Of late there had been unwonted conflict
between them, and in the reaction of joy they became all tenderness.
"What I ought to have done long ago--go and live away----"
"Will it be possible, dear?"
"It shall be!" exclaimed the mother vehemently. "I am not a slave--
I am not a wife! I ought to have had courage to go away years since.
It was wrong, wrong to live as I have done. The money is my own, and
I will be free. He shall have a third of it every year, if he leaves
me free. One-third is yours, one mine."
"No, no!" said Olga drawing back. "For me, none of it!"
"Yes, you will live with me--you will, Olga! This makes everything
different. You will see that you cannot do what you thought of!
Don't speak of it now--think--wait----"
The girl moved apart. Her face lost its brightness; hardened in
passionate determination.
"I can't begin all that again," she said, with an accent of
weariness.
"No! I won't speak of it now, Olga. But will you do one thing for
me? Will you put it off for a short time? I'll tell you what I've
planned; your uncle and I talked it all over. I must leave this
house before _he_ comes back, to-morrow morning. I can't go to your
uncle's house, as he asked me; you see why it is better not, don't
you? The best will be to go into lodgings for a time, and not to let
_him_ know where I am, till I hear whether he will accept the terms
I offer.
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