CHAPTER XVII. AUNT JANE'S HEIRESS. CAPÍTULO XVII. A HERDEIRA DA TIA JANE

"Silas," said Aunt Jane to her lawyer, the next morning after her interview with Patsy, "I'm ready to have you draw up my will." Mr. Watson gave a start of astonishment. In his own mind he had arrived at the conclusion that the will would never be executed, and to have Miss Merrick thus suddenly declare her decision was enough to startle even the lawyer's natural reserve. "Very well, Jane," he said, briefly. They were alone in the invalid's morning room, Phibbs having been asked to retire. "There is no use disguising the fact, Silas, that I grow weaker every day, and the numbness is creeping nearer and nearer to my heart," said Miss Merrick, in her usual even tones. "It is folly for me to trifle with these few days of grace yet allowed me, and I have fully made up my mind as to the disposition of my property." "Yes?" he said, enquiringly, and drew from his pocket a pencil and paper.

"I shall leave to my niece Louise five thousand dollars." "Yes, Jane," jotting down the memorandum. "And to Elizabeth a like sum." The lawyer seemed disappointed. He tapped the pencil against his teeth, musingly, for a moment, and then wrote down the amount.

"Also to my brother, John Merrick, the sum of five thousand dollars," she resumed. "To your brother?" "Yes. That should be enough to take care of him as long as he lives. He seems quite simple in his tastes, and he is an old man." The lawyer wrote it down.

"All my other remaining property, both real and personal, I shall leave to my niece, Patricia Doyle." "Jane!" "Did you hear me?" "Yes." "Then do as I bid you, Silas Watson." "Alors faites ce que je vous dis, Silas Watson." He leaned back in his chair and looked at her thoughtfully.

"I am not only your lawyer, Jane; I am also your friend and counsellor. Do you realize what this bequest means?" he asked, gently.

"It means that Patricia will inherit Elmhurst—and a fortune besides. Why not, Silas? I liked the child from the first. She's frank and open and brave, and will do credit to my judgment." Elle est franche, ouverte et courageuse, et fera honneur à mon jugement." "She is very young and unsophisticated," said the lawyer, "and of all your nieces she will least appreciate your generosity." "Elle est très jeune et peu sophistiquée, dit l'avocat, et de toutes vos nièces, c'est elle qui appréciera le moins votre générosité. "You are to be my executor, and manage the estate until the girl comes of age. "Vous serez mon exécuteur testamentaire et gérerez les biens jusqu'à ce que la jeune fille atteigne l'âge adulte. You will see that she is properly educated and fitted for her station in life. Vous verrez qu'elle a reçu une bonne éducation et qu'elle est à la hauteur de sa situation. As for appreciation, or gratitude, I don't care a snap of my finger for such fol-de-rol." Quant à l'appréciation ou à la gratitude, je n'ai que faire d'un claquement de doigts pour ce genre de fol-de-rol." The lawyer sighed.

"But the boy, Jane? You seem to have forgotten him," he said. "Drat the boy! I've done enough for him already." "Wouldn't Tom like you to provide for Kenneth in some way, however humbly?" "Tom n'aimerait-il pas que vous subveniez aux besoins de Kenneth d'une manière ou d'une autre, même humblement ?" "Разве Том не хотел бы, чтобы вы как-то обеспечили Кеннета, пусть даже скромно?" She glared at him angrily.

"How do you know what Tom would like, after all these years?" "Comment savez-vous ce que Tom aimerait, après toutes ces années ?" she asked, sternly. "And how should I know, either? The money is mine, and the boy is nothing to me. Let him shift for himself." Qu'il se débrouille tout seul". "There is a great deal of money, Jane," declared the lawyer, impressively. "We have been fortunate in our investments, and you have used but little of your ample income. To spare fifty thousand dollars to Kenneth, who is Tom's sole remaining relative, would be no hardship to Patricia. Le fait d'épargner cinquante mille dollars à Kenneth, qui est le seul parent restant de Tom, n'est pas un problème pour Patricia. Indeed, she would scarcely miss it." En effet, elle n'y manquerait guère." "You remind me of something, Silas," she said, looking at him with friendly eyes. "Make a memorandum of twenty thousand dollars to Silas Watson. You have been very faithful to my interests and have helped materially to increase my fortune." "Thank you, Jane." He wrote down the amount as calmly as he had done the others.

"And the boy?" he asked, persistently.

Aunt Jane sighed wearily, and leaned against her pillows.

"Give the boy two thousand," she said. "Make it ten, Jane." "I'll make it five, and not a penny more," she rejoined. "Je dirai cinq, et pas un centime de plus", a-t-elle répondu. "Now leave me, and prepare the paper at once. I want to sign it today, if possible." He bowed gravely, and left the room.

Toward evening the lawyer came again, bringing with him a notary from the village. Dr. Eliel, who had come to visit Patricia, was also called into Jane Merrick's room, and after she had carefully read the paper in their presence the mistress of Elmhurst affixed her signature to the document which transferred the great estate to the little Irish girl, and the notary and the doctor solemnly witnessed it and retired. Le docteur Eliel, qui était venu rendre visite à Patricia, fut également appelé dans la chambre de Jane Merrick, et après qu'elle eut lu attentivement le document en leur présence, la maîtresse d'Elmhurst apposa sa signature sur le document qui transférait la grande propriété à la petite Irlandaise, et le notaire et le docteur en furent les témoins solennels et se retirèrent. "Now, Silas," said the old woman, with a sigh of intense relief, "I can die in peace." Singularly enough, the signing of the will seemed not to be the end for Jane Merrick, but the beginning of an era of unusual comfort. De manière assez singulière, la signature du testament ne semble pas être la fin pour Jane Merrick, mais le début d'une ère de confort inhabituel. On the following morning she awakened brighter than usual, having passed a good night, freed from the worries and anxieties that had beset her for weeks. She felt more like her old self than at any time since the paralysis had overtaken her, and passed the morning most enjoyably in her sunshiney garden. Elle se sentait plus proche d'elle-même qu'elle ne l'avait jamais été depuis que la paralysie l'avait atteinte, et passa la matinée dans son jardin ensoleillé. Here Patricia was also brought in her wheel chair by Beth, who then left the two invalids together.

They conversed genially enough, for a time, until an unfortunate remark of Aunt Jane's which seemed to asperse her father's character aroused Patricia's ire. Elles conversèrent assez aimablement pendant un certain temps, jusqu'à ce qu'une remarque malheureuse de tante Jane, qui semblait dénigrer le caractère de son père, suscite l'ire de Patricia. Then she loosened her tongue, and in her voluable Irish way berated her aunt until poor Phibbs stood aghast at such temerity, and even Mr. Watson, who arrived to enquire after his client and friend, was filled with amazement. Puis elle a délié sa langue et, à sa manière irlandaise, a réprimandé sa tante jusqu'à ce que le pauvre Phibbs reste bouche bée devant une telle témérité, et que même M. Watson, qui est arrivé pour s'enquérir de sa cliente et amie, soit rempli de stupéfaction.

He cast a significant look at Miss Merrick, who answered it in her usual emphatic way. Il jeta un regard significatif à Miss Merrick, qui lui répondit avec l'emphase qu'on lui connaît.

"Patricia is quite right, Silas," she declared, "and I deserve all that she has said. If the girl were fond enough of me to defend me as heartily as she does her father, I would be very proud, indeed." Si la jeune fille m'aimait assez pour me défendre avec autant d'ardeur qu'elle le fait pour son père, j'en serais très fier". Patricia cooled at once, and regarded her aunt with a sunny smile. Patricia se calma aussitôt et regarda sa tante avec un sourire ensoleillé.

"Forgive me!" she begged. "I know you did not mean it, and I was wrong to talk to you in such a way." So harmony was restored, and Mr. Watson wondered more and more at this strange perversion of the old woman's character. L'harmonie se rétablit, et M. Watson s'étonne de plus en plus de cette étrange perversion du caractère de la vieille femme. Heretofore any opposition had aroused in her intense rage and a fierce antagonism, but now she seemed delighted to have Patsy fly at her, and excused the girl's temper instead of resenting it. Jusqu'à présent, toute opposition avait suscité chez elle une rage intense et un antagonisme féroce, mais maintenant elle semblait ravie de voir Patsy s'en prendre à elle, et excusait le tempérament de la jeune fille au lieu de lui en vouloir. But Patsy was a little ashamed of herself this morning, realizing perhaps that Aunt Jane had been trying to vex her, just to enjoy her indignant speeches; and she also realized the fact that her aunt was old and suffering, and not wholly responsible for her aggravating and somewhat malicious observations. Mais Patsy avait un peu honte d'elle-même ce matin, réalisant peut-être que tante Jane avait essayé de la vexer, juste pour jouir de ses discours indignés ; et elle réalisait aussi le fait que sa tante était vieille et souffrante, et qu'elle n'était pas entièrement responsable de ses observations aggravantes et quelque peu malveillantes. So she firmly resolved not to be so readily entrapped again, and was so bright and cheery during the next hour that Aunt Jane smiled more than once, and at one time actually laughed at her niece's witty repartee. Elle prit donc la ferme résolution de ne plus se laisser piéger aussi facilement et fut si brillante et joyeuse pendant l'heure qui suivit que tante Jane sourit plus d'une fois et, à un moment donné, rit de la répartie pleine d'esprit de sa nièce. After that it became the daily program for Patsy to spend her mornings in Aunt Jane's little garden, and although they sometimes clashed, and, as Phibbs told Beth, "had dreadful fights," they both enjoyed these hours very much. Par la suite, Patsy passa ses matinées dans le petit jardin de tante Jane, et bien qu'elles se soient parfois opposées et, comme Phibbs l'a dit à Beth, qu'elles aient eu des "disputes épouvantables", elles appréciaient toutes les deux beaucoup ces heures. The two girls became rather uneasy during the days their cousin spent in the society of Aunt Jane. Les deux filles sont devenues assez mal à l'aise pendant les jours que leur cousine a passés en compagnie de tante Jane. Even the dreadful accounts they received from Phibbs failed wholly to reassure them, and Louise redoubled her solicitious attentions to her aunt in order to offset the influence Patricia seemed to be gaining over her. Même les terribles récits qu'ils recevaient de Phibbs ne parvenaient pas à les rassurer, et Louise redoublait de sollicitude pour sa tante afin de contrebalancer l'influence que Patricia semblait prendre sur elle.

Louise had also become, by this time, the managing housekeeper of the establishment, and it was certain that Aunt Jane looked upon her eldest and most competent niece with much favor. Louise était également devenue, à cette époque, la gouvernante de l'établissement, et il était certain que tante Jane considérait sa nièce la plus âgée et la plus compétente avec beaucoup de faveur.

Beth, with all her friends to sing her praises, seemed to make less headway with her aunt than either of the others, and gradually she sank into a state of real despondency. Beth, avec toutes ses amies qui chantaient ses louanges, semblait faire moins de progrès avec sa tante que les autres, et peu à peu elle sombra dans un état de réel découragement.

"I've done the best I could," she wrote her mother, "but I'm not as clever as Louise nor as amusing as Patricia; so Aunt Jane pays little attention to me. "J'ai fait de mon mieux", écrit-elle à sa mère, "mais je ne suis pas aussi intelligente que Louise ni aussi amusante que Patricia ; c'est pourquoi tante Jane ne m'accorde pas beaucoup d'attention. She's a dreadful old woman, and I can't bring myself to appear to like her. C'est une vieille femme épouvantable, et je ne peux pas me résoudre à paraître l'aimer. That probably accounts for my failure; but I may as well stay on here until something happens." C'est probablement la raison de mon échec, mais je peux aussi bien rester ici jusqu'à ce que quelque chose se passe." In a fortnight more Patricia abandoned her chair and took to crutches, on which she hobbled everywhere as actively as the others walked. Quinze jours plus tard, Patricia abandonnait son fauteuil et prenait des béquilles, sur lesquelles elle boitait partout aussi activement que les autres marchaient. She affected her cousins' society more, from this time, and Aunt Jane's society less, for she had come to be fond of the two girls who had nursed her so tenderly, and it was natural that a young girl would prefer to be with those of her own age rather than a crabbed old woman like Aunt Jane. À partir de ce moment, elle fréquenta davantage ses cousins et moins tante Jane, car elle en était venue à aimer les deux filles qui l'avaient soignée si tendrement, et il était naturel qu'une jeune fille préfère être avec des personnes de son âge plutôt qu'avec une vieille femme croulante comme tante Jane. Kenneth also now became Patsy's faithful companion, for the boy had lost his former bashfulness and fear of girls, and had grown to feel at ease even in the society of Beth and Louise. The four had many excursions and picnics into the country together; but Kenneth and Patsy were recognized as especial chums, and the other girls did not interfere in their friendship except to tease them, occasionally, in a good natured way. Les quatre ont fait de nombreuses excursions et pique-niques à la campagne ensemble ; mais Kenneth et Patsy ont été reconnus comme des copains spéciaux, et les autres filles n'ont pas interféré dans leur amitié, sauf pour les taquiner, à l'occasion, de manière bon enfant.

The boy's old acquaintances could hardly recognize him as the same person they had known before Patricia's adventure on the plank. His fits of gloomy abstraction and violent bursts of temper had alike vanished, or only prevailed at brief intervals. Ses crises d'abstraction morose et ses violents accès de colère avaient disparu, ou n'avaient eu lieu qu'à de brefs intervalles. Nor was he longer rude and unmannerly to those with whom he came in contact. Il n'était plus non plus grossier et sans manières avec ceux qu'il côtoyait. Awkward he still was, and lacking in many graces that education and good society can alone confer; but he was trying hard to be, as he confided to old Uncle John, "like other people," and succeeded in adapting himself very well to his new circumstances. Il était encore maladroit et manquait de nombreuses qualités que l'éducation et la bonne société peuvent seules conférer ; mais il s'efforçait d'être, comme il le confiait au vieil oncle John, "comme les autres", et réussissait à s'adapter très bien à sa nouvelle situation. Although he had no teacher, as yet, he had begun to understand color a little, and succeeded in finishing one or two water-color sketches which Patsy, who knew nothing at all of such things, pronounced "wonderfully fine." Bien qu'il n'ait pas encore de professeur, il a commencé à comprendre un peu la couleur et a réussi à terminer une ou deux esquisses à l'aquarelle que Patsy, qui ne connaissait rien à ce genre de choses, a trouvé "merveilleusement belles". Of course the boy blushed with pleasure and was encouraged to still greater effort.

The girl was also responsible for Kenneth's sudden advancement in the household at Elmhurst. One day she said calmly to Aunt Jane:

"I've invited Kenneth to dinner this evening." The woman flew angry in an instant.

"Who gave you such authority?" she demanded.

"No one. I just took it," said Patsy, saucily. "He shall not come," declared Aunt Jane, sternly. "I'll have no interference from you, Miss, with my household arrangements. "Je n'accepterai aucune ingérence de votre part, Mademoiselle, dans mon ménage. Phibbs, call Louise!" Patsy's brow grew dark. Les sourcils de Patsy s'assombrissent. Presently Louise appeared.

"Instruct the servants to forbid that boy to enter my dining room this evening," she said to Louise. "Ordonnez aux domestiques d'interdire à ce garçon d'entrer dans ma salle à manger ce soir", dit-elle à Louise. "Also, Louise," said Patsy, "tell them not to lay a plate for me, and ask Oscar to be ready with the wagon at five o'clock. "Louise, dit Patsy, dis-leur de ne pas me préparer d'assiette, et demande à Oscar d'être prêt avec le chariot à cinq heures. I'm going home." Louise hesitated, and looked from Miss Jane to Patsy, and back again. They were glaring upon each other like two gorgons. Ils se regardaient l'un l'autre comme deux gorgones.

Then she burst into laughter; she could not help it, the sight was too ridiculous. Elle éclate alors de rire, c'est plus fort qu'elle, le spectacle est trop ridicule. A moment later Patsy was laughing, too, and then Aunt Jane allowed a grim smile to cross her features.

"Never mind, Louise," she said, with remarkable cheerfulness; "We'll compromise matters." "Peu importe, Louise", dit-elle avec une gaieté remarquable, "nous trouverons un compromis". "How?" asked Patsy.

"By putting a plate for Kenneth," said her aunt, cooly. "En mettant une assiette pour Kenneth", dit froidement sa tante. "I imagine I can stand his society for one evening." So the matter was arranged to Patricia's satisfaction, and the boy came to dinner, trembling and unhappy at first, but soon placed at ease by the encouragements of the three girls. Indeed, he behaved so well, in the main, and was so gentle and unobstrusive, that Aunt Jane looked at him with surprise, and favored him with one or two speeches which he answered modestly and well. En fait, il se comporta si bien, dans l'ensemble, et fut si doux et discret que tante Jane le regarda avec surprise et le gratifia d'un ou deux discours auxquels il répondit modestement et bien.

Patsy was radiant with delight, and the next day Aunt Jane remarked casually that she did not object to the boy's presence at dinner, at all, and he could come whenever he liked. Patsy était rayonnante de joie et, le lendemain, tante Jane fit remarquer avec désinvolture qu'elle ne s'opposait pas du tout à la présence du garçon au dîner et qu'il pouvait venir quand il le souhaitait. This arrangement gave great pleasure to both Uncle John and Mr. Watson, the latter of whom was often present at the "state dinner," and both men congratulated Patsy upon the distinct victory she had won. Cet arrangement a fait grand plaisir à l'oncle John et à M. Watson, ce dernier étant souvent présent au "dîner d'État", et les deux hommes ont félicité Patsy pour la nette victoire qu'elle avait remportée. No more was said about her leaving Elmhurst. Il n'a plus été question de son départ d'Elmhurst. The Major wrote that he was having a splendid time with the colonel, and begged for an extension of his vacation, to which Patsy readily agreed, she being still unable on account of her limb to return to her work at Madam Borne's. Le major écrivit qu'il passait un moment splendide avec le colonel et demanda une prolongation de ses vacances, ce que Patsy accepta volontiers, ne pouvant toujours pas reprendre son travail chez Madame Borne à cause de ses membres. And so the days glided pleasantly by, and August came to find a happy company of young folks at old Elmhurst, with Aunt Jane wonderfully improved in health and Uncle John beaming complacently upon everyone he chanced to meet. C'est ainsi que les jours passèrent agréablement et que le mois d'août retrouva une joyeuse compagnie de jeunes gens à Elmhurst, avec une tante Jane dont la santé s'était merveilleusement améliorée et un oncle John qui rayonnait de bonheur sur tous ceux qu'il rencontrait.