Free Astra by Grace Livingston Hill Page A

never disapproving. And now that Charles was at home again, he suddenly realized that his father was soon going to leave them. There was a gray look beginning to shadow the beloved face, the same kind of shadow he remembered on his loved mother’s face before she left them. He had been a small boy when his mother was taken sick. He had hovered around her during her last illness and had watched the shadows gather. Now he recognized that they were gathering again, and his heart was grieved.
    They had never been an outspoken family, always reserved, saying little of their personal affections. So Charles entered upon his new duties in the bank with quiet gravity and a youthful dignity that made a fine impression among his fellow workmen.
    “Now Charles,” said his sister Rosamond, who had lived for a time in New York and had sophisticated ideas, “don’t forget that great things are expected of you. You are on your own, but don’t relax your vigilance upon yourself just because Father is too sick to keep watch over you. Remember, the Camerons are a fine family and have always stood at the top. Remember you’ve your fortune to make, and it wants to be a good one, too. You will, of course, get your share from the estate, but naturally, when it is divided among us all it won’t be so great, and you will need to understand that from the first and be on the watch to increase it. We want our youngest brother to be as wealthy and influential as any of us. We want to be proud of you, you know. And in your position in the bank you will, of course, have opportunities to know of good investments. So I say, be on the watch from the beginning to build up your fortune. Of course, you will save a little from your salary every month, and even a little can be the nucleus of a fortune if you are constantly on the alert. You are a young man and will want to go out socially, but settle it in your mind how much you are going to spend that way, and don’t let yourself be tempted beyond that, else you will have nothing ahead when you want to marry.”
    Charles had looked at Rosamond with a mild perplexity as she delivered this worldly advice. Rosamond had always been the worldly-wise one, not at all as he remembered his mother, nor like his father, he knew. He and Rosamond had never had much in common.
    “I shall, of course,” went on Rosamond, “do as much as possible to get you into the best circles. Fortunately, I am well acquainted with a number of girls and young men who will be excellent companions for you and serve to take the place of your college friends, whom you must miss greatly. You will be invited and be able to have some fun times. If you would like to come to the city and visit me next week, I could begin to introduce you to some of them. I could give a little dinner Saturday evening. Would you like that? There is an especially nice girl I’d like to have you know. She is wealthy and sophisticated and will help to put a polish on you that you really need, Charlie.”
    Charles had looked at his sister with a quiet aloofness in his face.
    “That’s kind of you, Roz, to plan for me, and I thank you,” he said, “but just at present, while father is so ill, I would rather stay right here and be with him as much as I can.”
    “Well, that’s sweet of you, of course, Charlie, but I don’t think that’s a bit wise. You need to get out among people and brush off that solemnity of yours. It isn’t good for a young man to be around old, sick people much. It will break down all your cheerfulness. And a little cheerfulness is what you need. It will help you on in the world! It will help you in your business, it will help you socially, and it will help you later in life to get on with other men. You’d better come with me this weekend, Charlie.”
    But Charles’s lips set in a pleasant firmness.
    “Not now, Roz,” he said pleasantly. “I’m staying with Father. He said he likes to have me. I read to him now and then,