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Updated: June 17, 2025
He recalled that little Alice Van Ostend prattled much about this same child during the week she had spent recently with her father at Champ-au-Haut. Was the mistress of Champ-au-Haut going to adopt her? Almeda Champney had never wanted the blessing of a child, and, contrary to her young husband's wishes he was her junior by twelve years she had had her way.
In July, however, she had again an opportunity to see the two together at Champ-au-Haut. Champney was in Flamsted on business for two days only, and so far as she knew there was no opportunity for Aileen to see her nephew more than once and in her presence. She managed matters in such a way that Aileen's services were in continual demand during Champney's two days' stay in his native town.
His own laughter and the child's, happy, merry, care-free, rang out peal on peal till Ann and Hannah and Octavius paused in their work to listen, and wished that such music might have been heard often during their long years of faithful service in childless Champ-au-Haut.
He helped her into the trap, and in silence they drove down to The Bow. Aurora Googe spoke for the first time when Octavius left her at the door of Champ-au-Haut. "Tave, don't leave me; I want you to be near, somewhere in the hall, if she is in the library. I want a witness to what I must say and I trust you. But don't come into the room no matter what is said."
Now I must go in and you may give me another kiss for I've been on starvation diet these last seven years only one oh, Champney!"... The dim light continued to burn in the upper chamber at Champ-au-Haut until the morning; for before Champney and Aileen left the shed, the Inevitable had already crossed the threshold of that chamber and the dim light burned on to keep him company....
Her nature was so absorbingly tenacious of whatever held her narrow interests, that a child at Champ-au-Haut would have broken, in a measure, her domination of her weaker-willed husband, because it would have centred in itself his love and ambition to "keep up the name."
Two days later, Champney Googe, having bade good-bye to his neighbors, the Caukinses large and small, to Octavius, Ann and Hannah, Aileen was gone on an errand when he called last at Champ-au-Haut but he left his remembrance to her with the latter to his aunt, to Joel Quimber and Augustus, to Father Honoré and a host of village well-wishers who, in their joyful anticipation of his future and his fortunes, laid aside all factional differences, said, at last, farewell to Flamsted, to The Corners, The Bow, and his home among the future quarries in The Gore.
It was Romanzo Caukins, one of the Colonel's numerous family, a boy of sixteen who had been bound out recently to the mistress of Champ-au-Haut upon agreement of bed, board, clothes, three terms of "schooling" yearly, and the addition of thirty dollars to be paid annually to the Colonel.
The two men drove on in silence to Champ-au-Haut. The priest was shown at once to Mrs. Champney's room. He had not seen her for over a year and was prepared for a great change; but the actual impression of her condition, as she lay motionless on the bed, was a shock. His practised eye told him that the Inevitable was already on the threshold, demanding entrance.
Hearing it again, the man of Maine, without fully realizing what he was doing, turned back his cuffs. He could scarce restrain himself sufficiently to keep his promise to Aurora. "Eighty thousand? hm m; between you and Octavius Buzzby there would be precious little left either at Champ-au-Haut or of it."
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