human
I guess you won't be stayin' here long, Mr. Gwynne, said Mrs. Johnson.
gpt
Your mother,--I should say, your step-mother,--has got your house all ready for you to move right in. Job Turner moved out last week, and she took some of the furniture and things over so's you could be sort of at home right away. Observing his start, and the sudden tightening of his lips, she went on complacently:
human
Where does Rachel Carter live?
gpt
Rachel who?
human
I believe that was her name before she--before she married my father.
gpt
Oh, I see. Her name is Rachel, of course. Well, her house is up Columbia street,--that's the one on the other side of the square,--almost to the hill where Isaac Edwards has his brickyard, just this side of the swamp.
human
Everything's in good shape, announced Bugher.
gpt
There ain't a claim against the property, now that Mrs. Gwyn has given up her idea of contesting the will. The property is in your name now, Mr. Gwynne,--and that reminds me that your father, in his will, spells your name with a double n and an e, while he spells hers with only one n. He took into consideration the fact that you spelled your name in the new-fangled way, as you say he used to spell it in Kentucky. And that also accounts for his signing the will 'Robert Gwyn, formerly known as Robert Gwynne.' It's legal, all right, properly witnessed and attested by two reliable men of this county.
human
I have seen a copy of the will.
gpt
Another queer thing about it is that he bequeathed certain property to you as 'my son, Kenneth Gwynne,'--while he fails to mention his daughter Viola at all, except to say that he bequeaths so-and-so to 'Rachel Gwyn, to give, bequeath and devise as she sees fit.' Of course, Viola, by law, is entitled to a share of the estate and it should have been so designated. Judge Wylie says she can contest the will if she so desires, on the ground that she is entitled to as much as you, Mr. Gwynne. But she has decided to let it stand as it is, and I guess she's sensible. All that her mother now has will go to her when said Rachel dies, and as it will be a full half of the estate instead of what might have been only a third, I guess she's had pretty good advice from some one.
human
The fact that my half-sister was not mentioned in the will naturally led me to conclude that no such person existed. I did not know till this morning, Mr. Bugher, that I had a half-sister.
gpt
Well, began the recorder, pursing his lips,
human
It's all very strange,--exceedingly strange.
gpt
When did your own mother die, if it's a fair question?
human
In the year 1812. My father was away when she died.
gpt
Off to the war, I suppose.
human
Yes, said the young man steadily.
gpt
Off to the war, he lied, still staring out of the window.
human
I was left with my grandparents when he went off to make his fortune in this new country. It was not until I was fairly well grown that we heard that he was married to a woman named Rachel Carter.
gpt
Well, I guess it's something you don't like to talk about,