CHAPTER XXXIII
Outraged in her family pride, Louise lost no time in returning toCincinnati, where she told the story of her discovery, embellishedwith many details. According to her, she was met at the door by a"silly-looking, white-faced woman," who did not even offer to inviteher in when she announced her name, but stood there "looking just asguilty as a person possibly could." Lester also had acted shamefully,having outbrazened the matter to her face. When she had demanded toknow whose the child was he had refused to tell her. "It isn't mine,"was all he would say.
"Oh dear, oh dear!" exclaimed Mrs. Kane, who was the first to hearthe story. "My son, my Lester! How could he have done it!"
"And such a creature!" exclaimed Louise emphatically, as though thewords needed to be reiterated to give them any shadow of reality.
"I went there solely because I thought I could help him," continuedLouise. "I thought when they said he was indisposed that he might beseriously ill. How should I have known?"
"Poor Lester!" exclaimed her mother. "To think he would come toanything like that!"
Mrs. Kane turned the difficult problem over in her mind and, havingno previous experiences whereby to measure it, telephoned for oldArchibald, who came out from the factory and sat through thediscussion with a solemn countenance. So Lester was living openly witha woman of whom they had never heard. He would probably be as defiantand indifferent as his nature was strong. The standpoint of parentalauthority was impossible. Lester was a centralized authority inhimself, and if any overtures for a change of conduct were to be made,they would have to be very diplomatically executed.
Archibald Kane returned to the manufactory sore and disgusted, butdetermined that something ought to be done. He held a consultationwith Robert, who confessed that he had heard disturbing rumors fromtime to time, but had not wanted to say anything. Mrs. Kane suggestedthat Robert might go to Chicago and have a talk with Lester.
"He ought to see that this thing, if continued, is going to do himirreparable damage," said Mr. Kane. "He cannot hope to carry it offsuccessfully. Nobody can. He ought to marry her or he ought to quit. Iwant you to tell him that for me."
"All well and good," said Robert, "but who's going to convince him?I'm sure I don't want the job."
"I hope to," said old Archibald, "eventually; but you'd better goup and try, anyhow. It can't do any harm. He might come to hissenses."
"I don't believe it," replied Robert. "He's a strong man. You seehow much good talk does down here. Still, I'll go if it will relieveyour feelings any. Mother wants it."
"Yes, yes," said his father distractedly, "better go."
Accordingly Robert went. Without allowing himself to anticipate anyparticular measure of success in this adventure, he rode pleasantlyinto Chicago confident in the reflection that he had all the powers ofmorality and justice on his side.
Upon Robert's arrival, the third morning after Louise's interview,he called up the warerooms, but Lester was not there. He thentelephoned to the house, and tactfully made an appointment. Lester wasstill indisposed, but he preferred to come down to the office, and hedid. He met Robert in his cheerful, nonchalant way, and together theytalked business for a time. Then followed a pregnant silence.
"Well, I suppose you know what brought me up here," began Roberttentatively.
"I think I could make a guess at it," Lester replied.
"They were all very much worried over the fact that you weresick--mother particularly. You're not in any danger of having arelapse, are you?"
"I think not."
"Louise said there was some sort of a peculiar menageshe ran into up here. You're not married, are you?"
"No."
"The young woman Louise saw is just--" Robert waved his handexpressively.
Lester nodded.
"I don't want to be inquisitive, Lester. I didn't come up for that.I'm simply here because the family felt that I ought to come. Motherwas so very much distressed that I couldn't do less than see you forher sake"--he paused, and Lester, touched by the fairness andrespect of his attitude, felt that mere courtesy at least made someexplanation due.
"I don't know that anything I can say will help matters much," hereplied thoughtfully. "There's really nothing to be said. I have thewoman and the family has its objections. The chief difficulty aboutthe thing seems to be the bad luck in being found out."
He stopped, and Robert turned over the substance of this worldlyreasoning in his mind. Lester was very calm about it. He seemed, asusual, to be most convincingly sane.
"You're not contemplating marrying her, are you?" queried Roberthesitatingly.
"I hadn't come to that," answered Lester coolly.
They looked at each other quietly for a moment, and then Robertturned his glance to the distant scene of the city.
"It's useless to ask whether you are seriously in love with her, Isuppose," ventured Robert.
"I don't know whether I'd be able to discuss that divine afflatuswith you or not," returned Lester, with a touch of grim humor. "I havenever experienced the sensation myself. All I know is that the lady isvery pleasing to me."
"Well, it's all a question of your own well-being and the family's,Lester," went on Robert, after another pause. "Morality doesn't seemto figure in it anyway--at least you and I can't discuss thattogether. Your feelings on that score naturally relate to you alone.But the matter of your own personal welfare seems to me to besubstantial enough ground to base a plea on. The family's feelings andpride are also fairly important. Father's the kind of a man who setsmore store by the honor of his family than most men. You know that aswell as I do, of course."
"I know how father feels about it," returned Lester. "The wholebusiness is as clear to me as it is to any of you, though off-hand Idon't see just what's to be done about it. These matters aren't alwaysof a day's growth, and they can't be settled in a day. The girl'shere. To a certain extent I'm responsible that she is here. While I'mnot willing to go into details, there's always more in these affairsthan appears on the court calendar."
"Of course I don't know what your relations with her have been,"returned Robert, "and I'm not curious to know, but it does look like abit of injustice all around, don't you think--unless you intendto marry her?" This last was put forth as a feeler.
"I might be willing to agree to that, too," was Lester's bafflingreply, "if anything were to be gained by it. The point is, the womanis here, and the family is in possession of the fact. Now if there isanything to be done I have to do it. There isn't anybody else who canact for me in this matter."
Lester lapsed into a silence, and Robert rose and paced the floor,coming back after a time to say: "You say you haven't any idea ofmarrying her--or rather you haven't come to it. I wouldn't,Lester. It seems to me you would be making the mistake of your life,from every point of view. I don't want to orate, but a man of yourposition has so much to lose; you can't afford to do it. Aside fromfamily considerations, you have too much at stake. You'd be simplythrowing your life away--"
He paused, with his right hand held out before him, as wascustomary when he was deeply in earnest, and Lester felt the candorand simplicity of this appeal. Robert was not criticizing him now. Hewas making an appeal to him, and this was somewhat different.
The appeal passed without comment, however, and then Robert beganon a new tack, this time picturing old Archibald's fondness for Lesterand the hope he had always entertained that he would marry somewell-to-do Cincinnati girl, Catholic, if agreeable to him, but atleast worthy of his station. And Mrs. Kane felt the same way; surelyLester must realize that.
"I know just how all of them feel about it," Lester interrupted atlast, "but I don't see that anything's to be done right now."
"You mean that you don't think it would be policy for you to giveher up just at present?"
"I mean that she's been exceptionally good to me, and that I'mmorally under obligations to do the best I can by her. What that maybe, I can't tell."
"To live with her?" inquired Ro
bert coolly.
"Certainly not to turn her out bag and baggage if she has beenaccustomed to live with me," replied Lester.
Robert sat down again, as if he considered his recent appealfutile.
"Can't family reasons persuade you to make some amicablearrangements with her and let her go?"
"Not without due consideration of the matter; no."
"You don't think you could hold out some hope that the thing willend quickly--something that would give me a reasonable excuse forsoftening down the pain of it to the family?"
"I would be perfectly willing to do anything which would take awaythe edge of this thing for the family, but the truth's the truth, andI can't see any room for equivocation between you and me. As I've saidbefore, these relationships are involved with things which make itimpossible to discuss them--unfair to me, unfair to the woman. Noone can see how they are to be handled, except the people that are inthem, and even they can't always see. I'd be a damned dog to stand uphere and give you my word to do anything except the best I can."
Lester stopped, and now Robert rose and paced the floor again, onlyto come back after a time and say, "You don't think there's anythingto be done just at present?"
"Not at present."
"Very well, then, I expect I might as well be going. I don't knowthat there's anything else we can talk about."
"Won't you stay and take lunch with me? I think I might manage toget down to the hotel if you'll stay."
"No, thank you," answered Robert. "I believe I can make that oneo'clock train for Cincinnati. I'll try, anyhow."
They stood before each other now, Lester pale and rather flaccid,Robert clear, wax-like, well-knit, and shrewd, and one could see thedifference time had already made. Robert was the clean, decisive man,Lester the man of doubts. Robert was the spirit of business energy andintegrity embodied, Lester the spirit of commercial self-sufficiency,looking at life with an uncertain eye. Together they made a strikingpicture, which was none the less powerful for the thoughts that werenow running through their minds.
"Well," said the older brother, after a time, "I don't supposethere is anything more I can say. I had hoped to make you feel just aswe do about this thing, but of course you are your own best judge ofthis. If you don't see it now, nothing I could say would make you. Itstrikes me as a very bad move on your part though."
Lester listened. He said nothing, but his face expressed anunchanged purpose.
Robert turned for his hat, and they walked to the office doortogether.
"I'll put the best face I can on it," said Robert, and walkedout.
Jennie Gerhardt: A Novel Page 33