She, perhaps, was not to blame.

Her experiences had been trying and she was still confronted by influences bitterly opposed to Harry, and largely in favor of Willits, for, weak specimen as Prim was, he was still her father, and in so important a step as her marriage, must naturally exercise authority.
As for his own influence, that, he realized, had come to an end at their last interview: the whole thing, he must admit, was disappointing--cruelly so--the keenest disappointment of his life.
Many a night since he bid Harry good-by had he sat alone by that same fire, his dogs his only companions, the boy's words ringing in his ears: "Leaving Kate is easier than leaving you!" Had it been the other way and he the exile, it would have been nearer the truth, he often thought, for nothing in his whole life had left so great a void in his heart as the loss of the boy he loved.

Not that he was ever completely disheartened; that was not his nature; there was always daylight ahead--the day when Harry would come back and their old life begin again.

With this in store for him he had led his life as best he could, visiting his friends in the country, entertaining in a simple, inexpensive way, hunting at Wesley, where he and Peggy Coston would exchange confidences and funny stories; dining out; fishing in the early spring; getting poorer and poorer in pocket, and yet never complaining, his philosophy being that it would be brighter in the morning, and it always was--to him.
And yet if the truth be told his own situation had not improved--in fact, it had grown steadily worse.

Only one payment of interest had been made on the mortgage and the owner was already threatening foreclosure proceedings.