Do you think having such a wife isn’t worth a thousand college presidencies? The only thing that appalls me is to think that if I hadn’t been lucky enough to sniff that something was up between you and Shelby, I’d never have known what a magnificent wife I had or what a magnificent friend!”
But Ada was still gloomy. “And you wouldn’t have had to resent Chambers. And Albert Berringer. And Barnes itself.”
“No, Ada, that’s quite all right, I accept my universe.” He took her hands and helped her up. “Of course the trustees want a fund raiser. It’s their job to find one. By hook or by crook!” He waved an arm expansively as they sauntered slowly on. “And why shouldn’t Chambers want my job? Why shouldn’t he angle for it? Hasn’t he always been that way? Haven’t I always known it? Hell, am I so different? How did I get where I’ve gotten? No, Ada, I tell you, all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds!” He threw back his head and emitted a hard, loud laugh. Still, it was a laugh.
“The best for Barnes, anyway,” Ada said sourly. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Shelby made a major gift to Barnes in the near future.”
“You see? It all works out. Barnes will get its money and a red? president. And I will have served my college. Oh, yes, I will have served it far better than if I had made a fool of myself playing at being President Tilney. Dear old darling President Tilney, so whimsical and philosophical, entrancing his disciples with his wit and wisdom under the crab-apple trees! I belong where I am, Ada. Bless you for seeing it!”
“But do you know something?” she demanded. “Something you’ve never guessed? I, too, had a yen to go to Barnes. I, too, had that fantasy.”
“Well, you see, you belong here as well as me,” he said consolingly and squeezed her arm and smiled benignly but a bit vaguely, for his mind was already returning to United States v. Gage et. al., and he was weighing the chances of winning a directed verdict when the government had completed its case.
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