[Gutenberg 32831] • The Lost Door

I have often wondered whether I would have urged Wrexler to come with me if I had known what Rougemont would do to him. I think -- looking back -- that even if I could have glimpsed the future, I would have acted in the same way, and that I would have brought him to Rougemont to fulfill his destiny.

As the boat cut its swift way through the waters on its journey to France, I had no thought of this. Nor had Wrexler. He was happier than I had ever seen him. He had never been abroad before, and the boat was a source of wonder and enjoyment to him.

I myself was full of an eager anticipation of happy months to come. It hardly seemed possible that only a week had elapsed since I received the cable that had made such a change in my fortunes:

"Your father died yesterday. You are sole heir, provided you comply with conditions of his will, the principal one being that you spend six months of each year at Rougemont. If satisfactory, come at once."

It was signed by my father's lawyer. I should have known, then, what was to come. The lawyer is an evil, evil man.