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diff --git a/old/53416.txt b/old/53416.txt deleted file mode 100644 index a91033c..0000000 --- a/old/53416.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,21755 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, Only a Girl's Love, by Charles Garvice - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - - -Title: Only a Girl's Love - - -Author: Charles Garvice - - - -Release Date: October 31, 2016 [eBook #53416] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ONLY A GIRL'S LOVE*** - - -E-text prepared by Chris Whitehead, Demian Katz, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images -generously made available by Villanova University Digital Library -(http://digital.library.villanova.edu) - - - -Note: Images of the original pages are available through - Villanova University Digital Library. See - https://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:428408# - - - - - -No. 215 (Eagle Series) - -ONLY A GIRL'S LOVE - -[Illustration] - -by - -CHARLES GARVICE - -STREET & SMITH. PUBLISHERS. NEW YORK - - - * * * * * * - -_Copyright Fiction by the Best Authors_ - -NEW EAGLE SERIES - -A Big New Book Issued Weekly in this Line. - -An Unequaled Collection of Modern Romances. - - -The books in this line comprise an unrivaled collection of copyrighted -novels by authors who have won fame wherever the English language is -spoken. Foremost among these is Mrs. Georgie Sheldon, whose works -are contained in this line exclusively. Every book in the New Eagle -Series is of generous length, of attractive appearance, and of -undoubted merit. No better literature can be had at any price. Beware -of imitations of the S. & S. novels, which are sold cheap because -their publishers were put to no expense in the matter of purchasing -manuscripts and making plates. - - - ALL TITLES ALWAYS IN PRINT - - TO THE PUBLIC:--These books are sold by news dealers everywhere. If - your dealer does not keep them, and will not get them for you, send - direct to the publishers, in which case four cents must be added to - the price per copy to cover postage. - - 1--Queen Bess By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 2--Ruby's Reward By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 7--Two Keys By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 12--Edrie's Legacy By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 44--That Dowdy By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 55--Thrice Wedded By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 66--Witch Hazel By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 77--Tina By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 88--Virgie's Inheritance By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 99--Audrey's Recompense By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 111--Faithful Shirley By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 122--Grazia's Mistake By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 133--Max By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 144--Dorothy's Jewels By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 155--Nameless Dell By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 166--The Masked Bridal By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 177--A True Aristocrat By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 188--Dorothy Arnold's Escape By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 199--Geoffrey's Victory By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 210--Wild Oats By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 219--Lost, A Pearle By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 222--The Lily of Mordaunt By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 233--Nora By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 244--A Hoiden's Conquest By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 255--The Little Marplot By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 266--The Welfleet Mystery By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 277--Brownie's Triumph By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 282--The Forsaken Bride By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 288--Sibyl's Influence By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 291--A Mysterious Wedding Ring By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 299--Little Miss Whirlwind By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 311--Wedded by Fate By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 339--His Heart's Queen By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 351--The Churchyard Betrothal By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 362--Stella Rosevelt By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 372--A Girl in a Thousand By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 373--A Thorn Among Roses By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - Sequel to "A Girl in a Thousand" - 382--Mona By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 391--Marguerite's Heritage By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 399--Betsey's Transformation By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 407--Esther, the Fright By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 415--Trixy By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 419--The Other Woman By Charles Garvice - 433--Winifred's Sacrifice By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 440--Edna's Secret Marriage By Charles Garvice - 451--Helen's Victory By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 458--When Love Meets Love By Charles Garvice - 476--Earle Wayne's Nobility By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 511--The Golden Key By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 512--A Heritage of Love By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - Sequel to "The Golden Key" - 519--The Magic Cameo By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 520--The Heatherford Fortune By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - Sequel to "The Magic Cameo" - 531--Better Than Life By Charles Garvice - 537--A Life's Mistake By Charles Garvice - 542--Once in a Life By Charles Garvice - 548--'Twas Love's Fault By Charles Garvice - 553--Queen Kate By Charles Garvice - 554--Step by Step By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 555--Put to the Test By Ida Reade Allen - 556--With Love's Aid By Wenona Gilman - 557--In Cupid's Chains By Charles Garvice - 558--A Plunge Into the Unknown By Richard Marsh - 559--The Love That Was Cursed By Geraldine Fleming - 560--The Thorns of Regret By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller - 561--The Outcast of the Family By Charles Garvice - 562--A Forced Promise By Ida Reade Allen - 563--The Old Homestead By Denman Thompson - 564--Love's First Kiss By Emma Garrison Jones - 565--Just a Girl By Charles Garvice - 566--In Love's Springtime By Laura Jean Libbey - 567--Trixie's Honor By Geraldine Fleming - 568--Hearts and Dollars By Ida Reade Allen - 569--By Devious Ways By Charles Garvice - 570--Her Heart's Unbidden Guest By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller - 571--Two Wild Girls By Mrs. Charlotte May Kingsley - 572--Amid Scarlet Roses By Emma Garrison Jones - 573--Heart for Heart By Charles Garvice - 574--The Fugitive Bride By Mary E. Bryan - 575--A Blue Grass Heroine By Ida Reade Allen - 576--The Yellow Face By Fred M. White - 577--The Story of a Passion By Charles Garvice - 579--The Curse of Beauty By Geraldine Fleming - 580--The Great Awakening By E. Phillips Oppenheim - 581--A Modern Juliet By Charles Garvice - 582--Virgie Talcott's Mission By Lucy M. Russell - 583--His Greatest Sacrifice; - or, Manch By Mary E. Bryan - 584--Mabel's Fate By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller - 585--The Ape and the Diamond By Richard Marsh - 586--Nell, of Shorne Mills By Charles Garvice - 587--Katherine's Two Suitors By Geraldine Fleming - 588--The Crime of Love By Barbara Howard - 589--His Father's Crime By E. Phillips Oppenheim - 590--What Was She to Him? By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller - 591--A Heritage of Hate By Charles Garvice - 592--Ida Chaloner's Heart By Lucy Randall Comfort - 593--Love Will Find the Way By Wenona Gilman - 594--A Case of Identity By Richard Marsh - 595--The Shadow of Her Life By Charles Garvice - 596--Slighted Love By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller - 597--Her Fatal Gift By Geraldine Fleming - 598--His Wife's Friend By Mary E. Bryan - 599--At Love's Cost By Charles Garvice - 600--St. Elmo By Augusta J. Evans - 601--The Fate of the Plotter By Louis Tracy - 602--Married in Error By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller - 603--Love and Jealousy By Lucy Randall Comfort - 604--Only a Working Girl By Geraldine Fleming - 605--Love, the Tyrant By Charles Garvice - 606--Mabel's Sacrifice By Charlotte M. Stanley - 607--Sybilla, the Siren By Ida Reade Allen - 608--Love is Love Forevermore By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller - 609--John Elliott's Flirtation By Lucy May Russell - 610--With All Her Heart By Charles Garvice - 611--Is Love Worth While? By Geraldine Fleming - 612--Her Husband's Other Wife By Emma Garrison Jones - 613--Philip Bennion's Death By Richard Marsh - 614--Little Phillis' Lover By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller - 615--Maida By Charles Garvice - 617--As a Man Lives By E. Phillips Oppenheim - 618--The Tide of Fate By Wenona Gilman - 619--The Cardinal Moth By Fred M. White - 620--Marcia Drayton By Charles Garvice - 621--Lynette's Wedding By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller - 622--His Madcap Sweetheart By Emma Garrison Jones - 623--Love at the Loom By Geraldine Fleming - 624--A Bachelor Girl By Lucy May Russell - 625--Kyra's Fate By Charles Garvice - 626--The Joss By Richard Marsh - 627--My Little Love By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller - 628--A Daughter of the Marionis By E. Phillips Oppenheim - 629--The Lady of Beaufort Park By Wenona Gilman - 630--The Verdict of the Heart By Charles Garvice - 631--A Love Concealed By Emma Garrison Jones - 632--Cruelly Divided By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller - 633--The Strange Disappearance - of Lady Delia By Louis Tracy - 634--Love's Golden Spell By Geraldine Fleming - 635--A Coronet of Shame By Charles Garvice - 636--Sinned Against By Mary E. Bryan - 637--If It Were True! By Wenona Gilman - 638--A Golden Barrier By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller - 639--A Hateful Bondage By Barbara Howard - 640--A Girl of Spirit By Charles Garvice - 641--Master of Men By E. Phillips Oppenheim - 642--A Fair Enchantress By Ida Reade Allen - 643--The Power of Love By Geraldine Fleming - 644--No Time for Penitence By Wenona Gilman - 645--A Jest of Fate By Charles Garvice - 646--Her Sister's Secret By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller - 647--Bitterly Atoned By Mrs. E. Burke Collins - 648--Gertrude Elliott's Crucible By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 649--The Corner House By Fred M. White - 650--Diana's Destiny By Charles Garvice - 651--Love's Clouded Dawn By Wenona Gilman - 652--Little Vixen By Mrs. Alex McVeigh Miller - 653--Her Heart's Challenge By Barbara Howard - 654--Vivian's Love Story By Mrs. E. Burke Collins - 655--Linked by Fate By Charles Garvice - 656--Hearts of Stone By Geraldine Fleming - 657--In the Service of Love By Richard Marsh - 658--Love's Devious Course By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller - 659--Told in the Twilight By Ida Reade Allen - 660--The Mills of the Gods By Wenona Gilman - 661--The Man of the Hour By Sir William Magnay - 662--A Little Barbarian By Charlotte Kingsley - 663--Creatures of Destiny By Charles Garvice - 664--A Southern Princess By Emma Garrison Jones - 666--A Fateful Promise By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 667--The Goddess--A Demon By Richard Marsh - 668--From Tears to Smiles By Ida Reade Allen - 669--Tempted by Gold By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller - 670--Better Than Riches By Wenona Gilman - 671--When Love Is Young By Charles Garvice - 672--Craven Fortune By Fred M. White - 673--Her Life's Burden By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller - 674--The Heart of Hetta By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 675--The Breath of Slander By Ida Reade Allen - 676--My Lady Beth By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 677--The Wooing of Esther Gray By Louis Tracy - 678--The Shadow Between Them By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller - 679--Gold in the Gutter By Charles Garvice - 680--Master of Her Fate By Geraldine Fleming - 681--In Full Cry By Richard Marsh - 682--My Pretty Maid By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller - 683--An Unhappy Bargain By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 684--True Love Endures By Ida Reade Allen - 685--India's Punishment By Laura Jean Libbey - 686--The Castle of the Shadows By Mrs. C. N. Williamson - 687--My Own Sweetheart By Wenona Gilman - 688--Only a Kiss By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller - 689--Lola Dunbar's Crime By Barbara Howard - 690--Ruth, the Outcast By Mrs. Mary E. Bryan - 691--Her Dearest Love By Geraldine Fleming - 692--The Man of Millions By Ida Reade Allen - 693--For Another's Fault By Charlotte M. Stanley - 694--The Belle of Saratoga By Lucy Randall Comfort - 695--The Mystery of the Unicorn By Sir William Magnay - 696--The Bride's Opals By Emma Garrison Jones - 697--One of Life's Roses By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 698--The Battle of Hearts By Geraldine Fleming - 700--In Wolf's Clothing By Charles Garvice - 701--A Lost Sweetheart By Ida Reade Allen - 702--The Stronger Passion By Mrs. Lillian R. Drayton - 703--Mr. Marx's Secret By E. Phillips Oppenheim - 704--Had She Loved Him Less! By Laura Jean Libbey - 705--The Adventure of Princess - Sylvia By Mrs. C. N. Williamson - 706--In Love's Paradise By Charlotte M. Stanley - 707--At Another's Bidding By Ida Reade Allen - 708--Sold for Gold By Geraldine Fleming - 710--Ridgeway of Montana By William MacLeod Raine - 711--Taken by Storm By Emma Garrison Jones - 712--Love and a Lie By Charles Garvice - 713--Barriers of Stone By Wenona Gilman - 714--Ethel's Secret By Charlotte M. Stanley - 715--Amber, the Adopted By Mrs. Harriet Lewis - 716--No Man's Wife By Ida Reade Allen - 717--Wild and Willful By Lucy Randall Comfort - 718--When We Two Parted By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller - 719--Love's Earnest Prayer By Geraldine Fleming - 720--The Price of a Kiss By Laura Jean Libbey - 721--A Girl from the South By Charles Garvice - 722--A Freak of Fate By Emma Garrison Jones - 723--A Golden Sorrow By Charlotte M. Stanley - 724--Norma's Black Fortune By Ida Reade Allen - 725--The Thoroughbred By Edith MacVane - 726--Diana's Peril By Dorothy Hall - 727--His Willing Slave By Lillian R. Drayton - 728--Her Share of Sorrow By Wenona Gilman - 729--Loved at Last By Geraldine Fleming - 730--John Hungerford's Redemption By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon - 731--His Two Loves By Ida Reade Allen - 732--Eric Braddon's Love By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller - 733--Garrison's Finish By W. B. M. Ferguson - 734--Sylvia, the Forsaken By Charlotte M. Stanley - 735--Married for Money By Lucy Randall Comfort - 736--Married in Haste By Wenona Gilman - 737--At Her Father's Bidding By Geraldine Fleming - 738--The Power of Gold By Ida Reade Allen - 739--The Strength of Love By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller - 740--A Soul Laid Bare By J. K. Egerton - 741--The Fatal Ruby By Charles Garvice - 742--A Strange Wooing By Richard Marsh - 743--A Lost Love By Wenona Gilman - 744--A Useless Sacrifice By Emma Garrison Jones - 745--A Will of Her Own By Ida Reade Allen - 746--That Girl Named Hazel By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller - 747--For a Flirt's Love By Geraldine Fleming - 748--The World's Great Snare By E. Phillips Oppenheim - 749--The Heart of a Maid By Charles Garvice - 750--Driven from Home By Wenona Gilman - 751--The Gypsy's Warning By Emma Garrison Jones - 752--Without Name or Wealth By Ida Reade Allen - 753--Loyal Unto Death By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller - 754--His Lost Heritage By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 755--Her Priceless Love By Geraldine Fleming - 756--Leola's Heart By Charlotte M. Stanley - 757--Dare-devil Betty By Evelyn Malcolm - 758--The Woman in It By Charles Garvice - 759--They Met by Chance By Ida Reade Allen - 760--Love Conquers Pride By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller - 761--A Reckless Promise By Emma Garrison Jones - 762--The Rose of Yesterday By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 763--The Other Girl's Lover By Lillian R. Drayton - 764--His Unbounded Faith By Charlotte M. Stanley - 765--When Love Speaks By Evelyn Malcolm - 766--The Man She Hated By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller - 767--No One to Help Her By Ida Reade Allen - 768--Claire's Love-Life By Lucy Randall Comfort - 769--Love's Harvest By Adelaide Fox Robinson - 770--A Queen of Song By Geraldine Fleming - 771--Nan Haggard's Confession By Mary E. Bryan - 772--A Married Flirt By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller - 773--The Thorns of Love By Evelyn Malcolm - 774--Love in a Snare By Charles Garvice - 775--My Love Kitty By Charles Garvice - 776--That Strange Girl By Charles Garvice - 777--Nellie By Charles Garvice - 778--Miss Estcourt; or, Olive By Charles Garvice - 779--A Virginia Goddess By Ida Reade Allen - 780--The Love He Sought By Lillian R. Drayton - 781--Falsely Accused By Geraldine Fleming - 782--His First Sweetheart By Lucy Randall Comfort - 783--All for Love By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller - 784--What Love Can Cost By Evelyn Malcolm - 785--Lady Gay's Martyrdom By Charlotte May Kingsley - 786--His Good Angel By Emma Garrison Jones - 787--A Bartered Soul By Adelaide Fox Robinson - 788--In Love's Shadows By Ida Reade Allen - 789--A Love Worth Winning By Geraldine Fleming - 790--The Fatal Kiss By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller - 791--A Lover Scorned By Lucy Randall Comfort - 792--After Many Days By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 793--An Innocent Outlaw By William Wallace Cook - 794--The Arm of the Law By Evelyn Malcolm - 795--The Reluctant Queen By J. Kenilworth Egerton - 796--The Cost of Pride By Lillian R. Drayton - 797--What Love Made Her By Geraldine Fleming - 798--Brave Heart By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 799--Between Good and Evil By Charlotte M. Stanley - 800--Caught in Love's Net By Ida Reade Allen - 801--Love is a Mystery By Adelaide Fox Robinson - 802--The Glitter of Jewels By J. Kenilworth Egerton - 803--The Game of Life By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 804--A Dreadful Legacy By Geraldine Fleming - 805--Rogers, of Butte By William Wallace Cook - 806--The Haunting Past By Evelyn Malcolm - 807--The Love That Would Not Die By Ida Reade Allen - 808--The Serpent and the Dove By Charlotte May Kingsley - 809--Through the Shadows By Adelaide Fox Robinson - 810--Her Kingdom By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 811--When Dark Clouds Gather By Geraldine Fleming - 812--Her Fateful Choice By Charlotte M. Stanley - 813--Sorely Tried By Emma Garrison Jones - - - To be published during January, 1913. - - 814--Far Above Price By Evelyn Malcolm - 815--Bitter Sweet By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 816--A Clouded Life By Ida Reade Allen - 817--When Fate Decrees By Adelaide Fox Robinson - 818--The Girl Who Was True By Charles Garvice - - - To be published during February, 1913. - - 819--Where Love is Sent By Mrs. E. Burke Collins - 820--The Pride of My Heart By Laura Jean Libbey - 821--The Girl in Red By Evelyn Malcolm - 822--Why Did She Shun Him? By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - - - To be published during March, 1913. - - 823--Between Love and Conscience By Charlotte M. Stanley - 824--Spectres of the Past By Ida Reade Allen - 825--The Hearts of the Mighty By Adelaide Fox Robinson - 826--The Irony of Love By Charles Garvice - - - To be published during April, 1913. - - 827--At Arms With Fate By Charlotte May Kingsley - 828--Love's Young Dream By Laura Jean Libbey - 829--Her Golden Secret By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 830--The Stolen Bride By Evelyn Malcolm - 831--Love's Rugged Pathway By Ida Reade Allen - - - To be published during May, 1913. - - 832--A Love Rejected--A Love Won By Geraldine Fleming - 833--Her Life's Dark Cloud By Lillian R. Drayton - 834--A Hero for Love's Sake By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 835--When the Heart Hungers By Charlotte M. Stanley - - - To be published during June, 1913. - - 836--Love Given in Vain By Adelaide Fox Robinson - 837--The Web of Life By Ida Reade Allen - 838--Love Surely Triumphs By Charlotte May Kingsley - 839--The Lovely Constance By Laura Jean Libbey - - - To be published during July, 1913. - - 840--On a Sea of Sorrow By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 841--Her Hated Husband By Evelyn Malcolm - 842--When Hearts Beat True By Geraldine Fleming - 843--Too Quickly Judged By Ida Reade Allen - -In order that there may be no confusion, we desire to say that the -books listed above will be issued, during the respective months, in New -York City and vicinity. They may not reach the readers, at a distance, -promptly, on account of delays in transportation. - - - - -THE EAGLE SERIES - -Principally Copyrights Elegant Colored Covers - -"THE RIGHT BOOKS AT THE RIGHT PRICE" - - -While the books in the New Eagle Series are undoubtedly better value, -being bigger books, the stories offered to the public in this line -must not be underestimated. There are over four hundred copyrighted -books by famous authors, which cannot be had in any other line. No -other publisher in the world has a line that contains so many different -titles, nor can any publisher ever hope to secure books that will match -those in the Eagle Series in quality. - -This is the pioneer line of copyrighted novels, and that it has struck -popular fancy just right is proven by the fact that for fifteen years -it has been the first choice of American readers. The only reason -that we can afford to give such excellent reading at such a low -price is that our unlimited capital and great organization enable us -to manufacture books more cheaply and to sell more of them without -expensive advertising, than any other publishers. - - - ALL TITLES ALWAYS IN PRINT - - TO THE PUBLIC:--These books are sold by news dealers everywhere. If - your dealer does not keep them, and will not get them for you, send - direct to the publishers, in which case four cents must be added to - the price per copy to cover postage. - - 3--The Love of Violet Lee By Julia Edwards - 4--For a Woman's Honor By Bertha M. Clay - 5--The Senator's Favorite By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller - 6--The Midnight Marriage By A. M. Douglas - 8--Beautiful But Poor By Julia Edwards - 9--The Virginia Heiress By May Agnes Fleming - 10--Little Sunshine By Francis S. Smith - 11--The Gipsy's Daughter By Bertha M. Clay - 13--The Little Widow By Julia Edwards - 14--Violet Lisle By Bertha M. Clay - 15--Dr. Jack By St. George Rathborne - 16--The Fatal Card By Haddon Chambers and B. C. Stephenson - 17--Leslie's Loyalty By Charles Garvice - (His Love So True) - 18--Dr. Jack's Wife By St. George Rathborne - 19--Mr. Lake of Chicago By Harry DuBois Milman - 21--A Heart's Idol By Bertha M. Clay - 22--Elaine By Charles Garvice - 23--Miss Pauline of New York By St. George Rathborne - 24--A Wasted Love By Charles Garvice - (On Love's Altar) - 25--Little Southern Beauty By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller - 26--Captain Tom By St. George Rathborne - 27--Estelle's Millionaire Lover By Julia Edwards - 28--Miss Caprice By St. George Rathborne - 29--Theodora By Victorien Sardou - 30--Baron Sam By St. George Rathborne - 31--A Siren's Love By Robert Lee Tyler - 32--The Blockade Runner By J. Perkins Tracy - 33--Mrs. Bob By St. George Rathborne - 34--Pretty Geraldine By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller - 35--The Great Mogul By St. George Rathborne - 36--Fedora By Victorien Sardou - 37--The Heart of Virginia By J. Perkins Tracy - 38--The Nabob of Singapore By St. George Rathborne - 39--The Colonel's Wife By Warren Edwards - 40--Monsieur Bob By St. George Rathborne - 41--Her Hearts Desire By Charles Garvice - (An Innocent Girl) - 42--Another Woman's Husband By Bertha M. Clay - 43--Little Coquette Bonnie By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller - 45--A Yale Man By Robert Lee Tyler - 46--Off with the Old Love By Mrs. M. V. Victor - 47--The Colonel by Brevet By St. George Rathborne - 48--Another Man's Wife By Bertha M. Clay - 49--None But the Brave By Robert Lee Tyler - 50--Her Ransom (Paid For) By Charles Garvice - 51--The Price He Paid By E. Werner - 52--Woman Against Woman By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 54--Cleopatra By Victorien Sardou - 56--The Dispatch Bearer By Warren Edwards - 58--Major Matterson of Kentucky By St. George Rathborne - 59--Gladys Greye By Bertha M. Clay - 61--La Tosca By Victorien Sardou - 62--Stella Stirling By Julia Edwards - 63--Lawyer Bell from Boston By Robert Lee Tyler - 64--Dora Tenney By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller - 65--Won by the Sword By J. Perkins Tracy - 67--Gismonda By Victorien Sardou - 68--The Little Cuban Rebel By Edna Winfield - 69--His Perfect Trust By Bertha M. Clay - 70--Sydney (A Wilful Young Woman) By Charles Garvice - 71--The Spider's Web By St. George Rathborne - 72--Wilful Winnie By Harriet Sherburne - 73--The Marquis By Charles Garvice - 74--The Cotton King By Sutton Vane - 75--Under Fire By T. P. James - 76--Mavourneen From the celebrated play - 78--The Yankee Champion By Sylvanus Cobb, Jr. - 79--Out of the Past (Marjorie) By Charles Garvice - 80--The Fair Maid of Fez By St. George Rathborne - 81--Wedded for an Hour By Emma Garrison Jones - 82--Captain Impudence By Edwin Milton Royle - 83--The Locksmith of Lyons By Prof. Wm. Henry Peck - 84--Imogene By Charles Garvice - (Dumaresq's Temptation) - 85--Lorrie; or, Hollow Gold By Charles Garvice - 86--A Widowed Bride By Lucy Randall Comfort - 87--Shenandoah By J. Perkins Tracy - 89--A Gentleman from Gascony By Bicknell Dudley - 90--For Fair Virginia By Russ Whytal - 91--Sweet Violet By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller - 92--Humanity By Sutton Vane - 94--Darkest Russia By H. Grattan Donnelly - 95--A Wilful Maid (Philippa) By Charles Garvice - 96--The Little Minister By J. M. Barrie - 97--The War Reporter By Warren Edwards - 98--Claire By Charles Garvice - (The Mistress of Court Regna) - 100--Alice Blake By Francis S. Smith - 101--A Goddess of Africa By St. George Rathborne - 102--Sweet Cymbeline (Bellmaire) By Charles Garvice - 103--The Span of Life By Sutton Vane - 104--A Proud Dishonor By Genie Holzmeyer - 105--When London Sleeps By Chas. Darrell - 106--Lillian, My Lillian By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller - 107--Carla; or, Married at Sight By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 108--A Son of Mars By St. George Rathborne - 109--Signa's Sweetheart By Charles Garvice - (Lord Delamere's Bride) - 110--Whose Wife is She? By Annie Lisle - 112--The Cattle King By A. D. Hall - 113--A Crushed Lily By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller - 114--Half a Truth By Dora Delmar - 115--A Fair Revolutionist By St. George Rathborne - 116--The Daughter of the Regiment By Mary A. Denison - 117--She Loved Him By Charles Garvice - 118--Saved from the Sea By Richard Duffy - 119--'Twixt Smile and Tear (Dulcie) By Charles Garvice - 120--The White Squadron By T. C. Harbaugh - 121--Cecile's Marriage By Lucy Randall Comfort - 123--Northern Lights By A. D. Hall - 124--Prettiest of All By Julia Edwards - 125--Devil's Island By A. D. Hall - 126--The Girl from Hong Kong By St. George Rathborne - 127--Nobody's Daughter By Clara Augusta - 128--The Scent of the Roses By Dora Delmar - 129--In Sight of St. Paul's By Sutton Vane - 130--A Passion Flower (Madge) By Charles Garvice - 131--Nerine's Second Choice By Adelaide Stirling - 132--Whose Was the Crime? By Gertrude Warden - 134--Squire John By St. George Rathborne - 135--Cast Up by the Tide By Dora Delmar - 136--The Unseen Bridegroom By May Agnes Fleming - 138--A Fatal Wooing By Laura Jean Libbey - 139--Little Lady Charles By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 140--That Girl of Johnson's By Jean Kate Ludlum - 141--Lady Evelyn By May Agnes Fleming - 142--Her Rescue from the Turks By St. George Rathborne - 143--A Charity Girl By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 145--Country Lanes and City - Pavements By Maurice M. Minton - 146--Magdalen's Vow By May Agnes Fleming - 147--Under Egyptian Skies By St. George Rathborne - 148--Will She Win? By Emma Garrison Jones - 149--The Man She Loved By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 150--Sunset Pass By General Charles King - 151--The Heiress of Glen Gower By May Agnes Fleming - 152--A Mute Confessor By Will M. Harben - 153--Her Son's Wife By Hazel Wood - 154--Husband and Foe By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 156--A Soldier Lover By Edward S. Brooks - 157--Who Wins? By May Agnes Fleming - 158--Stella, the Star By Wenona Gilman - 159--Out of Eden By Dora Russell - 160--His Way and Her Will By Frances Aymar Mathews - 161--Miss Fairfax of Virginia By St. George Rathborne - 162--A Man of the Name of John By Florence King - 163--A Splendid Egotist By Mrs. J. H. Walworth - 164--Couldn't Say No By John Habberton - 165--The Road of the Rough By Maurice M. Minton - 167--The Manhattaners By Edward S. Van Zile - 168--Thrice Lost, Thrice Won By May Agnes Fleming - 169--The Trials of an Actress By Wenona Gilman - 170--A Little Radical By Mrs. J. H. Walworth - 171--That Dakota Girl By Stella Gilman - 172--A King and a Coward By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 173--A Bar Sinister By St. George Rathborne - 174--His Guardian Angel By Charles Garvice - 175--For Honor's Sake By Laura C. Ford - 176--Jack Gordon, Knight Errant By Barclay North - 178--A Slave of Circumstances By Ernest De Lancey Pierson - 179--One Man's Evil By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 180--A Lazy Man's Work By Frances Campbell Sparhawk - 181--The Baronet's Bride By May Agnes Fleming - 182--A Legal Wreck By William Gillette - 183--Quo Vadis By Henryk Sienkiewicz - 184--Sunlight and Gloom By Geraldine Fleming - 185--The Adventures of Miss - Volney By Ella Wheeler Wilcox - 186--Beneath a Spell By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 187--The Black Ball By Ernest De Lancey Pierson - 189--Berris By Katharine S. MacQuoid - 190--A Captain of the Kaiser By St. George Rathborne - 191--A Harvest of Thorns By Mrs. H. C. Hoffman - 193--A Vagabond's Honor By Ernest De Lancey Pierson - 194--A Sinless Crime By Geraldine Fleming - 195--Her Faithful Knight By Gertrude Warden - 196--A Sailor's Sweetheart By St. George Rathborne - 197--A Woman Scorned By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 200--In God's Country By D. Higbee - 201--Blind Elsie's Crime By Mary Grace Halpine - 202--Marjorie By Katharine S. MacQuoid - 203--Only One Love By Charles Garvice - 204--With Heart So True By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 205--If Love Be Love By D. Cecil Gibbs - 206--A Daughter of Maryland By G. Waldo Browne - 208--A Chase for a Bride By St. George Rathborne - 209--She Loved But Left Him By Julia Edwards - 211--As We Forgive By Lurana W. Sheldon - 212--Doubly Wronged By Adah M. Howard - 213--The Heiress of Egremont By Mrs. Harriet Lewis - 214--Olga's Crime By Frank Barrett - 215--Only a Girl's Love By Charles Garvice - 216--The Lost Bride By Clara Augusta - 217--His Noble Wife By George Manville Fenn - 218--A Life for a Love By Mrs. L. T. Meade - 220--A Fatal Past By Dora Russell - 221--The Honorable Jane By Annie Thomas - 223--Leola Dale's Fortune By Charles Garvice - 224--A Sister's Sacrifice By Geraldine Fleming - 225--A Miserable Woman By Mrs. H. C. Hoffman - 226--The Roll of Honor By Annie Thomas - 227--For Love and Honor By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 228--His Brother's Widow By Mary Grace Halpine - 229--For the Sake of the Family By May Crommelin - 230--A Woman's Atonement, and - A Mother's Mistake By Adah M. Howard - 231--The Earl's Heir (Lady Norah) By Charles Garvice - 232--A Debt of Honor By Mabel Collins - 234--His Mother's Sin By Adeline Sergeant - 235--Love at Saratoga By Lucy Randall Comfort - 236--Her Humble Lover By Charles Garvice - (The Usurper; or, The Gipsy Peer) - 237--Woman or Witch? By Dora Delmar - 238--That Other Woman By Annie Thomas - 239--Don Caesar De Bazan By Victor Hugo - 240--Saved by the Sword By St. George Rathborne - 241--Her Love and Trust By Adeline Sergeant - 242--A Wounded Heart (Sweet as a Rose) By Charles Garvice - 243--His Double Self By Scott Campbell - 245--A Modern Marriage By Clara Lanza - 246--True to Herself By Mrs. J. H. Walworth - 247--Within Love's Portals By Frank Barrett - 248--Jeanne, Countess Du Barry By H. L. Williams - 249--What Love Will Do By Geraldine Fleming - 250--A Woman's Soul By Charles Garvice - (Doris; Behind the Footlights) - 251--When Love is True By Mabel Collins - 252--A Handsome Sinner By Dora Delmar - 253--A Fashionable Marriage By Mrs. Alex Frazer - 254--Little Miss Millions By St. George Rathborne - 256--Thy Name is Woman By F. H. Howe - 257--A Martyred Love By Charles Garvice - (Iris; or, Under the Shadow) - 258--An Amazing Marriage By Mrs. Sumner Hayden - 259--By a Golden Cord By Dora Delmar - 260--At a Girl's Mercy By Jean Kate Ludlum - 261--A Siren's Heart By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 262--A Woman's Faith By Henry Wallace - 263--An American Nabob By St. George Rathborne - 264--For Gold or Soul By Lurana W. Sheldon - 265--First Love is Best By S. K. Hocking - 267--Jeanne (Barriers Between) By Charles Garvice - 268--Olivia; or, It Was for Her Sake By Charles Garvice - 270--Had She Foreseen By Dora Delmar - 271--With Love's Laurel Crowned By W. C. Stiles - 272--So Fair, So False By Charles Garvice - (The Beauty of the Season) - 273--At Swords Points By St. George Rathborne - 274--A Romantic Girl By Evelyn E. Green - 275--Love's Cruel Whim By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 276--So Nearly Lost By Charles Garvice - (The Springtime of Love) - 278--Laura Brayton By Julia Edwards - 279--Nina's Peril By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller - 280--Love's Dilemma By Charles Garvice - (For an Earldom) - 281--For Love Alone By Wenona Gilman - 283--My Lady Pride (Floris) By Charles Garvice - 284--Dr. Jack's Widow By St. George Rathborne - 285--Born to Betray By Mrs. M. V. Victor - 287--The Lady of Darracourt By Charles Garvice - 289--Married in Mask By Mansfield T. Walworth - 290--A Change of Heart By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 292--For Her Only (Diana) By Charles Garvice - 294--A Warrior Bold By St. George Rathborne - 295--A Terrible Secret and - Countess Isabel By Geraldine Fleming - 296--The Heir of Vering By Charles Garvice - 297--That Girl from Texas By Mrs. J. H. Walworth - 298--Should She Have Left Him? By Barclay North - 300--The Spider and the Fly By Charles Garvice - (Violet) - 301--The False and the True By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 302--When Man's Love Fades By Hazel Wood - 303--The Queen of the Isle By May Agnes Fleming - 304--Stanch as a Woman By Charles Garvice - (A Maiden's Sacrifice) - 305--Led by Love Sequel to By Charles Garvice - "Stanch as a Woman" - 306--Love's Golden Rule By Geraldine Fleming - 307--The Winning of Isolde By St. George Rathborne - 308--Lady Ryhope's Lover By Emma Garrison Jones - 309--The Heiress of Castle Cliffe By May Agnes Fleming - 310--A Late Repentance By Mary A. Denison - 312--Woven on Fate's Loom and The By Charles Garvice - Snowdrift - 313--A Kinsman's Sin By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 314--A Maid's Fatal Love By Helen Corwin Pierce - 315--The Dark Secret By May Agnes Fleming - 316--Edith Lyle's Secret By Mrs. Mary J. Holmes - 317--Ione By Laura Jean Libbey - 318--Stanch of Heart By Charles Garvice - (Adrien Le Roy) - 319--Millbank By Mrs. Mary J. Holmes - 320--Mynheer Joe By St. George Rathborne - 321--Neva's Three Lovers By Mrs. Harriet Lewis - 322--Mildred By Mrs. Mary J. Holmes - 323--The Little Countess By S. E. Boggs - 324--A Love Match By Sylvanus Cobb, Jr. - 325--The Leighton Homestead By Mrs. Mary J. Holmes - 326--Parted by Fate By Laura Jean Libbey - 327--Was She Wife or Widow? By Malcolm Bell - 328--He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not By Charles Garvice - (Valeria) - 329--My Hildegarde By St. George Rathborne - 330--Aikenside By Mrs. Mary J. Holmes - 331--Christine By Adeline Sergeant - 332--Darkness and Daylight By Mrs. Mary J. Holmes - 333--Stella's Fortune By Charles Garvice - (The Sculptor's Wooing) - 334--Miss McDonald By Mrs. Mary J. Holmes - 335--We Parted at the Altar By Laura Jean Libbey - 336--Rose Mather By Mrs. Mary J. Holmes - 337--Dear Elsie By Mary J. Safford - 338--A Daughter of Russia By St. George Rathborne - 340--Bad Hugh. Vol. I By Mrs. Mary J. Holmes - 341--Bad Hugh. Vol. II By Mrs. Mary J. Holmes - 342--Her Little Highness By Nataly Von Eschstruth - 343--Little Sunshine By Adah M. Howard - 344--Leah's Mistake By Mrs. H. C. Hoffman - 345--Tresillian Court By Mrs. Harriet Lewis - 346--Guy Tresillian's Fate By Mrs. Harriet Lewis - Sequel to "Tresillian Court" - 347--The Eyes of Love By Charles Garvice - 348--My Florida Sweetheart By St. George Rathborne - 349--Marion Grey By Mary J. Holmes - 350--A Wronged Wife By Mary Grace Halpine - 352--Family Pride. Vol. I By Mary J. Holmes - 353--Family Pride. Vol. II By Mary J. Holmes - 354--A Love Comedy By Charles Garvice - 355--Wife and Woman By Mary J. Safford - 356--Little Kit By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 357--Montezuma's Mines By St. George Rathborne - 358--Beryl's Husband By Mrs. Harriet Lewis - 359--The Spectre's Secret By Sylvanus Cobb, Jr. - 360--An Only Daughter By Hazel Wood - 361--The Ashes of Love By Charles Garvice - 363--The Opposite House By Nataly Von Eschstruth - 364--A Fool's Paradise By Mary Grace Halpine - 365--Under a Cloud By Jean Kate Ludlum - 366--Comrades in Exile By St. George Rathborne - 367--Hearts and Coronets By Jane G. Fuller - 368--The Pride of Her Life By Charles Garvice - 369--At a Great Cost By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 370--Edith Trevor's Secret By Mrs. Harriet Lewis - 371--Cecil Rosse By Mrs. Harriet Lewis - Sequel to "Edith Trevor's Secret" - 374--True Daughter of Hartenstein By Mary J. Safford - 375--Transgressing the Law By Capt. Fred'k Whittaker - 376--The Red Slipper By St. George Rathborne - 377--Forever True By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 378--John Winthrop's Defeat By Jean Kate Ludlum - 379--Blinded by Love By Nataly Von Eschstruth - 380--Her Double Life By Mrs. Harriet Lewis - 381--The Sunshine of Love By Mrs. Harriet Lewis - Sequel to "Her Double Life" - 383--A Lover from Across the Sea By Mary J. Safford - 384--Yet She Loved Him By Mrs. Kate Vaughn - 385--A Woman Against Her By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 386--Teddy's Enchantress By St. George Rathborne - 387--A Heroine's Plot By Katherine S. MacQuoid - 388--Two Wives By Hazel Wood - 389--Sundered Hearts By Mrs. Harriet Lewis - 390--A Mutual Vow By Harold Payne - 392--A Resurrected Love By Seward W. Hopkins - 393--On the Wings of Fate By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 394--A Drama of a Life By Jean Kate Ludlum - 395--Wooing a Widow By E. A. King - 396--Back to Old Kentucky By St. George Rathborne - 397--A Gilded Promise By Walter Bloomfield - 398--Cupid's Disguise By Fanny Lewald - 400--For Another's Wrong By W. Heimburg - 401--The Woman Who Came Between By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 402--A Silent Heroine By Mrs. D. M. Lowrey - 403--The Rival Suitors By J. H. Connelly - 404--The Captive Bride By Capt. Fred'k Whittaker - 405--The Haunted Husband By Mrs. Harriet Lewis - 406--Felipe's Pretty Sister By St. George Rathborne - 408--On a False Charge By Seward W. Hopkins - 409--A Girl's Kingdom By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 410--Miss Mischief By W. Heimburg - 411--Fettered and Freed By Eugene Charvette - 412--The Love that Lives By Capt. Frederick Whittaker - 413--Were They Married? By Hazel Wood - 414--A Girl's First Love By Elizabeth C. Winter - 416--Down in Dixie By St. George Rathborne - 417--Brave Barbara By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 418--An Insignificant Woman By W. Heimburg - 420--A Sweet Little Lady By Gertrude Warden - 421--Her Sweet Reward By Barbara Kent - 422--Lady Kildare By Mrs. Harriet Lewis - 423--A Woman's Way By Capt. Frederick Whittaker - 424--A Splendid Man By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 425--A College Widow By Frank H. Howe - 427--A Wizard of the Moors By St. George Rathborne - 428--A Tramp's Daughter By Hazel Wood - 429--A Fair Fraud By Emily Lovett Cameron - 430--The Honor of a Heart By Mary J. Safford - 431--Her Husband and Her Love By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 432--Breta's Double By Helen V. Greyson - 435--Under Oath By Jean Kate Ludlum - 436--The Rival Toreadors By St. George Rathborne - 437--The Breach of Custom By Mrs. D. M. Lowrey - 438--So Like a Man By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 439--Little Nan By Mary A. Denison - 441--A Princess of the Stage By Nataly Von Eschstruth - 442--Love Before Duty By Mrs. L. T. Meade - 443--In Spite of Proof By Gertrude Warden - 444--Love's Trials By Alfred R. Calhoun - 445--An Angel of Evil By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 446--Bound with Love's Fetters By Mary Grace Halpine - 447--A Favorite of Fortune By St. George Rathborne - 448--When Love Dawns By Adelaide Stirling - 449--The Bailiff's Scheme By Mrs. Harriet Lewis - 450--Rosamond's Love By Mrs. Harriet Lewis - Sequel to "The Bailiff's Scheme" - 452--The Last of the Van Slacks By Edward S. Van Zile - 453--A Poor Girl's Passion By Gertrude Warden - 454--Love's Probation By Elizabeth Olmis - 455--Love's Greatest Gift By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 456--A Vixen's Treachery By Mrs. Harriet Lewis - 457--Adrift in the World By Mrs. Harriet Lewis - Sequel to "A Vixen's Treachery" - 459--A Golden Mask By Charlotte M. Stanley - 460--Dr. Jack's Talisman By St. George Rathborne - 461--Above All Things By Adelaide Stirling - 462--A Stormy Wedding By Mary E. Bryan - 463--A Wife's Triumph By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 464--The Old Life's Shadows By Mrs. Harriet Lewis - 465--Outside Her Eden By Mrs. Harriet Lewis - Sequel to "The Old Life's Shadows" - 466--Love, the Victor By a Popular Southern Author - 467--Zina's Awaking By Mrs. J. K. Spender - 468--The Wooing of a Fairy By Gertrude Warden - 469--A Soldier and a Gentleman By J. M. Cobban - 470--A Strange Wedding By Mary Hartwell Catherwood - 471--A Shadowed Happiness By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 472--Dr. Jack and Company By St. George Rathborne - 473--A Sacrifice to Love By Adelaide Stirling - 474--The Belle of the Season By Mrs. Harriet Lewis - 475--Love Before Pride By Mrs. Harriet Lewis - Sequel to "The Belle of the Season" - 477--The Siberian Exiles By Col. Thomas Knox - 478--For Love of Sigrid By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 479--Mysterious Mr. Sabin By E. Phillips Oppenheim - 480--A Perfect Fool By Florence Warden - 481--Wedded, Yet No Wife By May Agnes Fleming - 482--A Little Worldling By L. C. Ellsworth - 483--Miss Marston's Heart By L. H. Bickford - 484--The Whistle of Fate By Richard Marsh - 485--The End Crowns All By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 486--Divided Lives By Edgar Fawcett - 487--A Wonderful Woman By May Agnes Fleming - 488--The French Witch By Gertrude Warden - 489--Lucy Harding By Mrs. Mary J. Holmes - 490--The Price of Jealousy By Maud Howe - 491--My Lady of Dreadwood By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 492--A Speedy Wooing By the Author of "As Common Mortals" - 493--The Girl He Loved By Adelaide Stirling - 494--Voyagers of Fortune By St. George Rathborne - 495--Norine's Revenge By May Agnes Fleming - 496--The Missing Heiress By C. H. Montague - 497--A Chase for Love By Seward W. Hopkins - 498--Andrew Leicester's Love By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 499--My Lady Cinderella By Mrs. C. N. Williamson - 500--Love and Spite By Adelaide Stirling - 501--Her Husband's Secret By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller - 502--Fair Maid Marian By Mrs. Emma Garrison Jones - 503--A Lady in Black By Florence Warden - 504--Evelyn, the Actress By Wenona Gilman - 505--Selina's Love-story By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 506--A Secret Foe By Gertrude Warden - 507--A Mad Betrothal By Laura Jean Libbey - 508--Lottie and Victorine By Lucy Randall Comfort - 509--A Penniless Princess By Emma Garrison Jones - 510--Doctor Jack's Paradise Mine By St. George Rathborne - 513--A Sensational Case By Florence Warden - 514--The Temptation of Mary Barr By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 515--Tiny Luttrell By E. W. Hornung - (Author of "Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman") - 516--Florabel's Lover By Laura Jean Libbey - 517--They Looked and Loved By Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller - 518--The Secret of a Letter By Gertrude Warden - 521--The Witch from India By St. George Rathborne - 522--A Spurned Proposal By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 523--A Banker of Bankersville By Maurice Thompson - 524--A Sacrifice of Pride By Mrs. Louisa Parr - 525--Sweet Kitty Clover By Laura Jean Libbey - 526--Love and Hate By Morley Roberts - 527--For Love and Glory By St. George Rathborne - 528--Adela's Ordeal By Florence Warden - 529--Hearts Aflame By Louise Winter - 530--The Wiles of a Siren By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 532--True to His Bride By Emma Garrison Jones - 533--A Forgotten Love By Adelaide Stirling - 534--Lotta, the Cloak Model By Laura Jean Libbey - 535--The Trifler By Archibald Eyre - 536--Companions in Arms By St. George Rathborne - 538--The Fighting Chance By Gertrude Lynch - 539--A Heart's Triumph By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 540--A Daughter of Darkness By Ida Reade Allen - 541--Her Evil Genius By Adelaide Stirling - 543--The Veiled Bride By Laura Jean Libbey - 544--In Love's Name By Emma Garrison Jones - 545--Well Worth Winning By St. George Rathborne - 546--The Career of Mrs. Osborne By Helen Milecete - 549--Tempted by Love By Effie Adelaide Rowlands - 550--Saved from Herself By Adelaide Stirling - 551--Pity--Not Love By Laura Jean Libbey - 552--At the Court of the Maharaja By Louis Tracy - - - - -_The Best of Everything!_ - - -Our experience with the American reading public has taught us that -it expects better reading than readers of any other nationality. -Why? Because Americans, as a rule, are better educated and more -intelligent. We make it a point to cater to all classes of readers -with our paper-covered novels. If a man likes adventure or detective -stories, he can find more and better ones in the S. & S. novel list -than he can among the cloth books. If a woman wants love, society, or -mystery stories, the S. & S. catalogue again contains just what she -wants at the lowest possible price. If a boy wants up-to-date baseball, -athletic, or treasure-hunt stories, he cannot get anything that will -please him so much as the books in the MEDAL and NEW MEDAL LIBRARIES, -no matter how much he has to spend for his reading matter. - -Here are a few suggestions: - - -BOOKS FOR MEN. - -The Nick Carter stories in the NEW MAGNET LIBRARY. - -The Howard W. Erwin stories in the FAR WEST LIBRARY. - -The William Wallace Cook stories in the NEW FICTION LIBRARY. - -The Dumas stories in the SELECT LIBRARY. - - -BOOKS FOR WOMEN. - -The Mrs. Georgie Sheldon stories in the NEW EAGLE SERIES. - -The Charles Garvice stories in the NEW EAGLE SERIES. - -The Bertha Clay stories in the BERTHA CLAY LIBRARY. - -The Southworth stories in the SOUTHWORTH LIBRARY. - -The Mrs. Mary J. Holmes stories in the EAGLE and SELECT LIBRARIES. - - -BOOKS FOR BOYS. - -The Burt L. Standish stories in the NEW MEDAL LIBRARY. - -The Horatio Alger stories in the MEDAL and NEW MEDAL LIBRARIES. - -The Oliver Optic stories in the MEDAL and NEW MEDAL LIBRARIES. - -The Edward C. Taylor stories in the NEW MEDAL LIBRARY. - -Send for our complete catalogue and look these stories up. It will pay -you. - - -STREET & SMITH, _Publishers_, NEW YORK - - * * * * * * - - -ONLY A GIRL'S LOVE - -by - -CHARLES GARVICE - - - - - - - -[Illustration] - -New York -Street & Smith, Publishers - - - - -Why Take a Chance? - - -Most everybody thinks that the public library is a mighty fine -institution--teaches people to read, and all that. Well, so it does, -but does any one ever think of the great risk that a person, who takes -a book out of a public library, runs of catching some contagious -disease? - -Every time a bacteriological examination is made of the public-library -book, germs of every known disease are found among its pages. Probably, -from your own experience, you know that lots of people never think of -taking a book from the public library, until some one in their family -is sick and wants something to read. - -As records prove that ninety per cent of the demand for books at the -public libraries is for works of fiction, it strikes us that the -reading public would do better to patronize the S. & S. novel list -which contains hundreds of books to be found in the public libraries, -and many hundreds of others just as good and interesting. - -The price of the S. & S. novels is a low one indeed to pay for -protection from disease-laden literature. Why run the risk, then, when -you can get a fresh, clean book for little money and thus insure your -health? - - -STREET & SMITH, _Publishers_ -NEW YORK - - - - -The S. & S. Novels Have No Rivals - - -Our books have a field entirely their own. They are the only novels to -which new, first-class titles are being added every week. - -No news dealer's stock is complete without them. That's why every -up-to-date dealer carries a good assortment of them on his shelves. - - -STREET & SMITH, _Publishers_ -NEW YORK - - - - -ONLY A GIRL'S LOVE. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - - -It is a warm evening in early Summer; the sun is setting behind a long -range of fir and yew-clad hills, at the feet of which twists in and -out, as it follows their curves, a placid, peaceful river. Opposite -these hills, and running beside the river, are long-stretching meadows, -brilliantly green with fresh-springing grass, and gorgeously yellow -with newly-opened buttercups. Above, the sunset sky gleams and glows -with fiery red and rich deep chromes. And London is almost within sight. - -It is a beautiful scene, such as one sees only in this England of -ours--a scene that defies poet and painter. At this very moment it -is defying one of the latter genus; for in a room of a low-browed, -thatched-roofed cottage which stood on the margin of the meadow, James -Etheridge sat beside his easel, his eyes fixed on the picture framed in -the open window, his brush and mahl-stick drooping in his idle hand. - -Unconsciously he, the painter, made a picture worthy of study. Tall, -thin, delicately made, with pale face crowned and set in softly-flowing -white hair, with gentle, dreamy eyes ever seeking the infinite and -unknown, he looked like one of those figures which the old Florentine -artists used to love to put upon their canvases, and which when one -sees even now makes one strangely sad and thoughtful. - -The room was a fitting frame for the human subject; it was a true -painter's studio--untidy, disordered, and picturesque. Finished and -unfinished pictures hung or leant against the walls, suits of armor, -antique weapons, strange costumes littered the floor or hung limply -over mediaeval chairs; books, some in bindings which would have made the -mouth of a connoisseur water, lay open upon the table or were piled in -a distant corner. And over all silence--unbroken save by the sound of -the water rushing over the weir, or the birds which flitted by the open -window--reigned supreme. - -The old man sat for some time listening to Nature's music, and lost in -dreamy admiration of her loveliness, until the striking of the church -clock floated from the village behind the house; then, with a start, -he rose, took up his brushes, and turned again to the easel. An hour -passed, and still he worked, the picture growing beneath the thin, -skillful hand; the birds sank into silence, the red faded slowly from -the sky, and night unfolded its dark mantle ready to let it fall upon -the workaday world. - -Silence so profound took to itself the likeness of loneliness; perhaps -the old man felt it so, for as he glanced at the waning light and lay -his brush down, he put his hand to his brow and sighed. Then he turned -the picture on the easel, made his way with some little difficulty, -owing to the litter, across the room, found and lit an old briar-wood -pipe, and dropping into the chair again, fixed his eyes upon the scene, -and fell into the dreamy state which was habitual with him. - -So lost in purposeless memory was he, that the opening of the door -failed to rouse him. - -It was opened very gently and slowly, and as slowly and noiselessly a -young girl, after pausing a moment at the threshold, stepped into the -room, and stood looking round her and at the motionless figure in the -chair by the window. - -She stood for full a minute, her hand still holding the handle of the -door, as if she were not certain of her welcome--as if the room were -strange to her, then, with a little hurried pressure of her hand to her -bosom, she moved toward the window. - -As she did so her foot struck against a piece of armor, and the noise -aroused the old man and caused him to look round. - -With a start he gazed at the girl as if impressed with the idea that -she must be something unsubstantial and visionary--some embodiment of -his evening dreams, and so he sat looking at her, his artist eye taking -in the lithe, graceful figure, the beautiful face, with its dark eyes -and long, sweeping lashes, its clearly penciled brows, and soft, mobile -lips, in rapt absorption. - -It is possible that if she had turned and left him, never to have -crossed into his life again, he would have sunk back into dreamland, -and to the end of his days have regarded her as unreal and visionary; -but, with a subtle, graceful movement, the girl threaded the maze of -litter and disorder and stood beside him. - -He, still looking up, saw that the beautiful eyes were dim, that the -exquisitely curved lips were quivering with some intense emotion, and -suddenly there broke upon the silence a low, sweet voice: - -"Are you James Etheridge?" - -The artist started. It was not the words, but the tone--the voice that -startled him, and for a brief second he was still dumb, then he rose, -and looking at her with faint, trembling questioning, he answered: - -"Yes, that is my name. I am James Etheridge." - -Her lips quivered again, but still, quietly and simply, she said: - -"You do not know me? I am Stella--your niece, Stella." - -The old man threw up his head and stared at her, and she saw that he -trembled. - -"Stella--my niece--Harold's child!" - -"Yes," she said, in a low voice, "I am Stella." - -"But, merciful Heaven!" he exclaimed, with agitation, "how did -you come here? Why--I thought you were at the school there in -Florence--why--have you come here alone?" - -Her eyes wandered from his face to the exquisite scene beyond, and at -that moment her look was strangely like his own. - -"Yes, I came alone, uncle," she said. - -"Merciful Heaven!" he murmured again, sinking into his chair. "But -why--why?" - -The question is not unkindly put, full, rather, of a troubled -perplexity and bewilderment. - -Stella's eyes returned to his face. - -"I was unhappy, uncle," she said, simply. - -"Unhappy!" he echoed, gently--"unhappy! My child, you are too young to -know what the word means. Tell me"--and he put his long white hand on -her arm. - -The touch was the one thing needed to draw them together. With a -sudden, yet not abrupt movement, she slid down at his side and leant -her head on his arm. - -"Yes, I was very unhappy, uncle. They were hard and unkind. They meant -well perhaps, but it was not to be borne. And then--then, after papa -died, it was so lonely, so lonely. There was no one--no one to care for -me--to care whether one lived or died. Uncle, I bore it as long as I -could, and then I--came." - -The old man's eyes grew dim, and his hand rose gently to her head, and -smoothed the rich, silky hair. - -"Poor child! poor child!" he murmured, dreamily, looking not at her, -but at the gloaming outside. - -"As long as I could, uncle, until I felt that I must run away, or -go mad, or die. Then I remembered you, I had never seen you, but I -remembered that you were papa's brother, and that, being of the same -blood, you must be good, and kind, and true; and so I resolved to come -to you." - -His hand trembled on her head, but he was silent for a moment; then he -said, in a low voice: - -"Why did you not write?" - -A smile crossed the girl's face. - -"Because they would not permit us to write, excepting under their -dictation." - -He started, and a fiery light flashed from the gentle, dreamy eyes. - -"No letters were allowed to leave the school unless the principals had -read them. We were never out alone, or I would have posted a letter -unknown to them. No, I could not write, or I would have done so, -and--and--waited." - -"You would not have waited long, my child," he murmured. - -She threw back her head and kissed his hand. It was a strange gesture, -more foreign than English, full of the impulsive gracefulness of the -passionate South in which she had been born and bred; it moved the old -man strangely, and he drew her still closer to him as he whispered-- - -"Go on!--go on!" - -"Well I made up my mind to run away," she continued. "It was a dreadful -thing to do, because if I had been caught and brought back, they would -have----" - -"Stop, stop!" he broke in with passionate dread. "Why did I not know -of this? How did Harold come to send you there? Great Heaven! a young -tender girl! Can Heaven permit it?" - -"Heaven permits strange things, uncle," said the girl, gravely. "Papa -did not know, just as you did not know. It was an English school, and -all was fair and pleasant outside--outside! Well the night just after I -had received the money you used to send me each quarter, I bribed one -of the servants to leave the door open and ran away. I knew the road to -the coast and knew what day and time the boat started. I caught it and -reached London. There was just enough money to pay the fare down here, -and I--I--that is all, uncle." - -"All?" he murmured. "A young, tender child!" - -"And are you not angry?" she asked, looking up into his face. "You will -not send me back?" - -"Angry! Send you back! My child, do you think if I had known, if I -could have imagined that you were not well treated, that you were not -happy, that I would have permitted you to remain a day, an hour longer -than I could have helped? Your letters always spoke of your contentment -and happiness." - -She smiled. - -"Remember, they were written with someone looking over my shoulder." - -Something like an imprecation, surely the first that he had uttered for -many a long year, was smothered on the gentle lips. - -"I could not know that--I could not know that, Stella! Your father -thought it best--I have his last letter. My child, do not cry----" - -She raised her face. - -"I am not crying; I never cry when I think of papa, uncle, Why should -I? I loved him too well to wish him back from Heaven." - -The old man looked down at her with a touch of awe in his eyes. - -"Yes, yes," he murmured; "it was his wish that you should remain there -at school. He knew what I was, an aimless dreamer, a man living out of -the world, and no fit guardian for a young girl. Oh, yes, Harold knew. -He acted for the best, and I was content. My life was too lonely, and -quiet, and lifeless for a young girl, and I thought that all was right, -while those fiends----" - -She put her hand on his arm. - -"Do not let us speak of them, or think of them any more, uncle. You -will let me stay with you, will you not? I shall not think your life -lonely; it will be a Paradise after that which I have left--Paradise. -And, see, I will strive to make it less lonely; but"--and she turned -suddenly with a look of troubled fear--"but perhaps I shall be in your -way?" and she looked round. - -"No, no," he said, and he put his hand to his brow. "It is strange! I -never felt my loneliness till now! and I would not have you go for all -the world!" - -She wound her arms round him, and nestled closer, and there was silence -for a space; then he said: - -"How old are you, Stella?" - -She thought a moment. - -"Nineteen, uncle." - -"Nineteen--a child!" he murmured; then he looked at her, and his lips -moved inaudibly as he thought, "Beautiful as an angel," but she heard -him, and her face flushed, but the next moment she looked up frankly -and simply. - -"You would not say that much if you had seen my mamma. _She_ was -beautiful as an angel. Papa used to say that he wished you could -have seen her; that you would have liked to paint her. Yes, she was -beautiful." - -The artist nodded. - -"Poor, motherless child!" he murmured. - -"Yes, she was beautiful," continued the girl, softly. "I can just -remember her, uncle. Papa never recovered from her death. He always -said that he counted the days till he should meet her again. He loved -her so, you see." - -There was silence again; then the artist spoke: - -"You speak English with scarcely an accent, Stella." - -The girl laughed; it was the first time she had laughed, and it caused -the uncle to start. It was not only because it was unexpected, but -because of its exquisite music. It was like the trill of a bird. In an -instant he felt that her childish sorrow had not imbittered her life or -broken her spirit. He found himself almost unconsciously laughing in -harmony. - -"What a strange observation, uncle!" she said, when the laugh had died -away. "Why I am English! right to the backbone, as papa used to say. -Often and often he used to look at me and say: 'Italy has no part and -parcel in you beyond your birth, Stella; you belong to that little -island which floats on the Atlantic and rules the world.' Oh, yes, I am -English. I should be sorry to be anything else, notwithstanding mamma -was an Italian." - -He nodded. - -"Yes, I remember Harold--your father--always said you were an English -girl. I am glad of that." - -"So am I," said the girl, naively. - -Then he relapsed into one of his dreamy silences, and she waited silent -and motionless. Suddenly he felt her quiver under his arm, and heave a -long, deep sigh. - -With a start he looked down; her face had gone wofully pale to the very -lips. - -"Stella!" he cried, "what is it? Are you ill? Great Heaven!" - -She smiled up at him. - -"No, no, only a little tired; and," with naive simplicity, "I think I -am a little hungry. You see, I only had enough for the fare." - -"Heaven forgive me!" he cried, starting up so suddenly as almost to -upset her. "Here have I been dreaming and mooning while the child was -starving. What a brainless idiot I am!" - -And in his excitement he hurried up and down the room, knocking over a -painting here and a lay figure there, and looking aimlessly about as if -he expected to see something in the shape of food floating in the air. - -At last with his hand to his brow he bethought him of the bell, and -rang it until the little cottage resounded as if it were a fire-engine -station. There was a hurried patter of footsteps outside, the door was -suddenly opened, and a middle-aged woman ran in, with a cap very much -awry and a face startled and flushed. - -"Gracious me, sir, what's the matter?" she exclaimed. - -Mr. Etheridge dropped the bell, and without a word of explanation, -exclaimed--"Bring something to eat at once, Mrs. Penfold, and some -wine, at once, please. The poor child is starving." - -The woman looked at him with amazement, that increased as glancing -round the room she failed to see any poor child, Stella being hidden -behind the antique high-backed chair. - -"Poor child, what poor child! You've been dreaming, Mr. Etheridge!" - -"No, no!" he said, meekly; "it's all true, Mrs. Penfold. She has come -all the way from Florence without a morsel to eat." - -Stella rose from her ambush. - -"Not all the way from Florence, uncle," she said. - -Mrs. Penfold started and stared at the visitor. - -"Good gracious me!" she exclaimed; "who is it?" - -Mr. Etheridge rubbed his brow. - -"Did I not tell you? It is my niece--my niece Stella. She has come -from Italy, and--I wish you'd bring some food. Bring a bottle of the -old wine. Sit down and rest, Stella. This is Mrs. Penfold--she is my -housekeeper, and a good woman, but,"--he added, without lowering his -tone in the slightest, though he was evidently under the idea that he -was inaudible--"but rather slow in comprehension." - -Mrs. Penfold came forward, still flushed and excited, and with a smile. - -"Your niece, sir! Not Mr. Harold's daughter that you so often have -spoken of! Why, how did you come in, miss?" - -"I found the door open," said Stella. - -"Good gracious me! And dropped from the clouds! And that must have -been an hour ago! And you, sir," looking at the bewildered artist -reproachfully, "you let the dear young thing sit here with her hat and -jacket on all that time, after coming all that way, without sending for -me." - -"We didn't want you," said the old man, calmly. - -"Want me! No! But the dear child wanted something to eat, and to rest, -and to take her things off. Oh, come with me, miss! All the way from -Florence, and Mr. Harold's daughter!" - -"Go with her, Stella," said the old man, "and--and," he added, gently, -"don't let her keep you long." - -The infinite tenderness of the last words caused Stella to stop on her -way to the door; she came back, and, putting her arms around his neck, -kissed him. - -Then she followed Mrs. Penfold up-stairs to her room, the good woman -talking the whole while in exclamatory sentences of astonishment. - -"And you are Mr. Harold's daughter. Did you see his portrait over the -mantel-shelf, miss? I should have known you by that, now I come to look -at you," and she looked with affectionate interest into the beautiful -face, as she helped Stella to take off her hat. "Yes, I should have -known you, miss, in a moment? And you have come all the way from Italy? -Dear me, it is wonderful. And I'm very glad you have, it won't be so -lonely for Mr. Etheridge. And is there anything else you want, miss? -You must excuse me for bringing you into my own room; I'll have a room -ready for you to-night, your own room, and the luggage, miss----" - -Stella smiled and blushed faintly. - -"I have none, Mrs. Penfold. I ran--I left quite suddenly." - -"Dearie me!" murmured Mrs. Penfold, puzzled and sympathetic. "Well, -now, it doesn't matter so long as you are here, safe, and sound. And -now I'll go and get you something to eat! You can find your way down?" - -"Yes," Stella said. She could find her way down. She stood for a moment -looking through the window, her long hair falling in a silky stream -down her white shoulders, and the soft, dreamy look came into her eyes. - -"Is it true?" she murmured. "Am I really here at home with someone to -love me--someone whom I can love? Or is it only a dream, and shall I -wake in the cold bare room and find that I have still to endure the old -life? No! It is no dream, it is true!" - -She wound up the long hair and went down to find that Mrs. Penfold had -already prepared the table, her uncle standing beside and waiting with -gentle impatience for her appearance. - -He started as she entered, with a distinct feeling of renewed surprise; -the relief from uncertainty as to her welcome, the kindness of her -reception had already refreshed her, and her beauty shone out unclouded -by doubt or nervousness. - -The old man's eyes wandered with artistic approval over the graceful -form and lovely face, and he was almost in the land of dreams again -when Mrs. Penfold roused him by setting a chair at the table, and -handing him a cobwebbed bottle and a corkscrew. - -"Miss Stella must be starving, sir!" she said, suggestively. - -"Yes, yes," he assented, and both of them set to work exhorting -and encouraging her to eat, as if they feared she might drop under -the table with exhaustion unless she could be persuaded to eat of -everything on the table. - -Mr. Etheridge seemed to place great faith in the old port as a -restorative, and had some difficulty in concealing his disappointment -when Stella, after sipping the first glass, declined any more on the -score that it was strong. - -At last, but with visible reluctance, he accepted her assertion that -she was rescued from any chance of starvation, and Mrs. Penfold cleared -the table and left them alone. - -A lamp stood on the table, but the moonbeams poured in through the -window, and instinctively Stella drew near the window. - -"What a lovely place it is, uncle!" she said. - -He did not answer, he was watching her musingly, as she leant against -the edge of the wall. - -"You must be very happy here." - -"Yes," he murmured, dreamily. "Yes, and you think you will be, Stella." - -"Ah, yes," she answered, in a low voice, and with a low sigh. "Happier -than I can say." - -"You will not feel it lonely, shut up with an old man, a dreamer, who -has parted with the world and almost forgotten it?" - -"No, no! a thousand times no!" was the reply. - -He wandered to the fireplace and took up his pipe, but with a sudden -glance at her laid it down again. Slight as was the action she saw it, -and with the graceful, lithe movement which he had noticed, she glided -across the room and took up the pipe. - -"You were going to smoke, uncle." - -"No, no," he said, eagerly. "No, a mere habit----" - -She interrupted him with a smile, and filled the pipe for him with her -taper little fingers, and gave it to him. - -"You do not want me to wish that I had not come to you uncle?" - -"Heaven forbid!" he said, simply. - -"Then you must not alter anything in your life; you must go on as if I -had never dropped from the clouds to be a burden upon you." - -"My child!" he murmured, reproachfully. - -"Or to make you uncomfortable. I could not bear that, uncle." - -"No, no!" he said, "I will alter nothing, Stella; we will be happy, you -and I." - -"Very happy," she murmured, softly. - -He wandered to the window, and stood looking out; and, unseen by him, -she drew a chair up and cleared it of the litter, and unconsciously he -sat down. - -Then she glided to and fro, wandering round the room noiselessly, -looking at the curious lumber, and instinctively picking up the books -and putting them in something like order on the almost empty shelves. - -Every now and then she took up one of the pictures which stood with -their faces to the wall, and her gaze would wander from it to the -painter sitting in the moonlight, his white hair falling on his -shoulders, his thin, nervous hands clasped on his knee. - -She, who had spent her life in the most artistic city of the world, -knew that he was a great painter, and, child-woman as she was, wondered -why the world permitted him to remain unknown and unnoticed. She had -yet to learn that he cared as little for fame as he did for wealth, -and to be allowed to live for his art and dream in peace was all he -asked from the world in which he lived but in which he took no part. -Presently she came back to the window, and stood beside him; he started -slightly and put out his hand, and she put her thin white one into it. -The moon rose higher in the heavens, and the old man raised his other -hand and pointed to it in silence. - -As he did so, Stella saw glide into the scene--as it was touched by -the moonbeams--a large white building rearing above the trees on the -hill-top, and she uttered an exclamation of surprise. - -"What house is that, uncle? I had no idea one was there until this -moment!" - -"That is Wyndward Hall, Stella," he replied, dreamily; "it was hidden -by the shadow and the clouds." - -"What a grand place!" she murmured. "Who lives there uncle?" - -"The Wyndwards," he answered, in the same musing tone, "the Wyndwards. -They have lived there for hundreds of years, Stella. Yes, it is a grand -place." - -"We should call it a palace in Italy, uncle." - -"It is a palace in England, but we are more modest. They are contented -to call it the Hall. An old place and an old race." - -"Tell me about them," she said, quietly. "Do you know them--are they -friends of yours?" - -"I know them. Yes, they are friends, as far as there be any friendship -between a poor painter and the Lord of Wyndward. Yes, we are friends; -they call them proud, but they are not too proud to ask James -Etheridge to dinner occasionally; and they accuse him of pride because -he declines to break the stillness of his life by accepting their -hospitality. Look to the left there, Stella. As far as you can see -stretch the lands of Wyndward--they run for miles between the hills -there." - -"They have some reason to be proud," she murmured, with a smile. "But I -like them because they are kind to you." - -He nodded. - -"Yes, the earl would be more than kind, I think----" - -"The earl?" - -"Yes, Lord Wyndward, the head of the family; the Lord of Wyndward they -call him. They have all been called Lords of Wyndward by the people -here, who look up to them as if they were something more than human." - -"And does he live there alone?" she asked, gazing at the gray stone -mansion glistening in the moonlight. - -"No, there is a Lady Wyndward, and a daughter--poor girl." - -"Why do you say poor girl?" asked Stella. - -"Because all the wealth of the race would not make her otherwise than -an object of tender pity. She is an invalid; you see that window--the -one with the light in it?" - -"Yes," Stella said. - -"That is the window of her room; she lies there on a sofa, looking down -the valley all the day!" - - - - -CHAPTER II. - - -"Poor girl!" murmured Stella. There was silence for a moment. "And -those three live there all alone?" she said. - -"Not always," he replied, musingly. "Sometimes, not often, the son -Leycester comes down. He is Viscount Trevor." - -"The son," said Stella. "And what is he like?" - -The question seemed to set some train of thought in action; the old man -relapsed into silence for a few minutes. Then suddenly but gently he -rose, and going to the other end of the room, fetched a picture from -amongst several standing against the wall, and held it toward her. - -"That is Lord Leycester," he said. - -Stella took the canvas in her hand, and held it to the light, and an -exclamation broke involuntarily from her lips. - -"How beautiful he is!" - -The old man took the picture from her, and resting it on his knees, -gazed at it musingly. - -"Yes," he said, "it is a grand face; one does not see such a face -often." - -Stella leant over the chair and looked at it with a strange feeling of -interest and curiosity, such as no simply beautiful picture would have -aroused. - -It was not the regularity of the face, with its clear-cut features -and its rippling chestnut hair, that, had it been worn by a Wyndward -of a hundred years ago, would have fallen in rich curls upon the -square, well-formed shoulders. It was not the beauty of the face, but a -something indefinable in the carriage of the head and the expression of -the full, dark eyes that attracted, almost fascinated, her. - -It was in a voice almost hushed by the indescribable effect produced by -the face, that she said: - -"And he is like that?" - -"It is lifelike," he answered. "I, who painted it, should not say it, -but it is like him nevertheless--that is Leycester Wyndward. Why did -you ask?" - -Stella hesitated. - -"Because--I scarcely know. It is such a strange face, uncle. The -eyes--what is it in the eyes that makes me almost unable to look away -from them?" - -"The reflection of a man's soul, Stella," he said. - -It was a strange answer, and the girl looked down at the strange face -interrogatively. - -"The reflection of a man's soul, Stella. The Wyndwards have always -been a wild, reckless, passionate race; here, in this village, they -have innumerable legends of the daring deeds of the lords of Wyndward. -Murder, rapine, and high-handed tyranny in the olden times, wild -license and desperate profligacy in these modern ones; but of all the -race this Leycester Wyndward is the wildest and most heedless. Look -at him, Stella, you see him here in his loose shooting-jacket, built -by Poole; with the diamond pin in his irreproachable scarf, with -his hair cut to the regulation length: I see him in armor with his -sword upraised to watch the passionate fire of his eyes. There is a -picture in the great gallery up yonder of one of the Wyndwards clad -just so, in armor of glittering steel, with one foot on the body of a -prostrate foe, one hand upraised to strike the death-dealing blow of -his battle-ax. Yes, Leycester Wyndward should have lived four centuries -back." - -Stella smiled. - -"Has he committed many murders, uncle, burnt down many villages?" - -The old man started and looked up at the exquisite face, with its arch -smile beaming in the dark eyes and curving the red, ripe lips, and -smiled in response. - -"I was dreaming, Stella; an odd trick of mine. No, men of his stamp -are sadly circumscribed nowadays. We have left them no vent for their -natures now, excepting the gambling-table, the turf, and----" he roused -suddenly. "Yes, it's a beautiful face, Stella, but it belongs to a man -who has done more harm in his day than all his forefathers did before -him. It is rather a good thing that Wyndward Hall stands so firmly, or -else Leycester would have melted it at ecarte and baccarat long ago." - -"Is he so bad then?" murmured Stella. - -Her uncle smiled. - -"Bad is a mild word, Stella; and yet--look at the face again. I have -seen it softened by a smile such as might have been worn by an innocent -child; I have heard those lips laugh as--as women are supposed to laugh -before this world has driven all laughter out of them; and when those -eyes smile there is no resisting them for man or woman." - -He stopped suddenly and looked up. - -"I am wandering on like an old mill. Put the picture away, Stella." - -She took it from him and carried it across the room, but stood for -a moment silently regarding it by the lamp light. As she did so, a -strange fancy made her start and set the picture on the table suddenly. -It seemed to her as if the dark eyes had suddenly softened in their -intense fixed gaze and smiled at her. - -It was the trick of a warm, imaginative temperament, and it took -possession of her so completely that with a swift gesture she laid her -hand over the dark eyes and so hid them. - -Then, with a laugh at her own folly, she put the picture against the -wall and went back to the window and sat beside the old man. - -"Tell me about your past life, Stella," he said, in a low voice. - -"It seems to me as if you had always been here. You have a quiet way of -speaking and moving about, child." - -"I learnt that while papa was ill," she said, simply. "Sometimes he -would sit for hours playing softly, and I did not wish to disturb him." - -"I remember, I remember," he murmured. "Stella, the world should have -known something of him; he was a born musician." - -"He used to say the same of you, uncle; you should have been a famous -artist." - -The old man looked up with a smile. - -"My child, there are many men whom the world knows nothing of--luckily -for them. Your father and I were dreamers, both; the world likes men of -action. Can you play?" - -She rose and stood for a moment hesitating. In the corner of the room -there was a small chamber organ--one of those wonderful instruments -which in a small space combine the grand tones of a cathedral organ -with the melodious softness of a flute. It was one of the few luxuries -which the artist had permitted himself, and he was in the habit of -playing snatches of Verdi and Rossini, of Schubert and Mozart, when the -fading light compelled him to lay the brush aside. - -Stella went up to it softly and seated herself, and presently began to -play. She attempted no difficult fugue or brilliant march, but played -a simple Florentine vesper hymn, which she had heard floating from the -devout lips of the women kneeling before the altar of the great church -in Florence, and presently began to sing it. - -The old man started as the first clear bird-like notes rose softly -upon the evening air, and then covering his face with his hands went -straight to dreamland. - -The vesper hymn died softly, slowly out, and she rose, but with a -gesture of his hand he motioned her to remain at the organ. - -"You have your father's voice, Stella; sing again." - -She sang a pleasant ditty this time, with a touch of pathos in the -refrain, and hearing a slight noise as she finished, looked round, and -saw the old man rise, and with quivering lips turn toward the door. - -The young girl's sweet voice had brought back the past and its dead too -plainly, and he had gone out lest she should see his emotion. - -Stella rose and went to the window, and stood looking into the night. -The moonlight was glinting the river in the distance, and falling -in great masses upon the lawn at her feet. Half unconsciously she -opened the window, and stepping out, found herself in a small garden, -beautifully kept and fragrant with violets; her love for flowers was -a passion, and she stepped on to the path in search of them. The path -led in zigzag fashion to a little wooden gate, by which the garden was -entered from the lane. Stella found some violets, and looking about in -search of further treasure store, saw a bunch of lilac blossom growing -in the lane side. - -To open the gate and run lightly up the side of the bank was the -impulse of the moment, and she obeyed it; there were still deeper -masses of flowers a little further down, and she was walking toward -them when she heard the sound of a horse galloping toward her. - -For a moment she was so startled by the unexpected sound that she -stood looking toward the direction whence it came, and in that moment -a horse and rider turned the corner and made full pelt for the spot -where she was standing. Stella glanced back toward the little white -gate to discover that it was not in sight, and that she had gone -further than she intended. It was of no use to attempt to get back -before the horseman reached her, there was only time to get out of the -way. Lightly springing up the bank, she stood under the lilac tree and -waited. - -As she did so, the horse and man came out of the shadow into the -moonlight. To Stella, both looked tremendously big and tall in the -deceptive light, but it was not the size, but the attitude of the rider -which struck her and chained her attention. - -She could not see his face, but the figure was that of a young man, -tall and stalwart, and full of a strange, masterful grace which -displayed itself in the easy, reckless way in which he sat the great -animal, and in the poise of the head which, slightly thrown back, -seemed in its very attitude eloquent of pride and defiance. There was -something strange and unusual about the whole bearing that struck -Stella, unused as she was to meeting horsemen in an English country -lane. - -As he came a little nearer she noticed that he was dressed in evening -dress, excepting his coat, which was of velvet, and sat loosely, yet -gracefully, upon the stalwart frame. In simple truth the rider had -thrown off his dress coat for a smoking jacket, and still wore his -dress boots. Stella saw the moonlight shining upon them and upon a -ruby, which blazed sullenly upon the white hand which held the whip. - -As if rider and horse were one, they came up the lane, and were abreast -of her, the man all unconscious of her presence. But not so the horse; -his quick, restless eye had caught sight of the shimmer of Stella's -dress, and with a toss of the head he swerved aside and stood still. -The rider brought his eyes from the sky, and raising his whip, cut the -horse across the flank, with a gesture of impatient anger; but the -horse--a splendid, huge-boned Irish mare, as fiery and obstinate as a -lion--rose on its hind legs instantly, and the whip came down again. - -"Confound you! what is the matter?" exclaimed its master. "Go on, you -idiot!" - -The horse pricked its ears at the sound of the familiar voice, but -stood stock still, quivering in every limb. - -Stella saw the whip raised again, and instinctively, before she was -aware of it, her womanly protest sprang from her lips. - -"No! no!" - -At the sound of the eager, imploring voice, the rider kept his whip -poised in the air, then let his arm fall, and dragging rather than -guiding the horse, forced it near the hedge. - -"Who is it? Who are you?" he demanded, angrily. "What the----" - -Then he stopped suddenly, and stared speechlessly, motionless, and -transfixed--horse and rider, as it were, turned to stone. - -Tall and graceful, with that grace which belongs to the girlhood which -stands on the threshold of womanhood, with her exquisite face fixed in -an expression of mingled fear and pity, and a shyness struggling with -maidenly pride, she made a picture which was lovely enough to satisfy -the requirements of the most critical and artistic mind--a picture -which he who looked upon it carried with him till the day he died. - -For a moment he sat motionless, and as he sat the moon fell full upon -his face, and Stella saw the face of the portrait whose eyes she had -but a few minutes since hidden from her sight. - -A lifetime of emotion may pass in a minute; a life's fate hangs upon -the balance of a stroke of time. It was only for a moment that they -looked into each other's eyes in silence, but that moment meant so much -to each of them! It was the horse that broke the spell by attempting -to rise again. With a slight movement of the hand Leycester Wyndward -forced him down, and then slid from the saddle and stood at Stella's -feet, hat in hand. - -Even then he paused as if afraid, lest a word should cause the vision -to vanish into thin air; but at last he opened his lips. - -"I beg your pardon." - -That was all. Four words only, and words that one hears daily; words -that have almost lost their import from too familiar commonplace, -and yet, as he said them, they sounded so entirely, so earnestly, so -intensely significant and full of meaning that all the commonplace -drifted from them, and they conveyed to the listener's ear a real and -eager prayer for forgiveness; so real and earnest that to have passed -them by with the conventional smile and bow would have been an insult, -and impossible. - -But it was not only the words and the tone, but the voice that thrilled -through Stella's soul, and seemed to wake an echoing chord. The picture -which had so awed her had been dumb and voiceless; but now it seemed -as if it had spoken even as it had smiled, and for a moment she felt a -woman's desire to shut out the sound, as she had shut out the smiling -eyes. - -It was the maidenly impulse of self-protection, against what evil she -did not know or dream. - -"I beg your pardon," he said again, his voice deep and musical, his -eyes raised to hers. "I am afraid I frightened you. I thought I was -alone here. Will you forgive me?" - -Stella looked down at him, and a faint color stole into her cheeks. - -"It is I who should beg pardon; I am not frightened, but your horse -was--and by me?" - -He half glanced at the horse standing quiet enough now, with its bridle -over his arm. - -"He is an idiot!" he said, quickly; "an obstinate idiot, and incapable -of fear. It was mere pretense." - -"For which you punished him," said Stella, with a quick smile. - -He looked up at her, and slowly there came into his eyes and his lips -that smile of which Mr. Etheridge had spoken, and which Stella had -foreseen. - -"You are afraid I am going to whip him again?" - -"Yes," she said, with simple directness. - -He looked at her with a curious smile. - -"You are right," he said; "I was. There are times when he requires a -little correction; to-night is one of them. We have not seen each other -for some little time, and he has forgotten who is master. But I shall -not forget your 'No,' and will spare the whip; are you satisfied?" - -It was a strange speech, closing with a strangely abrupt question. It -was characteristic of the speaker, who never in all his life probably -had known for a moment what nervousness or embarrassment meant. Judging -by his tone, the easy flow of the musical voice, the frank, open -manner, one would have imagined that this meeting with a strange and -beautiful girl was the most matter-of-fact affair. - -"Are you satisfied?" he repeated, as Stella remained silent, trying -to fight against the charm of his simple and direct manner. "If not, -perhaps that will do it?" and taking the whip, a strong hunter's crop, -in both his white hands, he broke it in two as easily as if it were a -reed, and flung it over his shoulder. - -Stella flushed, but she laughed, and her dark eyes beamed down upon him -with serious archness. - -"Does not that look as if you were afraid you should not keep your -promise?" - -He smiled up at her. - -"It does," he said--"you are right; I may have been tempted beyond my -strength. He is a bad-tempered beast, and I am another. Why do you -laugh----?" - -He broke off, his voice changing as subtly as some musical instrument. - -Stella hesitated a moment. - -"I beg you will tell me--I shall not be offended." - -She laughed, and clung with one hand to the lilac, looking down on him. - -"I was thinking how fortunate it was that he could not whip you. It is -not fair, as you are both so bad-tempered, that one only should get -punished." - -He did not laugh, as another man would have done; but there came into -the dark eyes a flash of surprised amusement, such as might have shone -in those of the giant Gulliver when some Liliputian struck him with a -pin-sized stick; and his lips parted with a smile. - -"It was a natural reflection," he said, after a pause. "Will you let me -help you down?" - -Stella shook her head. Somehow she felt safe up there above him, where -but the dark eyes could reach her. - -"Thank you, no; I am gathering some lilac. Do not trouble." - -And she turned slightly from him, and stretched up her hand for a -branch above her head. The next moment he sprang up the bank lightly, -and stood beside her. - -"Permit me," he said. And with one sweep he drew the fragrant branch -within her reach. - -"And now will you come down?" he asked, as if she were some willful -child. Stella smiled, and he held out his hand. She put hers into it, -and his fingers closed over it with a grasp firm as steel, but as -smooth as a woman's. As the warm fingers closed over hers, which were -cold with her long grasp of the branch above her head, a thrill ran -through her and caused her to shudder slightly. - -"You are cold," he said, instantly. "The Spring evenings are -treacherous. Have you far to go?" - -"I am not cold, thanks," she said, with quick alarm, for there was -a look in his eyes and a movement of his hand which seemed to give -warning that he was about to take his coat off. - -"I am not at all cold!" - -"Have you far to go?" he repeated, with the air, gentle as it was, of a -man who was accustomed to have his questions answered. - -"Not far; to the little white gate there," she answered. - -"The little white gate--to Etheridge's, the artist's?" he said gently, -with a tone of surprise. - -Stella bent her head; his eyes scanned her face. - -"You live there--are staying there?" - -"Yes." - -"I never saw you in Wyndward before." - -"No, I was never here till to-night." - -"Till to-night?" he echoed. "I knew that I had not seen you before." - -There was something in the tone, wholly unlike commonplace flattery, -that brought the color to Stella's face. - -They had reached the gate by this time, he walking by her side, the -bridle thrown over his arm, the great horse pacing quiet and lamb-like, -and Stella stopped. - -"Good-night," she said. - -He stopped short and looked at her, his head thrown back, as she had -seen it as he rode toward her, his eyes fixed intently on her face, and -seeming to sink through her downcast eyes into her soul. - -"Good-night," he replied. "Wait." - -It was a word of command, for all its musical gentleness, and Stella, -woman-like, stopped. - -"I am going away," he said, not abruptly, but with calm directness. "If -you have only come to-night I shall not be able to learn your name; -before I go, will you tell it me?" - -Stella smiled. - -"Why not?" he said, as she hesitated. - -"My name is Stella Etheridge, I am Mr. Etheridge's niece." - -"Stella!" he repeated. "Stella! Thank you. I shall not forget. My -name," and he raised his hat with a simple gesture of proud humility, -"is Wyndward--Leycester Wyndward." - -"I know it," said Stella, and the next moment she could have called the -impulsive words back again. - -"You know it!" he said; "and came here only to-night! How is that?" - -Stella's brows contracted, dark and full they met across her brow in -true southern fashion, and lent a significant eloquence to her face; -she would have given much to avoid answering. - -"How is that?" he asked, his eyes fixed on hers. - -"It is very simple," she said, as if vexed at her hesitation. "I saw -your portrait and--knew you." - -He smiled a curious smile. - -"Knew me before we met! I wonder----" he paused and his eyes seemed to -read her thoughts. "I wonder whether you were prejudiced by what you -saw by that forshadowing of me? Is that a fair question?" - -"It is a strange one," said Stella. - -"Is it? I will not press it. Good-night!" and he raised his hat. - -"Good-night, and good-bye," she said, and impulsively again she held -out her hand. - -His eyes showed no surprise, whatever he may have felt, as he took her -hand and held it. - -"No," he said, as he let her draw it away. "Not good-bye. I have -changed my mind. I shall not go. It is only good-night," and with a -smile flashing out of his eyes, he leapt upon his horse and was gone. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - - -Stella stood watching until the big chestnut had borne its master out -of sight, and down the lane, across the meadow; she caught one more -glimpse of them as he rode through the ford, the water dashing up a -silver shower of spray as high as the horse's head; then they vanished -in the shadow of the woods which engirdled Wyndward Hall. - -But she still stood, lost in a dreamy reverie that was not thought, -until her uncle's voice came floating down the garden, and with a start -she ran up the path and stood breathless before him. - -The old man's placid face wore a slight look of anxiety, which faded -instantly as he said: - -"Where have you been, Stella? I thought you had changed your mind, -and flown back to Italy again. Mrs. Penfold is searching the meadows -wildly." - -Stella laughed, as she put her arm round his neck. - -"You will not get rid of me so easily, uncle. No, I have only been down -the pretty lane at the end of the garden. See, here are some flowers; -are they not sweet? You shall have them for your table, and they shall -stand within sight while you are at work." And she filled a vase with -water, and arranged them. "But the flowers are not all the fruits of my -wandering, uncle," she went on; "I have had an adventure." - -He was strolling up and down with his pipe in his mouth, his hands -folded behind him. - -"An adventure!" - -"Yes," she nodded. "I have met--can you guess whom?" - -He smiled. - -"Mr. Fielding, the clergyman? It is his usual evening stroll." - -"No." - -"Perhaps an old lady in a lace shawl, with a fat pug by her side. If -so, you have made an acquaintance with the great Mrs. Hamilton, the -doctor's wife." - -"No, it was not anybody's wife, uncle--it was a man. You shan't guess -any more; but what do you say to Lord Leycester?" - -"Lord Leycester!" said Mr. Etheridge. "I did not even know he was at -home. Lord Leycester! And does my picture do him justice?" he asked, -turning to her with a smile. - -She bent over the flowers, ashamed of the meaningless blush which rose -to her face. - -"Yes, uncle, it is like him; but I could not see very distinctly you -know. It was moonlight. He was riding a great, huge chestnut horse." - -"I know," he murmured, "and tearing along like a lost spirit. He -flashed past like a meteor, I expect. No, you could not see him, and -cannot judge of my portrait." - -"But he didn't flash past. He would have done, no doubt, but the -chestnut declined. I think it was frightened by me, for I was standing -on the bank." - -"And he stopped?" asked Mr. Etheridge. "It was a wonder; such a little -thing even as the shying of his horse was sufficient to rouse the devil -in him! He stopped!" - -"Because he was obliged," said Stella, in a low voice, a deep blush of -maidenly shame rising to her face, as she remembers that it was she who -had really stopped him. - -"And was he very furious?" - -"No; the proverbial lamb could not have been more quiet," said Stella, -with a musical laugh. - -Mr. Etheridge laughed. - -"He must have been in a good humor. It was strange his being out -to-night. The Hall is full of people from town; but it would not matter -to him if he wanted to ride, though the prince himself were there; he -would go. And my picture?" - -"Did him justice, uncle. Yes, he is very handsome; he wore a loose -velvet coat to-night of a dark purple; I did not know gentlemen wore -such colors now." - -"A smoking coat," he explained. "I think I can see him. No doubt he had -obeyed the impulse of the moment--had jumped up and left them there at -the Hall--saddled his own horse and tore away across the river. Well, -you have probably seen the last of him for some time, Stella. He rarely -stays at the Hall more than a day or two. Town has too great a charm -for him." - -Stella's lips opened, and she was about to reply that he had suddenly -resolved to stay, but something stopped the words on her lips. - -Presently there was a knock at the door, and Mrs. Penfold came in with -the candles. - -"You have given me quite a turn, Miss Stella," she said, with a smile -of reproach; "I thought you were lost. Your room is quite ready now, -miss." - -Stella went up to the old man and kissed him. - -"Good-night, uncle," she murmured. - -"Good-night, my child," he said, his eyes dwelling on her tenderly, but -with something of the bewildered look clouding them; "Good-night, and -happy dreams for this, your first night at home." - -"At home!" murmured Stella; "at home! You are very good to me, uncle," -and she kissed him again. - -Mrs. Penfold had done wonders in so short a time permitted her, and -Stella found herself standing alone in a tiny room, modestly but -comfortably--oh, so comfortably!--furnished, with its white bed and its -old-fashioned dimity curtains framing the lattice window. As her gaze -wandered round the room, her glorious eyes grew moist. It was all so -sudden, so sweet a contrast to the gaunt, bare room, which, for a weary -year she had shared with a score of girls as miserable as herself; so -sudden that she could scarcely believe it was real. - -But youth is ever ready to accept the surprises of life, and she fell -asleep--fell asleep to dream that she was back in the wretched school -in Italy, and chained to a stone wall from which all her efforts to -free herself were unavailing, but presently she thought that a tall, -stalwart figure came riding down on a big chestnut horse, and that with -one sweep of his strong hand he broke her chains asunder, and, lifting -her into his saddle, bore her away. Then the scene changed; she seemed -to be following her rescuer who, with his handsome face turned over his -shoulder, drew her on continually with a strange fascinating smile. All -through her dreams the smiling eyes haunted her, and once she stretched -out her hands to keep it from her, but even in the action the gesture -of repulse turned in a strange, subtle manner to one of entreaty and -welcome, and she drew the smile, as it were, to her bosom, and folded -her hands over it. A girlish fancy, perhaps, but such fancies influence -a life for good or ill, for joy or misery. - -Lord Leycester Wyndward, of whose smile Stella was dreaming, had ridden -up the hills, the great chestnut scarcely breaking his pace, but -breathing hard and defiantly from its wide, red nostrils--had ridden -up the hills and through the woods, and reached the open plateau lying -round the Hall. - -A noble park occupied the plateau--a park of chestnuts and oaks, -which were the pride of the county. Through the park wound the road, -gleaming white in the moonlight, to the front gates of Wyndward. The -lodge-keeper heard the beat of the chestnut's feet, for which he had -been listening intently, and threw open the gates, and Lord Leycester -entered the grounds. They were vast in extent and exquisitely laid out, -the road winding between a noble avenue of trees that arched overhead. -The present earl's grandfather had gone in for arboriculture, and the -way was lined for fifty feet back with rare shrubs and conifers. - -So serpentine was the road that the great gray mansion broke upon the -gaze suddenly, mentally startling him who approached it for the first -time. - -To Lord Leycester it was a familiar sight, but familiar as it was he -glanced up at it with what was almost a nod of approval. Like most men -of his nature, he possessed a passionate love and appreciation for the -beautiful, and there was to-night a strange, indefinable fire in his -hot blood which made him more than usually susceptible to the influence -of the scene. A sweeping curve of the road led to the terrace which -stretched along the whole front of the house, and by which the -principal entrance was gained. - -Lord Leycester struck off to the right, and entered a modern courtyard, -three sides of which were occupied by the admirable stables. A couple -of grooms had been listening as intently as the lodge-keeper, and as he -entered the yard they hurried forward silently and took the chestnut. -Lord Leycester dropped to the ground, patted the horse, which made a -playfully-affectionate snap at his arm, and, ascending a flight of -steps, entered the lower end of the long hall, which stretched through -the building. - -The hall was softly but sufficiently lighted by shaded lamps, supported -by huge figures in bronze, which diffused a charming glow upon the -innumerable pictures upon the panels of dark oak. From the vaulted -roof hung tattered flags, most of them borne by the earlier Wyndwards, -some of them bestowed by the graceful hands of dead and gone princes; -the somewhat gloomy aspect of the place was lightened by the gleaming -armor of the knightly effigies which stood at regular intervals upon -the tesselated floor, and by the deep crimson of the curtains which -screened the heavy doors and tall windows. The whole scene, the very -atmosphere, as it seemed, was characteristic of an ancient and powerful -race. Notwithstanding that the house was full of guests, and that a -brilliant party was at that moment in the drawing-room, not a sound -penetrated the vast hall. The two or three servants who were standing -by the doors or sitting on the benches, talking in hushed voices, were -silent the moment he entered, and one came forward to receive any -commands. - -Notwithstanding the brusqueness which is the salient characteristic of -our present life, the old world state and formality still existed at -Wyndward. Be as exacting and capricious as you might, you had no fear -of meeting with inattention or disrespect from the army of servants, -whose one aim and purpose in life seemed to be to minister to the wants -and moods of their superiors. - -It was a princely house, conducted in stately fashion, without regard -to cost or trouble, and the servants, from the pages to the countess's -own maid, were as proud of their position, in its degree, as the Lord -of Wyndward of his. - -"Send Oliver to me," said Lord Wyndward, as he passed the man. "I am -going to my room." - -He went up the stairs, and passing along the principal corridor, -entered a room fronting the park. It was one of a suite which consisted -of a sort of sitting-room, a dressing-room, and beyond a bedroom. - -The sitting-room gave pretty plain indications of the owner's tastes -and dispositions. - -It was a medley of objects connected with sport and art. Here a set -of boxing-gloves and foils; a gun-rack, well stocked; fishing-rods -and whips hung over the antique fireplace with the wide open hearth -and dog-irons. On one side of the room hung a collection of etchings, -unique and priceless; on another half a dozen gems in oil, while -against the third stood a piano, and an easel upon which rested a -canvas displaying a half-finished Venus rising from her cradle of sea -foam; for upon this, the only son of the house, the partial gods had -bestowed many gifts; any one of which, had he been a poor man, would -have made the world regard him as one of its masters. But as it was, -he painted and played for amusement only, and there were only a few of -his friends, and only those who were most intimate, who suspected that -the wild, reckless Leycester could do more than ride like a centaur and -shoot like a North American Indian. How were they to know, seeing that -he rarely spoke of art, and never of his own passionate love of it? Had -they known, it would have given them a key to much in his character -which puzzled and bewildered them; they would have been nearer -understanding how it was that in one man could be combined the soft -tenderness of a southern nature with the resolute, defiant recklessness -of the northern. - -He entered the room and went to the fireplace in which a log was -burning brightly, to guard against the too frequent treachery of an -early summer evening, and flinging his hat on to a chair, passed his -hand through his hair with a thoughtful yet restless smile. - -"Stella!" he murmured. "Stella! That was wrong. A star should be fair -and golden, all light and sunshine, while she--great Heaven! what eyes! -It was surely the sweetest, loveliest face that a man ever looked upon. -No wonder that coming upon it so suddenly--with my thoughts a hundred -miles away, coming upon it suddenly as it shone up above me--that I -should think it only a vision! If that face as I saw it could smile -out from the Academy next Spring, what crowds of fools would gather -round to gape and stare at it? If--yes, but who could do it? No one! No -one! As well try and catch the sunlight on a brush and paint it on the -canvas--as well try----" he broke off suddenly, his eye caught by the -Venus Aphrodite smiling from the easel, and going across to it, stood -and contemplated it. - -"Venus with a pale pink face and meaningless blue eyes, with insipid -yellow hair and simpering smile! Never more will Venus take that -semblance for me. No, she will be as I saw her to-night, with dark -silken hair, and sweeping lashes shading the dark brown eyes, in which -one sees the soul peering from their depths. That is Venus, not this," -and with a smile of derision he took up a brush and drew a dark, broad -effacing line across the fair face. - -"So departs forever all my former dreams of womanly loveliness. -Loveliness! I have never seen it until to-night. Stella! A star! Yes, -she is rightly named, after all. She shone down on me like a star, -and I--great Heaven!--was like one bewitched! While she--she made a -laughing-stock of me. Compared me with the nag, and treated me like a -school-boy too big to be whipped but not too large to be laughed at. - -"By Jove it is not a thing to be proud of; called to task by a girl--a -little slip of a girl not yet a woman! and yet I would not have missed -that laugh and the light scorn of those dark eyes, though they lighted -up at my expense. Stella----" - -There was a knock at the door, and his valet, Oliver, entered. - -Lord Leycester stared at him a moment abstractedly, then roused himself -from his reverie. - -"What is it, Oliver?" - -"You sent for me, my lord." - -"Oh, yes! I had forgotten. I will wash and get into my other coat." - -Oliver passed noiselessly into the other room and assisted his master -to change the velvet smoking-jacket for the dress coat, brushed the -thick, short-cut chestnut hair into order, and opened the door. - -"Where are they all?" he asked. "Are any of them in the smoking-room?" - -"Yes, my lord, Lord Barton and Captain Halliday; the Marquis of -Sandford and Sir William are in the billiard-room." - -Lord Leycester nodded, and went down the stairs across the hall; -a servant drew a curtain aside and opened a door, and Lord -Leycester entered a small ante-room, one side of which opened into -a long-stretching fernery, from which came the soft trip trip of -fountains, and the breath which filled the whole atmosphere with a -tropical perfume. - -A couple of footmen in gorgeous livery were standing beside a double -curtain, and at a sign from Lord Leycester they drew it apart. Lord -Leycester passed through and down a small corridor lined with statuary, -at the end of which was another curtain. No passage, or door, or -ante-room but was thus masked, to shut out the two things which the -earl held as abominations--draught and noise. - -With the opening of these curtains the large saloon was revealed -like the scene on the stage of a theater. It was a magnificent room -in keeping with the rest of the place, richly but not gorgeously -decorated, and lighted by wax candles shining through faintly hued -globes. At one end stood a grand piano in white and ormolu, and a lady -was playing and singing, while others were standing round with tea-cups -in their hands. Near the fireplace was a table, upon which stood a -silver tea equipage, with which the countess was busied. - -Lady Wyndward was still in her prime, notwithstanding that Lord -Leycester was twenty-three; she had been married at eighteen, and was -now in the perfection of matronly beauty; one had only to glance at -her to learn from whence Leycester had got his strange beauty. Near -her stood a tall, thin gentleman with proud, haughty, clean-cut face, -and iron gray hair, worn rather long and brushed back from a white, -lofty brow. It was the earl. His dark piercing eyes were bent upon the -ground as he stood listening to the music, but he saw Leycester enter, -and raised his head as a slight frown crossed his face. Lady Wyndward -saw the frown and sought the cause, but her face showed no signs of -surprise or displeasure. It was calm and impassive at all times, as if -its owner disdained the weakness of ordinary mortals. Leycester paused -a moment, taking in the scene; then he crossed the room, and went up to -the table. - -Lady Wyndward looked up with her serene, imperial smile. - -"Will you have some tea, Leycester?" - -"Thanks," he said. - -She gave him his cup, and as he took it a young man left the group at -the piano, and came up to him laughing. - -"Where have you been, Leycester?" he asked, putting his hand on the -broad shoulder. It was Lord Charles Guildford, Leycester's most -intimate friend. - -Between these two existed an affection which was almost, say rather -more than fraternal. They had been together at Eton, where Leycester, -the great, stalwart lad, had fought the slight frail boy's battles; -they had lived in the same rooms at Oxford, had been comrades in all -the wild escapades which made their term at college a notorious one, -and they were inseparable. Leycester had grown from a tall lad into a -stalwart man; Lord Charles--or Charlie, as he was called--had fulfilled -the promise of his frail boyhood, and developed into a slight, thin, -fair-haired youth, with the indolent grace which sometimes accompanies -weakness, and the gentle nature of a woman. - -Leycester turned to him with a smile, and the earl looked up to hear -the answer; the countess busied herself with the teapot, as if she were -not listening as intently. - -"I went for a galop, Charlie," said Leycester. "You fellows were half -asleep in the smoking-room, and I had listened to Barton's Indian story -for the hundredth time, and it got rather slow; then I remembered that -the chestnut had been eating his head off for the last five weeks, and -thought I would give him a turn." - -The earl frowned and turned away; Lord Charles laughed. - -"Pretty behavior!" he exclaimed; "and here were we hunting all over the -place for you." - -"Why didn't you come into the drawing-room to us, Lord Leycester?" said -a beautiful girl who was sitting near; "we should not have bored you -with any Indian stories." - -"But, you see, I should have bored you, Lady Constance," he said. - -The girl smiled up into his face. - -"Perhaps you would," she said. "You are more considerate than I -thought." - -"I never venture into the ladies' sanctum after dinner till the tea is -announced," he retorted. "I have an idea, shared by my sex generally, -that it is not safe--that, in short, you are too ferocious." - -"And you prefer riding about the country till we quiet down. Are we -quiet now, or do we look ferocious?" - -And she smiled up at him from behind her fan with a plain invitation. - -He sat down beside her and began to talk the infinite nothings which -came to his lips so easily, the trivial small change which his musical -voice and rare smile seemed to transform to true coin; but while he -talked his thoughts were wandering to the dark-haired girl who had -shone down upon him from her green and fragrant bower in the lane, and -he found himself picturing her in the little room at the cottage in the -meadows, amongst the curious litter of the old artist's studio; and -gradually his answers grew disjointed and inconsequential. - -He got up presently, got up abruptly, and wandered across the room -stopping to exchange a word or two with one and the other, his tall, -graceful figure towering above those of the other men, his handsome -head thrown back musingly. Many an admiring and wistful glance -followed him from among the women, and not a few would have exerted -all their fascinations to keep him by their side, had they not known -by experience, that when he was in his present mood he was deaf to the -voice and smile of the charmer, charmed she never so wisely. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - - -The countess watched him from her table, and, looking up at the earl, -murmured: - -"Leycester is in one of his restless moods to-night." - -"Yes," he said, with a sigh. "What is it?--do you know?" - -"No," she said, calmly. "He was all right at dinner." - -"Why can he not behave like other people?" said the earl, sadly. "Can -you fancy any other man leaving his father's guests and riding about -the country?" - -"Leycester never was like any other," she said, not without a touch of -pride. "He is as he is, and nothing can alter him." - -The earl was silent for a moment, his long white hands folded behind -his back, his dark eyes fixed on the floor. - -"Has he told you of his last escapade--his last mad freak?" he said, in -a low voice. - -"Yes," she answered, calmly. "He has never concealed anything from me." - -"It is nearly twenty thousand pounds. Even Wyndward must feel such -strains as this." - -The countess raised her head. - -"I know," she said; "he has told me everything. It was a point of -honor. I did not quite understand; horse-racing is a pastime with which -I have little sympathy, though we have always owned race-horses. It was -a point of honor. Some one had been taking advantage of his name to act -dishonestly, and he withdrew the horse. He could take no other course," -he says. - -The earl sighed. - -"No doubt. But it is mad folly, and there is no end to it--if he could -see some limit! Why does he not marry?" - -The countess glanced at the handsome face. - -"He will not marry until he meets with some one he can love." - -The earl looked round the room at the many beautiful graceful women who -adorned it, and sighed impatiently. - -"He is hard to please." - -"He is," assented the countess, with the same touch of pride. - -"It is time he married and settled," continued the earl. "For most men -a year or two would not matter, but with him--I do not like to think -that the title rests only on our two lives, as mine must be near its -close." - -"Algernon!" - -"And on his, which is risked daily." - -He stooped, silenced by the sudden look of pain in the beautiful eyes. - -"Why do you not speak to him? He will do anything for you." - -The countess smiled. - -"Everything but that. No, I cannot speak to him; it would be useless. I -do not wish to weaken my influence." - -"Get Lilian to speak to him," he said. - -The countess sighed. - -"Lilian!" she murmured; "she would not do it. She thinks him something -more than human, and that no woman in the world can be good enough -to--to hold his stirrup or fill his wineglass." - -The earl frowned. - -"Between you," he said, "you have spoiled him." - -The countess shook her head gently. - -"No, we have not. He is now as a man what he was as a boy. Do you -remember what Nelson said, when Hardy asked him why he did nothing -while one of their ships was fighting two of the enemy's? 'I am doing -all I can--watching.'" - -Before the earl could reply, a cabinet minister came up and engaged him -in conversation, and the countess rose and crossed the room to where an -elderly lady sat with a portfolio of engravings before her. It was the -Dowager Countess of Longford, a tiny little woman with a thin wrinkled -face, and keen but kindly gray eyes that lit up her white face and made -it remarkable. - -She was dressed as simply as a quakeress, excepting for some old and -priceless lace which softened the rigor of her plainly made gray satin -dress. She looked up as the younger countess approached, and made room -for her on the sofa. - -Lady Wyndward sat down in silence, which was unbroken for a minute. -Then the old countess said without looking at her-- - -"The boy grows handsomer every day, Ethel!" - -Lady Wyndward sighed. - -"What is the matter?" asked the other, with a keen smile. "What has he -been doing now, burning a church or running off with a Lord Mayor's -daughter?" - -"He has not been doing anything very much," answered Lady Wyndward. -"Except losing some money." - -The old countess raised her eyebrows lightly. - -"That does not matter." - -"Not much. No, he has not been doing anything; I wish he would. That's -what is the matter." - -"I understand," retorted the other. "He is most dangerous when quiet; -you are always afraid he is preparing for some piece of madness beyond -the ordinary. Well, my dear, if you will give the world such a -creature you must put up with the consequences--be prepared to pay the -penalty. I should be quite content to do so." - -"Ah, you don't know," said the countess, with a smile that had -something pathetic in it. - -"Yes, I do," retorted the old lady, curtly. "And I envy you still. I -love the boy, Ethel. There is not a woman of us in the room, from the -youngest to the oldest, who does not love him. You cannot expect one -whom the gods have so favored to behave like an ordinary mortal." - -"Why not? It is just what Algernon has said to me." - -"I thought as much. I was watching you two. Of all things, beware of -this: don't let Algernon interfere with him. It is a strange thing to -say, but his father is the worst man in all the world to attempt to put -the bridle on Leycester. It is we women who alone have the power to -guide him." - -"That is where my fear lies," said the countess. "It is the thought of -what may happen in that quarter which fills me with daily dread." - -"There is only one safeguard--marry him," remarked the old countess, -but with a comical smile. - -The countess sighed. - -"Again, that is what Algernon says. You both say it as calmly as if you -told me to give him a cup of tea." - -The old countess was silent for a moment, then she said-- - -"Where is Lenore Beauchamp?" - -Lady Wyndward was almost guilty of a start. - -"You read my thoughts," she said. - -The old lady nodded. - -"She is the only woman who can really touch him. Ask her here; let them -be together. She will be glad to come." - -"I am not sure, Lenore is proud; she might guess why we wanted her." - -The old lady drew up her head as haughtily as if she was Leycester's -mother. - -"And then? Is there any girl among them who would not jump at the -chance? I don't mean because he is the heir to Wyndward; he is enough -in himself without that." - -"It is well you are not his mother; you would have made him what he is -not now--vain." - -The old lady sighed. - -"I know it. But you are wrong about Lenore. If she ever cared for -anyone, it is Leycester. She is proud, but love levels pride, and -she may put forth her power. If she should, not even Leycester can -withstand her. Ask her down, and leave the rest to her--and Providence." - -The countess sat for a moment in silence, then she put her hand upon -the thin, wrinkled hand, unadorned by a single gem. - -"I have always you to come to. I think you understand him better than -his own mother." - -"No," said the old lady, "but I love him nearly as well." - -"I will write at once," said the countess. And she rose and crossed to -the ante-room. - -There was a writing-table amongst the furniture; the servants saw her -go to it, and noiselessly left the room. - -She took up the pen and thought a moment, then wrote: - - "MY DEAR LENORE,--Will you come down and spend a week with us? We have - a few friends with us, but we are not complete without you. Do not say - 'No,' but come. I do not name any day, so that you may be free to fix - your own." - - "Yours affectionately, - - "ETHEL WYNDWARD." - - "P.S.--Leycester is with us." - -As she wrote the signature she heard a step behind her, which she knew -was Leycester's. - -He stopped short as he saw her, and coming up to her, put his hand on -her white shoulder. - -"Writing, mother?" he said. - -The countess folded her letter. - -"Yes. Where are you going?" - -He pointed to the Louis Quatorze clock that ticked solemnly on a -bracket. - -"Ten o'clock, mother," he said, with a smile. - -"Oh, yes; I see," she assented. - -He stood for a moment looking down at her with all a young man's filial -pride in a mother's beauty, and, bending down, touched her cheek with -his lips, then passed out. - -The countess looked after him with softened eyes. - -"Who could help loving him?" she murmured. - -Humming an air from the last opera bouffe, he ran lightly up the -staircase and passed along the corridor, but as he reached the further -end and knocked at a door, the light air died upon his lips. - -A low voice murmured, "Come in;" and opening the door gently, he -entered. - -The room was a small one, and luxuriously furnished in a rather strange -style. On the first entrance, a stranger would have been struck by -the soft and delicate tints which pervaded throughout. There was not -a brilliant color in the apartment; the carpet and hangings, the -furniture, the pictures themselves were all of a reposeful tint, which -could not tire the eye or weary the sense. The carpet was a thick -Persian rug, which deadened the sound of footsteps, costly hangings of -a cool and restful gray covered the walls, save at intervals; the fire -itself was screened by a semi-transparent screen, and the only light in -the room came from a lamp which was suspended by a silver chain from -the ceiling, and was covered by a thick shade. - -On a couch placed by the window reclined a young girl. As Leycester -entered, she half rose and turned a pale, but beautiful face toward him -with an expectant smile. - -Beautiful is a word that is easily written, and written so often that -its significance has got dulled: it fails to convey any idea of the -ethereal loveliness of Lilian Wyndward. Had Mr. Etheridge painted a -face with Leycester's eyes, and given it the delicately-cut lips and -spiritual expression of one of Raphael's angels, it would have been a -fair representation of Lilian Wyndward. - -"It is you Leycester," she said. "I knew you would come," and she -pointed to a small traveling clock that stood on a table near her. - -He went up to her and kissed her, and she put her arms round his neck -and laid her face against his, her eyes looking into his with rapt -devotion. - -"How hot you are, dear. Is it hot down there?" - -"Awfully," he said, seating himself beside her, and thrusting his -hands into his pockets. "There is not a breath of air moving, and if -there were the governor would take care to shut it out. This room is -deliriously cool, Lil; it is a treat to come into it." - -"Is it?" she said, with a glad eagerness. "You really think it is. I -like to hear you say that." - -"Yes, it's the prettiest room in the house. What is it smells so sweet?" - -"Lilac," she said, and she pointed to a bunch on the table. - -He started slightly, and, stretching out his hand, took a spray out of -the epergne. - -"I thought it was lilac," he said, quietly. "I noticed it when I came -in." - -She took the spray from him and fastened it in his coat, against which -her hands looked white as the driven snow. - -"You shall take it to your own room, Ley," she said. "You shall take -them all." - -"Not for worlds, Lil," he said. "This will do." - -"And what are they doing?" she asked. - -"The usual thing," he replied; "playing, singing, rubber at whist, and -boring each other to death generally." - -She smiled. - -"And what have you been doing?" - -"Assisting in the latter amusement," he answered, lightly. - -"They told me you had gone out," she said. - -He nodded. - -"Yes, I took the chestnut for a spin." - -She laughed, a soft, hushed laugh. - -"And left them the first night! That was like you, Ley!" - -"What was the use of staying? It was wrong, I suppose. I am -unfortunate! Yes, I went for a ride." - -"It was a lovely evening. I watched the sunset," and she looked at the -window. "If I had known you were going, I would have looked for you. I -like to see you riding that big chestnut. You went across the meadows?" - -"Yes," he said, "across the meadows." - -He was silent for a minute, then he said, suddenly, "Lil, I have seen a -vision to-night." - -"A vision, Ley!" she repeated, looking up at him eagerly. - -He nodded. - -"A vision. The most beautiful girl I have ever seen, excepting you, -Lil!" - -She made no protest, but smiled. - -"Ley! A girl! What was she like?" - -"I can't tell you," he said. "I came upon her in a moment. The chestnut -saw her first, and was human enough to be struck motionless. I was -struck too!" - -"And you can't tell me what she was like?" - -"No; if I were to describe her with usual phrases you would smile. You -women always do. You can't help being a woman, Lil!" - -"Was she dark or fair?" - -"Dark," he replied. "I did not know it at the time; it was impossible -to think whether she was dark or fair while one looked at her, but I -remembered afterward. Lil, you remember that picture I sent you from -Paris--the picture of the girl with the dark eyes and long, silky -hair--not black, but brown in the sunlight, with long lashes shading -the eyes, and the lips curved in a half-serious smile as she looks down -at the dog fawning at her feet?" - -"I remember, Ley. Was she like that?" - -"Yes; only alive. Fancy the girl in the picture alive. Fancy yourself -the dog she was smiling at! I was the dog!" - -"Ley!" - -"And she spoke as well as smiled. You can imagine the voice that girl -in the picture would have. Soft and musical, but clear as a bell and -full of a subtle kind of witchery, half serious, half mockery. It was -the voice of the girl I met in the lane this evening." - -"Ley! Ley, you have come to make poetry to me to-night. I am very -grateful." - -"Poetry! It is truth. But you are right; such a face, such a voice -would make a poet of the hardest man that lives." - -"And you are not hard, Ley! But the girl! Who is she? What is her name?" - -"Her name"--he hesitated a moment, and his voice unconsciously grew -wonderfully musical--"is Stella--Stella." - -"Stella!" she repeated. "It is a beautiful name." - -"Is it not? Stella!" - -"And she is--who?" - -"The niece of old Etheridge, the artist, at the cottage." - -Lilian's eyes opened wide. - -"Really, Ley, I must see her!" - -His face flushed, and he looked at her. - -She caught the eager look, and her own paled suddenly. - -"No," she said, gravely. "I will not see her. Ley--you will forget her -by to-morrow." - -He smiled. - -"You will forget her by to-morrow. Ley, let me look at you!" - -He turned his face to her, and she looked straight into his eyes, then -she put her arm round his neck. - -"Oh, Ley! has it come at last?" - -"What do you mean?" he asked, not angrily, but with a touch of -grimness, as if he were afraid of the answer. - -"Ley," she said, "you must not see her again. Ley, you will go -to-morrow, will you not?" - -"Why?" he asked. "It is not like you to send me away, Lil." - -"No, but I do. I who look forward to seeing you as the sweetest thing -in my life--I who would rather have you near me than be--other than I -am--I who lie and wait and listen for your footsteps--I send you, Ley. -Think! You must go, Ley. Go at once, for your own sake and for hers." - -He rose, and smiled down at her. - -"For my sake, perhaps, but not for hers. You foolish girl, do you think -all your sex is as partial as you are? You did not see her as I saw her -to-night--did not hear her ready wit at my expense. For her sake! You -make me smile, Lil." - -"I cannot smile, Ley. You will not stay! What good can come of it? I -know you so well. You will not be content until you have seen your -Venus again, and then--ah, Ley, what can she do but love you, and love -you but to lose you? Ley, all that has gone before has made me smile, -because with them I knew you were heart-whole; I could look into your -eyes and see the light of laughter in their depths; but not this time, -Ley--not this time. You must go. Promise me!" - -His face went pale under her gaze, and the defiant look, which so -rarely shone out in her presence, came into his eyes, and about his -lips. - -"I cannot promise, Lil," he said. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - - - For love lay lurking in the clouds and mist, - I heard him singing sweetly on the mountain side: - "'Tis all in vain you fly, for everywhere am I-- - In every quiet valley, on every mountain side!" - -In the clear, bird-like tones of Stella's voice the musical words -floated from the open window of her room above and through the open -French windows of the old man's studio. - -With a little start he turned his head away from the easel and looked -toward the door. - -Stella had only been in the house three days, but he had already -learned something of her habits, and knew that when he heard the -beautiful voice singing at the window in the early morning, he might -expect to see the owner of the voice enter shortly. - -His expectation was not doomed to disappointment. The voice sounded on -the stairs, in the hall, and a moment afterward the door opened and -Stella stood looking smilingly into the room. - -If he had thought her beautiful and winsome on that first evening of -her coming, when she was weary with anxiety and traveling, and dressed -in dust-stained clothes, be sure he thought her more beautiful still, -now that the light heart felt free to reveal itself, and the shabby -dress had given place to the white and simple but still graceful -morning gown. - -Mrs. Penfold had worked hard during those three days, and with the aid -of the Dulverfield milliner had succeeded in filling a small wardrobe -for "her young lady," as she had learned to call her. The old artist, -ignorant of the power of women in such direction, had watched the -transformation with inward amazement and delight, and was never tired -of hearing about dresses, and hats, jackets, and capes, and was rather -disappointed than otherwise when he found that the grand transformation -had been effected at a very small cost. - -Bright and beautiful she stood, like a vision of youth and health in -the doorway, her dark eyes laughingly contemplating the old man's -gentle stare of wonder,--the look which always came into his eyes when -she appeared. - -"Did I disturb you by my piping, uncle?" she asked as she kissed him. - -"Oh no, my dear," he answered, "I like to hear you,--I like to hear -you." - -She leant against his shoulder, and looked at his work. - -"How beautiful it is!" she murmured. "How quickly it grows. I heard -you come down this morning, and I meant to get up, but I was so -tired--lazy, wasn't I?" - -"No, no!" he said, eagerly. "I am sorry I disturbed you. I came down as -quietly as I could. I knew you would be tired after your dissipation. -You must tell me all about it." - -"Yes, come to breakfast and I will tell you." - -"Must I?" he said, glancing at his picture reluctantly. - -He had been in the habit of eating his breakfast by installments, -painting while he ate a mouthful and drank his cup of coffee, but -Stella insisted upon his changing what she called a very wicked habit. - -"Yes, of course! See how nice it looks," and she drew him gently to the -table and forced him into a chair. - -The old man submitted with a sigh that was not altogether one of -regret, and still humming she sat opposite the urn and began to fill -the cups. - -"And did you enjoy yourself?" he asked, gazing at her dreamily. - -"Oh, very much; they were so kind. Mrs. Hamilton is the dearest old -lady; and the doctor--what makes him smile so much, uncle?" - -"I don't know. I think doctors generally do." - -"Oh, very well. Well, he was very kind too, and so were the Miss -Hamiltons. It was very nice indeed, and they took so much notice of -me--asked me all sorts of questions. Sometimes I scarcely knew what to -answer. I think they thought because I had been brought up in Italy, I -ought to have spoken with a strong accent, and looked utterly different -to themselves. I think they were a little disappointed, uncle." - -"Oh," he said, "and who else was there?" - -"Oh, the clergyman, Mr. Fielding--a very solemn gentleman indeed. He -said he didn't see much of you, and hoped he should see me in church." - -Mr. Etheridge rubbed his head and looked rather guilty. - -"I expect that was a back-handed knock for me, Stella," he said rather -ruefully. "You see I don't go to church often. I always mean to go, but -I generally forget the time, or I wander into the fields, or up into -the woods, and forget all about the church till it's too late." - -"But that's very wicked, abominably so," said Stella, gravely, but with -a twinkle in her dark eyes. "I must look after your morals as well as -your meals, I see, uncle." - -"Yes," he assented, meekly--"do, do." - -"Well, then there was a Mr. Adelstone, a young gentleman from London. -He was quite the lion of the evening. I think he was a nephew of Mr. -Fielding's." - -The old man nodded. - -"Yes; and did you like him?" - -Stella thought a moment, holding the cream-jug critically over the -coffee-cup. - -"Not much, uncle. It was very wrong, and very bad taste, I am afraid, -for they all seemed to admire him immensely, and so did he himself." - -Mr. Etheridge looked at her rather alarmed. - -"I must say, Stella, you get too critical. I don't think we are quite -used to it." - -She laughed. - -"I don't fancy Mr. Adelstone was at all conscious of adverse criticism; -he seemed quite satisfied with everybody, himself in particular. He -certainly was beautifully dressed, and he had the dearest little hands -and feet in the world; and his hair was parted to a hair, and as -smooth as a black-and-tan terrier's; so that he had some grounds for -satisfaction." - -"What did he do to offend you, Stella?" asked the old man, rather -shrewdly. - -She laughed again, and a little touch of color came into her face, but -she answered quite frankly: - -"He paid me compliments, uncle." - -"That doesn't offend your sex generally, Stella." - -"It offends me," said Stella, quickly. "I--I detest them! especially -when the man who pays them does it with a self-satisfied smile which -shows that he is thinking more of his own eloquence and gallantry than -of the person he is flattering." - -The old man looked at her. - -"Will you oblige me by telling me your age again?" he said. - -She laughed. - -"Am I too wise, uncle? Well, never mind--I'll promise to be good and -stupid, if you like. But you are not eating any breakfast; and you must -not keep looking at that odious easel all the time, as if you were -longing to get back to it. Did you ever see a jealous woman?" - -"No, never." - -"Well, if you don't want to, you must not confine all your attention to -your work." - -"I don't think there is much fear of that when you are near," he said, -meekly. - -She laughed, and jumped up to kiss him with delight. - -"Now that was a splendid compliment, sir! You are improving -rapidly--Mr. Adelstone himself couldn't have done it more neatly." - -Scarcely had the words left her lips than the door opened. - -"Mr. Adelstone," said Mrs. Penfold. - -A young man, tall and dark, and faultlessly dressed, stood in the -doorway, his hat in one hand, a bouquet of flowers in the other. He was -undeniably good-looking, and as he stood with a smile upon his face, -looked at his best. A severe critic might have found fault with his -eyes, and said that they were a little too small and a little too near -together, might also have added that they were rather shifty, and that -there was something approaching the sinister in the curves of the thin -lips; but he was undeniably good-looking, and notwithstanding his well -cut clothes and spotless boots with their gray gaiters, his white hands -with the choice selection of rings, there was an indication of power -about him; no one could have suspected him of being a fool, or lacking -the power of observation; for instance, as he stood now, smiling and -waiting for a welcome, his dark eyes took in every detail of the room -without appearing to leave Stella's face. - -Mr. Etheridge looked up with the usual confused air with which he -always received his rare visitors, but Stella held out her hand with a -smile calm and self-possessed. There is a great deal of the woman even -about a girl of nineteen. - -"Good-morning, Mr. Adelstone," she said. "You have come just in time -for a cup of coffee." - -"I ought to apologize for intruding at such an unseasonable hour," he -said, as he bent over her hand, "but your good housekeeper would not -hear of my going without paying my respects. I am afraid I'm intruding." - -"Not at all, not at all," murmured the artist. "Here's a chair," and -he rose and cleared a chair of its litter by the simple process of -sweeping it on to the floor. - -Mr. Adelstone sat down. - -"I hope you are not tired after your mild dissipation last night?" he -asked of Stella. - -She laughed. - -"Not at all. I was telling uncle how nice it was. It was my first party -in England, you know." - -"Oh, you musn't call it a party," he said. "But I am very glad you -enjoyed it." - -"What beautiful flowers," said Stella, glancing at the bouquet. - -He handed them to her. - -"Will you be so kind as to accept them?" he said. "I heard you admire -them in the conservatory last night and I brought them for you from the -rectory green-house." - -"For me?" exclaimed Stella, open-eyed. "Oh, I didn't know! I am so -sorry you should have troubled. It was very kind. You must have robbed -the poor plants terribly." - -"They would be quite consoled if they could know for whom their -blossoms were intended," he said, with a low bow. - -Stella looked at him with a smile, and glanced half archly at her uncle. - -"That was very nice," she said. "Poor flowers! it is a pity they can't -know! Can't you tell them? There is a language of flowers, you know!" - -Mr. Adelstone smiled. He was not accustomed to have his compliments met -with such ready wit, and was nonplussed for a moment, while his eyes -dropped from her face with a little shifty look. - -Mr. Etheridge broke the rather embarrassing pause. - -"Put them in the vase for her, Mr. Adelstone, will you, please, and -come and have some breakfast. You can't have had any." - -He waited until Stella echoed the invitation, then drew up to the table. - -Stella rang for cup and saucer and plates, and poured him out some -coffee; and he plunged into small talk with the greatest ease, his keen -eyes watching every graceful turn of Stella's arm, and glancing now and -again at the beautiful face. - -It was very good small talk, and amusing. Mr. Adelstone was one of -those men who had seen everything. He talked of the London season that -was just coming on, to Stella, who sat and listened, half amused, half -puzzled, for London was an unknown land to her, and the string of -names, noble and fashionable, which fell from his ready tongue, was -entirely strange to her. - -Then he talked of the coming Academy to Mr. Etheridge, and seemed to -know all about the pictures that were going to be exhibited, and which -ones would make a stir, and which would fail. Then he addressed himself -to Stella again. - -"You must pay London a visit, Miss Etheridge; there is no place like it -the whole world through--not even Paris or Rome." - -Stella smiled. - -"It is not very likely that I shall see London for a long time. My -uncle does not often go, although it is so near, do you?" - -"No, no," he assented, "not often." - -"Perhaps you are to be congratulated," said Mr. Adelstone. "With all -its charms, I am glad to get away from it." - -"You live there?" said Stella. - -"Yes," he said, quietly, welcoming the faint look of interest in her -eyes. "Yes; I live in chambers, as it is called, in one of the old law -inns. I am a lawyer!" - -Stella nodded. - -"I know. You wear a long black gown and a wig." - -He smiled. - -"And address a jury; and do you say 'm'lud' instead of 'my lord,' as -people in novels always make barristers say?" - -"I don't know; perhaps I do," he answered, with a smile; "but I don't -address a jury, or have an opportunity of calling a judge 'my lud,' or -'my lord,' often. Most of my work is done at my chambers. I am very -glad to get down into the country for a holiday." - -"Are you going to stay long?" asked Mr. Etheridge, with polite interest. - -Mr. Adelstone paused a moment, and glanced at Stella before answering. - -"I don't know," he said. "I meant going back to-day, but--I think I -have changed my mind." - -Stella was only half listening, but the words caused her to start. They -were the same as those which Lord Leycester had uttered three nights -ago. - -Mr. Adelstone's keen eyes saw the start, and he made a mental note of -it. - -"Ah! it is beautiful weather," said Mr. Etheridge. "It would be a pity -to leave Wyndward for London now." - -"Yes: I shall be more than ever sorry to go now," said Mr. Adelstone, -and his glance rested for a moment on Stella's face, but it was quite -lost, for Stella's eyes were fixed on the scene beyond the window -dreamily. - -With almost a start she turned to him. - -"Let me give you some more coffee!" - -"No, thanks," he said; then, as Stella rose and rang the bell, he -walked to the easel. "That will be a beautiful picture, Mr. Etheridge," -he said, viewing it with a critical air. - -"I don't know," said the artist, simply. - -"You will exhibit it?" - -"I never exhibit anything," was the quiet reply. - -"No! I am surprised!" exclaimed the young man, but there was something -in the quiet manner of the old man that stopped any further questions. - -"No," said Mr. Etheridge; "why should I? I have"--and he smiled--"no -ambition. Besides I am an old man, I have had my chance; let the young -ones take theirs, I leave them room. You are fond of art?" - -"Very," said Mr. Adelstone. "May I look round?" - -The old man waved his hand, and took up his brush. - -Jasper Adelstone wandered round the room, taking up the canvases and -examining them; Stella stood at the window humming softly. - -Suddenly she heard him utter an involuntary exclamation, and turning -round saw that he had the portrait of Lord Leycester in his hand. - -His face was turned toward her, and as she turned quickly, he was in -time to catch a sinister frown of dislike, which rested for a moment on -his face, but vanished as he raised his eyes and met hers. - -"Lord Leycester," he said, with a smile and an uprising of the -eyebrows. "A remarkable instance of an artist's power." - -"What do you mean?" asked Stella, quietly, but with lowered eyes. - -"I mean that it is a fair example of ideality. Mr. Etheridge has -painted a likeness of Lord Leycester, and added an ideal poetry of his -own." - -"You mean that it is not like him?" she said. - -Mr. Etheridge painted on, deaf to both of them. - -"No," he said, looking at the picture with a cold smile. "It is like -him, but it--honors him. It endows him with a poetry which he does not -possess." - -"You know him?" said Stella. - -"Who does not?" he answered, and his thin lips curled with a smiling -sneer. - -A faint color came into Stella's face, and she raised her eyes for a -moment. - -"What do you mean?" - -"I mean that Lord Leycester has made himself too famous--I was going to -say infamous--" - -A vivid crimson rushed to her face, and left it pale again the next -instant. - -"Do not," she said, then added quickly, "I mean do not forget that he -is not here to defend himself." - -He looked at her with a sinister scrutiny. - -"I beg your pardon. I did not know he was a friend of yours," he said. - -She raised her eyes and looked at him steadily. - -"Lord Leycester is no friend of mine," she said, quietly. - -"I am glad of it," he responded. - -Stella's eyes darkened and deepened in a way peculiar to her, and her -color came. It was true that Lord Leycester was no friend of hers, she -had but seen and spoken with him by chance, and for a few moments; but -who was this Mr. Adelstone that he should presume to be glad or sorry -on her account? - -He was quick to see that he had made a slip, and quick to recover -himself. - -"Pray forgive me if I have presumed too far upon our slight -acquaintance, but I was only thinking at that moment that you had been -so short a time in England as to be ignorant of people who are well -known to us with whom they have lived, and that you would not know Lord -Leycester's real character." - -Stella inclined her head gravely. Something within her stirred her to -take up arms in the absent man's defense; the one word "infamous," -stuck and rankled in her mind. - -"You said that Lord Leycester was 'infamous,'" she said, with a grave -smile. "Surely that is too strong a word." - -He thought a moment, his eyes resting on her face keenly. - -"Perhaps, but I am not sure. I certainly used it as a play upon the -word 'famous,' but I don't think even then that I did him an injustice. -A man whose name is known all over the country--whose name is familiar -as a household word--must be notorious either for good or evil, for -wisdom or folly. Lord Leycester is not famous for virtue or wisdom. I -cannot say any more." - -Stella turned aside, a faint crimson dyeing her face, a strange thrill -of pity, ay, and of impatience, at her heart. Why should he be so -wicked, so mad and reckless--so notorious that even this self-satisfied -young gentleman could safely moralize about him and warn her against -making his acquaintance! "Oh, the pity of it--the pity of it!" as -Shakespeare has it--that one with such a beautiful, god-look face, -should be so bad. - -There was a few moments' silence. Jasper Adelstone still stood with -the picture in his hand, but glancing at Stella's face with covert -watchfulness. For all his outward calmness, his heart was beating -quickly. Stella's was the sort of beauty to make a man's heart beat -quickly, or not at all; those who came to offer at her shrine would -offer no half-measured oblations. As he watched her his heart beat -wildly, and his small, bright eyes glittered. He had thought her -beautiful at the party last night, where she had outshone all the other -girls of the village as a star outshines a rushlight; but this morning -her loveliness revealed itself in all its fresh purity, and he--Jasper -Adelstone, the critical man of the world, the man whose opinion about -women was looked upon by his companions in Lincoln's-inn and the -bachelors' haunts at the West-end as worth having--felt his heart -slipping from him. He put the picture down and approached her. - -"You have no idea how beautiful and fresh the meadows are. Will you -stroll down to the river with me?" he said, resolving to take her by -surprise and capture her. - -But he did not know Stella. She was only a school-girl--innocent and -ignorant of the ways of men and the world; but, perhaps, because -of that--because she had not learnt the usual hackneyed words of -evasion--the ordinary elementary tactics of flirtation, she was not to -be taken by surprise. - -With a smile she turned her eyes upon him and shook her head. - -"Thank you; no, that is impossible. I have all my household duties -to perform, and that"--pointing to the sun with her white slim -hand--"reminds me that it is time I set about them." - -He took up his hat instantly, turning to hide the frown that knitted -his brow and spoiled his face, and went up to the painter to say -"good-morning." - -Mr. Etheridge started and stared at him; he had quite forgotten his -presence. - -"Good-morning, good-morning--going? I beg your pardon. Won't you stop -and take some tea with us?" - -"Mr. Adelstone would like some dinner first, uncle," said Stella. - -Then she gave him her hand. - -"Good-morning," she said, "and thank you very much for the flowers." - -He held her hand as long as he dared, then passed out. - -Stella, perhaps unconsciously, gave a sigh of relief. - -"Very nice young fellow, my dear," said Mr. Etheridge, without taking -his eyes from the canvas. "Very clever, too. I remember him quite a -little boy, and always said he would make his way. They say that he has -done so. I am not surprised. Jasper----" - -"Jasper!" said Stella. "What a horrible name." - -"Eh? Horrible? I don't know--I don't know." - -"But I do," said Stella, laughing. "Well, what were you going to say?" - -"That Jasper Adelstone is the sort of man to insist upon having -anything he sets his heart upon." - -"I am glad to hear it," said Stella, as she opened the door, "for his -sake; and I hope, also for his sake, that he won't set his mind upon -the sun or the moon!" and with a laugh she ran away. - -In the kitchen Mrs. Penford was awaiting her with unconcealed -impatience. Upon the white scrubbed table stood the preparations for -the making of pastry, an art which Stella, who had insisted upon making -herself useful, had coaxed Mrs. Penfold into teaching her. At first -that good woman had insisted that Stella should do nothing in the -little household. She had announced with terrible gravity that such -things weren't becoming to a young lady like Miss Stella, and that she -had always done for Mr. Etheridge, and she always would; but before -the second day had passed Stella had won the battle. As Mrs. Penfold -said, there was no resisting the girl, who mingled willfulness with -bewitching firmness and persuasion, and Mrs. Penfold had given in. -"You'll cover yourself with flour, Miss Stella, and give your uncle the -indigestion, miss, that you will," she remonstrated. - -"But the flour will brush off, and uncle needn't eat pies and puddings -for a little while; I'll eat them, I don't mind indigestion," Stella -declared, and she made a delightfully piquant little apron, which -completed Mrs. Penfold's conquest. - -With a song upon her lips she burst into the kitchen and caught up the -rolling pin. - -"Am I not awfully late?" she exclaimed. "I was afraid you would have -done it all before I came, but you wouldn't be so mean as to take an -advantage, would you?" - -Mrs. Penfold grunted. - -"It's all nonsense, Miss Stella, there's no occasion for it." - -Stella, with her hand in the flour, elevated the rolling-pin in heroic -style. - -"Mrs. Penfold!" she exclaimed, with the air of a princess, "the woman, -be her station what it may, who cannot make a jam roley-poley or an -apple tart is unworthy the name of an Englishwoman. Give me the jam; -stop though, don't you think rhubarb would be very nice for a change?" - -"I wish you'd go and play the organ, Miss Stella, and leave the rhubarb -alone." - -"Man cannot live on music," retorted Stella; "his soul craves for -puddings. I wonder whether uncle's soul craves for jam or rhubarb. I -think I'll go and ask him," and dropping the rolling-pin--which Mrs. -Penfold succeeded in catching before it fell on the floor--she wiped -her hand of a fifteenth part of the floor and ran into the studio. - -"Uncle! I have come to lay before you the rival claims of rhubarb -and strawberry jam. The one is sweet and luscious to the taste, but -somewhat cloying; the other is fresh and young, but somewhat sour----" - -"Good Heavens! What are you talking about?" exclaimed the bewildered -painter, staring at her. - -"Rhubarb or jam. Now, noble Roman, speak or die!" she exclaimed with -upraised arm, her eyes dancing, her lips apart with rippling laughter. - -Mr. Etheridge stared at her with all an artist's admiration in his eyes. - -"Oh! the pudding," he said, then he suddenly stopped, and stared beyond -her. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - - -Stella heard a step on the threshold of the window, and turning to -follow the direction of his eyes, saw the stalwart form of Lord -Leycester standing in the window. - -He was dressed in a suit of brown velveteen, with tight-fitting -breeches and stockings, and carried a whip in his hand with which he -barred the entrance against a couple of colleys, a huge mastiff, and a -Skye terrier, the last barking with furious indignation at being kept -outside. - -Even at the moment of surprise, Stella was conscious of a sudden -reluctant thrill of admiration for the graceful figure in the -close-fitting velvet, and the handsome face with its dark eyes -regarding her with a grave, respectful intenseness. - -"Back dogs!" he said. "Go back, Vix!" then as they drew back, the big -ones throwing themselves down on the path with patient obedience, he -came into the room. - -"I beg your pardon," he said, standing before Stella, his head bent. "I -thought Mr. Etheridge was alone, or I should not have entered in this -rough fashion." - -As he spoke in the lane, so now it was no meaningless excuse, but -with a tone of most reverential respect and proud humility, Stella, -girl-like, noticed that he did not even venture to hold out his hand, -and certainly Mr. Adelstone's self-satisfied smile and assured manner -rose in her mind to contrast with this stately, high-bred humility. - -"Do not apologize; it does not matter," she said, conscious that her -face had grown crimson and that her eyes were downcast. - -"Does it not? I am forgiven," and he held out his hand. - -Stella had crossed her hands behind her as he entered with an -instinctive desire to hide her bare arms and the flour, now she put out -her hand a few inches and held it up with a smile. - -"I can't," she said. - -He looked at the white hand--at the white arm so beautifully molded -that a sculptor would have sighed over it in despair at his inability -to imitate it, and he still held out his hand. - -"I do not mind the flour," he said, not as Mr. Adelstone would have -said it, but simply, naturally. - -Stella gave him one small taper finger and he took it and held it for a -moment, his eyes smiling into hers; then he relinquished it, with not -a word of commonplace compliment, but in silence, and turned to Mr. -Etheridge. - -"It is quite hopeless to ask you to forgive me for interrupting you -I know, so I won't ask," he said, and there was in his voice, Stella -noticed, a frank candor that was almost boyish but full of respect. At -once it seemed to intimate that he had known and honored the old man -since he, Leycester, was a boy. - -"How are you, my lord?" said Mr. Etheridge, giving him his long, thin -hand, but still keeping a hold, as it were, on his beloved easel. -"Taking the dogs for a walk? Are they safe? Take care, Stella!" - -For Stella was kneeling down in the midst of them, making friends with -the huge mastiff, much to the jealous disgust of the others, who were -literally crowding and pushing round her. - -Lord Leycester looked round and was silent for a moment; his eyes fixed -on the kneeling girl rather than on the dogs. Then he said, suddenly: - -"They are quite safe," and then he added, for Stella's behalf, "they -are quite safe, Miss Etheridge." - -Stella turned her face toward him. - -"I am not afraid. I should as soon think of biting them as they would -dream of biting me, wouldn't you?" and she drew the mastiffs great -head on to her lap, where it lay with his big eyes looking up at her -piteously, as he licked her hand. - -"Great Heavens, what a herd of them!" said Mr. Etheridge, who loved -dogs--on canvas. - -"I ought not to have brought them," said Lord Leycester, "but they will -be quite quiet, and will do no harm, I assure you." - -"I don't care if they don't bite my niece," said Mr. Etheridge. - -"There is no fear of that," he said, quietly, "or I should not allow -her to go near them. Please go on with your work, or I shall think I am -a nuisance." - -Mr. Etheridge waved him to a chair. - -"Won't you sit down?" he said. - -Lord Leycester shook his head. - -"I have come to ask you a favor," he said. - -Mr. Etheridge nodded. - -"What is it?" - -Lord Leycester laughed his rare laugh. - -"I am trembling in my shoes," he said. "My tongue cleaves to my mouth -with nervousness----" - -The old painter glanced round at him, and his face relaxed into a smile -as his eyes rested on the bold, handsome face and easy grace of the -speaker. - -"Yes, you look excessively frightened," he said. "What is it?" - -It was noticeable that, excepting in his first greeting, the old man -had not given him the benefit of his title; he had known him when -Leycester had been a boy, running in and out of the cottage, always -followed by a pack of dogs, and generally doing some mischief. - -"I want you to do a little scene for me." - -The old man groaned and looked at his picture firmly. - -"You know the glade in the woods opening out opposite the small island. -I want you to paint it." - -"I am sorry," began the old man. - -Lord Leycester went on, interrupting him gently: - -"Have you seen it lately?" he said, and as he spoke Stella came into -the room enticing the mastiff after her, with a handful of biscuits -she had taken from the cheffonier. "It is very beautiful. It is the -loveliest bit on the whole river. Right up from the stream it stretches -green, with the young Spring leaves, to the sky above the hill. In the -open space between the trees the primroses have made a golden carpet. I -saw two kingfishers sailing up it as I stood and looked this morning, -and as I looked I thought how well, how delightfully you would put it -on canvas. Think! The bright green, the golden foreground, the early -Summer sky to crown the whole, and reflected in the river running -below." - -Mr. Etheridge paused in his work and listened, and Stella, kneeling -over the dog, listened too, with down-bent face, and wondered how the -painter could stand so firm and obstinate. - -To her the voice sounded like the sweetest music set to some poem. She -saw the picture as he drew it, and in her heart the music of the words -and voice found an echoing harmony. - -Forgotten was the other man's warning; vain it would have been if he -had repeated it at that moment. As well associate the darkness of a -Winter's night with the bright gladness of a Summer's morning, as think -of evil in connection with that noble face and musical voice. - -Mr. Etheridge paused, but he shook his head. - -"Very fine, very temptingly put; you are a master of words, Leycester; -but I am immovable as a rock. Indeed your eloquence is wasted; it is -not an impressionable man whom you address. I, James Etheridge, am on -this picture. I am lost in my work, Lord Leycester." - -"You will not do it?" - -The old man smiled. - -"I will not. To another man I should present an excuse, and mask my -refusal. With you anything but a simple 'no' is of no avail." - -Lord Leycester smiled and turned away. - -"I am sorry," he said. "I meant it for a present to my sister Lilian." - -Again Stella's eyes turned toward him. This man--infamous! - -The old man put down his brush and turned upon him. - -"Why didn't you say so at first?" he said. - -Lord Leycester smiled. - -"I wanted to see if you would do something for me--for myself," he -said, with infinite _naivete_. - -"You want it for Lady Lilian," said Mr. Etheridge. "I will do it, of -course." - -"I shan't say thank you," said Lord Leycester. "I have nothing to thank -you for. She shall do that. When will you come----" - -"Next week--next month----" - -"Now at once," said Lord Leycester, stretching out his hand with a -peculiar gesture which struck Stella by its infinite grace. - -The old man groaned. - -"I thought so! I thought so! It would always be now at once with you." - -"The Spring won't wait for you! The green of those leaves is changing -now, very slowly, but surely, as we speak; in a week it will be gone, -and with it half--all the beauty will go too. You will come now, will -you not?" - -Mr. Etheridge looked round with comical dismay, then he laughed. - -Lord Leycester's laugh chimed in, and he turned to Stella with the air -of a man who has conquered and needs no more words. - -"You see," said Mr. Etheridge, "that is the way I am led, like a pig to -market, will I or will I not! And the sketch will take me, how long?" - -"A few hours!" - -"And there will be all the things to drag down----" - -Lord Leicester strode to an old-fashioned cabinet. - -"I will carry them, and yourself into the bargain if you like." - -Then, with his hand upon the cabinet, he stopped short and turned to -Stella. - -"I beg your pardon!--I am always sinning. I forgot that there was now -a presiding spirit. I am so used to taking liberties with your uncle's -belongings; I know where all his paraphernalia is so well, that----" - -Stella rose and smiled at them. - -"Your knowledge is deeper than my uncle's, then," she said. "Do not beg -pardon of me." - -"May I?" he said, and he opened the cabinet and took out the -sketching-pad and color-box; then, with some difficulty, he -disentangled a folding camp-stool from a mass of artistic litter in a -corner, and then prepared to depart. - -Mr. Etheridge watched these proceedings with a rueful countenance, but -seeing that resistance had long passed out of his power, he said: - -"Where is my hat, Stella? I must go, I suppose." - -Lord Leycester opened the door for her, and she went out, followed by -all the dogs, and fetched the soft felt hat, holding it by the very -tips of her fingers. - -With a sigh, Mr. Etheridge dropped it on his head. - -"Give me some of the things," he said; but Lord Leycester declined. - -"Not one," he said, laughing. And Mr. Etheridge, without another word, -walked out. - -Lord Leycester stood looking at Stella, a wistful eagerness in his eyes. - -"I have gone so far," he said, "that I am emboldened to venture still -further. Will you come too?" - -Stella started, and an eager light flashed for a moment in her eyes; -then she held out her hands and laughed. - -"I have to make a pudding," she said. - -He looked at the white arms, and then at her, with an intensified -eagerness. - -"If you knew how beautiful the morning is--how grand the river -looks--you would let the pudding go." - -Stella shook her head. - -He inclined his head, too highly bred to persist. - -"I am so sorry," he said, simply. "I am sorry now that I have gained my -way. I thought that you would have come." - -Stella stood silent, and, with something like a sigh, put down the -things and held out her hand; but as he took the finger which she gave -him, his face brightened, and a light came into his eyes. - -"Are you still firm?" - -"I would not desert the pudding for anything, my lord," said Stella, -naively. - -At the "my lord," a slight shade covered his face, but it went again -instantly, as he said: - -"Well, then, will you come when the inevitable pudding is made? There," -he said, eagerly, and still holding her hand he drew her to the window -and pointed with his whip, "there's the place! It is not far--just -across the meadows, and through the first gate. Do you see it?" - -"Yes," said Stella, gently withdrawing her hand. - -"And you will come?" he asked, his eyes fixed on hers with their intent -earnestness. - -At that instant the word--the odious word--"infamous" rang in her ears, -and her face paled. He noticed the sudden pallor, and his eyes grew -dark with earnest questioning. - -"I see," he said, quietly, "you will not come!" - -What was it that moved her? With a sudden impulse she raised her eyes -and looked at him steadily. - -"Yes, I will come!" she said. - -He inclined his head without a word, called to the dogs, and passed out. - -Stella stood for a moment looking after them; then she went into the -kitchen--not laughing nor singing, but with a strange gravity; a -strange feeling had got possession of her. - -She felt as if she was laboring under some spell. "Charmed" is an often -misused word, but it is the right word to describe the sensation. -Was it his face or his voice that haunted her? As she stood absently -looking down at the table, simple words, short and commonplace, which -he had used rang in her ears with a new meaning. - -Mrs. Penfold stood and regarded her in curious astonishment. She was -getting used to Stella's quickly changing moods, but the sudden change -bewildered her. - -"Let me do it, Miss Stella," she pleaded, but Stella shook her head -firmly; not by one inch would she swerve from her cause for all the -beautiful voice and noble face. - -In rapt silence she finished her work, then she went up-stairs and put -on her hat and came down. As she passed out of the house and down the -path, the mastiff leaped the gate and bounded toward her, and the next -moment she saw Lord Leycester seated on a stile. - -He dropped down and came toward her. - -"How quick you have been," he said, "I thought a pudding was a mystery -which demanded an immensity of time." - -Stella looked up at him, her dark brows drawn to a straight line. - -"You waited for me?" she said. - -"No," he said, simply, "I came back. I did not like to think that you -should come alone." - -Stella was silent. - -"Are you angry?" he asked, in a low voice. - -Stella was silent for a moment, then she looked at him frankly. - -"No," she said. - -If she had but said "yes," and turned back! But the path, all beautiful -with the bright coloring of Spring stretched before her, and she had -no thought of turning back, no thought or suspicion of the dark and -perilous land toward which she was traveling by his side. - -Already the glamour of love was falling upon her like the soft mist of -a Summer evening; blindly, passively she was moving toward the fate -which the gods had prepared for her. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - - -Side by side they walked across the meadows; the larks rising before -them and soaring up to the heavens with a burst of song; the river -running in silvery silence to the sea; the green trees waving gently in -the Summer breeze; and above them the long stretching gray masonry of -Wyndward Hall. - -Lord Leycester was strangely silent for some minutes since that "Are -you angry?" and Stella, as she walked by his side, stooping now and -again to gather a cowslip, glanced up at his face and wondered whether -her uncle could be mistaken, whether they were not all deceived in -thinking the quiet, graceful creature with the beautiful face and -dreamy, almost womanly, soft eyes, wild and reckless, and desperate and -altogether bad. She almost forgot how she had seen him on that first -night of their meeting, with his whip upraised and the sudden fire of -anger in his eyes. - -Presently he spoke, so suddenly that Stella, who had been lost in her -speculations respecting him, started guiltily: - -"I have been wondering," he said, "how Mr. Etheridge takes the change -which your presence must make in the cottage." - -Stella looked up with surprise, then she smiled. - -"He bears it with admirable resignation," she said, with that air of -meek archness which her uncle found so amusing. - -Lord Leycester looked down at her. - -"That is a rebuke for the presumption of my remark?" he said. - -"No," said Stella. - -"I did not mean to be presumptuous. Think. Your uncle has lived the -whole of his life alone, the life of a solitary, a hermit; suddenly -there enters into that life a young and beau--a young girl, full of the -spirit of youth and its aspirations. It must make a great change." - -"As I said," says Stella, "he bears it with pious fortitude." Then she -added, in a lower voice, "He is very good to me." - -"He could not be otherwise," was the quiet response. "I mean that he -could not be anything but good, gentle, and loving with any living -thing. I have known him since I was a boy," he added. "He was always -the same, always living a life of dreams. I wonder whether he takes you -as a dream?" - -"A very substantial and responsible one, then," said Stella, with her -little laugh. "One that lasts through the daytime." - -He looked at her with that strange intent look which she had learned -that she could not meet. - -"And you?" he said. - -"I?" said Stella, though she knew what he meant. - -He nodded. - -"How do you like the change?--this still, quiet life in the Thames -valley. Are you tired of it already? Will you pine for all the gayeties -you have left?" - -Stella looked up at him--his eyes were still fixed on hers. - -"I have left no gayeties," she said. "I left a bare and horrid school -that was as unlike home as the desert of Sahara is like this lovely -meadow. How do I feel? As if I had been translated to Paradise--as if -I, who was beginning to think that I was alone in the world I had no -business to be in, had found some one friend to love----" - -She paused, and he, glancing at the black waistband to her white dress, -said, with the tenderest, most humble voice: - -"I beg your pardon. Will you forgive me?--I did not know----" - -And his voice broke. - -Stella looked up at him with a smile shining through the unshed tears. - -"How--why should you know? Yes, I was quite alone in the world. My -father died a year ago." - -"Forgive me," he murmured; and he laid his hand with a feather's weight -on her arm. "I implore you to forgive me. It was cruel and thoughtless." - -"No," said Stella. "How should you know?" - -"If I had been anything better than an unthinking brute, I might have -guessed." - -There was a moment's pause, then Stella spoke. - -"Yes, it is Paradise. I had no idea England was like this, they called -it the land of fogs." - -"You have not seen London on a November evening," he said, with a -laugh. "Most foreigners come over to England and put up at some hotel -at the west-end, and judge the whole land by the London sample--very -few come even so far as this. You have not been to London?" - -"I passed through it," said Stella, "that is all. But I heard a great -deal about it last night," she added, with a smile. - -"Yes!" he said, with great interest--"last night?" - -"Yes, at Mrs. Hamilton's. She was kind enough to ask me to an evening -party, and one of the guests took great pains to impress me with the -importance and magnificence of London." - -He looked at her. - -"May I ask who she was?" he said. - -"It was not a she, but a gentleman. It was Mr. Adelstone." - -Lord Leycester thought a moment. - -"Adelstone. Adelstone. I don't know him." - -Before she was quite aware of it the retort slipped from her lips. - -"He knows you." - -He looked at her with a thoughtful smile. - -"Does he? I don't remember him. Stay, yes, isn't he a relation of Mr. -Fielding's?" - -"His nephew," said Stella, and feeling the dark, penetrating eyes on -her she blushed faintly. It annoyed her, and she struggled to suppress -it, but the blush came and he saw it. - -"I remember him now," he said; "a tall, thin dark man. A lawyer, I -believe. Yes, I remember him. And he told you about London?" - -"Yes," said Stella, and as she remembered the conversation of a few -hours ago, her color deepened. "He is very amusing and well-informed, -and he took pity on my ignorance in the kindest way. I was very -grateful." - -There was something in her tone that made him look at her questioningly. - -"I think," he said, "your gratitude is easily earned." - -"Oh, no," she retorted; "I am the most ungrateful of beings. Isn't that -uncle sitting there?" she added, quickly, to change the subject. - -He looked up. - -"Yes, he is hard at work. I did not think I should have won him. It was -my sister's name that worked the magic charm." - -"He is fond of your sister," said Stella, thoughtfully. - -His eyes were on her in an instant. - -"He has spoken of her?" he said. - -Stella could have bitten her tongue out for the slip. - -"Yes," she said. "He--he told me about her--I asked him whose house it -was upon the hills." - -"Meaning the Hall?" he said, pointing with his whip. - -"Yes, and he told me. I knew by the way he spoke of your sister that he -was fond of her. Her name is Lilian, is it not?" - -"Yes," he said, "Lilian," and the name left his lips with soft -tenderness. "I think every one who knows her loves her. This picture is -for her." - -Stella glanced up at his face; anything less imperious at that moment -it would be impossible to imagine. - -"Lady Lilian is fond of pictures?" she said. - -"Yes," he said; "she is devoted to art in all its forms. Yes, that -little sketch will give her more pleasure than--than--I scarcely know -what to say. What are women most fond of?" - -Stella laughed. - -"Diamonds, are they not?" - -"Are you fond of them?" he said. "I think not." - -"Why not?" she retorted. "Why should I not have the attributes of my -sex? Yes, I am fond of diamonds. I am fond of everything that is -beautiful and costly and rare. I remember once going to a ball at -Florence." - -He looked at her. - -"Only to see it!" she exclaimed. "I was too young to be seen, and -they took me in a gallery overlooking the great salon; and I watched -the great ladies in their beautiful dresses and shining gems, and I -thought that I would give all the world to be like one of them; and the -thought spoiled my enjoyment. I remember coming away crying; you see it -was so dark and solitary in the great gallery, and I felt so mean and -insignificant." And she laughed. - -He was listening with earnest interest. Every word she said had a charm -for him; he had never met any girl--any woman--like her, so frank and -open-minded. Listening to her was like looking into a crystal lake, in -which everything is revealed and all is bright and pure. - -"And are you wiser now?" he asked. - -"Not one whit!" she replied. "I should like now, less than then, -to be shut up in a dark gallery and look on at others enjoying -themselves. Isn't that a confession of an envious and altogether wicked -disposition?" - -"Yes," he assented, with a strange smile barely escaping from under -his tawny mustache. "I should be right in prophesying all sorts of bad -endings to you." - -As he spoke he opened the gate for her, driving the dogs back with a -crack of his whip so that she might pass first--a small thing, but -characteristic of him. - -The painter looked up. - -"Keep those dogs off my back, Leycester," he said. "Well, Stella, have -you concocted your poison?" - -Stella went and looked over his shoulder. - -"Yes, uncle," she said. - -"You have been long enough to make twenty indigestible compounds," he -said, gazing at the view he was sketching. - -Stella bent her head, to hide the blush which rose as she remembered -how slowly they had walked across the meadows. - -"How are you getting on?" said Lord Leycester. - -The old man grunted. - -"Pretty well; better than I shall now you have come to fidget about." - -Lord Leycester laughed. - -"A pretty plain hint that our room is desired more than our company, -Miss Etheridge. Can we not vanish into space?" - -Stella laughed and sank down on the grass. - -"It is uncle's way of begging us to stay," she said. - -Lord Leycester laughed, and sending the dogs off, flung himself down -almost at her feet. - -"Did I exaggerate?" he said, pointing his whip at the view. - -"Not an atom," replied Stella. "It is beautiful--beautiful, and that is -all that one can find to say." - -"I wish you would be content to say it and not insist upon my painting -it," replied Mr. Etheridge. - -Lord Leycester sprang to his feet. - -"That is the last straw. We will not remain to be abused, Miss -Etheridge," he said. - -Stella remained immovable. He came and stood over her, looking down at -her with wistful eagerness in silence. - -"What lovely woods," she said. "You were right; they are carpeted with -primroses. We have none in our meadow." - -"Would you like to go and get some?" he asked. - -Stella turned her face up to him. - -"Yes, but I don't care to swim across." - -He smiled, and went down to the bank, unfastened a boat, and leaping -into it, called to her. - -Stella sprang to her feet with the impulsive delight of a girl at the -sight of a boat, when she had expected nothing better than rushes. - -"Is it a boat--really?" she exclaimed. - -"Come and see," he said. - -She went down to the water's edge and looked at it. - -"How did it come there?" she asked. - -"I pay a fairy to drop a boat from the skies whenever I want it." - -"I see," said Stella, gravely. - -He laughed. - -"How did you think I came across? Did you think I swam?" and he -arranged a cushion. - -She laughed. - -"I forgot that; how stupid of me." - -"Will you step in?" he said. - -Stella looked back at her uncle, and hesitated a moment. - -"He will assure you that I shall not drown you," he said. - -"I am not afraid--do you think I am afraid?" she said, scornfully. - -"Yes, I think that at this moment you are trembling with nervousness -and dread." - -She put her foot--he could not help seeing how small and shapely it -was--on the gunwale, and he held out his hand and took hers; it was -well he did so, for the boat was only a small, lightly built gig, and -her sudden movement had made it rock. - -As it was, she staggered slightly, and he had to take her by the arm. -So, with one hand grasping her hand and the other her arm, he held -her for a moment--for longer than a moment. Then he placed her on the -cushion, and seating himself, took up the sculls and pushed off. - -Stella leant back, and of course dropped one hand in the water. Not one -woman out of twenty who ever sat in a boat can resist that impulse to -have closer communion with the water; and he pulled slowly across the -stream. - -The sun shone full upon them, making their way a path of rippling gold, -and turning Stella's hair into a rich brown. - -Little wonder that, as he sat opposite her, his eyes should rest on her -face, and less that, thus resting, its exquisite beauty and freshness -and purity should sink into the soul of him to whom beauty was the one -thing worth living for. - -Unconscious of his rapt gaze, Stella leant back, her eyes fixed on the -water, her whole attention absorbed by its musical ripple as it ran -through her fingers. - -In silence he pulled the sculls, slowly and noiselessly; he would not -have spoken and broken the spell for worlds. Before him, as he looked -upon her, rose the picture of which he had spoken to his sister last -night. - -"But more beautiful," he mused--"more beautiful! How lost she is! She -has forgotten me--forgotten everything. Oh, Heaven! if one were to -waken her into love!" - -For an instant, at the thought, the color came into his face and the -fire to his eyes; then a half guilty, half repentful feeling struck -through him. - -"No, it would be cruel--cruel: and yet to see the azure light shining -in those eyes--to see those lips half parted with the breath of a great -passion, would be worth--what? It would make amends for all that a man -might suffer, though he died the next moment, if those eyes smiled, if -those lips were upturned, for love of him!" - -So lost were they that the touching of the boat and the bank made them -start. - -"So soon," murmured Stella. "How beautiful it is! I think I was -dreaming." - -"And I know that I was," he said, with a subtle significance, as he -rose and held out his hand. But Stella sprang lightly on shore without -accepting it. He tied up the boat and followed her; she was already on -her knee, picking the yellow primroses. - -Without a word, he followed her example. Sometimes they were so near -together that she could feel his breath stirring her hair--so near that -their hands almost met. - -At last she sank on to the mossy ground with a laugh, and, pointing to -her hat, which was full of the spring earth-stars, said laughingly: - -"What ruthless pillage! Do not pick any more; it is wanton waste!" - -"Are you sure you have plenty?" he said. "Why hesitate when there are -such millions?" - -"No, no more!" she said. "I feel guilty already!" - -He glanced at the handful he had gathered, and she saw the glance and -laughed. - -"You do not know what to do with those you have, and still want more. -See, you must tie them in bundles. - -"Show me," he said, and he threw himself down beside her. - -She gathered them up into bundles, and tied them with a long stem of -fern, and he tried to do the same, but his hands, white and slender as -they were, were not so deft as hers, and he held the huge bundle to her. - -"You must tie it," he said. - -She laughed and put the fern round, but it broke, and the primroses -fell in a golden shower over their hands. They both made a grasp at -them, and their hands met. - -For a moment Stella laughed, then the laugh died away, for he still -held her hand, and the warmth of his grasp seemed stealing upward to -her heart. With something like an effort she drew her hand away, and -sprang to her feet. - -"I--I must go," she said. "Uncle will wonder where I have gone," and -she looked down at the water with almost frightened eagerness. - -"He will know you are here, quite safe," he said. "Wait, do not go this -moment. Up there, above our heads, we can see the river stretching away -for miles. It is not a step; will you come?" - -She hesitated a moment, then she turned and walked beside him between -the trees. - -A step or two, as he said, and they reached a sort of plateau, crowned -by a moss-grown rock, in which some rough steps were hewn. He sprang up -the steps and reached the top, then bent down and held out his hand. - -Stella hesitated a moment. - -"It will repay your trouble; come," he said, and she put her hand in -his and her foot on the first step, and he drew her up beside him. - -"Look!" he said. - -An exclamation of delight broke from Stella's lips. - -"You are not sorry you came?" - -"I did not think it would be so lovely," she said. - -He stood beside her, not looking at the view, but at her dark eyes -dilating with dreamy rapture--at her half-parted lips, and the sweet, -clear-cut profile presented to him. - -She turned suddenly, and to hide the look of admiration he raised his -hand and pointed out the objects in the view. - -"And what is that little house there?" asked Stella. - -"That is one of the lodges," he said. - -"One of the lodges--one of your own lodges, you mean?" she asked. - -He nodded lightly, "Yes." - -"And all this between here and that lodge belongs to you?" - -"No, not an inch," he said, laughing. "To my father." - -"It is a great deal," she said. - -"Too much for one man, you think?" he said, with a smile. "A great many -other people think so too. I don't know what you would think if you -knew how much we Wyndwards have managed at one time or the other to lay -our acquiring grasp on. This is one of our smallest estates," he said, -simply. - -Stella looked at the view dreamily. - -"One of the smallest? Yes, I have heard that you are very rich. It must -be very nice." - -"I don't know," he said. "You see one cannot tell until one has been -poor. I don't think there is anything in it. I don't think one is any -the happier. There is always something left to long for." - -She turned her dark eyes on him with a smile of incredulity. - -"What can you possibly have to long for?" she said. - -He looked at her with a strange smile; then suddenly his face grew -grave and wistful--almost sad, as it seemed to her. - -"You cannot guess, and I cannot tell you; but believe me that, as I -stand here, there is an aching void in my heart, and I do long for -something very earnestly." - -The voice was like music, deep and thrilling; she listened and wondered. - -"And you should be so happy," she said, almost unconsciously. - -"Happy!" he echoed, and his dark eyes rested on hers with a strange -expression that was half-mocking, half-sad. "Do you know what the poets -say?" - -"'Count no man happy till he dies,' do you mean?" said Stella. - -"Yes," he said. "I do not think I know what happiness means. I have -been pursuing it all my life; sometimes have been within reach of it -but it has always evaded me--always slipped from my grasp. Sometimes -I have resolved to let it go--to pursue it no longer; but fate has -decreed that man shall always be seeking for the unattainable--that he -who once looks upon happiness with the eyes of desire, who stretches -out his hands toward her, shall pursue her to the end." - -"And--but surely some get their desire." - -"Some," he said, "to find that the prize is not worth the race they -have run for it; to find that they have wearied of it when it is -gained; to find that it is no prize at all, but a delusive blank; all -dead sea fruit that turns to dust upon the lips." - -"Not all; surely not all!" she murmured, strangely moved by his words. - -"No; not all," he said, with a hidden light in his eyes that she -did not see. "To some there comes a moment when they know that -happiness--real true happiness--lies just beyond their grasp. And the -case of rich men is more to be pitied than all others. What would you -say if I told you that it was mine?" - -She looked up at him with a gentle smile, not on her lips but in her -eyes. - -"I should say that I was very sorry," she murmured. "I should say that -you deserved----" she stopped short, smitten by sudden remembrance of -all she had heard of him. - -He filled up the pause with a laugh: a laugh such as she had not heard -upon his lips till now. - -"You were right to stop," he said. "If I get all the happiness I -deserve--well, no man will envy me." - -"Let us go down now," said Stella, gently; "my uncle----" - -He leapt down, and held up his hand. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - - -Stella put hers into it, but reluctantly, and tried to spring, but her -dress caught and she slipped forward. - -She would have fallen but that he was on the alert to save her. Quite -simply and naturally he put his arms round her and lifted her down. - -Only for a moment he held her in his embrace, her panting form close to -his, her face almost resting on his shoulders, but that moment roused -the blood in his fiery heart, and her face went pale. - -"Are you hurt?" he murmured. - -"No, no!" she said, and she slipped out of his arms and stood a little -away from him, the color coming and going in her face; it was the first -time that any man's arms, save her father's, had ever encircled her. - -"Are you quite sure?" he repeated. - -"Quite," she said, then she laughed. "What would have happened if I had -slipped?" - -"You would have sprained your ankle," he said. - -"Sprained my ankle, really?" she repeated, with open eyes. - -"Yes, and I should have had to carry you down to the boat," he said, -slowly. - -She looked away from him. - -"I am glad I did not slip." - -"And I," he said, "am--glad also." - -She stooped and picked up the primroses and ran down the slope, her -cheeks aflame, a feeling that was something like shame, and yet too -full of a strange, indefinable joy to be sullen shame, took possession -of her. - -With light feet, her hat swinging in her hand, she threaded her way -between the trees and sprang on to the grassy road beside the river -bank. - -He did not follow so quickly, but stood for a moment looking at her, -his face pale, his eyes full of a strange, wistful restlessness. - -Then Stella heard his step, firm and masterful, behind her. A sudden -impulse tempted her sorely to jump into the boat and push off--she -could pull a pair of sculls--and her hand was on the edge of the boat, -when she heard the sound of bells, and paused with astonishment. -Looking up she saw a tiny phaeton drawn by a pair of cream-white ponies -coming along the road; it was the bells on their harness that she had -heard. - -They came along at a fair pace, and Stella saw that the phaeton was -being driven by a coachman in dark-brown livery, but the next moment -all her attention was absorbed by the young girl who sat beside him. - -She was so fair, so lovely, so ethereal looking, that Stella was -spellbound. - -A book was in her hand--ungloved and small and white as a child's--but -she was not reading. She held it so loosely that as the phaeton came -along the top of the bank which hid Stella, the book dropped from the -lax grasp of the white fingers. - -The girl uttered an exclamation, and Stella, obeying one of her sudden -impulses, sprang lightly up the bank, and picking up the book, held it -toward her. - -Her appearance was so sudden that Lady Lilian was startled and for a -moment the pale face was dyed with a faint color; even after the moment -had passed she sat speechless, and the surprise in her eyes gave place -to a frank, generous admiration. - -"Oh, thank you--thank you!" she said. "How kind of you. It was so -stupid of me to drop it. But where did you come from--the clouds?" And -there was a delicious hint of flattery in the look that accompanied the -words. - -"Quite the reverse," said Stella, with her open smile. "I was standing -below there, by the boat." - -And she pointed. - -"Oh?" said Lady Lilian. "I did not see you." - -"You were looking the other way," said Stella, drawing back to allow -the carriage to proceed; but Lady Lilian seemed reluctant to go, and -made no sign to the coachman, who sat holding the reins like an image -of stone, apparently deaf and dumb. - -For a few strokes of Time's scythe the two girls looked at each -other--the one with the pale face and the blue eyes regarding the -fresh, healthful beauty of the other with sad, wistful gaze. Then Lady -Lilian spoke. - -"What beautiful primroses! You have been gathering them on the slopes?" -with a suggestion of a sigh. - -"Yes," said Stella. "Will you take them?" - -"Oh, no, no; I could not think of robbing you." - -Stella smiled with her characteristic archness. - -"It is I who have been the thief. I have been taking what did not -belong to me. You will take these?" - -Lady Lilian was too well bred to refuse; besides, she thirsted for them. - -"If you will give them to me, and will not mind picking some more," she -said. - -Stella laid the bunch on the costly sables which wrapped the frail -figure. - -Lady Lilian put them to her face with a caressing gesture. "You are, -like me, fond of flowers?" she said. - -Stella nodded. "Yes." - -Then there was a pause. Above them, unseen by Lilian, forgotten by -Stella, stood Lord Leycester. - -He was watching and waiting with a strange smile. He could read the -meaning in his sister's eyes; she was longing to know more of the -beautiful girl who had sprang like a fairy to her side. - -With a faint flush, Lady Lilian said: - -"You--you are a stranger, are you not? I mean you do not live here?" - -"Yes," said Stella; "I live"--and she smiled and pointed to the cottage -across the meadow--"there." - -Lady Lilian started, and Lord Leycester seized the moment, and coming -down, quietly stood by Stella's side. - -"Leycester!" exclaimed Lilian, with a start of surprise. - -He smiled into her eyes, his strange, masterful, irresistible smile. It -was as if he had said, "Did I not tell you? Can you withstand her?" - -But aloud he said: - -"Let me make the introduction in due form. This is Miss Etheridge, -Lilian. Miss Etheridge, this is my sister. As the French philosopher -said, 'Know each other.'" - -Lady Lilian held out her hand. - -"I am very glad," she said. - -Stella took the thin, white hand, and held it for a moment; then Lady -Lilian looked from one to the other. - -Lord Leycester interpreted the glance at once. - -"Miss Etheridge has intrusted herself on the watery deep with me," he -said. "We came across to gather flowers, leaving Mr. Etheridge to paint -there." - -And he waved his hand across the river. - -Lady Lilian looked. - -"I see," she said--"I see. And he is painting. Is he not clever? How -proud you must be of him!" - -Stella's eyes grew dark. It was the one word wanting to draw them -together. She said not a word. - -"Your uncle and I are old friends," Lady Lilian continued. "Sometime -when--when I am stronger, I am coming to see him--when the weather -gets warmer--" Stella glanced at the frail form clad in sables, with -a moistened eye--"I am going to spend a long afternoon among the -pictures. He is always so kind and patient, and explains them all to -me. But, as I am not able to come to you, you will come and see me, -will you not?" - -There was a moment's silence. Lord Leycester stood looking over the -river as if waiting for Stella's reply. - -Stella looked up. - -"I shall be very glad," she said, and Lord Leycester drew a breath, -almost of relief. - -"You will, will you not?" said Lady Lilian, with a sweet smile. - -"Yes, I will come," said Stella, almost solemnly. - -"You will find me poor company," said the daughter of the great earl, -with meek humility. "I see so little of the world that I grow dull and -ignorant; but I shall be so glad to see you," and she held out her hand. - -Stella took it in her warm, soft fingers. - -"I will come," she said. - -Lady Lilian looked at the coachman, who, though his eyes were fixed in -quite another direction, seemed to see the glance, for he touched the -horses with the whip. - -"Good-bye," she said, "good-bye." - -Then, as the phaeton moved on, she called out, in her low, musical -voice, that was a low echo of her brother's: - -"Oh, Leycester, Lenore has come!" - -Leycester raised his hat. - -"Very well," he said. "Good-bye." - -Stella stood a moment looking after her. Strangely enough the last -words rang in her ears with a senseless kind of insistence and -emphasis. "Lenore has come!" She found herself repeating them mentally. - -Recalling herself she turned swiftly to Lord Leycester. - -"How beautiful she is!" she said, almost in a whisper. - -He looked at her with gratitude in his eloquent eyes. - -"Yes." - -"So beautiful and so kind!" Stella murmured, and the tears sprang to -her eyes. "I can see her face now. I can hear her voice. I do not -wonder that you love her as you do." - -"How do you know that I love her?" he said. "Brothers, generally----" - -Stella stopped him with a gesture. - -"No man with a heart warmer than a stone could help loving her." - -"And so you agree that my heart is warmer than a stone. Thank you for -that, at least," he said, with a smile that was not at all unselfish. - -Stella looked at him. - -"Let us go now," she said. "See, uncle is getting his things together." - -"Not without the primroses," he said; "Lilian will break her heart if -you go without any. Let me get some," and he went up the slope. - -Stella stood in thought. The sudden meeting with the fairy-like -creatures, had filled her with strange thoughts. She understood now -that rank and money are not all that is wanted for earthly happiness. - -So lost in thought was she that she did not hear the sound of a horse -coming along the mossy road, though the animal was coming at a great -pace. - -Lord Leycester's ears were freer or quicker however, for he caught the -sound and turned round. - -Turned round in time to see a huge bay horse ridden by a tall, thin, -dark young man, almost upon the slim form, standing with its back to it. - -With something like an oath on his lips, he dropped the flowers and -with one spring stood between her and the horse, and seizing the bridle -with both hands threw the beast, with sheer force, on to its haunches. - -The rider had been staring at the river, and was taken by surprise so -complete, that, as the horse rose on its legs, he was thrown from the -saddle. - -Stella, alarmed by the noise, turned and swerved out of the path. -And so they were grouped. Lord Leycester, pale with furious passion, -still holding the reins and forcing the horse in an iron grip, and the -erstwhile rider lying huddled up on the mossy road. - -He lay still, only for a moment, however; the next he was on his feet -and advancing toward Lord Leycester. It was Jasper Adelstone. - -His face was deadly pale, making, by contrast, his small eyes black as -coals. - -"What do you mean?" he exclaimed, furiously, and half-unconsciously he -raised his whip. - -It was an unlucky gesture, for it was all that was needed to rouse the -devil in Lord Leycester's breast. - -With one little irresistible gesture he seized the whip arm and the -whip, and flinging the owner to the ground again with one movement, -broke the whip, and flung it on the top of him with the other. - -It was all done in a second. With all the will in the world, Stella had -no time to interpose before the rash act was accomplished; but now she -sprang between them. - -"Lord Leycester," she cried, pale and horror-stricken, as she gazed -into his face, white and working with passion; all its beauty gone, -and with the mask of a fury in its place. "Lord Leycester!" - -At the sound of her voice--pleading, expostulating, rebuking--a shiver -ran through him, his hand fell to his side, and still holding the now -plunging and furious horse with a grip of steel, he stood humbly before -her. - -Not so Jasper Adelstone. With a slow, sinuous movement he rose -and shook himself, and glared at him. Speechless from the sheer -breathlessness of furious hate he stood and looked at the tall, -velvet-clad figure. - -Stella was the first to break the silence. - -"Oh, my lord!" she said. - -At the sound of her reproachful voice, Lord Leycester's face paled. - -"Forgive me," he said, humbly. "I beg--I crave your forgiveness; but I -thought you were in danger, you were--you were!" Then, at the thought, -his fiery passion broke out again, and he turned to the silent, -white-faced Jasper. "What the devil do you mean by riding in that -fashion?" - -Jasper Adelstone's lips moved, and at last speech came. - -"You shall answer for this, Lord Leycester." - -It was the worst word he could have said. - -In an instant all Lord Leycester's repentances fled. - -With a smothered oath on his lips, he advanced toward him. - -"What! Is that all you have to say? Do you know, you miserable wretch, -that you nearly rode over this lady--yes, rode over her? Answer for it! -Confound you----" and he raised his arm. - -But Stella, all her wits on the _qui vive_, was in time, and her -own arms were wound about his, on which the muscles stood thick and -prominent--like iron bands. - -With a gesture he became calm again, and there was a mute prayer for -pardon in his eyes as he looked at her. - -"Do not be afraid," he murmured, between his lips; "I will not hurt -him. No, no." - -Then he pointed to the horse. - -"Mount, sir, and get out of my sight. Stop!" and the fiery passion -broke out again. "No, by Heaven, you shall not, until you have begged -the lady's pardon." - -"No, no!" said Stella. - -"But I say 'Yes!'" said Lord Leycester, his eyes blazing. "Is every -tailor to ride through the Chase and knock down whom he will? Ask for -pardon, sir, or----" - -Jasper stood looking from one to the other. - -"No, no!" said Stella. "It was all an accident. Please, pray do not say -another word. Mr. Adelstone, I beg you will go without another word." - -Jasper Adelstone hesitated for a moment. - -"Miss Stella," he said, hoarsely. - -Alas! it was oil on the smoldering fire. - -"Miss Stella!" exclaimed Lord Leycester. "Who gave you the right to -address this lady by her Christian name, sir?" - -Jasper bit his lip. - -"Miss Etheridge, you cannot doubt that I am heartily sorry that this -unpleasant contretemps should have been caused by my carelessness. I -was riding carelessly----" - -"Like an idiot!" broke in Lord Leycester. - -"And did not see you. No harm would have resulted, however, if this -man--if Lord Leycester Wyndward had not, with brutal force, thrown me -from the saddle. I should have seen you in time, and, as I say, no harm -would have been done. All that has occurred is this man--Lord Leycester -Wyndward's--fault. Again I beg your pardon." - -And he bent his head before her. But as he did so a malignant gleam -shot out of his eyes in the direction of the tall, stalwart figure and -white, passionate face. - -"No, no, there is no occasion!" said Stella, trembling. "I do not want -you to beg my pardon. It was only an accident. You did not expect to -see anyone here--I--I--oh, I wish I had not come." - -Lord Leycester started. - -"Do not say that," he murmured. - -Then aloud: - -"Here is your horse, sir; mount him and go home, and thank your stars -the lady has escaped without a broken limb." - -Jasper stood a moment looking at him, then, with another inclination of -the head, he slowly mounted the horse. - -Lord Leycester, his passion gone, stood calm and motionless for a -moment, then raised his hat with an old-world gesture. - -"Good-day to you, and remember to ride more carefully in future." - -Jasper Adelstone looked down at him with a malignant smile on his thin -lips. - -"Good-day, my lord. I shall remember. I am not one to forget. No, I am -not one to forget," and striking spurs into the horse, he rode off. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - - -"Who is 'Lenore,' uncle?" - -It was the evening of the same day--a day never to be forgotten by -Stella, a day marked with a white stone in her mental calendar. Never -would she be able to look upon a field of primroses, never hear the -music of the river running over the weir, without remembering this -morning the first she had spent with Lord Leycester. - -It was evening now, and the two--the painter and the girl--were sitting -by the open window, looking out into the gloaming, he lost in memory, -she going over and over again the incidents of the morning, from the -visit of Mr. Jasper Adelstone to his encounter with Lord Leycester. - -It was strange, it was almost phenomenal--for Stella was frankness and -candor itself--that she had said nothing of the encounter to her uncle; -once or twice she had opened her lips--once at dinner, and once again -as she sat beside him, leaning her arm on his chair while he smoked his -pipe--she had opened her lips to tell him of that sudden outburst of -fury on the part of Lord Leycester--that passionate rage which proved -all that the painter had said of his hot temper to be true, but she had -found some difficulty in the recital which had kept her silent. - -She had told him of her walk in the woods, had told him of her meeting -with Lady Lilian, but of that passionate encounter between the two men -she said nothing. - -When Jasper had ridden on, pale and livid with suppressed passion, Lord -Leycester had stood looking at her in silence. Now, as she sat looking -into the gloaming, she saw him in her mind's eye still, his beautiful -eyes eloquent with remorse and humility, his clear-cut lip quivering -with the sense of his weakness. - -"Will you forgive me?" he said, at last, and that was all. Without -another word, he had offered to help her into the boat, help which -Stella had disregarded, and had rowed her across to her uncle. Without -a word, but with the same penitent, imploring look in his eyes, he -raised his hat and left her--had gone home to the Hall, to his sister -Lady Lilian, and to Lenore. - -Ever since she had heard the name drop softly from Lady Lilian's lips -it had rung in her ears. There was a subtle kind of charm about it that -half fascinated, half annoyed her. - -And now, leaning her head on her arm, and with her dark eyes fixed on -the stars which glittered merrily in the sky, she put the question: - -"Who is Lenore, uncle?" - -He stirred in his chair and looked at her absently. - -"Lenore, Lenore? I don't know, Stella, and yet the name sounds -familiar. Where did you hear it? It's scarcely fair to spring a -question like that on me; you might ask me who is Julia, Louisa, Anna -Maria----" - -Stella laughed softly. - -"I heard it this morning, uncle. Lady Lilian told her brother as she -left us that 'Lenore had come.'" - -"Ah, yes," he said. "Now I know. So she has come, has she? Who is -Lenore?" and he smiled. "There is scarcely another woman in England who -would need to ask that question, Stella." - -"No?" she said, turning her eyes upon him with surprise. "Why? Is she -so famous?" - -"Exactly, yes; that is just the word. She is famous." - -"For what, uncle? Is she a great actress, painter, musician--what?" - -"She is something that the world, nowadays, reckons far above any of -the classes you have named, Stella--she is a great beauty." - -"Oh, is that all!" said Stella, curtly. - -"All!" he echoed, amused. - -"Yes," and she nodded. "It seems so easy." - -"So easy!" and he laughed. - -"Yes," she continued; "so very easy, if you happen to be born so. There -is no merit in it. And is that all she is?" - -He was staggered by her _sang froid_ for a moment. - -"Well, I was scarcely fair, perhaps. As you say, it is very easy to be -a great beauty--if you are one--but it is rather difficult if you are -not; but Lenore is something more than that--she is an enchantress." - -"That's better," remarked Stella. "I like that. And how does she -enchant? Does she keep tame snakes, and play music to them, or -mesmerize people, or what?" - -The painter laughed again with great enjoyment at her _naivete_. - -"You are quite a cynic, Stella. Where did you learn the trick; from -your father, or is it a natural gift? No, she does not keep tame -snakes, and I don't know that she has acquired the art of mesmerism; -but she can charm for all that. First, she is, really and truly, very -beautiful----" - -"Tell me what she is like?" interrupted Stella, softly. - -The old man paused a moment to light his pipe. - -"She is very fair," he said. - -"I know," said Stella, dreamily, and with a little smile; "with yellow -hair and blue eyes, and a pink and white complexion, and blue veins and -a tiny mouth." - -"All wrong," he said, with, a laugh. "You have, woman-like, pictured -a china doll. Lenore is as unlike a china doll as it is possible to -imagine. She has golden hair it is true--but golden hair, not yellow; -there is a difference. Then her eyes are not blue; they are violet." - -"Violet!" - -"Violet!" he repeated, gravely. "I have seen them as violet as the -flowers that grow on the bank over there. Her mouth is not small; there -was never yet a woman worth a fig who had a small mouth. It is rather -large than otherwise, but then it is--a mouth." - -"Expressive?" said Stella, quietly. - -"Eloquent," he corrected. "The sort of mouth that can speak volumes -with a curve of the lip. You think I exaggerate? Wait until you see -her." - -"I don't think," said Stella, slowly, "that I am particularly desirous -of seeing her, uncle. It reminds we of what they say of Naples--see -Naples and die! See Lenore and die!" - -He laughed. - -"Well, it is not altogether false; many have seen her--many men, and -been ready to die for love of her." - -Stella laughed, softly. - -"She must be very beautiful for you to talk like this, uncle. She is -charming too?" - -"Yes, she is charming," he said, low; "with a charm that one is bound -to admit at once and unreservedly." - -"But what does she do?" asked Stella, with a touch of feminine -impatience. - -"What does she not?" he answered. "There is scarcely an accomplishment -under the sun or moon that she has not at her command. In a word, -Stella, Lenore is the outcome of the higher civilization; she is the -type of our latest requirement, which demands more than mere beauty, -and will not be satisfied with mere cleverness; she rides beautifully -and fearlessly; she plays and sings better than one-half the women one -hears at concerts; they tell me that no woman in London can dance with -greater grace, and I have seen her land a salmon of twenty pounds with -all the skill of a Scotch gillie." - -Stella was silent a moment. - -"You have described a paragon, uncle. How all her women friends must -detest her." - -He laughed. - -"I think you are wrong. I never knew a woman more popular with her sex." - -"How proud her husband must be of her," murmured Stella. - -"Her husband! What husband? She is not married." - -Stella laughed. - -"Not married! Such a perfection unmarried! Is it possible that mankind -can permit such a paragon to remain single. Uncle, they must be afraid -of her!" - -"Well, perhaps they are--some of them," he assented, smiling. "No," -he continued, musingly; "she is not married. Lenore might have been -married long before this: she has had many chances, and some of them -great ones. She might have been a duchess by this time if she had -chosen." - -"And why did she not?" said Stella. "Such a woman should be nothing -less than a duchess. It is a duchess whom you have described, uncle." - -"I don't know," he said, simply. "I don't think anyone knows; perhaps -she does not know herself." - -Stella was silent for a moment; her imagination was hard at work. - -"Is she rich, poor--what, uncle?" - -"I don't know. Rich, I should think," he answered. - -"And what is her other name, or has she only one name, like a princess -or a church dignitary?" - -"Her name is Beauchamp--Lady Lenore Beauchamp." - -"Lady!" repeated Stella, surprised. "She has a title, then; it was all -that was wanted." - -"Yes, she is the daughter of a peer." - -"What a happy woman she must be;--is she a woman or a girl, though. I -have imagined her a woman of thirty." - -He laughed. - -"Lady Lenore is--is"--he thought a moment--"just twenty-three." - -"That's a woman," said Stella, decidedly. "And this wonderful creature -is at the Hall, within sight of us. Tell me, uncle, do they keep her in -a glass case, and only permit her to be seen as a curiosity at so much -a head? They ought to do so, you know." - -He laughed, and his hand stroked her hair. - -"What is it Voltaire says, Stella," he remarked. "'If you want a woman -to hate another, praise her to the first one.'" - -Stella's face flushed hotly, and she laughed with just a touch of scorn. - -"Hate! I don't hate her, uncle--I admire her; I should like to see her, -to touch her--to feel for myself the wonderful charm of which you -speak. I should like to see how she bears it; it must be strange, you -know, to be superior to all one's kind." - -"If she feels strange," he said, thoughtfully, "she does not show it. -I never saw more perfect grace and ease than hers. I do not think -anything in the world would ruffle her. I think if she were on board -a ship that was going down inch by inch, and she knew that she was -within, say, five minutes of death, she would not flinch, or drop for -a moment the smile which usually rests upon her lips. That is her -charm, Stella--the perfect ease and perfect grace which spring from a -consciousness of her power." - -There was silence for a moment. The painter had spoken in his usual -dreamy fashion, more like communion with his own thoughts than a direct -address to his hearer, and Stella, listening, allowed every word to -sink into her mind. - -His description impressed her strongly, more than she cared to admit. -Already, so it seemed to her, she felt fascinated by this beautiful -creature, who appeared as perfect and faultless as one of the heathen -goddesses--say Diana. - -"Where does she live?" she asked, dreamily. - -He smoked in silence for a moment. - -"Live? I scarcely know; she is everywhere. In London in the season, -visiting in country houses at other times. There is not a house in -England where she would not be received with a welcome accorded to -princes. It is rather strange that she should be down here just now; -the season has commenced, most of the visitors have left the Hall, some -of them to be in their places in Parliament. It is rather strange that -she should have come down at this time." - -Stella colored, and a feeling of vague irritation took possession of -her--why, she scarcely knew. - -"I should think that everyone would be glad to come to Wyndward Hall at -any time--even Lady Lenore Beauchamp," she said, in a low voice. - -He nodded. - -"Wyndward Hall is a fine place," he said, slowly, "but Lady Lenore is -accustomed to--well, to palaces. There is not a ball-room in London -where her absence will not be noticed. It is strange. Perhaps"--and he -smiled--"Lady Wyndward has some motive." - -"Some motive?" repeated Stella, turning her eyes toward him. "What -motive can she have?" - -"There is Leycester," he said, musingly. - -"Leycester?" - -The word was out of her lips before she was aware of it, and a vivid -crimson dyed her face. - -"Lord Leycester, I mean." - -"Yes," he answered. "Nothing would please his mother more than to see -him marry, and he could not marry a more suitable person than Lenore. -Yes, that must be it, of course. Well, he could not do better, and as -for her, though she has refused greater chances, there is a charm in -being the future Countess of Wyndward, which is not to be despised. I -wonder whether he will fall into the trap--if trap it is intended to -be." - -Stella sat silent, her head thrown back, her eyes fixed on the stars. -He saw she was very pale, and there was a strange, intent look in her -eyes. There was also a dull aching in her heart which was scarcely -distinct enough for pain, but which annoyed and shamed her. What -could it matter to her--to her, Stella Etheridge, the niece of a -poor painter--whom Lord Leycester, future Earl of Wyndward, married? -Nothing, less than nothing. But still the dull aching throbbed in her -heart, and his face floated between her and the stars, his voice rang -in her ears. - -How fortunate, how blessed, some women were! Here, for instance, was -this girl of twenty-three, beautiful, famously beautiful, noble, and -reigning like a queen in the great world, and yet the gods were not -satisfied, but they must give her Leycester Wyndward! For of course it -was impossible that he should resist her if she chose to put forth her -charm. Had not her uncle just said that she could fascinate?--had she -not even evidently fascinated him, the dreamer, the artist, the man who -had seen and who knew the world so well? - -For a moment she gave herself up to this reflection and to the dull -aching, then with a gesture of impatience she rose, so suddenly as to -startle the old man. - -"What is the matter, Stella?" he asked. - -"Nothing, nothing," she said. "Shall we have lights? The room is so -dark and still, and----" her voice broke for a moment. - -She went to the mantel-shelf and lit a candle, and as she did so she -looked up and saw her face reflected in the antique mirror and started. - -Was that her face?--that pale, half-startled visage looking at her so -sadly. With a laugh she put the dark hair from her brow, and gliding to -the organ began to play; feverishly, restlessly at first, but presently -the music worked its charm and soothed her savage breast. - -Yes, she was savage, she knew it, she felt it! This woman had -everything, while she---- - -The door opened and a stream of light broke in from the lamp carried by -Mrs. Penfold. - -"Are you there, Miss Stella? Oh, yes, there you are! I thought it was -Mr. Etheridge playing; you don't often play like that. There's a note -for you." - -"A note! For me!" exclaimed Stella, turning on her stool with amazement. - -Mrs. Penfold smiled and nodded. - -"Yes, miss; and there's an answer, please." - -Stella took the note hesitatingly, as if she half expected it to -contain a charge of explosive dynamite; the envelope was addressed in -a thin, beautiful hand to Miss Stella Etheridge. Stella turned the -envelope over and started as she saw the arms stamped upon it. She knew -it, it was the Wyndward crest. - -For a moment she sat looking down at it without offering to open -it, then with an effort she tore it open, slowly, and read the note -enclosed. - - "DEAR MISS ETHERIDGE:--Will you redeem the promise you made me this - afternoon and come and see me? Will you ask Mr. Etheridge to bring you - to dine with them to-morrow at eight o'clock? I say 'them' because I - dine always alone; but perhaps you will not mind coming to me after - dinner for a little while. Do not let Mr. Etheridge refuse as he - generally does, but tell him to bring you for my sake." - - "Yours very truly, - - "LILIAN WYNDWARD." - -Stella read it and re-read it as if she could not believe her senses. -Lady Lilian's invitation had sounded so vague that she had scarcely -remembered it, and now here was a direct invitation to Wyndham Hall, -and to dinner. - -"Well, miss?" said Mrs. Penfold. - -Stella started. - -"I will give you the answer directly," she said. - -Then she went across to her uncle and stood beside him, the letter -in her hand. He was lost in thought, and quite unsuspicious of the -thunder-clap preparing for him. - -"Uncle, I have just got a letter." - -"Eh? Where from, Stella?" - -"From Lady Lilian." - -He looked up quickly. - -"She has asked me to dinner to-morrow." - -"No!" he said. She put the letter in his hand. "Read it, will you, my -dear?" he said. - -And she read it, conscious that her voice trembled. - -"Well?" he said. - -"Well?" she repeated, with a smile. - -He put his hand to his brow. - -"To dinner--to-morrow? Oh, dear me! Well, well! You would like to go?" -and he looked up at her. "Of course you would like to go." - -She looked down, her face was delicately flushed--her eyes shone. - -"Of course," he said. "Well, say 'Yes.' It is very kind. You see, -Stella, your wish is gratified almost as soon as you utter it. You will -see your paragon--Lady Lenore." - -She started, and her face went pale. - -"I have changed my mind," she said, in a low voice. "I find I don't -want to see her so badly as I thought. I think I don't care to go, -uncle." - -He stared at her. She was still an enigma to him. - -"Nonsense, child! Not care to see Wyndward Hall! Nonsense! Besides, -it's Lady Lilian; we must go, Stella." - -She still stood with the letter in her hand. - -"But--but, uncle--I have nothing to wear." - -"Nothing to wear!" And he looked at her up and down. - -"Nothing fit for Wyndward Hall," she said. "Uncle, I don't think I care -to go." - -He laughed gently. - -"You will find something to wear between now and half-past seven -to-morrow," he said, "or my faith in Mrs. Penfold's resources will be -shaken. Accept, my dear." - -She went slowly to the table and wrote two lines--two lines only. - - "DEAR LADY LILIAN.--We shall be very glad indeed to come and see you - to-morrow. Yours very truly," - - "STELLA ETHERIDGE." - -Then she rang the bell and gave the note to Mrs. Penfold. - -"I am going to Wyndward Hall to-morrow," she said, with a smile, "and I -have got nothing to wear, Mrs. Penfold!" and she laughed. - -Mrs. Penfold threw up her hands after the manner of her kind. - -"To the Hall, Miss Stella, to-morrow! Oh, dear, what shall we do?" Then -she glanced at the arm-chair, and beckoned Stella out of the room. - -"Come up-stairs, then, and let us see what we can manage. To the Hall! -Think of that!" and she threw up her head proudly. - -Stella sat on a chair, looking on with a smile, while the scanty -wardrobe was overhauled. - -Scanty as it was it contained everything that was needful for such use -as Stella might ordinarily require, but a dinner at the Hall was quite -out of the ordinary. At last, after holding up dress after dress, and -dropping it with a shake of the head, Mrs. Penfold took up a cream -sateen. - -"That's very pretty," said Stella. - -"But it's only sateen!" exclaimed Mrs. Penfold. - -"It looks like satin--a little," said Stella "by candlelight, at least." - -"And they have real satin, and silks, and velvets," deplored Mrs. -Penfold, eagerly. - -"Nobody will notice me," said Stella, consolingly. "It doesn't matter." - -Mrs. Penfold glanced at her with a curious smile. - -"Will they not, Miss Stella? I don't know, I think they will; but it -must be this dress or nothing; you can't go in a cotton, or the black -merino, and the muslin you wore the other night----" - -"Wouldn't do at all," said Stella. "We'll make this sateen do, Mrs. -Penfold. I think it looks very nice; the lace is good, isn't it?" - -"The lace?" said Mrs. Penfold, thoughtfully, then her face brightened. -"Wait a moment," she said, and she dropped the dress and hurried from -the room, returning in a few moments with a small box. "Speaking of -lace just reminded me, Miss Stella, that I had some by me. It was made -by my mother--I don't know whether it's good," and as she spoke she -opened the box and lifted some lace from the interior. - -"Why it's point!" - -"Point, is it, miss? I didn't know. Then it is good." - -"Good!" exclaimed Stella--"it's beautiful, delicious, heavenly. And -will you lend it to me?" - -"No, I'll give it to you if you will take it, Miss Stella," said the -good woman, with a proud smile. - -"No, no, not for worlds, but I will wear it if you'll let me?" said -Stella, and she took a long strip and put it round her throat. "Oh, it -is beautiful, beautiful! It would make the poorest dress look handsome! -I will take great care of it, indeed I will." - -"What nonsense, dear Miss Stella! How glad I am I thought of it. And -it does look pretty now you wear it," and she looked at the beautiful -face admiringly. "And you'll want gloves--let me see--yes, you have got -some cream gloves; they'll go with the dress, won't they? Now, you go -down-stairs, and I'll look the things out and tack the lace on. Going -to the Hall? I'm so glad, Miss Stella." - -"Are you?" said Stella, softly, as she went down-stairs, "I don't know -whether I'm glad or sorry!" - - - - -CHAPTER X. - - -The great clock in the Hall stables chimed the half-hour--half-past -seven, and the sound came floating down the valley. - -Mr. Etheridge stood at the door clad in evening dress, which, -old-fashioned and well-worn as it was, sat upon him with a gracious -air, and made him look more distinguished than ever. The fly was -waiting at the door, and he glanced at his watch and took a step toward -the stairs, when a light appeared above, and a light step sounded over -his head. The next moment a vision, as it seemed to him, floated into -sight, and came down upon him. - -Stella was in the cream sateen dress--the exquisite lace was clinging -round her slender, graceful throat--there was a red rose in her -hair; but it was not the dress, nor the lace, nor the rose even, -which chained the painter's eye--it was the lovely girlish face. The -excitement had brought a dash of warm color in the clear olive cheeks -and a bright light into the dark eyes; the lips were half-apart with a -smile, and the whole face was eloquent of youth's fresh tide of life -and spirits. If they had had all Howell and James' stock to choose -from, they could not have chosen a more suitable dress--a more becoming -color; the whole made a fitting frame for the girlish beauty. - -"Well, uncle!" she said, with a little blush. - -"What have you done to yourself, my child?" he said, with simple -open-eyed wonder. - -"Isn't she--isn't it beautiful?" murmured Mrs. Penfold, in an ecstasy. -"But then, if it had been a morning cotton, it would have been all the -same." And she proceeded to wrap a woolen shawl round her so carefully -as if she was something that might be destroyed at too hard a touch. -"Mind she has this wound round her like this when she comes out, sir, -and be sure and keep the window up." - -"And don't let the air breathe on me, or I shall melt, uncle," laughed -Stella. - -"Upon my word, I'm half disposed to think so," he muttered. - -Then they entered the fly--Mrs. Penfold disposing the short train of -the despised sateen with gingerly care--and started. - -"How have you managed it all?" asked the old man, quite bewildered. "I -feel quite strange conveying a brilliant young lady." - -"And I feel--frightened out of my life," said Stella, with a little -breath and a laugh. - -"Then you conceal your alarm with infinite art," he retorted. - -"That's just it," she assented. "My heart is beating like a steam -hammer, but, like an Indian at the stake, I am determined to smile to -the end. They will be very terrible, uncle, will they not?" - -"Who?" he asked. - -"The countess and the paragon--I mean Lady Lenore Beauchamp. I shall -have to be careful, or I shall be calling her the paragon to her face. -What would she do, uncle?" - -"Smile and pass it by with a gracious air," he said, laughing. "You are -a clever and a bold girl, Stella, but even you could not take 'a rise,' -as we used to say in my school-days, out of Lady Lenore." - -"I am not clever, and I am trembling like a mouse," said Stella, with a -piteous little pout. "You'll stand by me, uncle, won't you?" - -He laughed. - -"I think you are quite able to defend yourself, my dear," he said. -"Never knew one of your sex who was not." - -The fly rumbled over the bridge and entered the long avenue, and -Stella, looking out, saw the lights of the house shining at the end of -the vista. - -"What a grand place it is," she murmured, almost to herself. "Uncle, I -feel as if I were about to enter another world; and I am, I think. I -have never seen a countess in my life before; have been shut up within -the four walls of a school. If she says one word to me I shall expire." - -He laughed, and began to feel for the sketch which he had brought with -him. - -"You will not find her so very terrible," he said. - -The fly got to the end of the avenue at last, and wound round the broad -drive to the front entrance. - -It loomed so large and awe-inspiring above them, that Stella's heart -seemed to sink; but her color came again as two tall footmen, in grand, -but not gorgeous, livery, came down the broad steps and opened the fly -door. She would not let them see that she was--afraid. Afraid; yes that -was the word which described her feelings as she was ushered into the -hall, and she looked round at its vastness. - -There were several other footmen standing about with solemn faces, -and a maid dressed in black, with a spotless muslin cap, came forward -with what seemed to Stella solemn and stately steps, and asked her, in -almost a reverential whisper, whether she would come up-stairs; but -Stella shook her head, and was about to unwind the shawl, when the -maid, with a quick but respectful movement, undertook the task, going -through it with the greatest care and attention. - -Then her uncle held his arm and she put her hand upon it, and in the -instant, as if they had been waiting and watching, though their eyes -had been fixed on the ground, two footmen drew aside the curtains -shutting off the corridor to the drawing-room, and another footman -paced slowly and with head erect before them. - -It was all so solemn, the dim yet sufficient light, the towering hall, -with its flags and armor, the endless curtains, with their gold fringe, -that Stella was reminded of some gothic cathedral. The white gleaming -statues seemed to look down at her, as she passed between them, with -a frown of astonishment at her audacity in entering their solemn -presence, the very silence seemed to reproach her light footsteps on -the thickly-carpeted mosaic floor. - -She began to be overpowered, but suddenly she remembered that she too -was of ancient birth, that she was an Etheridge, and that the man whose -arm she was leaning upon was an artist, and a great one, and she held -her head erect and called the color to her face. - -It was not a moment too soon, for another pair of curtains were -drawn aside, and the next instant she stood on the threshold of the -drawing-room, and she heard a low but distinct voice say-- - -"Mr. and Miss Etheridge." - -She had not time to look round; she saw, as in a flash, the exquisite -room, with its shaded candles and softly-gleaming mirrors, saw -several tall, black-coated, white-chested forms of gentlemen, and -richly-dressed ladies; then she was conscious that a tall, beautiful, -and stately lady was gliding across the room toward them, and knew it -was the countess. - -Lady Wyndward had heard the announcement and had risen from where she -was sitting with the Countess of Longford to welcome the guests. The -painter was a favorite of hers, and if she could have had her will he -would have been a frequent visitor at the hall. - -When Lilian had told her of her meeting with Mr. Etheridge's niece and -asked permission to invite her, she had assented at once, expecting -to see some well-subdued middle-aged woman. Why she should have thus -pictured her she could not have told; perhaps because Mr. Etheridge -was old and so subdued himself. She had scarcely listened to Lilian's -description, and Leycester had said no word. - -But now as she came forward and saw a young and beautiful girl, -graceful and self-possessed, dressed with perfect taste, and looking -as distinguished as if she had gone through a couple of London -seasons, when the vision of Stella, in all her fresh young loveliness, -broke upon her suddenly and unexpectedly, an infinite surprise took -possession of her, and for a moment she half paused, but it was only -for a moment, and by no change in her face, however slight, was her -surprise revealed. - -"How do you do, Mr. Etheridge? It was so kind of you to come. I know -how great an honor this is, and I am grateful." - -This is what Stella heard in the softest, most dulcet of voices--"Kind, -grateful!" This was how a countess welcomed a poor painter. A glow of -light seemed to illumine Stella's mind. She had expected to see a tall -stately woman dressed in satin and diamonds, and with a courtly severe -manner, and instead here was a lady with a small gentle voice and a -face all softness and kindness. In an instant she had learned her first -lesson--that a mark of high rank and breeding is pure gentleness and -humility. The queen sits beside the bed of a sick peasant; the peer -thanks the waiter who hands him his umbrella. - -"Yes, it was very good of you to come. And this is your niece? How do -you do, Miss Etheridge? I am very glad to see you." - -Stella took her gloved hand, her courage came instantly, and she raised -her eyes to the beautiful, serene face, little guessing that as she did -so, the countess was filled with surprise and admiration as the dark -orbs raised. - -"We are quite a small party," said the countess. "Nearly all our -friends have left us. We should have been in town before this, but Lord -Wyndward is detained by business." - -As she spoke the earl approached them, and Stella saw a tall, thin, -noble-looking man bending before her as if he were expecting a touch of -her hand. - -"How do you do, Mr. Etheridge? We have managed to entice you from your -hermitage at last, eh? How do you do, Miss Etheridge? I hope you didn't -feel the cold driving." - -Stella smiled, and she knew why every approach was screened by curtains. - -The earl drew the painter aside, and the countess, just laying her -fingers on Stella's arm, guided her to the old countess of Longford. - -"Mr. Etheridge's niece," she said; then, to Stella, "This is Lady -Longford." - -Stella was conscious of a pair of keen gray eyes fixed on her face. - -"Glad to know you, my dear," said the old lady. "Come and sit beside -me, and tell me about your uncle; he is a wonderful man, but a very -wicked one." - -"Wicked!" said Stella. - -"Yes, wicked," repeated the old lady, with a smile on her wrinkled -face. "All obstinate people are wicked; and he is obstinate because he -persists in hiding himself away instead of coming into the world and -consenting to be famous, as he should be." - -Stella's heart warmed directly. - -"But perhaps now that you have come, you will persuade him to leave his -shell." - -"Do you mean the cottage? I don't think anything would persuade him to -leave that. Why should he? He is quite happy." - -The countess looked at her. - -"That's a sensible retort," she said. "Why should he? I don't know--I -don't know what to answer. But I owe him a grudge. Do you know that he -has persistently refused to come and see me, though I have almost gone -on my knees to him?" - -Stella smiled. - -"He does not care to go anywhere," she said. "If he went anywhere, I am -sure he would come to you." - -The old countess glanced at her approvingly. - -"That was nicely said," she murmured. "How old are you?" - -"Nineteen," said Stella, simply. - -"Then you have inherited your uncle's brains," the old lady replied, -curtly. "It is not given to every girl to say the right thing at -nineteen." - -Stella blushed, and looked round the room. - -There were ten or twelve persons standing and sitting about, some of -them beautiful women, exquisitely dressed, talking to some gentlemen; -but Lord Leycester was not amongst the latter. She was conscious of -that, although she scarcely knew that she was looking for him. She -wondered which was Lady Lenore. There was a tall, fair girl leaning -against the piano, but somehow Stella did not think it was the famous -beauty. - -The clock on the bracket struck eight, and she saw the earl take out -his watch and glance at it mechanically; and as he did so, a voice -behind her said: - -"Dinner is served, my lady." - -Nobody took any notice however, and the countess did not show by sign -or look that she heard. Suddenly the curtains at the other end of the -room were swung apart, and a tall form entered. - -Though her eyes were fixed on another part of the room, she knew who it -was, and for a moment she would not look that way, then she directed -her eyes slowly, and saw that her instinct had not misled her. - -It was Leycester! - -For a moment she was conscious of a feeling of surprise. She thought -she knew him well, but in that instant he looked so different that he -seemed almost a stranger. - -She had not seen him before in evening dress, and the change from the -velvet coat and knickerbockers to the severe, but aristocratic, black -suit struck her. - -Like all well-made, high-bred men he looked at his best in the dress -which fashion has decreed shall be the evening costume of gentlemen. -She had thought him handsome, noble, in the easy, careless suit of -velvet, she knew that he was distinguished looking in his suit of -evening sables. - -With his hand upon the curtain he stood, his head erect, his eyes not -eagerly, but commandingly, scanning the room. - -She could not tell why or how she knew, but she knew that he was -looking for her. - -Presently he sees her, and a subtle change came over his face, it was -not a smile so much as a look of satisfaction, and she knew again that -a frown would have settled on his white brow if she whom he sought had -not been there. - -With a high but firm step he came across the room and stood before her, -holding out his hand. - -"You have come," he said; "I thought you would not come. It is very -kind of Mr. Etheridge." - -She gave him her hand without a word. She knew that the keen gray -eyes of the old lady beside her were fixed on her face. He seemed to -remember too, for in a quieter, more commonplace, tone, he added: - -"I am late; it is an habitual fault of mine." - -"It is," said the old countess. - -He turned his smile upon her. - -"Are you going to scold me?" - -"I am not fond of wasting my time," she said. "Come and sit down for a -minute if you can." - -He glanced at the clock. - -"Am I not keeping you all waiting?" he said. - -Lady Longford shook her head. - -"No; we are waiting for Lenore." - -"Then she is not here!" thought Stella. - -"Oh, Lenore!" he said, with a smile. "Well, no one will dare to scold -her." - -As he spoke the curtain parted, and someone entered. - -Framed by the curtain that fell behind her in crimson folds stood a -girl--not yet a woman, for all her twenty-three years--of wonderful -beauty, with deep golden hair and violet eyes. - -Stella knew her at once from her uncle's description, but it was not -the beauty that surprised her and made her start; it was something more -than that. It was the nameless, indescribable charm which surrounded -her; it was the grace which distinguished her figure, her very attitude. - -She stood a moment, with a faint half-smile upon her lips, looking -round; then she glided with a peculiar movement, that struck Stella as -grace itself, to Lady Wyndward, and bent her head down to the countess. - -Stella could not hear what she said, but she knew that she was -apologizing for her tardiness by the way the earl, who was standing -by, smiled at her. Yes, evidently Lady Lenore would not be scolded for -keeping dinner waiting. - -Stella sat watching her; she felt her eyes riveted to her in fact, and -suddenly she was aware that the violet eyes were fixed on hers. - -She saw the beautiful lips move, saw the earl make answer, and then -watched them move together across the room. - -Whither were they going? To her surprise they came toward her and -stopped in front of her. - -"Miss Etheridge," said the earl, in his low, subdued voice, "let me -introduce Lady Lenore Beauchamp to you." - -Stella looked up, and met the violet eyes fixed on her. - -For a moment she was speechless; the eyes, so serene and full and -commanding, seemed to seek out her soul and to read every thought it -held; to read it so closely and clearly that her own eyes dropped; then -with an effort she held out her hand, and as the great beauty's closed -softly over it she raised her lids again, and so they stood looking -at each other, and Lord Leycester stood beside with the characteristic -smile on his face. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - - -As Stella looked up at the great beauty, she felt for the first time -that her own dress, pretty as it was, was only sateen. She had not been -conscious of it before, but she felt it now in the presence of this -exquisitely-dressed woman. In very truth, Lady Lenore was well-dressed; -it was not only that her costumes came from Redfern's or Worth's, and -her millinery from Louise, but Lenore had acquired the art of wearing -the productions of these artistes. When looking at her, one was -forcibly reminded of the Frenchman's saying, that the world was divided -into two classes--the people who were clothed and the people who wore -their clothes. Lady Lenore belonged to those who wear their clothes; -the beautiful dress sat upon her as if she had been made to it, instead -of it to her; not a piece of lace, not a single article of jewelry, but -sat in its place gracefully and artistically. - -To-night she wore a dress composed of some soft and readily-draping -material, neither cashmere nor satin--some one of the new materials -which have come over from the far east, and of which we scarcely yet -know the names. It was of the most delicate shade of grayish-blue, -which was brought out and accentuated by the single camellia resting -amidst the soft lace on her bosom. The arms were bare from the elbows, -exquisitely, warmly white and beautifully formed; one heavy bracelet, -set with huge Indian pearls, lined the wrist; there were similar huge -pearls in the rings on her fingers, and in the pendant which hung by a -seed-pearl necklace. - -Imagine a beautiful, an almost faultlessly-beautiful face, rising from -the delicate harmony of color--imagine a pair of dark eyes, now blue, -now violet, as she stood in repose or smiled, and fringed, by long, -silken lashes--and you may imagine the bare material outward beauty of -Lenore Beauchamp, but no words can describe what really was the charm -of the face--its wonderful power of expression, its eloquent mobility, -which, even when the eyes and lips were in repose, drew you to watching -and waiting for them to speak. - -Stella, though she had scarcely heard those lips utter a word knew what -her uncle meant when he said that there was a peculiar fascination -about her which went beyond her mere beauty; and, as she looked, a -strange feeling crossed Stella's mind. She remembered an old story -which she had heard years ago, when she was sitting on the lap of -her Italian nurse--the story of the strange and beautiful Indian -serpent which sits beneath the tree, and fixing its eyes upon the bird -overhead, draws and charms it with its spell, until the bird drops -senseless and helpless to its fate. - -But even as she thought of this she was ashamed of the idea, for there -is nothing serpent-like in Lenore's beauty; only this Stella thought, -that if ever those eyes and lips smiled and murmured to a man "I love -you," that man must drop; resistance would be vain and useless. - -All this takes long to write; it flashed across Stella's mind in a -moment, even as they looked at each other in silence; then at last Lady -Lenore spoke. - -"Have you been gathering primroses to-day?" she said, with a smile. - -It was a strange way of beginning an acquaintance, and Stella felt the -color mount to her face; the words recalled the whole of the scene of -yesterday morning. The speaker intended that they should. - -"No," she said, "not to-day." - -"Miss Etheridge gathered enough yesterday for a week, did you -not?" said Lord Leycester, and the voice sounded to Stella like an -assistance. She half glanced at him gratefully, and met his eyes fixed -on her with a strange light in them that caused hers to drop again. - -"I must find this wonderful flower-land," said Lady Lenore. "Lilian was -quite eloquent about it last night." - -"We shall be happy to act as pioneers in the discovery," he said, and -Stella could not help noticing the "we." Did he mean she and he? - -At that moment Lady Wyndward came toward them, and murmured something -to him, and he left them and offered his arm to a lady at the other end -of the room; then Lady Wyndward waved her fan slightly and smiled, and -a tall, thin, fair-haired man came up. - -"Lord Charles, will you take charge of Miss Etheridge?" - -Lord Guildford bowed and offered his arm. - -"I shall be delighted," he said, and he smiled down at Stella in his -frank way. - -There was a general movement, ladies and gentlemen were pairing off and -moving toward the door, beside which stood the two footmen, with the -solemn air of soldiers attending an execution. - -"Seven minutes late," said Lord Charles, glancing up at the clock as -they passed. "We must chalk that up to Lady Lenore. I admire and envy -her courage, don't you, Miss Etheridge? I should no more dare to be -late for dinner at Wyndward than--than--what's the most audacious thing -you can think of?" - -Stella smiled; there was something catching in the light-hearted, -frank, and free tones of the young viscount. - -"Standing on a sofa in muddy boots has always been my idea of a great -social crime," she said. - -He laughed approvingly, and his laugh seemed to float lightly through -the quiet room. - -"That's good--that's awfully good!" he said, with intense enjoyment. -"Standing on a sofa--that's awfully good! Must tell Leycester that! Did -you ever do it, by the way?" - -"Never," said Stella, gravely, but with a smile. - -"No!" he said. "Do you know I think you are capable of it if you were -provoked?" - -"Provoked?" said Stella. - -"Dared, I mean," he explained. "You know we used to have a game at -school called 'Dare him?' I expect all fellows have played it. One -fellow does the most extraordinary things and dares the other fellows -to do it. Leycester used to play it best. He was a regular good hand at -it. The worst of it was that we all used to get thrashed; the masters -didn't care about half-a-dozen fellows flinging stones at the windows -and climbing on to the roof at the dead of night." - -"Poor masters!" said Stella. - -He laughed. - -"Yes, they didn't have a particularly fine time of it when Leycester -was at school." - -As he spoke, he glanced at the tall figure of Lord Leycester in front -of them with an admiring air such as a school-boy might wear. - -"There isn't much that Leycester wouldn't dare," he said. - -They entered the dining-room, a large room lined with oak and -magnificently furnished, in which the long table with its snowy cloth, -and glittering plate and glass, shone out conspicuously. - -Lord Guildford found no difficulty in discovering their seats, each -place being distinguished by a small tablet bearing the name of the -intended occupant. As Stella took her seat, she noticed a beautiful -bouquet beside her serviette, and saw that one was placed for every -lady in the room. - -A solemn, stately butler, who looked like a bishop, stood beside the -earl's chair, and with a glance and a slight movement of his hand -directed the noiseless footmen. - -A clergyman said grace, and the dinner commenced. Stella, looking -round, saw that her uncle was seated near Lady Wyndward, and that Lady -Lenore was opposite herself. She looked round for Lord Leycester, and -was startled to hear his voice at her left. He was speaking to Lady -Longford. As she turned to look at him she happened to catch Lady -Wyndward's eye also fixed upon him with a strange expression, and -wondered what it meant; the next moment she knew, for, bending his head -and looking straight before him, he said-- - -"Do you like your flowers?" - -Stella took up the bouquet; it was composed almost entirely of white -blossoms, and smelt divinely. - -"They are beautiful," she said. "Heliotrope and camellias--my favorite -flowers." - -"It must have been instinct," he said. - -"What do you mean?" she asked. - -"I chose them," he said, in the same low voice. - -"Chose them?" she retorted. - -"Yes," and he smiled. "That was what made me late. I came in here first -and had a grand review of the bouquets. I was curious to know if I -could guess your favorite flowers." - -"You--you--changed them!" said Stella, with a feeling of mild horror. -"Lord Guildford asked me just now what I considered the most audacious -act a man would commit. I know now." - -He smiled. - -"I changed something else," he said. - -Stella looked at him inquiringly. There was a bold smile in his dark -eyes. - -He pointed to the little tablet bearing his name. - -"This. I found it over the way there, next to that old lady in -the emeralds. She is a dreadful old lady--beware of her. She is a -politician, and she always asks everybody who comes near her what they -think of the present Parliament. I thought it would be nicer to come -over here." - -The color crept slowly into Stella's face, and her eyes dropped. - -"It was very wrong," she said. "I am sure Lady Wyndward will be angry. -How could you interfere with the arrangements? They all seem so solemn -and grand to me." - -He laughed softly. - -"They are. We always eat our meals as if they were the last we could -expect to have--as if the executioner was waiting outside and feeling -the edge of the ax impatiently. There is only one man here who dares to -laugh outright." - -"Who is that?" asked Stella. - -He nodded to Lord Guildford, who was actively engaged in bending -his head over his soup with the air of a hungry man. "Charlie," he -said--"Lord Guildford, I mean. He laughs everywhere, don't you, -Charlie?" - -"Eh? Yes, oh, yes. What is he telling you about me, Miss Etheridge? -Don't believe a word he says. I mean to have him up for libel some day." - -"He says you laugh everywhere," said Stella. - -Lord Charles laughed at once, and Stella looked round half alarmed, but -nobody seemed to faint or show any particular horror. - -"Nobody minds him," said Lord Leycester, balancing his spoon. "He is -like the King's Jester, licensed to play wheresoever he pleases." - -"I'm fearfully hungry," said Lord Charles. "I've been in the saddle -since three o'clock--is that the _menu_, Miss Etheridge? Let us mark -our favorite dishes," and he offered her a half-hold of the porcelain -tablet on which was written the items of the various courses. - -Stella looked down the long list with something like amused dismay. - -"It's dreadfully long," she said. "I don't think I have any favorite -dishes." - -"No; not really!" he demanded. "What a treat! Will you really let me -advise you?" - -"I shall be most grateful," said Stella. - -"Oh, this is charming," said Lord Guildford. "Next to choosing one's -own dinner, there is nothing better than choosing one for someone else. -Let me see;" and thereupon he made a careful selection, which Stella -broke into with an amused laugh. - -"I could not possibly eat all these things," she said. - -"Oh, but you must," he said. "Why, I have been most careful to pick out -only those dishes suitable for a lady's delicate appetite; you can't -leave one of them out, you can't, indeed, without spoiling your dinner." - -"My dear," said the countess, bending forward, "don't let him teach -you anything, except to take warning by his epicureanism; he is only -anxious that you should be too occupied to disturb him." - -Lord Charles laughed. - -"That is cruel," he said. "You take my advice, Miss Etheridge; there -are only two things I understand, and those are a horse and a good -dinner." - -Meanwhile the dinner was proceeding, and to Stella it seemed that -"good" scarcely adequately described it. One elaborate course after -another followed in slow succession, borne in by the richly-liveried -footmen on the massive plate for which Wyndward Hall was famous. Dishes -which she had never heard of seemed to make their appearance only to -pass out again untouched, excepting by the clergyman, Lord Guildford, -and one or two other gentlemen. She noticed that the earl scarcely -touched anything beyond a tiny piece of fish and a mutton cutlet; and -Lord Guildford, who seemed to take an interest in anything connected -with the dinner, remarked, as he glanced at the stately head of the -house-- - -"There is one other person present who is of your way of thinking, Miss -Etheridge--I mean the earl. He doesn't know what a good dinner means. I -don't suppose he will taste anything more than the fish and a piece of -Cheshire. When he is in town and at work----" - -"At work? said Stella. - -"In the House of Lords, you know; he is a member of the Cabinet." - -Stella nodded. - -"He is a statesman?" - -"Exactly. He generally dines off a mutton chop served in the library. -I've seen him lunching off a penny biscuit and a glass of water. -Terrible, isn't it?" - -Stella laughed. - -"Perhaps he finds he can work better on a chop and a glass of water," -she said. - -"Don't believe it!" retorted Lord Guildford. "No man can work well -unless he is well-fed." - -"Guildford ought to know," said Lord Leycester, audibly. "He does so -much work." - -"So I do," retorts Lord Charles. "Stay and keep you in order, and if -that isn't hard work I don't know what is!" - -This was very amusing for Stella; it was all so strange, too, and so -little what she imagined; here were two peers talking like school-boys -for her amusement, as if they were mere nobodies and she were somebody -worth amusing. - -Every now and then she could hear Lady Lenore's voice, musical and -soft, yet full and distinct; she was talking of the coming season, and -Stella heard her speak of great people--persons' names which she had -read of, but never expected to hear spoken of so familiarly. It seemed -to her that she had got into some charmed circle; it scarcely seemed -real. Then occasionally, but very seldom, the earl's thin, clear, -high-bred voice would be heard, and once he looked across at Stella -herself, and said: - -"Will you not try some of those rissoles, Miss Etheridge? They are -generally very good." - -"And he never touches them," murmured Lord Charles, with a mock groan. - -She could hear her uncle talking also--talking more fluently than -was his wont--to Lady Wyndward, who was speaking about the pictures, -and once Stella saw her glance in her direction as if they had been -speaking of her. The dinner seemed very long, but it came to an end -at last, and the countess rose. As Stella rose with the rest of the -ladies, the old Countess of Longford locked her arm in hers. - -"I am not so old that I can't walk, and I am not lame, my dear," she -said, "but I like something young and strong to lean upon; you are -both. You don't mind?" - -"No!" said Stella. "Yes, I am strong." - -The old countess looked up at her with a glance of admiration in her -gray eyes. - -"And young," she said significantly. - -They passed into a drawing-room--not the one they had entered first, -but a smaller room which bore the name of "my lady's." It was -exquisitely furnished in the modern antique style. There were some -beautiful hangings that covered the walls, and served as background for -costly cabinets and brackets, upon which was arranged a collection of -ancient china second to none in the kingdom. The end of the room opened -into a fernery, in which were growing tall palms and whole miniature -forests of maidenhair, kept moist by sparkling fountains that fell with -a plash, plash, into marble basins. Birds were twitting and flitting -about behind a wire netting, so slight and carefully concealed as to be -scarcely perceptible. - -No footman was allowed to enter this ladies' paradise; two maids, in -their soft black dresses and snowy caps, were moving about arranging a -table for the countess to serve tea upon. - -It was like a scene from the "Arabian Nights," only more beautiful and -luxurious than anything Stella had imagined even when reading that -wonderful book of fairy-tales. - -The countess went straight to her table and took off her gray-white -gloves, some of the ladies settled themselves in the most indolent of -attitudes on the couches and chairs, and others strolled into the fern -house. The old countess made herself comfortable on a low divan, and -made room for Stella beside her. - -"And this is your first visit to Wyndward Hall, my dear?" she said. - -"Yes," answered Stella, her eyes still wandering round the room. - -"And you live in that little village on the other side of the river?" - -"Yes," said Stella, again. "It is very pretty, is it not?" - -"It is, as pretty as anything in one of your uncle's pictures. And are -you quite happy?" - -Stella brought her eyes upon the pale, wrinkled face. - -"Happy! Oh, yes, quite," she said. - -"Yes, I think you are," said the old lady with a keen glance at the -beautiful face and bright, pure eyes. "Then you must keep so, my dear," -she said. - -"But isn't that rather difficult?" said Stella, with a smile. - -Lady Longford looked at her. - -"That serves me right for meddling," she said. "Yes, it is difficult, -very difficult, and yet the art is easy enough; it contains only one -rule, and that is 'to be content.'" - -"Then I shall continue to be happy," said Stella; "for I am very -content." - -"For the present," said the old lady. "Take care, my dear!" - -Stella smiled; it was a strange sort of conversation, and there was a -suggestion of something that did not appear on the surface. - -"Do you think that I look very discontented, then?" she asked. - -"No," said the old lady, eying her again. "No, you look very -contented--at present. Isn't that a beautiful forest?" - -It was an abrupt change of the subject, but Stella was equal to it. - -"I have been admiring it since I came in," she said; "it is like fairy -land." - -"Go and enter it," said the old countess--"I am going to sleep for -exactly ten minutes. Will you come back to me then? You see, I am very -frank and rude; but I am very old indeed." - -Stella rose with a smile. - -"I think you are very kind to me," she said. - -The old countess looked up at the beautiful face with the dark, soft -eyes bent down on her; and something like a sigh of regret came into -her old, keen eyes. - -"You know how to make pretty speeches, my dear," she said. "You learnt -that in Italy, I expect. Mind you come back to me." - -Then, as Stella moved away, the old lady looked after her. - -"Poor child!" she murmured--"poor child! she is but a child; but he -won't care. Is it too late, I wonder? But why should I worry about it?" - -But it seemed as if she must worry about it, whatever it was, for -after a few minutes' effort to sleep, she rose and went across to the -tea-table. - -Lady Wyndward was making tea, but looked up and pushed a chair close -beside her. - -"What is it?" she asked, with a smile. - -"Who is she?" asked the countess, taking a cup and stirring the tea -round and round, very much as Betty the washerwoman does--very much -indeed. - -Lady Wyndward did not ask "Who?" but replied in her serene, placid -voice directly: - -"I don't know. Of course, I know that she is Mr. Etheridge's niece, but -I don't know anything about her, except that she has just come here -from Italy. She said that she was not happy there." - -"She is very beautiful," murmured the countess. - -"She is--very," assented Lady Wyndward. - -"And something more than distinguished. I never saw a more graceful -girl. She is only a child, of course." - -"Quite a child," assented Lady Wyndward again. - -There was a pause, then the old countess said, almost abruptly: - -"Why is she here?" - -Lady Wyndward filled a cup carefully before replying. - -"She is a friend of Lilian's," she said; "at least she invited her." - -"I thought she was rather a friend of Leycester's," said the old lady, -dryly. - -Lady Wyndward looked at her, and a faint, a very faint color came into -her aristocratic face. - -"You mean that he has noticed her?" she said. - -"Very much! I sat next to him at dinner. Was it wise to put him next to -her? A child's head is quickly turned." - -"I did not arrange it so," replied Lady Wyndward. "I put his tablet -next to Lenore's, as usual; but it got moved. I don't know who could -have done it." - -"I do," said the old lady. "It was Leycester himself. I am sure of it -by the way he looked." - -Lady Wyndward's white brow contracted for a moment. - -"It is like him. He will do or dare anything for an hour's amusement. I -ought to be angry with him!" - -"Be as angry as you like, but don't let him know that you are," said -the old lady, shrewdly. - -Lady Wyndward understood. - -"How beautiful Lenore looks to-night," she said, looking across the -room where Lady Lenore stood fanning herself, her head thrown back, her -eyes fixed on a picture. - -"Yes," assented the old countess. "If I were a man I should not rest -until I had won her; if I were a man--but then men are so different to -what we imagine them. They turn aside from a garden lily to pluck a -wayside flower----" - -"But they come back to the lily," said Lady Wyndward, with a smile. - -"Yes," muttered the old countess, suavely; "after they have grown tired -of the wild flower and thrown it aside." - -As she spoke the curtains were withdrawn and the gentlemen came -sauntering in. - -No one rests long over the wine, nowadays; the earl scarcely drank -a glass after the ladies left; he would fill his glass--fill two -perhaps, but rarely did more than sip them. Lord Leycester would -take a bumper of claret--the cellars were celebrated for the Chateau -Margaux. To-night it seemed as if he had taken an additional one, for -there was a deeper color on his face, and a brighter light in his eyes -than usual; the light which used to shine there in his school-days, -when there was some piece of wildness on, more mad than usual. Lord -Guildford came in leaning lightly upon his arm, and he was talking to -him in a low voice. - -"One of the most beautiful faces I have ever seen, Ley: not your -regular cut-out-to-pattern kind of face, but fresh and--and--natural. -The sort of face Venus might have had when she rose from the sea that -fine morning----" - -"Hush!" said Lord Leycester, with a slight start, and he thought of the -picture in his room, the picture of the Venus with the pale, fair face, -across which he had drawn the defacing brush that night he had come -home from his meeting with Stella. "Hush! they will hear you! Yes, she -is beautiful." - -"Yes, beautiful! Take care, take care, Ley!" muttered Lord Charles. - -Leycester put his hand from him with a smile. - -"You talk in parables to-night, Charlie, and don't provide the key. Go -and get some tea." - -He went himself toward the table and got a cup, but his eyes wandered -round the room, and the old countess and Lady Wyndward noticed the -searching glance. - -"Leycester," said his mother, "will you ask Lenore to sing for us?" - -He put down his cup and went down the room to where she was sitting -beside the earl. - -"My mother has sent me as one of her ambassadors to the queen of -music," he said. "Will your majesty deign to sing for us?" - -She looked up at him with a smile, then gave her cup to one of the -maids, and put her hand upon his arm. - -"Do you know that this is the first time you have spoken to me -since--since--I cannot remember?" - -"One does not dare intrude upon royalty too frequently; it would be -presumptuous," he said. - -"In what am I royal?" she asked. - -"In your beauty!" he said, and he was the only man in the room who -would have dared so pointed a reply. - -"Thanks," she said, with a calm smile; "you are very frank to-night." - -"Am I? And why not? We do not hesitate to call the summer sky blue -or the ocean vast. There are some things so palpable and generally -acknowledged that to be reserved about them would be absurd." - -"That will do," she said. "Since when have you learnt such eloquent -phrases? What shall I sing, or shall I sing at all?" - -"To please me you have but to sing to please yourself!" he said. - -"Find me something then," she said, and sat down with her hands folded, -looking a very queen indeed. - -He knelt down beside the canterbury, and, as at a signal, there was -a general gathering round the piano, but she still sat calm and -unconscious, very queen-like indeed. - -Leycester found a song, and set it up for her, opened the piano, took -her bouquet from her lap, and waited for her gloves, the rest looking -on as if interference were quite out of the question. - -Slowly she removed her gloves and gave them to him, touched the piano -with her jeweled fingers, and began to sing. - -At this moment Stella, who had been wandering round the fernery, came -back to the entrance, and stood listening and absorbed. - -She had never heard so beautiful a voice, not even in Italy. But -presently, even while a thrill of admiration was running through -her, she became conscious that there was something wanting. Her -musical sense was unsatisfied. The notes were clear, bell-like, and -as harmonious as a thrush's, the modulation perfect; but there was -something wanting. Was it heart? From where she stood she could see the -lovely face, with its dark violet eyes upturned, its eloquent mouth -curved to allow the music vent, and the loveliness held her inthralled, -though the voice did not move her. - -The song came to an end, and the singer sat with a calm smile receiving -the murmurs of gratitude and appreciation, but she declined to sing -again, and Stella saw Lord Leycester hand her her gloves and bouquet -and stand ready to conduct her whither she would. - -"He stands like her slave, to obey her slightest wish," she thought. -"Ah! how happy she must be," and with a something that was almost -a sigh, she turned back into the dim calm of the fernery; she felt -strangely alone and solitary at that moment. - -Suddenly there was a step behind her, and looking up she saw Lord -Leycester. - -"I have found you!" he said, and there was a ring of satisfaction and -pleasure in his voice that went straight to her heart. "Where have you -been hiding?" - -She looked up at the handsome face full of life and strong manhood, and -her eyes fell. - -"I have not been hiding," she said. "I have been here." - -"You are right," he said, seating himself beside her; "this is the best -place; it is cool and quiet here; it is more like our woods, is it not, -with the ferns and the primroses?" and at the "our" he smiled into her -eyes. - -"It is very lovely here," she said. "It's all lovely. How beautifully -she sings!" she added, rather irrelevantly. - -"Sings?" he said. "Oh, Lenore! Yes, she sings well, perfectly. And that -reminds me. I have been sent to ask you to make music for us." - -Stella shrank back with a glance of alarm. - -"I? Oh, no, no! I could not." - -He smiled at her. - -"But your uncle----" - -"He should not!" said Stella, with a touch of crimson. "I could not -sing. I am afraid." - -"Afraid! You?" he said. "Of what?" - -"Of--of--everything," she said, with a little laugh. "I could not sing -before all these people. I have never done so. Besides, to sing after -Lady Lenore would be like dancing a hornpipe." - -"I should be content if you would dance a hornpipe," he said. "I should -think it good and wise." - -"Are you laughing at me?" she said, looking up at the dark eyes. "Why?" - -"Laughing at you?" he repeated. "I! I could not. It is you who laugh at -me; I think you are laughing at me most times. You will not sing, then?" - -"I cannot," she said. - -"Then you shall not," he responded; "you shall not do anything you do -not like. But some time you will sing for us, will you not? Your uncle -has been telling us about your voice, and how you came by it," and his -own voice grew wonderfully gentle. - -"My father, he meant," said Stella, simply. "Yes; he could sing. He was -a great musician, and when I think of that, I am inclined to resolve -never to open my lips again." - -There was a moment's pause. Stella sat pulling a piece of maidenhair -apart, her eyes downcast; his eyes were reading her beautiful face, -and noting the graceful turns of the white neck. Someone was playing -the grand piano, and the music floated in and about the tall palms. It -was an intoxicating moment for him! The air was balmy with perfumes -from the exotics, the warm blood was running freely in his veins, the -beauty of the girl beside him seemed to entrance him. Instinctively his -hand, being idly near her, went toward hers, and would have touched it, -but suddenly one of the maids entered, and with a slow, respectful air -approached them. She held a silver salver, on which lay a small note, -folded in a lover's knot. - -Lord Leycester looked up; the interruption came just in time. - -"For me?" he said. - -"For Miss Etheridge, my lord," replied the maid, with a courtesy. - -"For me?" echoed Stella, taking the note. - -"I can guess who it is from," he said, with a smile. "Lilian is growing -impatient--if she is ever that." - -Stella unfolded the note. This was it: "Will you come to me now, if you -care to?" - -"Oh, yes, I will go at once," she said, standing up. - -He rose with a sigh. - -"It is the first time I have envied Lilian anything," he said, in a -low voice. - -"This way, if you please, miss," said the maid. - -"A moment--a moment only," said Lord Leycester, and as Stella stopped, -he gathered a few sprays of maidenhair from the margin of the fountain. - -"It is a peace-offering. Will you take it to her? I promised that I -would ask you to go directly after dinner," he said, softly. - -"Yes," said Stella, and as she took it there rose once more in her mind -the word Jasper Adelstone had spoken--"infamous." This man who sent his -sister such a message in such a voice! - -"Thanks," he said. "But it was scarcely necessary. I have sent her -something more beautiful, more precious." - -Stella did not understand far a moment, then as her eyes met his, she -knew that he meant herself, and the color flooded her face. - -"You should not say that," she said, gravely, and before he could -answer she moved away, and followed the maid. - -The maid led her through the hall and up the broad stairs, across the -corridor and knocked at Lady Lilian's door. - -Stella entered, and a grave peace seemed to fall upon her. - -Lady Lilian was lying on the couch by the window, and raised herself to -hold out her hand. - -"How good of you to come!" she said, eagerly, and as the voice broke on -Stella's ear, she knew what Lady Lenore's voice wanted. "You think me -very selfish to bring you away from them all do you not?" she added, -still holding Stella's hand in her white, cool one. - -"No," said Stella, "I am very glad to come. I would have come before, -but I did not know whether I might." - -"I have been waiting, and did not like to send for you," said Lady -Lilian, "and have you had a pleasant evening?" - -Stella sank into a low seat beside the couch, and looked up into the -lovely face with a smile. - -"I have had a wonderful evening!" she said. - -Lady Lilian looked at her inquiringly. - -"Wonderful," said Stella, frankly. "You see I have never been in such -a place as this before; it all seems so grand and beautiful--more -beautiful than grand indeed, that I can scarcely believe it is real." - -"It is real--too real," said Lady Lilian, with a smile and a little -sigh. "I daresay you think it is very nice, and I--do you know what I -think?" - -Stella shook her head. - -"I think, as I look down at your little cottage, how beautiful, how -nice your life must be." - -"Mine!" said Stella. "Well, yes, it is very nice. But this is -wonderful." - -"Because you are not used to it," said Lady Lilian. "Ah! you would soon -get tired of it, believe me." - -"Never," breathed Stella, looking down; as she did so she saw the -maidenhair, and held it up. - -"Lord Leycester sent these to you," she said. - -A loving light came into Lady Lilian's eyes as she took the green, -fragrant sprays. - -"Leycester?" she said, touching her cheek with them. "That is like -him--he is too good to me." - -Stella looked across the room at a picture of the Madonna rising from -the earth, with upturned, glorious eyes. - -"Is he?" she murmured. - -"Oh, yes, yes, there never was a brother like him in all the wide -world," said Lady Lilian, in a rapt voice. "I cannot tell you how -good he is to me; he is always thinking of me--he who has so much to -think of. I fancy sometimes that people are apt to deem him selfish -and--and--thoughtless, but they do not know----" - -"No," said Stella again. The voice sounded like music in her ears--she -could have listened forever while it sung his song; and yet that word -suddenly rang out in discord, and she smiled. "He seems very kind," she -said--"he is very kind to me." - -Lady Lilian looked at her suddenly, and an anxious expression came into -her eyes. It was not many nights ago that she had implored Leycester to -see no more of the girl with the dark eyes and silky hair; and here was -the girl sitting at her feet, and it was her doing! She had not thought -of that before; she had been so fascinated by the fresh young beauty, -by the pure, frank eyes, that she had actually acted against her own -instincts, and brought her into Leycester's path! - -"Yes, he is very kind to everybody," she said. "And you have enjoyed -yourself? Have they been singing?" - -"Yes, Lady Beauchamp." - -"Lenore," said Lilian, eagerly. "Ah, yes; does she not sing -beautifully, and is she not lovely?" - -"She sings beautifully, and she is very lovely," said Stella, still -looking at the Madonna. - -Lady Lilian laughed softly. - -"I am very fond of Lenore. You will like her very much when you know -her better. She is--I was going to say--very imperial." - -"That would be right," said Stella; "she is like a queen, only more -beautiful than most queens have been." - -"I am so glad you admire her," said Lady Lilian; then she paused a -moment, and her white hand fell like a thistle down on the dark head -beside her. "Shall I tell you a secret?" - -Stella looked up, with a smile. - -"Yes; I will promise to keep it." - -Lilian smiled down at her. - -"How strangely you said that--so gravely. Yes, I think you would keep -a secret to the death. But this is not one of that sort; it is only -this--that we hope, all of us, that Lenore will become my sister." - -Stella did not start; did not remove her eyes from the pale, lovely -face, but into those eyes a something came that was not wonder nor -pain, but a strong, indefinable expression, as if she were holding her -breath in the effort to suppress any sign of feeling. - -"Do you mean that Lord Leycester will marry her?" she said, distinctly. - -Lady Lilian nodded. - -"Yes, that is it. Would it not be nice?" - -Stella smiled. - -"For Lord Leycester?" - -Lady Lilian laughed her soft laugh. - -"What a strange girl you are," she said, smoothing the silky hair. -"What am I to say to that? Well--yes, of course. And for Lenore, too," -she added, with a touch of pride. - -"Yes, for Lady Lenore also," said Stella, and her eyes went back to the -Madonna. - -"We are all so anxious to see Leycester married," went on Lady Lilian, -with a smile. "They say he is--so wild, I think it is, they say! Ah, -they do not see him as I see him. Do you think he is wild?" - -Stella paled. The strain was great, her heart was beating with -suppressed throbs. The gentle girl did not know how she was torturing -her with such questions. - -"I?" she murmured. "I do not know. I cannot tell. How should I? I -scarcely know your brother." - -"Ah, no, I forget," said Lady Lilian. "To me it seems as if we had -known each other so long, and we only met the other morning for a few -minutes. How is it? Do you possess some charm, and did you conceal it -in the flowers you gave me, so that I am under a spell, Stella? That is -your name, isn't it? It is a beautiful name; are you angry with me for -calling you by it?" - -"Angry! No!" said Stella, putting up her warm, firm hand, and touching -the thin white one resting on her hair. "No, I like you to call me by -it." - -"And you will call me by mine--Lilian?" - -"If you wish it," said Stella. "Yes, I will." - -"And we shall be great friends. See, I have kept your flowers quite -cool and fresh," and she pointed to a vase in which the primroses stood -at the other end of the room. "I love wild flowers. They are Heaven's -very own, are they not? No human hand does anything for them, or helps -them to grow." - -Stella listened to the low, beautiful voice with a rapt awe. - -Lady Lilian looked down at her with a smile. - -"I wonder whether you would grant me a favor if I asked it?" she said. - -"I would do anything for you," said Stella, looking up at her. - -"Will you go and play for me?" she said. "I know that you can play and -sing because I have looked into your eyes." - -"Suppose I say that I cannot," said Stella, laughing softly. - -"You cannot!" said Lady Lilian. "I am never mistaken. Leycester says -that I am a witch in such matters." - -"Well, I will try," said Stella, and she crossed the room and opened -the tiny piano, and began to play a sonata by Schubert. - -"I cannot play like Lady Lenore," she said, almost to herself, but Lady -Lilian heard her. - -"You play exquisitely," she said. - -"No, I can't play," repeated Stella, with almost a touch of impatience; -then she looked up and saw the Madonna, and on the impulse of the -moment began to sing Gounod's "Ave Maria." There is no more exquisite -piece of devotional music in the world, and it was Stella's favorite. -She had sung it often and often in the dreary school-days, with all -her longing heart in her voice; she had sung it in solemn aisled -cathedrals, while the incense rose to the vaulted roof; but she had -never sung it as she sang it now--now that the strange, indefinable -pain was filling her heart with wistful vague longing. Lady Lilian -leant forward--her lips parted, her eyes filling with tears--so rapt -that she did not notice that the door had opened, and that Lord -Leycester stood in the room. When she did see him he held up his hand -to silence any word of greeting, and stood with his head lowered, his -eyes fixed on Stella's face, upturned, white, and rapt. As he listened, -his handsome face grew pale, his dark eyes deepened with intense -emotion; he had stood beside the piano down-stairs while Lady Lenore -had been singing, with a calm, polite attention; here and at this -moment his heart beat and throbbed with an intense longing to bend and -kiss the upturned face--with an intense longing to draw the eyes toward -his--to silence the exquisite voice--to change its imploring prayer -into a song of love. - -All unconsciously Stella sang on till the end, that last, lingering, -exquisite, long-drawn sigh; then she turned and saw him, but she did -not move--only turned pale, her eyes fixed on his. And so they looked -at each other. - -With an effort he broke the spell, and moved. But he did not speak to -her at once, but to Lilian. - -"I have brought you something," he said, in a low voice, and he held up -the sketch. - -Lady Lilian uttered a cry of delight. - -"And it is for me! Oh, Leycester, that is nice! It is beautiful! I know -who painted it--it was your uncle, Stella! Oh, yes, I know!" - -"You are right," said Leycester, then he went toward Stella. - -"How can I thank you?" he said, in a low voice. "I know now why you -would not sing to to us down-stairs! You were quite right. I would not -have you sing to a mob in a drawing-room after dinner. What shall I -say?--what can I say?" - -Stella looked up pale and almost breathless beneath the passionate fire -that burned in his eyes. - -"I did not know you were here," she said, at last. - -"Or you would not have sung. I am glad I came--I cannot say how glad! -You will not sing again?" - -"No, no," she said. - -"No," he said. "I did not think you would, and yet I would give -something to hear you once--only once more." - -"No," said Stella, and she rose and went back to her seat. - -"Isn't it beautiful?" said Lady Lilian, in a murmur. "I have been -richly endowed to-night. Your song and this picture. How exquisite it -was! Where did you learn to sing like that?" - -"Nowhere," said Leycester. "That cannot be learnt!" - -Lilian looked at him; he was still pale, and his eyes seemed to burn -with suppressed eagerness. - -"Go and thank Mr. Etheridge," she said. - -"Presently," he said, and he came and put his hand on her arm. -"Presently! let me rest here a little while. It is Paradise after----" -he paused. - -"You shall not rest," she said. "Go and sing something, Ley." - -Then, as Stella looked up, she laughed softly. - -"Did you not know he could sing? He is a bad, wicked, indolent boy. -He can do all sorts of things when he likes, but he never will exert -himself. He will not sing, now will you?" - -He stood looking at Stella, and as if constrained to speak and look at -him, Stella raised her eyes. - -"Will you sing?" she said, almost inaudibly. - -As if waiting for her command, he bent his head and went to the piano. - -His fingers strayed over the notes slowly for a moment or two, then he -said, without turning his head: - -"Have you seen these flowers?" - -Stella did not wish to move; but the voice seemed to draw her, and she -rose and crossed to the piano. - -He looked up. - -"Stay," he murmured. - -She hesitated a second, then stood with downcast eyes, which, hidden as -they were, seemed to feel his ardent gaze fixed upon her. - -He still touched the keys gently, and then, without further prelude, he -began in a low voice: - - "I wandered down the valley in the eventide, - The birds were singing sweetly in the summer air, - The river glided murm'ring to the ocean wide, - But still no peace was there; - For love lay lurking in the ferny brake; - I saw him lying with his bow beside; - He cried, 'Sweetheart, we will never, never part!' - By the river in the valley at the eventide. - - "I fled to the mountains, to the clouds and mist, - Where the eagle and the hawk share their solitary throne; - 'Here at least,' I cried, 'wicked love I can deride, - He will leave me here at peace alone.' - But love lay lurking in the clouds and mist; - I heard him singing sweetly on the mountain side, - ''Tis all in vain you fly, for everywhere am I, - In every quiet valley, on every mountain side.'" - -With his eyes fixed on hers, he sang as if every word were addressed to -her; his voice was like a flute, mellow and clear, and musical, but it -was not the voice but the words that seemed to sink into Stella's heart -as she listened. It seemed to her as if he dared her to fly, to seek -safety from him--his love, he seemed to say, would pursue her in every -quiet valley, on every mountain side. - -For a moment she forgot Lady Lenore, forgot everything; she felt -helpless beneath the spell of those dark eyes, the musical voice; her -head drooped, her eyes closed. - -"'Tis all in vain you fly, for everywhere am I, in every quiet valley, -on every mountain side." - -Was it to be so with her? Would his presence haunt her ever and -everywhere? - -With a start she turned from him and glided swiftly to the couch as if -seeking protection. - -Lady Lilian looked at her. - -"You are tired," she said. - -"I think I am," said Stella. - -"Leycester take her away; I will not have her wearied, or she will not -come again. You will come again, will you not?" - -"Yes," said Stella, "I will come again." - -Lord Leycester stood beside the open door, but Lilian still clung to -her hand. - -"Good-night," she said, and she put up her face. - -Stella bent and kissed her. - -"Good-night," she answered, and passed out. - -They went down the stairs in silence, and reached the fernery; then he -stopped short. - -"Will you not wait a moment here?" he said. - -Stella shook her head. - -"It must be late," she said. - -"A moment only," he said. "Let me feel that I have you to myself for a -moment before you go--you have belonged to others until now." - -"No, no," she said--"I must go." - -And she moved on; but he put out his hand, and stopped her. - -"Stella!" - -She turned, and looked at him most piteously; but he saw only her -loveliness before him like a flower. - -"Stella," he repeated, and he drew her nearer, "I must speak--I must -tell you--I love you!" - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - - -"I love you," he said. - -Only three words, but only a woman can understand what those three -words meant to Stella. - -She was a girl--a mere child, as Lady Wyndward had said; never, save -from her father's lips, had she heard those words before. - -Even now she scarcely realized their full meaning. She only knew that -his hand was upon her arm; that his eyes were fixed on hers with a -passionate, pleading entreaty, combined with a masterful power which -she felt unable to resist. - -White and almost breathless she stood, not downcast, for her eyes felt -drawn to his, all her maidenly nature roused and excited by this first -declaration of a man's love. - -"Stella, I love you!" he repeated, and his voice sounded like some low, -subtle music, which rang through her ears even after the words had died -from his lips. - -Pale and trembling she looked at him, and put her hand to gently force -his grasp from her arm. - -"No, no!" she panted. - -"But it is 'yes,'" he said, and he took her other hand and held her -a close prisoner, looking into the depths of the dark, wondering, -troubled eyes. "I love you, Stella." - -"No," she repeated again, almost inaudibly. "It is impossible!" - -"Impossible!" he echoed, and a faint smile flitted across the eager -face--a smile that seemed to intensify the passion in his eyes. "It -seems to me impossible not to love you. Stella, are you angry with -me--offended? I have been too sudden, too rude and rough." - -At his tender pleading her eyes drooped for the first time. - -Too rough, too rude! He, who seemed to her the type of knightly -chivalry and courtesy. - -"I should have remembered how pure and delicate a flower my beautiful -love was," he murmured. "I should have remembered that my love was a -star, to be approached with reverence and awe, not taken by storm. I -have been too presumptuous; but, oh, Stella, you do not know what such -love as mine is! It is like a mountain torrent hard to stem; it sweeps -all before it. That is my love for you, Stella. And now, what will you -say to me?" - -As he spoke he drew her still nearer to him; she could feel his breath -stirring her hair, could almost hear the passionate beating of his -heart. - -What should she say to him? If she allowed her heart to speak she would -hide her face upon his breast and whisper--"Take me." But, girl as she -was, she had some idea of all that divided them; the very place in -which they stood was eloquent of the difference between them; between -him, the future lord of Wyndward, and she, the poor painter's niece. - -"Will you not speak to me?" he murmured. "Have you not a single word -for me? Stella, if you knew how I long to hear those beautiful lips -answer me with the words I have spoken. Stella, I would give all I -possess in the world to hear you say, 'I love you!'" - -"No, no," she said, again, almost pantingly. "Do not ask me--do not say -any more. I--I cannot bear it!" - -His face flushed hotly for a moment, but he held her tightly, and his -eyes searched hers for the truth. - -"Does it pain you to hear that I love you?" he whispered. "Are you -angry, sorry? Can you not love me, Stella? Oh, my darling!--let me call -you my darling, mine, if only for once, for one short minute! See, -you are mine, I hold you in both hands! Be mine for a short minute at -least, while you answer me. Are you sorry? Can you not give me a little -love in return for all the love I bear you? Cannot you, Stella?" - -Panting now, and with the rich color coming and going on her face, she -looks this way and that like some wild, timid animal seeking to escape. - -"Do not press me, do not force me to speak," she almost moans. "Let me -go now." - -"No, by Heaven!" he says, almost fiercely. "You shall not, must not go, -until you have answered me. Tell me, Stella, is it because I am nothing -to you, and you do not like to tell me so? Ah! better the truth at -once, hard as it may be to bear, than suspense. Tell me, Stella." - -"It--it--is not that," she says, with drooping head. - -"What is it, then?" he whispers, and he bends his head to catch her -faintly whispered words, so that his lips almost touch her face. - -From the drawing-room comes the sound of some one playing; it recalls -all the grandeur of the scene, all the high mightiness of the house to -which he belongs--of which he is so nearly the head, and it gives her -strength. - -Slowly she raises her head and looks at him. - -There is infinite tenderness, infinite yearning, and suppressed -maidenly passion in her eyes. - -"It is not that," she says. "But--do you forget?" - -"Forget!" he asks, patiently, gently, though his eyes are burning with -impetuous eagerness. - -"Do you forget who I am--who you are?" she says, faintly. - -"I forget everything except that you are to me the most lovely and -precious of creatures on God's earth," he says, passionately. Then, -with a touch of his characteristic pride, "What need have I to remember -anything else, Stella?" - -"But I have," she said. "Oh yes, it is for me to remember. I cannot--I -ought not to forget. It is for me to remember. I am only Stella -Etheridge, an artist's niece, a nobody--an insignificant girl, and -you--oh, Lord Leycester!" - -"And I?" he says, as if ready to meet her fairly at every point. - -"And you!"--she looks around--"you are a nobleman; will be the lord of -all this beautiful place--of all that you were showing me the other -day. You should not, ought not to tell me that--that--what you have -told me." - -He bent over her, and his hand closed on her arm with a masterful -caressing touch. - -"You mean that because I am what I am--that because I am rich I am to -be made poor; because I have so much--too much, that the one thing on -earth which would make the rest worth having is to be denied me." - -He laughed almost fiercely. - -"Better to be the poorest son of the soil than lord of many acres, if -that were true, Stella. But it is not. I do not care whether I am rich -or poor, noble or nameless--yes, I do! I am glad for your sake. I have -never cared before. I have never realized it before, but I do now. I am -glad now. Do you know why?" - -She shook her head, her eyes downcast. - -"Because I can lay them all at your feet," and as he speaks he bends -on one knee beside her and draws her hand with trembling hands to his -heart. - -"See, Stella, I lay them at your feet. I say take them, if you think -them worth--take them, and make them worth having; no, I say rather, -share them with me? Set against your love, my darling, title, lands, -wealth--are all worthless dross to me. Give me your love, Stella; I -must, I will have it!" and he presses a passionate clinging kiss -on her hand. - -Frightened by his vehemence, Stella draws her hand away and shrinks -back. - -He rises and draws her to a seat, standing beside her calm and penitent. - -"Forgive me, Stella! I frighten you! See, I will be quite gentle and -quiet--only listen to me!" - -"No, no," she murmurs, trembling, "I must not. Think--if--if--I said -what you wish me to say, how could I meet the countess? What would they -say to me? They would blame me for stealing your love." - -"You have not stolen; no nun from a convent could have been more free -from artifice than you, Stella. You have stolen nothing; it is I who -have _given_--GIVEN you all." - -She shook her head. - -"It is the same," she murmured. "They would be so displeased. Oh, it -cannot be." - -"It cannot be?" he repeated, with a smile. "But it has already come to -pass. Am I one to love and unlove in a breath, Stella? Look at me!" - -She raises her eyes, and meets his eager, passionate gaze. - -"Do I look like one to be swayed as a reed by any passing wind, gentle -or rough? No, Stella, such love as I feel for you is not to be turned -aside. Even if you were to tell me that you do not, cannot love me, -my love would not die; it has taken root in my heart--it has become -part of myself. There is not one hour since I saw you that I have not -thought about you. Stella, you have come to me even in my sleep; I have -dreamed that you whispered to me, 'I love you.' Let the dream be a true -one. Oh, my life, my darling, let your heart speak, if it is to say -that it loves me. See, Stella, you are all the world to me--do not rob -me of happiness. You do not doubt my love?" - -Doubt his love! That was not possible for her to do, since every word, -every look, bore the impress of truth. - -But still she would not yield. Even as he spoke, she fancied she -could see the stern face of the earl looking at her with hard -condemnation--could see the beautiful eyes of the countess looking down -at her with cold displeasure and wondering, amazed scorn. - -Footsteps were approaching, and she rose hurriedly, to fly from him if -need be. But Lord Leycester was not a man to be turned aside. As she -rose he took her arm gently, tenderly, with loving persuasion, and drew -her near to him. - -"Come with me," he said. "Do not leave me for a moment. See, the door -is open--it is quite warm. We shall be alone here. Oh, my darling, do -not leave me in suspense." - -She was powerless to resist, and he led her on to the terrace outside. - -Out into the dusky night, odorous with the breath of the flowers, and -mystical in the dim light of the stars. A gentle summer, zephyr-like -air stirred the trees; the sound of the water falling over the weir -came like music up the hillside. A nightingale sang in the woods below -them; all the night seemed full of slumberous passion and unspoken love. - -"We are alone here, Stella," he murmured. "Now answer me. Listen once -more, darling! I am not tired of telling you; I shall never tire of it. -Listen! I love you--I love you!" - -The stars grew dull and misty before her eyes, the charm of his voice, -of his presence, was stealing over her; the passionate love which burnt -in her heart for him was finding its way through cool prudence, her -lips were tremulous. A sigh, long and deep, broke from them. - -"I love you!" he replied, as if the words were a spell, as indeed they -were--a spell not to be resisted. "Give me your answer, Stella. Come -close to me. Whisper it! whisper 'I love you,' or send me away. But -you will not do that; no, you shall not do that!" and forgetful of his -vow to be gentle with her, he put his arm round her, drew her to him -and--kissed her. - -It was the first kiss. A thrill ran through her, the sky seemed to -sink, the whole night to pause as if it were waiting. With a little -shudder of exquisite pleasure, mingled with that subtle pain which -ecstasy always brings in its train, she laid her head upon his breast, -and hiding her eyes, murmured-- - -"I love you!" - -If the words meant much to him--to him the man of the world before -whom many a beautiful woman had been ready to bow with complaisant -homage--if they meant much to him, how much more did they mean to her? - -All her young maiden faith spoke in those three words. With them she -surrendered her young, pure life, her unstained, unsullied heart to -him. With a passion as intense as his own, she repaid him tenfold. -For a moment he was silent, his eyes fixed on the stars, his whole -being thrilling under the music--the joy of this simple avowal. Then -he pressed her to him, and poured a shower of kisses upon her hair and -upon her arm which lay across his breast. - -"My darling, my darling!" he murmured. "Is it really true? Can I--dare -I believe it: you love me? Oh, my darling, the whole world seems -changed to me. You love me! See, Stella, it seems so wonderful that I -cannot realize it. Let me see your eyes, I shall find the truth there." - -She pressed still closer to him, but he raised her head gently--in his -very touch was a caress, and it was as if his hands kissed her--and -looked long into the rapt, upturned eyes. Then he bent his head slowly, -and kissed her once--hungrily, clingingly. - -Stella's eyes closed and her face paled under that passionate caress, -then slowly and with a little sigh she raised her head and kissed him -back again, kiss for kiss. - -No word was spoken; side by side, with her head upon his breast, they -stood in silence. For them Time had vanished, the whole world seemed to -stand still. - -Half amazed, with a dim wonder at this new delight which had entered -her life, Stella watched the stars and listened to the music of the -river. Something had happened to change her whole existence, it was -as if the old Stella whom she knew so well had gone, and a new being, -wonderfully blessed, wonderfully happy, had taken her place. - -And as for him, for the man of the world, he too stood amazed, -overwhelmed by the new-born joy. If any one had told him that life held -such a moment for him, he would not have believed it; he who had, as he -thought, drained the cup of earthly pleasure to the dregs. His blood -ran wildly through his veins, his heart beat madly. - -"At last," he murmured; "this is love." - -But suddenly the awakening came. With a start she looked up at him and -strove to free herself, vainly, from his embrace. - -"What have I done?" she whispered, with awe-subdued voice. - -"Done!" he murmured, with a rapt smile. "Made one man happier than he -ever dreamed it possible for mortal to be. That is all." - -"Ah, no!" she said; "I have done wrong! I am afraid!--afraid!" - -"Afraid of what? There is nothing to make you afraid. Can you speak of -fear while you are in my arms--with your head on my breast? Lean back, -my darling; now speak of fear." - -"Yes, even now," she whispered. "Now--and I am so happy!" she broke off -to herself, but he heard her. "So happy! Is it all a dream? Tell me." - -He bent and kissed her. - -"Is it a dream, do you think?" he answered. - -The crimson dyed her face and neck, and her eyes drooped. - -"And you are happy?" he said. "Think what I must be. For a man's love -is deeper, more passionate than a woman's, Stella. Think what I must -be!" - -She sighed and looked up at him. - -"But still it is wrong! I fear that. All the world will say that." - -"All the world!" he echoed, with smiling scorn. "What have we to do -with the world? We two stand outside, beyond it. Our world is love--is -our two selves, my darling." - -"All the world," she said. "Ah! what will they say?" and instinctively -she glanced over her shoulder at the great house with the glow of light -streaming from its many windows. "Even now--now they are wondering -where you are, expecting, waiting for you. What would they say if they -knew you were here with me--and--and all that has happened?" - -His eyes darkened. He knew better than she, with all her fears, what -they would say, and already he was braving himself to meet the storm, -but he smiled to re-assure her. - -"They will say that I am the most fortunate of men. They will say that -the gods have lavished their good gifts with both hands--they have -given me all the things that you make so much of, and the greatest of -all things--the true sole love of a pure, beautiful angel." - -"Oh, hush, hush!" she murmured. - -"You are an angel to me," he said, simply. "I am not worthy to touch -the hem of your dress! If I could but live my worthless, sinful life -over again, for your sake, my darling, it should be purer and a little -less unworthy of you." - -"Oh, hush!" she murmured. "You unworthy of me! You are my king!" - -Strong man as he was he was stirred and moved to the depths of his -being at the simple words, eloquent of her absolute trust and devotion. - -"My Stella," he murmured, "if you knew all; but see, my life is yours -from henceforth. I place it in your hands, mold it as you will. It is -yours henceforth." - -She was looking at him, all her soul in her eyes, and at his words -of passionate protestation, a sudden thrill ran through her, then as -instantly, as if a sudden cold hand had come between them, she shivered. - -"Mine," she breathed, fearfully, "until they snatch it from me." - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - - -He started. The words had almost the solemnity of a prophesy. - -"Who will dare?" he said; then he laughed. "My little, fearsome, -trembling darling!" he murmured, "fear nothing or rather, tell me what -you fear, and whom." - -She glanced toward the windows. - -"I fear them all!" she said, quietly and simply. - -"My father?" - -She inclined her head and let her head fall upon his shoulder. - -"The countess, all of them. Lord Leycester----" - -He put his hand upon her lips softly. - -"What was that I heard?" he said, with tender reproach. - -She looked up. - -"Leycester," she whispered. - -He nodded. - -"Would to Heaven the name stood alone," he said, almost bitterly. "The -barrier you fancy stands between us would vanish and fade away then. -Never, even in sport, call me by my title again, my darling, or I shall -hate it!" - -She smiled. - -"I shall never forget it," she said. "They will not let me. I am not -Lady Lenore." - -He started slightly, then looked down at her. - -"Thank Heaven, no!" he said, with a smile. - -Stella smiled almost sadly. - -"She might forget; she is noble too. How beautiful she is!" - -"Is she?" he said, smiling down at her. "To me there is only one -beautiful face in the world, and--it is here," and he touched it with -his finger--"here--my very own. But what is Lenore to us to-night, my -darling? Why do you speak of her?" - -"Because--shall I tell you?" - -He nodded, looking down at her. - -"Because they said--Lady Lilian said, that----" she stopped. - -"Well?" - -"That they wished you to marry her," she whispered. - -He laughed, his short laugh. - -"She might say the same of several young ladies," he said. "My mother -is very anxious on the point. Yes, but wishes are not horses, or one -could probably be persuaded to mount and ride as their parents wish -them--don't that sound wise and profound? I shall not ride to Lady -Lenore; I have ridden to your feet, my darling!" - -"And you will never ride away again," she murmured. - -"Never," he said. "Here, by your side, I shall remain while life lasts!" - -"While life lasts!" she repeated, as if the words were music. "I shall -have you near me always. Ah, it sounds too beautiful! too beautiful!" - -"But it will be true," he said. - -The clock chimed the hour. Stella started. - -"So late!" she said, with a little sigh. "I must go!" and she glanced -at the windows with a little shudder. "If I could but steal away -without seeing them--without being seen! I feel--" she paused, and the -crimson covered her face and neck--"as if they had but to glance at me -to know--to know what has happened," and she trembled. - -"Are you so afraid?" he said. "Really so afraid? Well, why should they -know?" - -She looked up eagerly. - -"Oh, no, do not let them know! Why should we tell them; it--it is like -letting them share in our happiness; it is our secret, is it not?" - -"Let us keep it," he said, quietly, musingly. "Why should they know, -indeed! Let us keep the world outside, for a while at least. You and I -alone in our love, my darling." - -With his arm round her they went back to the fernery, and here she drew -away from him, but not until he had taken another kiss. - -"It is our real 'good night,' you know," he said; "the 'good-night' we -shall say presently will mean nothing. This is our 'good-night.' Happy -dreams, my angel, my star!" - -Stella clung to him for a moment with a little reluctant sigh, then she -looked up at him with a smile. - -"I am afraid I am awfully tumbled and tangled," she said, putting her -hand to her hair. - -He smoothed the silken threads with his hand, and as he did so drew the -rose from her hair. - -"This is mine," he murmured, and he put it in his coat. - -"Oh, no!" she exclaimed. "And this is how you keep our secret! Do you -not think every eye would notice that great rose, and know whence it -came?" - -"Yes, yes, I see," he said. "After all, a woman is the one for a -secret--the man is not in the field; but then it will be safe here," -and he put the rose inside the breast of his coat. - -Then trying to look as if nothing had happened, trying to look as if -the whole world had not become changed for her, Stella sauntered into -the drawing-room by his side. - -And it really seemed as if no one had noticed their entrance. Stella -felt inclined to congratulate herself, not taking into consideration -the usages of high breeding, which enable so many people to look as if -they were unaware of an entrance which they had been expecting for an -hour since. - -"No one seems to notice," she whispered behind her fan, but Lord -Leycester smiled--he knew better. - -She walked up the room, and Lord Leycester stopped before a picture -and pointed to it; but he did not speak of the picture--instead, he -murmured: - -"Will you meet me by the stile by the river to-morrow evening, Stella?" - -"Yes," she murmured. - -"I will bring the boat, and we will row down the stream. Will you come -at six o'clock?" - -"Yes," she said again. - -If he asked her to meet him on the banks of the Styx, she would have -answered as obediently. - -Then Mr. Etheridge approached with the countess, and before he could -speak Lord Leycester took the bull by the horns, as it were. - -"Lilian is delighted with the sketch," he said. "We left her filled -with gratitude, did we not Miss Etheridge?" - -Stella inclined her head. The large, serene eyes of the countess seemed -to penetrate to the bottom of her heart and read her--their--secret -already. - -"I think we must be going, Stella; the fly has been waiting some time," -said her uncle in his quiet fashion. - -"So soon!" murmured the countess. - -But Mr. Etheridge glanced at the clock with a smile, and Stella held -out her hand. - -As she did so, she felt rather than saw the graceful form of Lady -Lenore coming toward them. - -"Are you going, Miss Etheridge?" she said, her clear voice full of -regret. "We have seen so little of you; and I meant to ask you so much -about Italy. I am so sorry." - -And as she spoke, she looked full into poor Stella's eyes. - -For a moment Stella was silent and downcast, then she raised her eyes -and held out her hand. - -"It is late," she murmured. "Yes, we must go." - -As she looked up, she met the gaze of the violet eyes, and almost -started, for there seemed to be shining in them a significant smile of -mocking scorn and contemptuous amusement; they seemed to say, quite -plainly: - -"You think that no one knows your secret. You think that you have -triumphed, that you have won him. Poor simple child, poor fool. Wait -and see!" - -If ever eyes spoke, this is what Lady Lenore's seemed to say in that -momentary glance, and as Stella turned aside, her face paled slightly. - -"You must come and see us again, Miss Etheridge," said the countess, -graciously. - -"Lilian has extorted a solemn promise to that effect," said Leycester, -as he shook hands with Mr. Etheridge. - -Then he held out his hand to Stella, but in spite of prudence he could -not part from her till the last moment. - -"Let me take you to your carriage," he said, "and see that you are well -wrapped up." - -The countess's eyes grew cold, and she looked beyond them rather than -at them, and Stella murmured something about trouble, but he laughed -softly, and drawing her hand on his arm led her away. - -All the room saw it, and a sort of thrill ran through them; it was -an attention he paid only to such old and honored friends as the old -countess and Lenore. - -"Oh, why did you come?" whispered Stella, as they reached the hall. -"The countess looked so angry." - -He smiled. - -"I could not help it. There, not a word more. Now let me wrap this -round you;" and, of course, as he wrapped it round her, he managed to -convey a caress in the touch of his hand. - -"Remember, my darling," he murmured, almost dangerously loud, as he put -her into the fly. "To-morrow at six." - -Then he stood bareheaded, and the last Stella saw was the light of -tender, passionate love burning in his dark eyes. - -She sank back in the furthermost corner of the fly in silent, rapt -reflection. Was it all a dream? Was it only a trick of fancy, or did -she feel his passionate kisses on her lips and face entangled in her -hair. Had she really heard Lord Leycester Wyndward declare that he -loved her? - -"Are you asleep, Stella?" said her uncle, and she started. - -"No, not asleep, dear," she said. "But--but tired and so happy!" The -word slipped out before she was aware of it. - -But the unsuspecting recluse did not notice the thrill of joy in the -tone of her reply. - -"Ah, yes, just so, I daresay. It was something new and strange to you. -It is a beautiful place. By the way, what do you think of Lady Lenore?" - -Stella started. - -"Oh, she is very beautiful, and as wonderful as you said, dear," she -murmured. - -"Yes, isn't she. She will make a grand countess, will she not?" - -"What!" said Stella. - -He smiled. - -"Wonderful creatures women are, to be sure. For the life of me I -could not tell in exact words how the countess managed to give me the -impression, but she did give it me, and unmistakably." - -"What impression!" said Stella. - -He laughed. - -"That matters were settled between Lord Leycester and Lady Lenore, and -that they were to be married. They will make a fine match, will they -not?" - -"Yes--no--I mean yes," said Stella, and a happy smile came into her -eyes as she leant back. - -No, it was not Lady Lenore he was going to marry--not the great beauty -with the golden hair and violet eyes, but a little mere nobody, called -Stella Etheridge. She leant back and hugged her secret to her bosom -and caressed it. The fly trundled along after the manner of flys, and -stopped at last at the white gate in the lane. - -Mr. Etheridge got out and held his hand for Stella, and she leapt out. -As she did so, she uttered a slight cry, for a tall figure was standing -beside the gate in the light by the lamps. - -"Bless my soul, what's the matter?" exclaimed Mr. Etheridge, turning -round. "Oh, it's you, Mr. Adelstone." - -"I am very sorry to have startled you, Miss Stella," said Jasper -Adelstone, and he came forward with his hat raised by his left hand; -his right was in a sling. Stella's gentle eyes saw it, and her face -paled. - -"I was taking a stroll through the meadows and looked in. Mrs. Penfold -said that you had gone to the Hall. Coming back from the river I heard -the fly, and waited to say 'good-night.'" - -"It is very kind," murmured Stella, her eyes still fixed on the useless -arm with a kind of fascination. - -"Come in and have a cigar," said Mr. Etheridge. "Ah! what is the matter -with your arm, man?" - -Jasper looked at him, then turned his small keen eyes on Stella's face. - -"A mere trifle," he said. "I--met with an accident the other day -and sprained it. It is a mere nothing. No, I won't come in, thanks. -By-the-way, I'm nearly forgetting a most important matter," and he -put his left hand in his pocket and drew something out. "I met the -post-office boy in the lane, and he gave me this to save his legs," and -he held out a telegram envelope. - -"A telegram for me!" exclaimed Mr. Etheridge. "Wonders will never -cease. Come inside, Mr. Adelstone." - -But Jasper shook his head. - -"I will wish you good-night, now," he said. "Will you excuse my left -hand, Miss Stella?" he added, as he extended it. - -Stella took it; it was burning, hot, and dry. - -"I am so sorry," she said, in a low voice. "I cannot tell how sorry I -am!" - -"Do not think of it," he said. "Pray forget it, as--I do," he added, -with hidden irony. "It is a mere nothing." - -Stella looked down. - -"And I am sure that--Lord Leycester is sorry." - -"No doubt," he said. "I am quite sure Lord Leycester did not want to -break my arm. But, indeed, I was rightly punished for my carelessness, -though, I assure you, that I should have pulled up in time." - -"Yes, yes; I am sure of that. I am sure I was in no danger," said -Stella, earnestly. - -"Yes," he said, in a low voice. "There was really no necessity for Lord -Leycester to throw me off my horse, or even to insult me. But Lord -Leycester is a privileged person, is he not?" - -"I--I don't know what you mean!" said Stella, faintly. - -"I mean that Lord Leycester may do things with impunity which others -cannot even think of," and his sharp eyes grew to her face, which -Stella felt was growing crimson. - -"I--I am sure he will be very sorry," she said, "when he knows how -much you are hurt, and he will apologize most sincerely." - -"I have no doubt," he said, lightly, "and, after all, it is something -to have one's arm sprained by Lord Leycester Wyndward, is it not? It is -better than a broken heart." - -"A broken heart! What do you mean?" said Stella, her face flushed, her -eyes challenging his with a touch of indignation. - -He smiled. - -"I meant that Lord Leycester is as skilled in breaking hearts as limbs. -But I forgot I must not say anything against the heir to Wyndward in -your hearing. Pray forgive me. Good-night." - -And, with a bow and a keen look from his small eyes, he moved away. - -Stella stood looking after him for a moment, and a shiver ran through -her as if from a cold wind. - -Breaking hearts! What did he mean? - -An exclamation from her uncle caused her to turn suddenly. - -He was standing in the light of the window, with the open telegram in -his hand, his face pale and anxious. - -"Great Heaven!" he muttered, "what am I to do?" - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - - -"What shall I do?" exclaimed Mr. Etheridge. - -Stella came to him quickly, with a little cry of dismay. - -"What is it, uncle? Are you ill--is it bad news? Oh, what is the -matter?" - -And she looked up into his pale and agitated face with anxious concern. - -His gaze was fixed on vacancy, but there was more than abstraction in -his eyes--there was acute pain and anguish. - -"What is it, dear?" she asked, laying her hand on his arm. "Pray tell -me." - -At the words he started slightly, and crushed the telegram in his hand. - -"No, no!" he said--"anything but that." Then, composing himself with an -effort, he pressed her hand and smiled faintly. "Yes, it is bad news, -Stella; it is always bad news that a telegram brings." - -Stella led him in; his hands were trembling, and the dumb look of pain -still clouded his eyes. - -"Will you not tell me what it is?" she murmured, as he sank into his -accustomed chair and leant his white head on his hand. "Tell me what it -is, and let me help you to bear it by sharing it with you." - -And she wound her arm around his neck. - -"Don't ask me, Stella. I can't tell you--I cannot. The shame would kill -me. No! No!" - -"Shame!" murmured Stella, her proud, lovely face paling, as she shrank -back a little; but the next moment she pressed closer to him, with a -sad smile. - -"Not shame for you, dear; shame and you were never meant to come -together." - -He started, and raised his head. - -"Yes, shame!" he repeated, almost fiercely, his hands clinched--"such -bitter, debasing shame and disgrace. For the first time the name we -have held for so many years will be stained and dragged in the dirt. -What shall I do?" And he hid his face in his hands. - -Then, with a sudden start, he rose, and looked round with trembling -eagerness. - -"I--I must go to London," he said, brokenly. "What is the time? So -late! Is there no train? Stella, run and ask Mrs. Penfold. I must go at -once--at once; every moment is of consequence." - -"Go to London--to-night--so late? Oh, you cannot!" exclaimed Stella, -aghast. - -"My dear, I must," he said more calmly. "It is urgent, most urgent -business that calls for me, and I must go." - -Stella stole out of the room, and was about to wake Mrs. Penfold, when -she remembered having seen a time-table in the kitchen, and stealing -down-stairs again, hunted until she found it. - -When she took it into the studio, she found her uncle standing with his -hat on and his coat buttoned. - -"Give it to me," he said. "There is a train, an early market train that -I can catch if I start at once," and with trembling fingers he turned -over the pages of the time-book. "Yes, I must go, Stella." - -"But not alone, uncle!" she implored. "Not alone, surely. You will let -me come with you." - -He put his hand upon her arm and kissed her, his eyes moist. - -"Stella, I must go alone; no one can help me in this matter. There are -some troubles that we must meet unaided except by a Higher Power; this -is one of them. Heaven bless you, my dear; you help me to bear it with -your loving sympathy. I wish I could tell you, but I cannot, Stella--I -cannot." - -"Do not then, dear," she whispered. "You will not be away long?" - -"Not longer than I can help," he sighed. "You will be quite safe, -Stella?" - -"Safe!" and she smiled sadly. - -"Mrs. Penfold must take care of you. I don't like leaving you, but it -cannot be helped! Child, I did not think to have a secret from you so -soon!" - -At the words Stella started, and a red flush came over her face. - -She, too, had a secret, and as it flashed into her mind, from whence -the sudden trouble had momentarily banished it, her heart beat fast and -her eyes drooped. - -"There should be no secrets between us two," he said. -"But--there--there--don't look so troubled, my dear. I shall not be -long gone." - -She clung to him to the last, until indeed the little white gate had -closed behind him, then she went back to the house and sat down in his -chair, and sat pondering and trembling. - -For a time the secret trouble which had befallen her uncle absorbed all -her mind and care, but presently the memory of all that had happened -to her that evening awoke and overcame her sorrow, and she sat with -clasped hands and drooping head recalling the handsome face and -passionate voice of Lord Leycester. - -It was all so wonderful, so unreal, that it seemed like a stage play, -in which the magnificent house formed the scene and the noble men and -women the players, with the tall, stalwart, graceful form of Lord -Leycester for the hero. It was difficult to realize that she too took -a part, so to speak, in the drama, that she was, in fact, the heroine, -and that it was to her that all the passionate vows of the young lord -had been spoken. She could feel his burning kisses on her lips; could -feel the touch of the clinging, lingering caresses on her neck; yes, it -was all real; she loved Lord Leycester, and he, strange and wonderful -to add, loved her. - -Why should he do it? she marveled. Who was she that he should deign to -shower down upon her such fervent admiration and passionate devotion? - -Mechanically she rose and went over to the Venetian mirror, and looked -at the reflection which beamed softly in the dim light. - -He had called her beautiful, lovely! She shook her head and smiled with -a sigh as she thought of Lady Lenore. There were beauty and loveliness -indeed! How had it happened that he had passed her by, and chosen her, -Stella? - -But it was so, and wonder, and gratitude and love welled up in her -heart and filled her eyes with those tears which show that the cup of -human happiness is full to overflowing. The clock struck the hour, and -with a sigh, as she thought of her uncle, she turned from the glass. -She felt that she could not go to bed; it was far pleasanter to sit -up in the stillness and silence and think--think! To take one little -incident after another, and go over it slowly and enjoyingly. She -wandered about her room in this frame of mind, filled with happiness -one moment as she thought of the great good which the gods had given -unto her, then overwhelmed by a wave of troubled anxiety as she -remembered that her uncle, the old man whose goodness to her had won -her love, was speeding on the journey toward his secret trouble and -sorrow. - -Wandering thus she suddenly bethought her of a picture that stood -with its face to the wall, and swooping down on it, as one does on -a suddenly remembered treasure, she took up Leycester Wyndward's -portrait, and gazing long and eagerly at it, suddenly bent and kissed -it. She knew now what the smile in those dark eyes meant; she knew now -how the lovelight could flash from them. - -"Uncle was right," she murmured with a smile that was half sad. "There -is no woman who could resist those eyes if they said 'I love you.'" - -She put the portrait down upon the cabinet, so that she could see it -when she chose to look at it, and abstractedly began to set the room -in order, putting a picture straight here and setting the books upon -their shelves, stopping occasionally to glance at the handsome eyes -watching her from the top of the cabinet. As often happens when the -mind is set on one thing and the hands upon another, she met with an -accident. In one corner of the room stood a three-cornered what-not of -Japanese work, inclosed by doors inlaid with ivory and mother-of-pearl; -in attempting to set a bronze straight upon the top of this piece of -furniture while she looked at the portrait of her heart's lord and -master, she let the bronze slip, and in the endeavor to save it from -falling, overturned the what-not. - -It fell with the usual brittle sounding crash which accompanies the -overthrow of such bric-a-brac, and the doors being forced open, out -poured a miscellaneous collection of valuable but useless articles. - -With a little exclamation of self-reproach and dismay, Stella went down -on her knees to collect the scattered curios. They were of all sorts; -bits of old china from Japan, medals, and coins of ancient date, and -some miniatures in carved frames. - -Stella eyed each article as she picked it up with anxious criticism, -but fortunately nothing appeared the worse for the downfall, and she -was putting the last thing, a miniature, in its accustomed place, -when the case flew open in her hand and a delicately painted portrait -on ivory looked up at her. Scarcely glancing at it, she was about to -replace it in the case, when an inscription on the back caught her eye, -and she carried case and miniature to the light. - -The portrait was that of a boy, a fair-haired boy, with a smiling mouth -and laughing blue eyes. It was a pretty face, and Stella turned it over -to read the inscription. - -It consisted of only one word, "Frank." - -Stella looked at the face again listlessly, but suddenly -something in it--a resemblance to someone whom she knew, and that -intimately--flashed upon her. She looked again more curiously. Yes, -there could be no doubt of it; the face bore a certain likeness to -that of her uncle. Not only to her uncle, but to herself, for raising -her eyes from the portrait to the mirror she saw a vague something--in -expression only perhaps--looking at her from the glass as it did from -the portrait. - -"Frank, Frank," she murmured; "I know no one of that name. Who can it -be?" - -She went back to the cabinet, and took out the other miniatures, but -they were closed, and the spring which she had touched accidentally of -the one of the boy she could not find in the others. - -There was an air of mystery about the matter, which not a little -heightened by the lateness of the hour and the solemn silence that -reigned in the house, oppressed and haunted her. - -With a little gesture of repudiation she put the boy's face into its -covering, and replaced it in the cabinet. As she did so she glanced -up at that other face smiling down at her, and started, and a sudden -thought, half-weird, half-prophetical, flashed across her mind. - -It was the portrait of Lord Leycester which had greeted her on the -night of her arrival, and foreshadowed all that had happened to her. -Was there anything of significance in this chance discovery of the -child's face? - -With a smile of self-reproach she put the fantastic idea from her, and -setting the beloved face in its place amongst the other canvases, took -the candle from the table, and stole quietly up-stairs. - -But when she slept the boy's face haunted her, and mingled in her -dreams with that of Lord Leycester's. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - - -Lord Leycester stood for a minute or two looking after the carriage -that bore Stella and her uncle away; then he returned to the house. -They were a hot-headed race, these Wyndwards, and Leycester was, to -put it mildly, as little capable of prudence or calculation as any of -his line; but though his heart was beating fast, and the vision of the -beautiful girl in all her young unstained loveliness danced before his -eyes as he crossed the hall, even he paused a moment to consider the -situation. With a grim smile he felt forced to confess that it was -rather a singular one. - -The heir of Wyndward, the hope of the house, the heir to an ancient -name and a princely estate, had plighted his troth to the niece of a -painter--a girl, be she beautiful as she might, without either rank or -wealth, to recommend her to his parents! - -He might have chosen from the highest and the wealthiest; the highest -and the wealthiest had been, so to speak, at his feet. He knew that -no dearer wish existed in his mother's heart of hearts than that he -should marry and settle. Well, he was going to marry and settle. But -what a marriage and settlement it would be! Instead of adding luster to -the already illustrious name, instead of adding power to the already -influential race of Wyndward, it would, in the earl and countess's -eyes, in the opinion of the world, be nothing but a mesalliance. - -He paused in the corridor, the two footmen eying him with covert and -respectful attention, and a smile curved his lips as he pictured to -himself the manner in which the proud countess would receive his avowal -of love for Stella Etheridge, the painter's niece. - -Even as it was, he was quite conscious that he had gone very far -indeed this evening toward provoking the displeasure of the countess. -He had almost neglected the brilliant gathering for the sake of this -unknown girl; he had left his mother's oldest friends, even Lady Lenore -herself, to follow Stella. How would they receive him? - -With a smile half-defiant, half anticipatory of amusement, he motioned -to the servants to withdraw the curtain, and entered the room. - -Some of the ladies had already retired; Lady Longford had gone for one, -but Lady Lenore still sat on her couch attended by a circle of devoted -adherents. As he entered, the countess, without seeming to glance at -him, saw him, and noticed the peculiar expression on his face. - -It was the expression which it always wore when he was on the brink of -some rashly mad exploit. - -Leycester had plenty of courage--too much, some said. He walked -straight up to the countess, and stood over her. - -"Well, mother," he said, almost as if he were challenging her, "what do -you think of her?" - -The countess lifted her serene eyes and looked at him. She would not -pretend to be ignorant of whom he meant. - -"Of Miss Etheridge?" she said. "I have not thought about her. If I had, -I should say that she was a very pleasant-looking girl." - -"Pleasant-looking!" he echoed, and his eyebrows went up. "That is a -mild way of describing her. She is more than pleasant." - -"That is enough for a young girl in her position," said the countess. - -"Or in any," said a musical voice behind him, and Lord Leycester, -turning round, saw Lady Lenore. - -"That was well said," he said, nodding. - -"She is more than pleasant," said Lady Lenore, smiling at him as if he -had won her warmest approbation by neglecting her all the evening. "She -is very pretty, beautiful, indeed, and so--may I say the word, dear -Lady Wyndward?--so fresh!" - -The countess smiled with her even brows unclouded. - -"A school-girl should be fresh, as you put it Lenore, or she is -nothing." - -Lord Leycester looked from one to the other, and his gaze rested on -Lady Lenore's superb beauty with a complacent eye. - -To say that a man in love is blind to all women other than the one of -his heart is absurd. It is not true. He had never admired Lady Lenore -more than he did this moment when she spoke in Stella's defense; but he -admired her while he loved Stella. - -"You are right, Lenore," he said. "She is beautiful." - -"I admire her exceedingly," said Lady Lenore, smiling at him as if she -knew his secret and approved of it. - -The countess glanced from one to the other. - -"It is getting late," she said. "You must go now, Lenore." - -Lady Lenore bowed her head. She, like all else who came within the -circle of the mistress of Wyndward, obeyed her. - -"Very well, I am a little tired. Good-night!" - -Lord Leycester took her hand, but held it a moment. He felt grateful to -her for the word spoken on Stella's behalf. - -"Let me see you to the corridor," said Lord Leycester. - -And with a bow which comprehended the other occupants of the room, he -accompanied her. - -They walked in silence to the foot of the stairs, then Lady Lenore held -out her hand. - -"Good-night," she said, "and happy dreams." - -He looked at her curiously. Was there any significance in her -words?--did she know all that had passed between Stella and himself? - -But nothing more significant met his scrutiny than the soft languor of -her eyes, and pressing her hand as he bent over it, he murmured: - -"I wish you the same." - -She nodded smilingly to him, and went away, and he turned back to the -hall. - -As he did so the billiard-room door opened, and Lord Charles put out -his head. - -"One game, Ley?" he said. - -Lord Leycester shook his head. - -"Not to-night, Charlie." - -Lord Charles looked at him, then laughed, and withdrew his head. - -Leycester sauntered down the hall and back again; he felt very restless -and disinclined for bed; Stella's voice was ringing in his ears, -Stella's lips still clung with that last soft caress to his. He could -not face the laughter and hard voices of the billiard-room; it would -be profanation! With a sudden turn he went lightly up the stairs and -entered his own room. - -Throwing himself into a chair, he folded his arms behind his head and -closed his eyes, to call up a vision of the girl who had rested on his -breast--whose sweet, pure lips had murmured "I love you!" - -"My darling!" he whispered--"my darling love! I have never known it -till now. And I shall see you to-morrow, and hear you whisper that -again, 'I love you!' And it's ME she loves, not the viscount and heir -to Wyndward, but _me_, Leycester! Leycester--it was a hard, ugly name -until she spoke it--now it sounds like music. Stella, my star, my -angel!" - -Suddenly his reverie was disturbed by a knock at the door. With a -start, he came back to reality, and got up, but before he could reach -the door it opened, and the countess came in. - -"Not in bed?" she said, with a smile. - -"I have only just come up," he replied. - -The countess smiled again. - -"You have been up nearly half an hour." - -He was almost guilty of a blush. - -"So long!" he said, "I must have been thinking." - -And he laughed, as he drew a chair forward. He waited until she was -seated before he resumed his own; never, by word or deed, did he permit -himself to grow lax in courtesy to her; and then he looked up at her -with a smile. - -"Have you come for a chat, my lady?" he said, calling her by her title -in the mock-serious way in which he was accustomed to address her when -they were alone. - -"Yes, I have come for a chat, Leycester," she said, quietly. - -"Does that mean a scold?" he asked, raising his eyebrows, but still -smiling. "Your tone is suspicious, mother. Well, I am at your mercy." - -"I have nothing to scold you for," said the countess, leaning back in -the comfortable chair--all the chairs were comfortable in these rooms -of his. "Do you feel that you deserve one?" - -Lord Leycester was silent. If he had answered he might have been -compelled to admit that perhaps there was some excuse for complaint in -regard to his conduct that evening; silence was safest. - -"No, I have not come to scold you, Leycester. I don't think I have ever -done that," said the countess, softly. - -"No, you have been the best of mothers, my lady," he responded. "I -never saw you in an ill temper in my life; perhaps that is why you look -so young. You do look absurdly young, you know," he added, gazing at -her with affectionate admiration. - -When the countess seemed lost in thought, Leycester added: - -"Devereux says that the majority of English wives and mothers look so -girlish that he believes it must be the custom to marry them when they -are children." - -The countess smiled. - -"Lord Devereux is master of fine phrases, Leycester. Yes, I was married -very young." - -Then she looked round the room: a strange reluctance to commence the -task she had set herself took possession of her. - -"You have made your rooms very pretty, Leycester." - -He leant back, watching her with a smile. - -"You haven't come to talk about my rooms, mother." - -Then she straightened herself for her work. - -"No, Leycester, I have come to talk about you." - -"Rather an uninteresting subject. However, proceed." - -"You may make it very hard for me," said the countess, with a little -sigh. - -He smiled. - -"Then you have come to scold?" - -"No, only to advise." - -"That is generally the same thing under another name." - -"I do not often do it," said the countess, in a low voice. - -"Forgive me," he said, stooping forward and kissing her. "Now, mother, -fire away. What is it? Not about that race money--you don't want me to -give up the horses?" - -The countess smiled almost scornfully. - -"Why should I, Leycester; they cost a great deal of money, but if they -amuse you, why----" and she shrugged her shoulders slightly. - -"They do cost a great deal of money," he said, with a laugh, "but I -don't know that they amuse me very much. I don't think anything amuses -me very greatly." - -Then the countess looked at him. - -"When a man talks like that, Leycester, it generally means that it is -time he was married!" - -He half expected what was coming, but he looked grave; nevertheless he -turned to her with a smile. - -"Isn't that rather a desperate remedy, my lady?" he said. "I can give -up my horses if they cease to amuse me and bore me too much; I can give -up most of the other so-called amusements, but marriage--supposing -that should fail? It would be rather serious." - -"Why should it fail?" - -"It does sometimes," he retorted, gravely. - -"Not when love enters into it," she answered, gently. - -He was silent, his eyes bent on the ground, from which seemed to rise a -slim, girlish figure, with Stella's face and eyes. - -"There is no greater happiness than that which marriage affords when -one is married to the person one loves. Do you think your father has -been unhappy, Leycester?" - -He turned to her with a smile. - -"Every man--few men have his luck, my lady. Will you find me another -Lady Ethel?" - -She colored. This was a direct question, and she longed to answer it, -but she dared not--not just yet. - -"The world is full of fond, loving women," she said. - -He nodded. He thought he knew one at least, and his eyes went to that -mental vision of Stella again. - -"Leycester, I want to see you married and settled," she murmured, after -a pause. "It is time; it is fitting that you should be. I'll put the -question of your own happiness aside for the moment; there are other -things at stake." - -"You would not like me to be the last Earl of Wyndward, mother? The -title would die with me, would it not?" - -"Yes," she said. "That must not be, Leycester." - -He shook his head with a quiet smile. No, it should not be, he thought. - -"I wonder," she continued, "that the thing has not come about before -this, and without any word of mine. I don't think you are very -hard-hearted, unimpressionable, Leycester. You and I have met some -beautiful women, and some good and pure ones. I should not have been -surprised if you had come to me with the confession of your conquest -long ago. You would have come to me, would you not, Leycester?" she -asked. - -A faint flush stole over his face, and his eyes dropped slightly. He -did not answer for a moment, and she went on as if he had assented. - -"I should have been very glad to have heard of it. I should have -welcomed your choice very heartily." - -"Are you sure?" he said, almost mechanically. - -"Quite," she answered, serenely. "Your wife will be a second daughter -to me, I hope, Leycester. I know that I should love her if you do; are -we ever at variance?" - -"Never until to-night," he might have answered, but he remained silent. - -What if he should turn to her with the frank openness with which he had -gone to her in all his troubles and joys, and say: - -"I have made my choice--welcome her. She is Stella Etheridge, the -painter's daughter." - -But he could not do this; he knew so well how she would have looked at -him, saw already with full prophetic insight the calm, serene smile of -haughty incredulity with which she would have received his demand. He -was silent. - -"You wonder why I speak to you about this to-night, Leycester?" - -"A little," he said, with a smile that had very little mirth in it; he -felt that he was doing what he had never done before--concealing his -heart from her, meeting her with secrecy and evasion, and his proud, -finely-tempered mind revolted at the necessity for it. "A little. I was -just considering that I had not grown older by a score of years, and -had not been doing anything particularly wild. Have they been telling -you any dreadful stories about me, mother, and persuading you that -matrimony is the only thing to save me from ruin?" and he laughed. - -The countess colored. - -"No one tells me any stories respecting you, Leycester, for the -simple reason that I should not listen to them. I have nothing to do -with--with your outer life, unless you yourself make me part and parcel -of it. I am not afraid that you will do anything bad or dishonorable, -Leycester." - -"Thanks," he said, quietly. "Then what is it, mother? Why does this -advice press so closely on your soul that you feel constrained to -unburden yourself?" - -"Because I feel that the time has come," she said; "because I have your -happiness and welfare so closely at heart that I am obliged to watch -over you, and secure them for you if I can." - -"There never was a mother like you!" he said, gently. "But this is a -serious step, my lady, and I am--shall I say slightly unprepared. You -speak to me as if I were a sultan, and had but to throw my handkerchief -at any fair maid whom I may fancy, to obtain her!" - -The countess looked at him, and for a moment all her passionate pride -in him shone in her eyes. - -"Is there no one to whom you think you could throw that handkerchief, -Leycester?" she asked, significantly. - -His face flushed, and his eyes glowed. At that moment he felt the warm -lips of his girl-love resting on his own. - -"That is a blunt question, my lady," he said; "would it be fair to -reply, fair to her, supposing that there be one?" - -"In whom should you confide but in me?" said the countess, with a touch -of hauteur in her voice, hauteur softened by love. - -He looked down and turned the ruby ring on his finger. If he could but -confide in her! - -"In whom else but in me, from whom you have, I think, had few secrets? -If your choice is made, you would come to me, Leycester? I think you -would; I cannot imagine your acting otherwise. You see I have no -fear"--and she smiled--"no fear that your choice would be anything but -a good and a wise one. I know you so well, Leycester. You have been -wild--you yourself said it, not I!" - -"Yes," he said, quietly. - -"But through it all you have not forgotten the race from whence you -sprung, the name you bear. No, I do not fear that most disastrous of -all mistakes which a man in your position can make--a mesalliance." - -He was silent, but his brows drew together. - -"You speak strangely, my lady," he said, almost grimly. - -"Yes," she assented, calmly, serenely, but with a grave intensity in -her tone which lent significance to every word--"yes, I feel strongly. -Every mother who has a son in your position feels as strongly, I doubt -not. There are few mad things that you can do which will not admit of -remedy and rectification; one of them, the worst of them, is a foolish -marriage." - -"Marriages are made in heaven," he murmured. - -"No," she said, gently, "a great many are made in a very different -place. But why need we talk of this? We might as well discuss whether -it would be wise of you to commit manslaughter, or burglary, or -suicide, or any other vulgar crime--and indeed a mesalliance would, in -your case, strongly resemble one, suicide; it would be social suicide, -at least; and from what I know of your nature, Leycester, I do not -think that would suit you." - -"I think not," he said, grimly. "But, mother, I am not contemplating a -matrimonial union with one of the dairymaids, not at present." - -She smiled. - -"You might commit a mesalliance with one in higher position, Leycester. -But why do we talk of this?" - -"I think you commenced it," he said. - -"Did I?" she said, sweetly. "I beg your pardon. I feel as if I had -insulted you by the mere chance mention of such a thing; and I have -tired you, too." - -And she rose with queenly grace. - -"No, no," he said, rising, "I am very grateful, mother; you will -believe that?" - -"Will you be more than that?" she asked, putting her hand on his -shoulder, and sliding it round his neck. "Will you be obedient?" - -And she smiled at him lovingly. - -"Will I get out the handkerchief, do you mean?" he asked, looking at -her with a curious gaze. - -"Yes," she replied; "make me happy by throwing it." - -"And suppose," he said, "that the favored damsel declines the honor?" - -"We will risk that," she murmured, with a smile. - -He laughed. - -"One would think you had already chosen, mother," he said. - -She looked at him, with the smile still shining in her eyes and on her -lips. - -"Suppose I have? There is no matchmaker like a mother." - -He started. - -"You have? You surprise me! May one ask on whom your choice has fallen, -sultaness?" - -"Think," she said, in a low voice. - -"I am thinking very deeply," he answered, with hidden meaning. - -"If I were left to choose for you, I should be very exacting, -Leycester, don't you think?" - -"I am afraid so," he said, with a smile. "Every goose thinks her -bantling a swan, and would mate it with an eagle. Forgive me, mother!" - -She inclined her head. - -"I should require much. I should want beauty, wealth----" - -"Of which we have too much already. Go on." - -"Rank, and what is still better, a high position. The Wyndwards cannot -troop with crows, Leycester." - -"Beauty, wealth, rank, and a mysterious sort of position. A princess, -perhaps, my lady?" - -A proud light shone in her eyes. - -"I should not feel abased in the presence of a princess, if you brought -her to me," she said, with that serene hauteur which characterized her. -"No, I am satisfied with less than that, Leycester." - -"I am relieved," he said, smiling. "And this exalted personage--paragon -I should say--who is she?" - -"Look round--you need not strain your vision," she returned: "I can see -her now. Oh, blind, blind! that you cannot see her also! She whom I -see is more than all these; she is a woman with a loving heart in her -bosom, that needs but a word to set it beating for--you!" - -His face flushed. - -"I can think of no one," he said. "You make one ashamed, mother." - -"I need not tell you her name, then?" she said. - -But he shook his head. - -"I must know it now, I think," he said, gravely. - -She was silent a moment, then she said in a low voice: - -"It is Lenore, Leycester." - -He drew away from her, so that her arm fell from his shoulder, and -looked her full in the face. - -Before him rose the proud, imperial figure, before him stood the lovely -face of Lenore, with its crown of golden hair, and its deep, eloquent -eyes of violet, and beside it, hovering like a spirit, the face of his -girl-love. - -The violet eyes seemed to gaze at him with all the strength of -conscious loveliness, seemed to bend upon him with a glance of -defiance, as if they said--"I am here, waiting: I smile, you cannot -resist me!" and the dark, tender eyes beside them seemed to turn upon -him with gentle, passionate pleading, praying him to be constant and -faithful. - -"Lenore!" he said, in a low voice. "Mother, ought you to have said -this?" - -She did not shrink from his almost reproachful gaze. - -"Why should I hesitate when my son's happiness is at stake?" she said, -calmly. "If I saw a treasure, some pearl of great price, lying at your -feet, and felt that you were passing it by unnoticed and disregarded, -should I be wrong in speaking the word that would place it in your -grasp? Your happiness is my--life Leycester! If ever there was a -treasure, a pearl of great price among women, it is Lenore. Are you -passing her by? You will not do that!" - -Never, since he could remember, had he seen her so moved. Her voice -was calm and even, as usual, but her eyes were warm with an intense -earnestness, the diamonds trembled on her neck. - -He stood before her, looking away beyond her, a strange trouble at his -heart. For the first time he saw--he appreciated, rather--the beautiful -girl whom, as it were, she held up to his mental gaze. But that -other, that girl-love whose lips still seemed to murmur, "I love you, -Leycester!" What of her! - -With a sudden start he moved away. - -"I do not think you should have spoken," he said. "You cannot know----" - -The countess smiled. - -"A mother's eyes are quick," she said. "A word and the pearl is at your -feet, Leycester." - -He was but a man, warm-blooded and impressionable, and for a moment his -face flushed, but the "I love you" still rang in his ears. - -"If that be so, all the more cause for silence, mother," he said. "But -I hope you are mistaken." - -"I am not mistaken," she said. "Do you think," and she smiled, "that -I should have spoken if I had not been sure? Oh, Leycester," and she -moved toward him, "think of her! Is there any beauty so beautiful as -hers; is there any one woman you have ever met who possessed a tithe of -her charms! Think of her as the head of the house; think of her in my -place----" - -He put up his hand. - -"Think of her," she went on, quickly, "as your own, your very own! -Leycester, there is no man born who could turn away from her!" - -Almost involuntarily he turned and went to the fireplace, and leant -upon it. - -"There is no man, who, so turning, but would in time give all that he -possessed to come back to her!" - -Then her voice changed. - -"Leycester, you have been very good. Are you angry?" - -"No," he said, and he went to her; "not angry, but--but troubled. You -think only of me, but I think of Lenore." - -"Think of her still!" she said; "and be sure that I have made no -mistake. If you doubt me, put it to the test----" - -He started. - -"And you will find that I am right. I am going now, Leycester. -Good-night!" and she kissed him. - -He went to the door and opened it; his face was pale and grave. - -"Good-night," he said, gently. "You have given me something to think of -with a vengeance," and he forced a smile. - -She went out without a word. Her maid was waiting for her in her -dressing-room, but she passed into the inner room and sank down in a -chair, and for the first time her face was pale, and her eyes anxious. - -"It has gone further than I thought," she murmured. "I, who know every -look in his eyes, read his secret. But it shall not be. I will save him -yet. But how? but how?" - -Poor Stella! - -Lord Leicester, left alone, fell to pacing the room, his brow bent, his -mind in a turmoil. - -He loved his mother with a passionate devotion, part and parcel of -his nature. Every word she had said had sunk into his mind; he loved -her, and he knew her; he knew that she would rather die than give her -consent to his marriage with such an one as Stella, pure and good and -sweet though she was. - -He was greatly troubled, but he stood firm. - -"Come what will," he murmured, "I cannot part with her. _She_ is my -treasure and pearl of great price, and I have not passed her by. My -darling!" - -Suddenly, breaking into his reverie, came a knock at the door. - -He went to open it but it opened before he could reach it, and Lord -Charles walked in. - -There was a smile on his handsome, light-hearted face, which barely hid -an expression of affectionate sympathy. - -"Anything the matter, old man?" he said, closing the door. - -"Yes--no--not much--why?" said Leycester, forcing a smile. - -"Why!" echoed Lord Charles, thrusting his hands into the huge pockets -of his dressing-gown, and eying him with mock reproach. "Can you ask -when you remember that my room is exactly underneath yours, and that it -sounds as if you had turned this into the den of a traveling menagerie? -What are you wearing the carpet out for, Ley?" and he sat down and -looked up at the troubled face with that frank sincerity which invites -confidence. - -"I'm in a fix," said Leycester. - -"Come on," said Lord Charles, curtly. - -"I can't. You can't help me in this," said Leycester, with a sigh. - -Lord Charles rose at once. - -"Then I'll go. I wish I could. What have you been doing, -Ley?--something to-night, I expect. Never mind; if I can help you, -you'll let me know." - -Leycester threw him a cigar-case. - -"Sit down and smoke, Charlie," he said. "I can't open my mind, but I -want to think, and you'll help me. Is it late?" - -"Awfully," said Lord Charles with a yawn. "What a jolly evening it has -been. I say, Ley, haven't you been carrying it on rather thick with -that pretty girl with the dark eyes?" - -Leycester paused in his task of lighting a cigar, and looked down at -him. - -"Which girl?" he said, with a little touch of hauteur in his face. - -"The painter's niece," said Lord Charles. "What a beautiful girl she -is! Reminds me of a what-do-you-call-it." - -"What is that?" - -"A--a gazelle. It's rather a pity that she should be intended for that -saucy lawyer fellow." - -"What?" asked Lord Leycester, quietly. - -"Haven't you heard?" said Lord Charles, grimly. "The fellows were -talking about it in the billiard-room." - -"About what?" demanded Lord Leycester, still quietly, though his -eyes glittered. Stella the common talk of the billiard-room. It was -desecration. - -"Oh, it was Longford, he knows the man!" - -"What man?" - -"This Jasper Adelstone she is engaged to." - -Lord Leycester held the cigar to his lips, and his teeth closed over it -with a sudden fierce passion. - -Coming upon all that had passed, this was the last straw. - -"It's a lie!" he said. - -Lord Charles looked up with a start, then his face grew grave. - -"Perhaps so," he said; "but, after all, it can't matter to you, Ley." - -Lord Leycester turned away in silence. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - - -Jasper Adelstone was in love. - -It was some time before he would bring himself to admit it even to -himself, for he was wont to pride himself on his superiority to all -attacks of the tender passion. - -Often and often had he amused himself and his chosen companions by -ridiculing the conditions of those weak mortals who allowed themselves -to be carried away by what he termed a weak and contemptible affection -for the other sex. - -Marriage, he used to say, was entirely a matter of business. A man -didn't marry until he was obliged, and then only did so to better -himself. As to love, and that kind of thing--well, it was an exploded -idea--a myth which had died out; at any rate, too absurd a thing -altogether for a man possessed of common sense--for such a man, for -instance, as Jasper Adelstone. He had seen plenty of pretty women and -was received by them with anything but disfavor. He was good-looking, -almost handsome, and would have been that if he could have got rid -of the sharp, cunning glint of his small eyes; and he was clever and -accomplished. He was just the man, it would have been supposed, to -fall a victim to the tender passion; but he had stuck fast by his -principles, and gone stealthily along the road to success, with his -cold smile ready for everyone in general, and not a warm beam in his -heart for anyone in particular. - -And now! Yes, he was in love--in love as deeply, unreasoningly, as -impulsively as the veriest school-boy. - -This was very annoying! It would have been very annoying if the object -of his passion had been an heiress or the lady of title whom he had in -his inmost mind determined to marry, if he married at all; for he would -have preferred to have attained to his ambition without any awkward and -inconvenient love-making. - -But the girl who had inspired him with this sudden and unreasoning -passion was, much to his disgust, neither an heiress nor an offshoot of -nobility. - -She was a mere nobody--the niece of an obscure painter! She was not -even in society! - -There was no good to be got by marrying her, none whatever. She could -not help him a single step on his ambitious path through life. On the -first evening of his meeting with Stella, when the beauty, and, more -than her beauty, the nameless charm of her bright, pure freshness, -overwhelmed and startled him, he took himself to task very seriously. - -"Jasper," he said, "you won't go and make a fool of yourself, I hope! -She is entirely out of your line. She is only a pretty girl; you've -seen a score, a hundred as pretty, or prettier; and she's a mere -nobody! Oh, no, you won't make a fool of yourself--you'll go back to -town to-morrow morning." - -But he did not go back to town; instead, he went into the conservatory -at the Rectory, and made up a bouquet and took it to the cottage, and -sank deeper still into the mire of foolishness, as he would have called -it. - -But even then it was not too late. He might have escaped even then -by dint of calling up his selfish nature and thinking of all his -ambitions; but Stella unfortunately roused--what was more powerful in -him than his sudden love--his self-conceit. - -She actually dared to defend Lord Leycester Wyndward! - -That was almost the finishing stroke, unwittingly dealt by Stella, and -he went away inwardly raging with incipient jealousy. - -But the last straw was yet to come that should break the back of all -his prudent resolves, and that was the meeting with Stella and Lord -Leycester in the river-woods, and Lord Leycester's attack on him. - -That moment--the moment when he lay on the ground looking up at -the dark, handsome, angry, and somewhat scornful face of the young -peer--Jasper Adelstone registered a vow. - -He vowed that come what would, by fair means or foul, he would have -Stella. - -He vowed that he would snatch her from the haughty and fiery young lord -who had dared to hurl him, Jasper, to the dust and insult him. - -What love he already possessed for her suddenly sprang up into a -fierce flame of jealous passion, and as he rode home to the Rectory he -repeated that vow several times, and at once, without the loss of an -hour, began to hunt about for some means to fulfill it. - -He was no fool, this Jasper Adelstone, for all his conceit, and he knew -the immense odds against him if Lord Leycester really meant anything -by his attention to Stella; he knew what fearful advantages Leycester -held--all the Court cards were in his hands. He was handsome, renowned, -noble, wealthy--a suitor whom the highest in the land would think twice -about before refusing. - -He almost guessed, too, that Stella already loved Leycester; he had -seen her face turned to the young lord--had heard her voice as she -spoke to him. - -He ground his teeth together with vicious rage as he thought of the -difference between her way of speaking to him and to Leycester. - -"But she shall speak to me, look at me like that before the game is -over," he swore to himself. "I can afford to wait for my opportunity; -it will come, and I shall know how to use it. Curse him! Yes, I am -determined now. I will take him from her." - -It was a bold, audacious resolution; but then Jasper was both bold -and audacious in the most dangerous of ways, in the cold, calculating -manner of a cunning, unscrupulous man. - -He was clever--undoubtedly clever; he had been very successful, and -had made that success by his own unaided efforts. Already, young as he -was, he was beginning to be talked about. When people were in any great -difficulty in his branch of the law, they went to him, sure of finding -him cool, ready, and capable. - -His chambers in the inn held a little museum of secrets--secrets about -persons of rank and standing, who were supposed to be quite free from -such inconvenient things as skeletons in cupboards. - -People came to him when they were in any social fix; when they owed -more money than they could pay; when they wanted a divorce, or were -anxious to hush up some secret, whose threatened disclosure involved -shame and disgrace, and Jasper Adelstone was always ready with sound -advice, and, better still, some subtle scheme or plan. - -Yes, he was a successful man, and had failed so seldom--almost -never--that he felt he could be confident in this matter, too. - -"I have always done well for others," he thought. "I have gained some -difficult points for other people; now I will undertake this difficult -matter for myself." - -He went home to the Rectory and pondered, recalling all he knew of old -Etheridge. It was very little, and the rector could tell him no more -than he knew already. - -James Etheridge lived the life of a recluse, appearing to have no -friends or relations save Stella; nothing was known about his former -life. He had come down into the quiet valley some years ago, and -settled at once in the mode of existence which was palpable to all. - -"Is he, was he, ever married?" asked Jasper. - -The rector thought not. - -"I don't know," he said. "He certainly hasn't been married down here. I -don't think anything is known about him." - -And with this Jasper had to be content. All the next day, after his -meeting with Stella and Leycester, he strolled about the meadows hoping -to see her, but failed. He knew he ought to be in London, but he could -not tear himself away. - -His arm felt a little stiff, and though there was nothing else the -matter with it, he bound it up and hung it in a sling, explaining to -the rector that he had fallen from his horse. - -Then he heard of the party at the Hall, and grinding his teeth with -envy and malice, he stole into the lane and watched Stella start. - -In his eyes she looked doubly beautiful since he had sworn to have -her, and he wandered about the lane and meadows thinking of her, and -thinking, too, of Lord Leycester all that evening, waiting for her to -return, to get one look at her. - -Fortune favored him with more than a look, for while he was waiting -the boy from the post-office came down the lane, and Jasper, with very -little difficulty, persuaded him to give up the telegram to his keeping. - -I am sorry to say that Jasper was very much tempted to open that -telegram, and if he resisted the temptation, it was not in consequence -of any pangs of conscience, but because he thought that it would -scarcely be worth while. - -"It is only some commission for a picture," he said to himself. "People -don't communicate secretly by telegram excepting in cipher." - -So he delivered it unopened as we know, but when he heard that sudden -exclamation of the old man's he was heartily sorry he had not opened it. - -When he parted from Stella at the gate, he walked off down the lane, -but only until out of sight, and then returned under the shadow of the -hedge and waited. - -He could see into the studio, and see the old man sitting in the chair -bowed with sorrow; and Stella's graceful figure hovering about him. - -"There was something worth knowing in that telegram," he muttered. "I -was a fool not to make myself acquainted with it. What will he do now?" - -He thought the question out, still watching, and the old man's -movements seen plainly through the lighted windows--for Stella had only -drawn the muslin curtain too hurriedly and imperfectly--afforded an -answer. - -"He is going up to town," he muttered. - -He knew that there was an early market train, and felt sure that the -old man was going by it. - -Hastily glancing at his watch, he set his hat firmly on his head, -dipped his arm out of the sling, and ran toward the Rectory; entering -by a side door he went to his room, took a bag containing some -papers, secured his coat and umbrella, and leaving a note on the -breakfast-table to the effect that he was suddenly obliged to go to -town, made for the station. - -As he did not wish to be seen, he kept in the shadow and waited, and -was rewarded in a few minutes by the appearance of Mr. Etheridge. - -There was no one on the station beside themselves, and Jasper had -no difficulty in keeping out of the old man's way. A sleepy porter -sauntered up and down, yawning and swinging his lantern, and Jasper -decided that he wouldn't trouble him by taking a ticket. - -The train came up, Mr. Etheridge got into a first-class carriage, and -Jasper, waiting until the last moment, sprang into one at the further -end of the train. - -"Never mind the ticket," he said to the porter. "I'll pay at the other -end." - -The train was an express from Wyndward, and Jasper, who knew how to -take care of himself, pulled the curtains closed, drew a traveling cap -from his bag, and curling himself up went to sleep, while the old man, -a few carriages further off, sat with his white head bowed in sorrowful -and wakeful meditation. - -When the train arrived at the terminus, Jasper, awaking from a -refreshing sleep, drew aside the curtain and watched Mr. Etheridge get -out, waited until he approached the cab-stand, then following up behind -him nearer, heard him tell the cabman to drive him to King's Hotel, -Covent Garden. - -Then Jasper called a cab and drove to the square in which his chambers -were situated, dismissed the cab, and saw it crawl away out of sight, -and climbed up the staircase which served as the approach to the many -doors which lined the narrow grim passages. - -On one of these doors his name was inscribed in black letters; he -opened this door with a key, struck a light, and lit a candle which -stood on a ledge, and entered a small room which served for the purpose -of a clerk's office and a client's waiting-room. - -Beyond this, and communicating by a green baize door, was his own -business-room, but there were still other rooms behind, one his -living-room, another in which he slept, and beyond that a smaller room. - -He entered this, and holding the light on high allowed its rays to fall -upon a man lying curled up on a small bed. - -He was a very small man, with a thin, parchment-lined face, crowned by -closely-cropped hair, which is ambiguously described as auburn. - -This was Jasper's clerk, factotum, slave. He it was who sat in the -outer office and received the visitors, and ushered them into Jasper's -presence or put them off with excuses. - -He was a singular-looking man, no particular age or individuality. Some -of Jasper's friends were often curious as to where Jasper had picked -him up, but Jasper always evaded the question or put it by with some -jest, and Scrivell's antecedents remained a mystery. - -That he was a devoted and never tiring servant was palpable to all; -in Jasper's presence he seemed to live only to obey his will and -anticipate his wishes. Now, at the first touch of Jasper's hand, the -man started and sat bolt upright, screening his eyes from the light and -staring at Jasper expectantly. - -"Awake, Scrivell?" asked Jasper. - -"Yes, sir, quite," was the reply; and indeed he looked as if he had -been on the alert for hours past. - -"That's right. I want you. Get up and dress and come into the next -room. I'll leave the candle." - -"You needn't, sir," was the reply. "I can see." - -Jasper nodded. - -"I believe you can--like a cat," he said, and carried the card with him. - -In a few minutes--in a very few minutes--the door opened and Scrivell -entered. - -He looked wofully thin and emaciated, was dressed in an old but still -respectable suit of black, and might have been taken for an old man but -for the sharp, alert look in his gray eyes, and the sandy hair, which -showed no signs of gray. - -Jasper was sitting before his dressing-table opening his letters, which -he had carried in from the other room. - -"Oh, here you are," he said. "I want you to go out." - -Scrivell nodded. - -"Do you know King's Hotel, Covent Garden?" asked Jasper. - -"King's? Yes, sir." - -"Well, I want you to go down there." - -He paused, but he might have known the man would not express any -surprise. - -"Yes, sir," he said, as coolly as if Jasper had told him to go to bed -again. - -"I want you to go down there and keep a look-out for me. A gentleman -has just driven there, an old man, rather bent, with long white hair. -Understand?" - -"Yes," was the quiet reply. - -"He will probably go out the first thing, quite early. I want to know -where he goes." - -"Only the first place he goes to?" was the question. - -Jasper hesitated. - -"Suppose you keep an eye upon him generally till, say one o'clock, -then come back to me. I want to know his movements, you understand, -Scrivell!" - -"I understand, sir," was the answer. "Any name?" - -Jasper hesitated a moment, and a faint color came into his face. -Somehow he was conscious of a strange reluctance to mention the -name--her name; but he overcame it. - -"Yes, Etheridge," he said, quietly, "but that doesn't matter. Don't -make any inquiries at the hotel or elsewhere, if you can help it." - -"Very good, sir," said the man, and noiselessly he turned and left the -room. - -Little did Stella, dreaming in the cottage by the sweet smelling -meadows and the murmuring river, think that the first woof of the web -which Jasper Adelstone was spinning for her was commenced that night in -the grim chambers of Lincoln's-inn. - -As little did Lady Wyndward guess, as she lay awake, vainly striving to -find some means of averting the consequences of her son's "infatuation" -for the painter's niece, that a keener and less scrupulous mind had -already set to work in the same direction. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - - -Jasper undressed and went to bed, and slept as soundly as men of his -peculiar caliber do sleep, while Scrivell was standing at the corner -of a street in Covent Garden, with his hands in his pockets and his -eyes on the entrance to King's Hotel. A little after nine Jasper awoke, -had his bath, dressed, went out, got some breakfast, and sat down to -work, and for the time being forgot--actually forgot--that such an -individual as Stella Etheridge existed. - -That was the secret of his power, that he could concentrate his -attention on one subject to the absolute abnegation of all others. - -Several visitors put in an appearance on business, Jasper opening the -door by means of a wire which drew back the handle, without moving. - -At about half-past twelve someone knocked. Jasper opened the door, and -a tall, fashionably-dressed young gentleman entered. - -It was a certain Captain Halliday, who had been one of the guests at -Wyndward Hall on the first night of our introduction there. - -Captain Halliday was a man about town; one who had been rich, but who -had worked very hard to make himself poor--and nearly succeeded. He -was a well-known man, and a member of a fast club, at which high play -formed the chief amusement. - -Jasper knew him socially, and got up--a thing he did not often do--to -shake hands. - -"How do you do?" he said, motioning him to a chair. "Anything I can do -for you?" - -It was generally understood by Jasper's acquaintances that Jasper's -time was money, and they respected the hours devoted by him to business. - -Captain Halliday smiled. - -"You always come to the point, Adelstone," he replied. "Yes, I want a -little advice." - -Jasper sat down and clasped his hands over his knee; they were very -white and carefully-kept hands. - -"Hope I may be able to give it to you. What is it?" - -"Well look here," said the captain, "you don't mind my smoking a -cigarette, do you? I can always talk better while I am smoking." - -"Not at all--I like it," said Jasper. - -"But the lady clients?" said the captain, with a little contraction of -the eyelids, which was suspiciously near a wink. - -"I don't think they mind," said Jasper. "They are generally too -occupied with their own business to notice. A light?" and he handed the -wax tapers which stood on his desk for sealing purposes. - -The captain lighted his cigarette slowly. It was evident that the -matter upon which he required advice was delicate, and only to be -attacked with much deliberation. - -"Look here!" he began; "I've come upon rather an awkward business." - -Jasper smiled. It not unfrequently happened that his clients came -to him for money, and not unfrequently he managed to find some for -them--of course through some friend, always through some friend "in -the City," who demanded and obtained a tolerably large interest. - -Jasper smiled, and wondered how much the captain wanted, and whether it -would be safe to lend it. - -"What is it?" he said. - -"You know the Rookery?" asked the captain. - -Jasper nodded. - -"I was there the other night--I'm there every night, I'm afraid," he -added; "but I am referring to the night before last----" - -"Yes," said Jasper, intending to help him. "And luck went against you, -and you lost a pile." - -"No, I didn't," said the captain; "I won a pile." - -"I congratulate you," said Jasper, with a cool smile. - -"I won a pile!" said the captain, "from all round; but principally from -a young fellow--a mere boy, who was there as a visitor, introduced by -young Bellamy--know young Bellamy?" - -"Yes, yes," said Jasper--he was very busy. "Everybody knows Bellamy. -Well!" - -"Well, the young fellow--I was awfully sorry for him, and tried to -persuade him to turn it up, but he wouldn't. You know what youngsters -are when they are green at this confounded game?" - -Jasper nodded again rather more impatiently. Scrivell would be back -directly, and he was anxious to hear the result of his scrutiny. - -"Luck went with him at first, and he won a good deal, but it turned -after a time and I was the better by a cool hundred and fifty; I -stopped at that--it was too much as it was to win from a youngster, and -he gave me his I O U." - -The captain paused and lit another cigarette. - -"Next morning, being rather pressed--did I tell you I went home with -Gooch and one or two others and lost the lot?" he broke off, simply. - -Jasper smiled. - -"No, you did not mention it, but I can quite believe it. Go on." - -"Next morning, being rather pressed--I wanted to pay my own I O U's--I -looked him up to collect his." - -"And he put you off, and you want me to help you," said Jasper, smiling -behind his white hand. - -"No, I don't. I wish you'd hear me out," said the captain, not -unnaturally aggrieved by the repeated interruption. - -"I beg your pardon!" said Jasper. "I thought I should help to bring you -to the point. But, there, tell it your own way." - -"He didn't refuse; he gave me a bill," said the captain; "said he was -sorry he couldn't manage the cash, but expecting me to call had got a -bill ready." - -"Which you naturally declined to accept from a perfect stranger," said -Jasper. - -"Which I did nothing of the sort," said the captain, coolly. "It was -backed by Bellamy, and that was good enough for me. Bellamy's name -written across the back, making himself responsible for the money, if -the young fellow didn't pay." - -"I understand what a bill is," said Jasper, with a smile. - -"Of course," assented the captain, puffing at his cigarette, "Bellamy's -name, mind, which was good enough for me." - -"And for most people." - -"Well, I meant to get some fellow to discount this, get some money for -it, you know, but happening to meet Bellamy at the club, it occurred to -me that he mightn't like the bill hawked about, so I asked him if he'd -take it up. See?" - -"Quite. Whether he'd give you the money for it--the hundred and fifty -pounds. I see," said Jasper. "Well?" - -"Well, I put it rather delicately--there was a lot of fellows -about--and he didn't seem to understand me. 'What bill do you mean, old -man?' he said. 'I took an oath not to fly any more paper a year ago, -and I've kept it, by George!'" - -Jasper leant forward slightly; the keen, hard look which comes into the -eyes of a hound that suddenly scents game, came into his. But this time -he did not speak; as was usual with him when interested, he remained -silent. - -"Well, I flatter myself I played a cool hand," said the captain, -complacently flicking the ash from his cigarette. "I knew the bill was -a--a----" - -"Forgery," said Jasper, coldly. - -The captain nodded gravely. - -"A forgery. But I felt for the poor young beggar, and didn't want to -be hard on him; so I pretended to Bellamy that I'd made a mistake and -meant somebody else, and explained that I'd been at the champagne -rather freely the other night; and--you know Bellamy--he was satisfied." - -"Well?" said Jasper, in a low voice. - -"Well, then I took a cab, and drove to 22 Percival street----" - -He paused abruptly, and bit his lip; but Jasper, though he heard the -address, and had stamped it, as it were, on his memory, showed no sign -of having noticed it, and examined his nails curiously. - -"I drove to the young fellow's rooms, and he confessed to it. Poor -young beggar! I pitied him from the bottom of my heart--I did indeed. -Wrong, I know. Justice, and example, and all that, you'll say; but if -you'd seen him, with his head buried in his hands, and his whole frame -shaking like a leaf, why, you'd have pitied him yourself." - -Jasper put up his hand to his mouth to hide a sneer. - -"Very likely," he said--"most likely. I have a particularly soft heart -for--forgers." - -The captain started slightly. It was a horrible word! - -"I don't believe the young beggar meant it, not in cold blood, you -know; but he was so knocked of a heap by my dropping down upon him, and -so afraid of looking like a welsher that the idea of the bill struck -him, and he did it. He swears that Bellamy and he are such chums, that -Bellamy wouldn't have minded." - -"Ah," said Jasper, with a smile, "the judge and jury will look at that -in a different light." - -"The judge and jury! What do you mean?" demanded the captain. "You -don't think I'm going to--what's-its-name--prosecute?" - -"Then what are you here for?" Jasper was going to say, but politely -corrected it to "Then what can I do for you?" - -"Well, here's the strange part of the story! I went home to find the -bill and tear it up----" - -Jasper smiled again, and again hid the delicate sneer. - -"But if you'll believe me, I couldn't find it! What do you think I'd -done with it?" - -"I don't know," said Jasper. "Lit your cigar with it!" - -"No; in a fit of absence of mind--we'll call it champagne cup and -brandy-and-soda!--I'd given it to old Murphy with some other bills in -payment of a debt. Think of that! There's that poor young beggar almost -out of his mind with remorse and terror, and that old wretch, Murphy, -has got that bill! And if it isn't got from him he'll have the law of -young--of the boy as sure as Fate is Fate!" - -"Yes; I know Murphy," said Jasper with delicious coolness. "He'd be -so wild that he'd not rest satisfied until he'd sent your fast young -friend across the herring-pond." - -"But he mustn't! I should never forgive myself! Think of it, Adelstone! -Quite a young boy--a curly-headed young beggar that ought to be -forgiven a little thing of this sort!" - -"A little thing!" and Jasper laughed. - -He also rose and looked as if he had already expended as much of his -time as he could afford. - -"Well?" he said. - -"Well!" echoed the captain. "Now I want you to send for that bill, -Adelstone, and get it at once." - -"Certainly," said Jasper. "I may be permitted to mention that you -are doing rather a--well, very injudicious thing? You are losing a -hundred and fifty pounds to save your gentleman from--well, departing -for that bourne to which he will certainly sooner or later wend. He -will get transported sooner or later; a youngster who begins like this -always goes on. Why lose a hundred and fifty pounds? But there," he -added, seeing a look of quiet determination on the captain's honest, -if simple, face, "that is your business; mine is to give you advice, -and I've done it. If you'll write a check for the amount, I'll send -my clerk over to Murphy's. He is out at present, but he'll be back," -looking at the clock, "before you have written the check," and he -handed the captain a pen, and motioned him politely to the desk. - -But the captain changed color, and laughed with some embarrassment. - -"Look here," he said, "look here, Adelstone, it isn't quite convenient -to write a check--confound it! You talk as if I had the old balance at -my bankers! I can't do it. I ask you to lend me the money--see?" - -Jasper gave a start of surprise though he felt none. He knew what had -been coming. - -"I'm very sorry, my dear fellow," he said. "But I'm afraid I can't do -it. I am very short this morning, and have some heavy matters to meet. -I've been buying some shares for a client, and am quite cleared out for -the present." - -"But," pleaded the captain, earnestly, more earnestly than he had ever -pleaded for a loan on his own account, "but think of the youngster, -Adelstone." - -Then Jasper smiled--a hard, cold smile. - -"Excuse me, Halliday," he said, thrusting his hands in his pockets, -"but I have been thinking of him, and I can't see my way to doing this -for a young scoundrel----" - -"He's no scoundrel," said the captain, with a flush. - -"A young forger, then, if you prefer it, my dear fellow," said Jasper, -with a cold laugh, "who ought to be punished, if anyone deserves -punishment. Why, it is compounding a felony!" he added, virtuously. - -"Oh, come!" said the captain, with a troubled smile, "that's nonsense, -you talking like that! I want the matter hushed up, Adelstone." - -"Well, though I don't agree with you, I won't argue the matter," said -Jasper, "but I can't lend you the money to hush it up with, Halliday. -If it were for yourself, now----" - -There was something in Jasper's cold face, in his compressed, almost -sneering lips, and hard, keen eyes, that convinced the captain any -further time expended in endeavoring to soften Jasper Adelstone's heart -would be time wasted. - -"Never mind," he said, "I'm sorry I've taken up your time. -Good-morning. Of course this is quite confidential, you know, eh?" - -Jasper raised his eyebrows and smiled pleasantly. - -"My dear Halliday, you are in a lawyer's office. Nothing that occurs -within these walls gets out, unless the client wishes it. Your little -story is as safely locked up in my bosom as if you had never told it. -Good-morning." - -The captain put on his hat and turned to go, but at that moment the -door opened and Scrivell entered. - -"I beg pardon," he said, and drew back, but paused, and, instead of -going out, walked up to Jasper's desk, and laid a piece of paper on it. - -Jasper took it up eagerly. There was one line written on it, and it was -this: - -"22 Percival street!" - -Jasper did not start; he did not even change color, but his lips -tightened, and a gleam of eagerness shot from his eyes. - -With the paper in his hand, he looked up carelessly. - -"All right, Scrivell. Oh, by the way, just run after Captain Halliday, -and tell him I should like another word with him." - -Scrivell disappeared, and in another minute the captain re-entered. - -He still looked rather downcast. - -"What is it?" he said, with his hand on the door. - -Jasper went and closed it; then he laughed in his quiet, noiseless way. - -"I'm afraid you'll think me a soft kind of lawyer, Halliday, but this -story of yours has touched me; it has, indeed!" - -The captain nodded, and dropped into a chair. - -"I thought it had," he said, simply. "Touch anybody, wouldn't it?" - -"Yes, yes!" said Jasper, with a sigh. "It's very wrong, you -know--altogether out of the line, but I suppose you've set your heart -on hushing it up, eh?" - -"I have, indeed," said the captain, eagerly. "And if you knew all you'd -say the same." - -"Haven't you told me all?" said Jasper, quietly. "I don't mean the -boy's name; you can keep that if you like." - -"No, I don't mean to conceal anything, if you'll help me," said the -captain ingenuously. "Of course if you had decided not to, I should -have kept dark about his name." - -"Of course," said Jasper, with a smile; and he glanced at the slip of -paper. "Well, perhaps you'd better tell me all, hadn't you?" - -"I think I had," assented the captain. "Well, the youngster's name -is--Etheridge?" - -"Ether--how do you spell it?" asked Jasper, carelessly. - -The captain spelt it. - -"Not a common name, and he's anything but a common boy; he's a handsome -youngster, and I couldn't help pitying him, because he has been left to -himself so much--no friends, and all that sort of thing." - -"How's that?" asked Jasper, with his eyes cast down, a hungry eagerness -eating at his heart. There was some mystery after all, then, about the -old man! - -"Well, it is this way. It seems he's the son of an old man--a painter, -or a writer, or something, who lives away in the country, and who can't -bear this boy near him." - -"Why?" asked Jasper, examining his nails. - -"Because he's like his mother," said the captain, simply. - -"And she----?" said Jasper, softly. - -"She ran away with another man, and left her boy behind----" - -"I understand." - -"Yes," resumed the captain. "Usual thing, the husband, this boy's -father, was awfully cut up; left the world and buried himself and sent -the boy away, treated him very well, though, all the same; sent him to -Eton, and to Cambridge, under the care of a tutor, and that sort of -thing, but couldn't bear to see him. He's up now for the holidays--the -boy, I mean!" - -"I understand," said Jasper, in a low voice. "Quite a story, isn't it? -And"--he paused to throw the piece of paper on the fire--"do you think -the boy has communicated with the father ever since?" - -"Heaven knows--not unlikely. He said something about telegraphing." - -"Oh, yes; just so," said Jasper, carelessly. "Well, it will be -inconvenient, but I suppose I must do what you want. The sooner we get -this over the better," and he sat down and drew out his check book. - -"Thanks, thanks!" muttered the captain. "I didn't think a good fellow -like you would stand back; I didn't, indeed!" - -"I ought not to do it," murmured Jasper, with a shake of the head, as -he rang the bell. - -"Take this letter to Murphy, and wait, Scrivell," he said. - -Scrivell disappeared noiselessly. - -"By the way," said Jasper, "have you mentioned this to any one -excepting me?" - -"Not to a soul," replied the captain; "and you bet, I shall not of -course." - -"Of course," said Jasper, with a smile; "it wouldn't be worth spending -a hundred and fifty to hush it up if you did. Mention such a thing to -one person--excepting me, of course,"--and he smiled--"and you let the -whole world know. Where did you get all this information?" - -"From Bellamy, the boy's chum," said the captain. "He asked me to look -him up occasionally." - -"I see," said Jasper. "You won't mind my writing a letter or two, will -you?" - -"Go on," said the captain, lighting the fifth cigarette. - -Jasper went to a cupboard and brought out a small bottle of champagne -and a couple of glasses. - -"The generous glow of so virtuous an action--which by-the-way is -strictly illegal--suggests something to drink," he said, with a smile. - -The captain nodded. - -"I didn't know you did this sort of thing here," he said, looking round. - -"I don't as a rule," said Jasper, with a dry smile. "Will you slip that -bolt into the door?" - -The captain, greatly enjoying anything in the shape of an irregularity, -did as he was bidden, and the two sat and sipped their wine, and Jasper -threw off his dry business air and chatted about things in general -until Scrivell knocked. Jasper opened the door for him and took an -envelope from his hand and carried it to the desk. - -"Well?" said the captain, eagerly. - -"All right," said Jasper, holding up the bill. - -The captain drew a long breath of relief. - -"I feel as if I had done it myself," he said, with a laugh. "Poor young -beggar, he'll be glad to know he's to get off scot free." - -"Ah!" said Jasper. "By-the-way, hadn't you better drop him a line?" - -"Right," exclaimed the captain, eagerly; "that's a good idea. May I -write it here?" - -Jasper pushed a sheet of plain paper before him and an envelope. - -"Don't date it from here," he said; "date it from your lodgings. You -don't want him to know that anybody else knows anything about it, of -course." - -"Of course not! How thoughtful you are. That's the best of a -lawyer--always keeps his head cool," and he drew up a chair, and wrote -not in the best of hands or the best of spelling: - - "Dear Mr. Etheridge--I've got--you know what. It is all right. Nothing - more need be said. Be a good boy for the future." - - "Yours truly, - - "HARRY HALLIDAY." - -"How's that?" he asked, handing the note to Jasper. - -Jasper looked up; he was bending over his desk, apparently writing a -letter, and looked up with an absent expression. - -"Eh?" he said. "Oh, yes; that will do. Stop though, to set his mind -quite at rest, better say that you have destroyed it--as you have, -see!" and he took the envelope and held it over the taper until it -burnt down nearly to his finger, dropping the remaining fragment on the -desk and allowing it to turn and smolder away. - -The captain added the line to that effect. - -"Now your man can run with it, if you'll be so good." - -Jasper smiled. - -"No," he said. "I think not. I'll send a commissionaire." - -He rang the bell and took up the letter. - -"Send this by the commissionaire," he said. "There is no answer. Tell -him to give it in and come away." - -"And now I'm off," said the captain. "I'll let you have a check in a -day or two, Adelstone, and I'm very much obliged to you." - -"All right," said Jasper, with a slightly absent air as if his mind -was already engaged with other matters. "No hurry; whenever it's -convenient. Good-bye!" - -He went back to his desk before the captain had left the room, and -bent over his letter, but as the departing footsteps died away, he -sprang up, locked the door, and drawing a slip of paper from under his -blotting pad, held it before him with both hands and looked down at it -with a smile of eager triumph. - -It was the forged bill. Without a word or gesture he looked at it for a -full minute, gloating over it as if it were some live, sentient thing -lying in his path and utterly at his mercy; then at last he raised his -head, and his lips parted with a smile of conscious power. - -"So soon!" he muttered; "so soon! Fate is with me! She is mine! My -beautiful Stella! Yes, she is mine, though a hundred Lord Leycesters -stood between us!" - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - - -When Stella awoke in the morning it was with a start that she -remembered the scene of last night, and that she was, with the -exception of Mrs. Penfold, alone in the cottage. - -While she was dressing she recalled the incidents of the eventful -evening--the party at the Hall, the telegram, and, not least, the -finding of the mysterious miniature. But, above all, there shone out -clear and distinct the all-important fact that Lord Leycester loved -her, and that she had promised to meet him this evening. - -But for the present there was much on her mind. She had to meet Mrs. -Penfold, and communicate the information that Mr. Etheridge had -suddenly been called to London on important business. - -She could not suppress a smile as she pictured Mrs. Penfold's -astonishment and curiosity, and wondered how she should satisfy the -latter without betraying the small amount of confidence which her uncle -had placed in her. - -She went down-stairs to find the breakfast laid, and Mrs. Penfold -hovering about with unconcealed impatience. - -"Where's your uncle, Miss Stella?" she asked. "I do hope he hasn't gone -sketching before breakfast, for he is sure to forget all about it, and -won't come back till dinner-time, if he does then." - -"Uncle has gone to London," said Stella. - -"To--where?" demanded Mrs. Penfold. - -Then Stella explained. - -"Gone to London last night; hasn't slept in his bed! Why, miss, how -could you let him?" - -"But he was obliged to go," said Stella, with a little sigh and a -rueful glance at the empty chair opposite her own. - -"Obliged!" exclaimed Mrs. Penfold. "Whatever was the matter? Your uncle -isn't obliged to go anywhere, Miss Stella!" she added with a touch of -pride. - -Stella shook her head. - -"There was a telegram," she said. "I don't know what the business was, -but he was obliged to go." - -Mrs. Penfold stood stock-still in dismay and astonishment. - -"It will be the death of him!" she breathed, awe-struck. "He never goes -anywhere any distance, and starting off like that, Miss Stella, in the -dead of night, and after being out at the Hall--why it's enough to kill -a gentleman like him who can't bear any noise or anything sudden like." - -"I'm very sorry," said Stella. "He said that he was obliged to go." - -"And when is he coming back?" asked Mrs. Penfold. - -Stella shook her head. - -"I don't know. I hope to-day--I do hope to-day! It all seems so quiet -and lonely without him." And she looked round the room, and sighed. - -Mrs. Penfold stood, with the waiter in her hand, staring at the -beautiful face. - -"You--you don't know what it is, Miss Stella?" she asked, in a low -voice, and with a certain significance in her tone. - -Stella looked up at her. - -"No, I don't know--uncle did not tell me," she replied. - -Mrs. Penfold looked at her curiously, and seemed lost in thought. - -"And you don't know where he's gone, Miss Stella? I don't ask out of -curiosity." - -"I'm sure of that," said Stella, warmly. "No, I don't know." - -"And you don't guess?" - -Stella looked up at her with wide open eyes, and shook her head. - -Mrs. Penfold turned the waiter in her hand, then she said suddenly: - -"I wish Mr. Adelstone was here." - -Stella started. - -"Mr. Adelstone!" - -Mrs. Penfold nodded. - -"Yes, Miss Stella. He is such a clever young gentleman, and he's so -friendly, he'd do anything for your uncle. He always was friendly, but -he's more so than ever now." - -"Is he?" said Stella. "Why?" - -Mrs. Penfold looked at her with a smile, which died away before -Stella's look of unconsciousness. - -"I don't know, Miss Stella; but he is. He is always about the cottage. -Oh, I forgot! he called yesterday, and left something for you." - -And she went out, returning presently with a bouquet of flowers. - -"I took them in the pantry, to keep cool and fresh. Aren't they -beautiful, miss?" - -"Very," said Stella, smelling them and holding them a little way from -her, after the manner of her sex. "Very beautiful. It is very kind of -him. Are they for uncle, or for me?" - -Mrs. Penfold smiled. - -"For you, Miss Stella. Is it likely he'd leave them for your uncle?" - -"I don't know," said Stella; "he is uncle's friend, not mine. Will you -put them in water, please?" - -Mrs. Penfold took them with a little air of disappointment. It was not -in this cool manner that she expected Stella to receive the flowers. - -"Yes, miss; and there's nothing to be done?" - -"No," said Stella; "except to wait for my uncle's return." - -Mrs. Penfold hesitated a moment, then she went out. - -Stella made an effort to eat some breakfast, but it was a failure; she -felt restless and listless; a spell seemed to have been cast over the -little house--a spell of mystery and secrecy. - -After breakfast she took up her hat and wandered about the garden, -communing with herself, and ever watching the path across the meadows, -though she knew that her uncle could not possibly return yet. - -The day wore away and the evening came, and as the daylight gave -place to sunset, Stella's heart beat faster. All day she had been -thinking--dreaming of the hour that was now so near at hand, longing -for and yet almost dreading it. This love was so strange, so mysterious -a thing, that it almost frightened her. - -Almost for the first time she asked herself whether she was not doing -wrong--whether she had not better stay at home and give up this -precious meeting. - -But she mentally pictured Lord Leycester's waiting for her--mentally -called up the tone of his voice welcoming her, and her conscience was -stilled. - -"I must go!" she murmured, and as if afraid lest she should change her -mind, she put on her hat, and went down the path with a quick step. But -she turned back at the gate, and called to Mrs. Penfold. - -"I am going for a stroll," she said, with a sudden blush. "If uncle -returns while I am away, tell him I shall not be long." - -And then she went across the meadows to the river bank. - -All was silent save the thrushes in the woods and the nightingale with -its long liquid note and short "jug, jug," and she sank down upon the -grassy bank and waited. - -The clock struck the hour of appointment, and her heart beat fast. - -Suppose he did not come! Her cheek paled, and a faint sickening feeling -of disappointment crept over her. The minutes passed, hours they -seemed, and then with a sudden resolution she rose. - -"He will not come," she murmured. "I will go back; it is better so!" - -But even as the words left her lips sadly, a light skiff shot from the -shadow of the opposite bank and flew across the river. - -It was Lord Leycester, she knew him though his back was turned toward -her and he was dressed in a suit of boating flannel, and her heart -leapt. - -With practiced ease he brought the skiff alongside the bank and sprang -up beside her, both hands outstretched. - -"My darling!" he murmured, his eyes shining with a greeting as -passionate as his words--"have you been waiting long? Did you think I -was not coming?" - -Stella put her hands in his and glanced up at him for a moment; her -face flushed, then paled. - -"I--I--did not know," she said, shyly, but with a little smile lurking -in the corner of her red lips. - -"You knew I should come," he went on. "What should, what could, prevent -me? Stella! I was here before you. I have been lying under that tree, -watching you; you looked so beautiful that I lay there feasting my -eyes, and reluctant to move lest I should dispel the beautiful vision." - -Stella looked across and her eyes drooped. - -"You where there while I--I was thinking that you had -perhaps--forgotten!" - -"Forgotten!" and he laughed softly. "I have been looking forward to -this hour; I dreamt of it last night. Can you say the same, Stella?" - -She was silent for a moment, then she looked up at him shyly, as a soft -"Yes" dropped from her lips. - -He would have drawn her close to him, but she shrank back with a little -frightened gesture. - -"Come," he said, and he drew her gently toward the boat. - -Stella hesitated. - -"Suppose," she said, "someone saw us," and the color flew to her face. - -"And if!" he retorted, with a sudden look of defiance, which melted in -a moment. "There is no fear of that, my darling; we will go down the -back water. Come." - -There was no resisting that low-voiced mingling of entreaty and loving -command. With the tenderest care he helped her into the boat and -arranged the cushion for her. - -"See," he said, "if we meet any boat you must put up your sunshade, but -we shall not where we are going." - -Stella leant back and watched him under her lowered lids as he -rowed--every stroke of the strong arm sending the boat along like an -arrow from the bow--and an exquisite happiness fell upon her. She did -not want him to speak; it was enough for her to sit and watch him, to -know that he was within reach of her hand if she bent forward, to feel -that he loved her. - -He rowed down stream until they came to an island; then he guided the -boat out of the principal current into a back water, and rested on his -oars. - -"Now let me look at you!" he said. "I haven't had an opportunity yet." - -Stella put up her sunshade to shield her face, and laughingly he drew -it away. - -"That is not fair. I have been thirsting for a glance from those dark -eyes all day. I cannot have them hidden now. And what are you thinking -of?" he asked, smilingly, but with suppressed eagerness, "There is a -serious little look in those eyes of yours--of mine! They are mine, are -they not, Stella? What is it?" - -"Shall I tell you?" she answered, in a low voice. - -"Yes," he said. "You shall whisper it. Let me come nearer to you," and -he sank down at her feet and put up his hand for hers. "Now then." - -Stella hesitated a moment. - -"I was thinking and wondering whether this--whether this isn't very -wrong, Le--Leycester." - -The name dropped almost inaudibly, but he heard it and put her hand to -his lips. - -"Wrong?" he said, as if he were weighing the question most judiciously. -"Yes and no. Yes, if we do not love each other, we two. No, if we do. I -can speak for myself, Stella. My conscience is at rest because I love -you. And you?" - -Her hand closed in his. - -"No, my darling," he said, "I would not ask you to do anything -wrong. It may be a little unconventional, this stolen half-hour of -ours--perhaps it is; but what do you and I care for the conventional? -It is our happiness we care for," and he smiled up at her. - -It was a dangerously subtle argument for a girl of nineteen, and coming -from the man she loved, but it sufficed for Stella, who scarcely knew -the full meaning of the term "conventional," but, nevertheless, she -looked down at him with a serious light in her eye. - -"I wonder if Lady Lenore would have done it," she said. - -A cloud like a summer fleece swept across his face. - -"Lenore?" he said, then he laughed. "Lenore and you are two very -different persons, thank Heaven. Lenore," and he laughed, "worships the -conventional! She would not move a step in any direction excepting that -properly mapped out by Mrs. Grundy." - -"You would not ask her, then?" said Stella. - -He smiled. - -"No, I should not," he said, emphatically and significantly. "I should -not ask anyone but you, my darling. Would you wish me to?" - -"No, no," she said hastily, and she laughed. - -"Then let us be happy," he said, caressing her hand. "Do you know that -you have made a conquest--I mean in addition to myself?" - -"No," she said. "I?" - -"Yes, you," he repeated. "I mean my sister Lilian." - -"Ah!" said Stella, with a little glad light in her eyes. "How beautiful -and lovable she is!" - -He nodded. - -"Yes, and she has fallen in love with you. We are very much alike in -our tastes," he said, with a significant smile. "Yes, she thinks _you_ -beautiful and lovable." - -Stella looked down at the ardent face, so handsome in its passionate -eagerness. - -"Did you--did you tell her?" she murmured. - -He understood what she meant, and shook his head. - -"No; it was to be a secret--our secret for the present, my darling. I -did not tell her." - -"She would be sorry," said Stella. "They would all be sorry, would they -not?" she added, sadly. - -"Why should you think of that?" he expostulated, gently. "What does it -matter? All will come right in the end. They will not be sorry when you -are my wife. When is it to be, Stella?" and his voice grew thrillingly -soft. - -Stella started, and a scarlet blush flushed her face. - -"Ah, no!" she said, almost pantingly, "not for very, very long--perhaps -never!" - -"It must be very soon," he murmured, putting his arm around her. "I -could not wait long! I could not endure existence if we should chance -to be parted. Stella, I never knew what love meant until now! If you -knew how I have waited for this meeting of ours, how the weary hours -have hung with leaden weight upon my hands, how miserably dull the day -seemed, you would understand." - -"Perhaps I do," she said softly, and the dark eyes dwelt upon his -musingly as she recalled her own listlessness and impatience. - -"Then you must think as I do!" he said, quick to take advantage. "Say -you do, Stella! Think how very happy we should be." - -She did think, and the thought made her tremble with excess of joy. - -"We two together in the world! Where we would go and what we would do! -We could go to all the beautiful places--your own Italy, Switzerland! -and always together--think of it." - -"I am thinking," she said with a smile. - -He drew closer and put her arm around his neck. The very innocence and -purity of her love inflamed his passion and enhanced her charms in his -sight. - -He had been loved before, but never like this, with such perfect, -unquestioning love. - -"Well, then, my darling, why should we wait? It must be soon, Stella." - -"No, no," she said, faintly. "Why should it? I--I am very happy." - -"What is it you dread? Is it so dreadful the thought that we should be -alone together--all in all to each other?" - -"It is not that," said Stella, her eyes fixed on the line of light that -fell on the water from the rising moon. "It is not that. I am thinking -of others." - -"Always of others!" he said, with tender reproach. "Think of me--of -ourselves." - -"I wish----" she said. - -"Wish," he coaxed her. "See if I cannot gratify it. I will, if it be -possible." - -"It is not possible," she said. "I was going to say that I wish you -were not--what you are." - -"You said something like that last night," he said. "Darling, I have -wished it often. You wish that I were plain Mr. Brown." - -"No, no," she said, with a smile; "not that." - -"That I were a Mr. Wyndward----" - -"With no castle," she broke in. "Ah, if that could be! If you were -only, say, a workman! How good that would be! Think! you would live in -a little cottage, and you would go to work, and come home at night, and -I should be waiting for you with your tea--do they have tea or dinner?" -she broke off to inquire, with a laugh. - -"You see," he said, returning her laugh, "it would not do. Why, Stella, -you were not made for a workman's wife; the sordid cares of poverty -are for different natures to yours. And yet we should be happy, we -two." And he sighed wistfully. "You would be glad to see me come home, -Stella?" - -"Yes," she said, half seriously, half archly. "I have seen them in -Italy, the peasants' wives, standing at the cottage doors, the hot -sunset lighting up their faces and their colored kerchiefs, waiting for -their husbands, and watching them as they climbed the hills from the -pastures and the vineyards, and they have looked so happy that I--I -have envied them. I was not happy in Italy, you know." - -"My Stella!" he murmured. His love for her was so deep and passionate, -his sympathy so keen that half phrases were as plainly understood by -him as if she had spoken for hours. "And so you would wait for me -at some cottage door?" he said. "Well, it shall be so. I will leave -England, if you like--leave the castle and take some little ivy-green -cottage." - -She smiled, and shook her head. - -"Then they would have reason to complain," she said; "they would say -'she has dragged him down to her level--she has taught him to forget -all the duties of his rank and high position--she has'--what is it -Tennyson says--'robbed him of all the uses of life, and left him -worthless.'" - -Lord Leycester looked up at the exquisite face with a new light of -admiration. - -This was no mere pretty doll, no mere bread-and-butter school-girl -to whom he had given his love, but a girl who thought, and who could -express her thoughts. - -"Stella!" he murmured, "you almost frighten me with your wisdom. -Where did you learn such experience? Well, it is not to be a cottage, -then; and I am not to work in the fields or tend the sheep. What then -remains? Nothing, save that you take your proper place in the world -as my wife;" the indescribable tenderness with which he whispered the -last word brought the warm blood to her face. "Where should I find a -lovelier face to add to the line of portraits in the old hall? Where -should I find a more graceful form to stand by my side and welcome my -guests? Where a more 'gracious ladye' than the maiden I love?" - -"Oh, hush! hush!" whispered Stella, her heart beating beneath the -exquisite pleasure of his words, and the gently passionate voice in -which they were spoken. "I am nothing but a simple, stupid girl, who -knows nothing except----" she stopped. - -"Except!" he pressed her. - -She looked at the water a moment, then she bent down, and lightly -touched his hand with her lips. - -"Except that she loves you!" - -It was all summed up in this. He did not attempt to return the caress; -he took it reverentially, half overwhelmed with it. It was as if a -sudden stillness had fallen on nature, as if the night stood still in -awe of her great happiness. - -They were silent for a minute, both wrapped in thoughts of the other, -then Stella said suddenly, and with a little not-to-be-suppressed sigh: - -"I must go! See, the moon is almost above the trees." - -"It rises early to-night, very," he said, eagerly. - -"But I must go," she said. - -"Wait a moment," he pleaded. "Let us go on shore and walk to the -weir--only to the weir; then we will come back and I will row you over. -It will not take five minutes! Come, I want to show it to you with -the moon on it. It is a favorite spot of mine; I have often stood and -watched it as the water danced over it in the moonlight. I want to do -so this evening, with you by my side. I am selfish, am I not?" - -He helped her out of the boat, almost taking her in his arms, and -touching her sleeve with his lips; in his chivalrous mood he would not -so far take advantage of her in her helplessness as to kiss her face, -and they walked hand in hand, as they used to do in the good old days -when men and women were not ashamed of love. - -Why is it that they should be now? Why is it that when a pair of lovers -indulge on the stage in the most chaste of embraces, a snigger and a -grin run through the audience? In this age of burlesque and satire, of -sarcasm and cynicism, is there to be no love making? If so, what are -poets and novelists to write about--the electric light and the science -of astronomy? - -They walked hand in hand, Leycester Wyndward Viscount Trevor, heir to -Wyndward and an earldom, and Stella, the painter's niece, and threaded -the wood, keeping well under the shadows of the high trees, until they -reached the bank where the weir touched. - -Lord Leycester took her to the brink and held her lightly. - -"See," he said, pointing to the silver stream of water; "isn't that -beautiful; but it is not for its beauty only that I have brought you to -the river. Stella, I want you to plight your troth to me here." - -"Here?" she said, looking up at his eager face. - -"Yes; this spot is reported haunted--haunted by good fairies instead of -evil spirits. We will ask them to smile on our betrothal, Stella." - -She smiled, and watched his eyes with half-serious amusement; there was -a strange light of earnestness in them. - -Stooping down he took up a handful of the foaming water and threw a few -drops on her head and a few on his own. - -"That is the old Danish rite, Stella," he said. "Now repeat after me-- - - "'Come joy or woe, come pain or pleasure, - Come poverty or richest treasure, - I cling to thee, love, heart unto heart, - Till death us sever, we will not part.'" - -Stella repeated the words after him with a faint smile on her lips, -which died away under the glow of his earnest eyes. - -Then, as the last words dropt hurriedly from her lips, he took her in -his arms and kissed her. - -"Now we are betrothed, Stella, you and I against all the world." - -As he spoke a cloud sailed across the moon, and the shadows now at -their feet suddenly changed from silver to dullish lead. - -Stella shuddered in his arms, and clung to him with a little convulsive -movement that thrilled him. - -"Let us go," she said; "let us go. It seems almost as if there were -spirits here! How dark it is!" - -"Only for a moment, darling!" he said. "See?" and he took her face and -turned it to the moonlight again. "One kiss, and we will go." - -With no blush on her face, but with a glow of passionate love in her -eyes, she raised her face, looked into his for a moment, then kissed -him. - -Then they turned, and went toward the boat; but this time she clung -to his arm, and her head nestled on his shoulder. As they turned, -something white and ghost-like moved from behind the trees, in front of -which they had been standing. - -It stood in the moonlight looking after them, itself so white and -eerie that it might have been one of the good fairies; but that in its -face--beautiful enough for any fairy--there glittered the white, angry, -threatening look of an evil spirit. - -Was it the nearness of this exquisitely-graceful figure in white which -by some instinct Stella had felt and been alarmed at? - -The figure watched them for a moment until they were out of sight, then -it turned and struck into a path leading toward the Hall. - -As it did so, another figure--a black one this time--came out of the -shadow, and crossed the path obliquely. - -She turned and saw a white, not unhandsome, face, with small keen eyes -bent on her. She, the watcher, had been watched. - -For a moment she stood as if half-tempted to speak, but the next drew -the fleecy shawl round her head with a gesture of almost insolent -hauteur. - -But she was not to escape so easily; the dark, thin figure slipped -back, and stooping down picked up the handkerchief, which in her -sweeping gesture she had let drop. - -"Pardon!" he said. - -She looked at him with cool disdain, then took the handkerchief, and -with an inclination of her head that was scarcely a bow would have -passed on again, but he did not move from her path, and hat in hand -stood looking at her. - -Proud, fearless, imperiously haughty as she was, she felt constrained -to stop. - -He knew by the mere fact of her stopping that he had impressed her, and -he at once followed up the advantage gained. - -If she had wanted to pass him without speaking she should have taken -no notice of the handkerchief, and gone on her way. No doubt she now -wished that she had done so, but it was too late now. - -"Will you permit me to speak to you?" he said, in a quiet, almost a -constrained voice, every word distinct, every word full of significance. - -She looked at him, at the pale face with its thin, resolute lips and -small, keen eyes, and inclined her head. - -"If you intend to speak to me, sir, I apprehend that I cannot prevent -it. You will do well to remember that we are not alone here." - -Still uncovered, he bowed. - -"Your ladyship has no need to remind me of that fact. No deed or word -of mine will cause you to wish for a protector." - -"I have yet to learn that," she said. "You appear to know me, sir!" - -No words will convey any idea of the haughty scorn expressed by the icy -tone and the cold glance of the violet eyes. - -A faint smile, deferential yet self-possessed, swept across his face. - -"There are some so well known to the world that their faces are easily -recognized even in the moonlight; such an one is the Lady Len----" - -She put up her hand, white and glittering with priceless gems, and at -the commanding gesture he stopped, but the smile swept across his face -again, and he put up his hand to his lips. - -"You know my name; you wish to speak to me?" - -He inclined his head. - -"What have you to say to me?" - -She had not asked his name; she had treated him as if he were some -beggar who had crept up to her carriage as it stood at rest, and by a -mixture of bravado and servility gained her ear. There was a fierce, -passionate resentment at this treatment burning in his bosom, but he -kept it down. - -"Is it some favor you have to ask?" she said, with cold, pitiless -hauteur, seeing that he hesitated. - -"Thanks," he said. "I was waiting for a suggestion--I must put it in -that way. Yes, I have to ask a favor. My lady, I am a stranger to -you----" - -She waved her hand as if she did not care so much as a withered blade -of grass for his personal history, and with a little twitch of the lips -he continued: - -"I am a stranger to you, but I still venture to ask your assistance." - -She looked and smiled like one who has known all along what was coming, -but to please his own whim, had waited quite naturally. - -"Exactly," she said. "I have no money----" - -Then he started and stood before her, and what there was of manliness -awoke within him. - -"Money!" he said. "Are you mad?" - -Lady Lenore stared at him haughtily. - -"I fear that you are," she said. "Did you not demand--_ask_ is too -commonplace a word to describe a request made by a man of a woman alone -and unprotected--did you not demand money, sir?" - -"Money!" he repeated; then he smiled. "You are laboring under a -misapprehension," he said. "I am in no need of money. The assistance I -need is not of a pecuniary kind." - -"Then what is it?" she asked, and he detected a touch of curiosity in -the insolently-haughty voice. "Be good enough to state your desire as -briefly as you can, sir, and permit me to go on my way." - -Then he played a card. - -With a low bow he raised his hat, and drew from the path. - -"I beg your ladyship's pardon," he said, respectfully, but with a -scarcely feigned air of disappointment. "I see that I have made a -mistake. I apologize most humbly for having intruded upon your good -nature, and I take my leave. I wish your ladyship good-evening," and he -turned. - -Lady Lenore looked after him with cold disdain, then she bit her lip -and her eyes dropped, and suddenly, without raising her voice, she said: - -"Wait!" - -He turned and stood with his hand thrust in the breast of his coat, his -face calm and self-possessed. - -She paused a moment and eyed him, struggling, if the truth were known, -and no doubt he knew it, with her curiosity and her pride, which last -forbade her hold any further converse with him. At last curiosity -conquered. - -"I have called you back, sir, to ask the nature of this mistake you -say that you have made. Your conduct, your manner, your words are -inexplicable to me. Be good enough to explain." - -It was a command, and he inclined his head in respectful recognition. - -"I am a student of nature, my lady," he said, in a low voice, "and I am -fond of rambling in the woods here, especially at moonlight; it is not -a singular fancy." - -Her face did not flush, but her eyes gleamed; she saw the sneer in the -words. - -"Go on, sir," she said, coldly. - -"Chance led me to-night in the direction of the river. I was standing -admiring it when two individuals--the two individuals who have just -left us--approached. Suspecting a love tryst, I was retreating, when -the moon revealed to me that one of the individuals was a person in -whom I take a great interest." - -"Which?" she asked, coldly and calmly. - -"The young lady," he replied, and his eyes drooped for a moment. - -"That interest rather than curiosity,"--her lips curled, and she -looked up at him with infinite scorn--"interest rather than curiosity -prompted me to remain and, an unwilling listener, I heard the strange -engagement--betrothal, call it what you will--that took place." - -He paused. She drew the shawl round her head and eyed him askance. - -"In what way does this concern me, sir?" she demanded, haughtily. - -"Pardon! you perceive my mistake," he said, with a fitting smile. "I -was under the impression that as _interest_ or _curiosity_ prompted you -also to listen, you might be pleased to assist me." - -She bit her lip now. - -"How did you know that I was listening?" she demanded. - -He smiled. - -"I saw your ladyship approach; I saw you take up your position behind -the tree, and _I saw your face as they talked_." - -As she remembered all that that face must have told him, her heart -throbbed with a wild longing to see him helpless at her feet; her face -went a blood red, and her hands closed tightly on the shawl. - -"Well, sir?" she said at last, after a pause, during which he had stood -eying her under his lowered lids. "Granting that you are right in your -surmises, how can I assist you, supposing that I choose to do so?" - -He looked at her full in the face. - -"By helping me to prevent the fulfillment of the engagement--betrothal, -which you and I have just witnessed," he said, promptly and frankly. - -She was silent a moment, her eyes looking beyond him as if she were -considering, then she said: - -"Why should I help you? How do you know that I take any interest in--in -these two persons?" - -"You forget," he said, softly. "I saw your face." - -She started. There was something in the bold audacity of the man that -proved him the master. - -"If I admit that I do take some interest, what proof have I that I -shall be following that interest by confiding in you?" she asked, -haughtily, but less haughtily than hitherto. - -"I can give you a sufficient proof," he said, quietly. "I--love--her." - -She started. There was so calm and cool and yet intense an expression -in his voice. - -"You love her?" she repeated. "The girl who has just left us?" - -"The young lady," he said, with a slight emphasis, "who has just -plighted her troth to Lord Leycester Wyndward." - -There was silence for a moment. His direct statement of the case had -told on her. - -"And if I help you--if I consent--what shape is my assistance to take?" - -"I leave that to you," he said. "I can answer for her, for Stella -Etheridge--that is her name." - -"I do not wish to mention names," she said, coldly. - -"Quite right," he said. "Trees have ears, as you and I have just -proved." - -She shuddered at the familiar, confident tone in his voice. - -"I will not mention names," he repeated, "let us say 'him' and 'her.' -Candidly--and between us, my lady, there should be nothing but -candor--I have sworn that nothing shall come of this betrothal. I love -her, and--I--hate him." - -She looked at him. His face was deadly white, and his eyes gleamed, but -a smile still played about his lips. - -"You," he continued, "hate her, and--love--him." - -Lady Lenore started, and a crimson flush of shame stained her fair face. - -"How dare you!" she exclaimed. - -He smiled. - -"I have shown you my hand, my lady; I know yours. Will you tell me that -I am wrong? Say the word--say that you are indifferent how matters -go--and I will make my bow and leave you." - -She stood and looked at him--she could not say the word. He had spoken -the truth; she did love Lord Leycester with a passion that surprised -her, with a passion that had not made itself known to her until -to-night, when she had seen him take into his arms another woman--had -heard his protestations of love for another woman, and seen him kiss -another woman. - -Wounded pride, self-love, passionate desire, all fought for mastery -within her bosom, and the man who stood calmly before her knew it. - -He read every thought of her heart as it was mirrored on the proud, -beautiful face. - -"I do not understand," she said. "You come to me a perfect stranger, -and make these confessions." - -He smiled. - -"I come to you because you and I desire to accomplish one end--the -separation of these two persons. I come to you because I have already -found some means toward such an end, and I believe you are capable of -devising and carrying out the remainder. Lady Lenore----" - -"Do not utter my name," she said, looking round uneasily. - -"--You, and you alone, can help me. As I have said, I can influence -the girl, you can influence him. I have worked hard for that -influence--have plotted, and planned, and schemed for it. Cleverness, -ingenuity--call it what you will--has been exerted by me; you have only -to exert your--pardon me--your beauty." - -With a gesture, she drew the shawl nearer her face--it was like -profanation to hear him speak of her beauty. - -"--Together we conquer; alone, I think, we should fail, for though I -hold her in a cleft stick I cannot answer for him. He is headstrong and -wild, and in a moment might upset my plans. Your task--if you accept -it--is to see that he does not. Will you accept it?" - -She paused. - -"What is your hold over her?" she asked, curiously. - -He smiled. - -"Pardon me if I decline to answer. Be assured that I have a hold upon -her. Your hold on him is as strong as that of mine on her. Will you -exert it?" - -She was silent. - -"Think," he said. "Let me put the case clearly. For his own good -you ought not to hesitate. What good can come of such a marriage--a -viscount, an earl, marry the niece of a painter, an obscure nobody! It -is for his own good--the husband of Stella--I forgot!--no names. As her -husband he sinks into insignificance, as yours he rises to the height -which his position and yours entitle him to. Can you hesitate?" - -No tempter since the world began, not even the serpent at the foot -of the apple-tree in Eden, could have put it more ingeniously. She -wavered. Reluctant to make a compact with a man and a stranger, and -such a man! She stood and hesitated. - -He drew out his watch. - -"It is getting late," he said. "I see your ladyship declines the -alliance I offer you. I wish you 'good-night,'" and he raised his hat. - -She put forth her hand; it was as white as her face. - -"Stop," she said, "I agree." - -"Good," he said, with a smile. "Give me your hand," and he held out his. - -She hesitated, but she put her hand in his; the mental strength of the -man overcame her repugnance. - -"So we seal our bargain. All I ask your ladyship to do is to watch, and -to strike when the iron is hot. When that time comes I will give you -warning." - -And his hand closed over hers. - -A shudder ran through her at the contact; his hand was cold as ice. - -"There is no chance that these two will keep their compact now," he -said; "you and I will prevent it. Good-night, my lady." - -"Stop!" she said, and he turned. "You have not told me your name--you -know mine." - -He smiled at her--a smile of victory and self-confidence. - -"My name is Jasper Adelstone," he said. - -Her lips repeated the name. - -"Shall I see you safely into the hall?" - -"No, no," she said. "Go, if you please." - -He inclined his head and left her, but he did not go until she had -entered the private park by another gate, and her figure was lost to -sight. - -Lord Leycester rowed Stella across the river, and parted from her. - -"Good-night, my beloved," he whispered. "It is not for long. I shall -see you to-morrow. Good-night! I shall wait here until I see you enter -the lane; you will be safe then." - -He held her in his arms for a moment, then he let her go, and stood on -the bank watching her. - -She sped across the meadows and entered the lane breathless. - -Pausing for a moment to recover her composure, she went on to the gate -and opened it. - -As she did so a slight, youthful figure slipped out of the shadow and -confronted her. - -She uttered a slight cry and looked up. - -At that moment the moonlight fell upon the face in front of her. - -It was the same face in the miniature. The same face, though changed -from boyhood to youth. - -It was "Frank!" - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - - -It was the face she had seen in the miniature, changed from childhood -to youth. The same blue eyes, frank, confiding, and womanish--the -same golden hair clustering in short curls, instead of falling on the -shoulders as in the picture--the same smiling mouth, with its little -touch of weakness about the under lip. A taking, a pretty rather than a -handsome face; it ought to have belonged rather to a girl than a boy. - -Stella stared, and doubted the evidence of her senses. Her dream -flashed across her mind and made her heart beat with a sudden emotion, -whether of fear or pleasure she could not tell. - -Who was this boy, and what was he doing there leaning on the gate as if -the place belonged to him, and he had a right to be there? - -She took a step nearer, and he opened the gate for her. Stella -entered, and he raised his hat, allowing the moonbeams to fall on his -yellow hair, and smiled at her, very much as a child might smile, with -grave, open-eyed admiration and greeting. - -"Are you--you _are_ Stella!" he said, in a voice that made her -start,--it was so like her uncle's, but softer and brighter. - -"My name is Stella!" she said, filled with wonder. - -He held out his hand frankly, but with a little timid shyness. - -"Then we are cousins," he said. - -"Cousins?" exclaimed Stella, but she gave him her hand. - -"Yes, cousins," he said. "You are Stella, Uncle Harold's daughter, are -you not? Well, I am Frank." - -She had felt it. - -"Frank?" she repeated, amazedly. - -He nodded. - -"Yes, I am your Cousin Frank. I hope"--and a cloud settled on his -face--"I hope you are not sorry?" - -"Sorry!" she uttered, feeling stupid and confused. "No, I am not sorry! -I am very glad--of course I am very glad!" and she held out her hand -this time. "But I didn't know!" - -"No," he said, with a little sigh. "No, I suppose you did not." - -A step was heard behind them, and Mr. Etheridge appeared. - -Stella ran to him with a glad cry and put her arms round his neck. - -"Uncle!" - -He kissed her, and parting the hair from her forehead, looked into her -eyes tenderly. - -"Yes, Stella, I am back," he said; there was a sad weariness in his -voice, and he looked haggard and tired. "And"--he hesitated, and put -his hand on the boy's shoulder--"I have brought someone with me. -This--is Frank," he hesitated again, "my son." - -Stella suppressed a start, and smiled up at him as if the announcement -were one of the most natural. - -"I am so glad," she whispered. - -He nodded. - -"Yes, yes," and his gaze wandered to the face of the boy who stood -looking at them with a little faint smile, half timid, half uneasy. -"Frank has come to stop with us for a time. He is going to the -university." - -"Yes," said Stella, again. She felt that there was some mystery, felt -that the boy was connected in some way with that telegram and the -hurried visit to town, and with her characteristic gentleness and tact -hastened to smooth matters. "I'll go and see if Mrs. Penfold has made -proper arrangements," she said. - -Mr. Etheridge looked after her as she went into the house; the boy's -voice startled him. - -"How beautiful she is!" he murmured, a faint flush on his cheek, a -light of boyish admiration in his eyes. "I didn't know I had such a -beautiful cousin, so----" - -"No," said the old man, warmly. "Go on, Frank. Wait." - -The boy paused and Mr. Etheridge put his hand on his shoulder. - -"She is as good as she is beautiful. She is an angel, Frank. I need not -say that she knows--nothing." - -The boy's face flushed, then went pale, and his eyes drooped. - -"Thank you, sir," he said, gratefully. "No," and he shuddered, "I -wouldn't have her know for--for the world." - -Then he went in. Stella was flitting about the room seeing the laying -of a cloth for an impromptu meal. He paused at the window as if afraid -to approach or disturb her, but she saw him and came to him with -that peculiar little graceful gait which her uncle had noticed so -particularly on the first night of her coming. - -"I am so glad you have come!" she said. "Uncle must be glad, too!" - -"Yes," he said, in a low voice. "You are glad, really glad!" - -Her beautiful eyes opened, and she smiled. - -"Very glad. You must come in and have some supper. It is quite ready," -and she went and called her uncle. - -The old man came in and sat down. The boy waited until she pointed to a -chair, into which he dropped obediently. - -Mr. Etheridge offered no explanation of his visit to London, and -she asked for none; but while he sat with his usual silent, dreamy -taciturnity, she talked to him. - -Frank sat and listened, scarcely taking his eyes off her. - -Presently Mr. Etheridge looked up. - -"Where have you been this evening, Stella?" he asked. - -A sudden blush covered her face, but though Frank saw it, his father -did not. - -"I have been into the woods," she said, "to the river." - -He nodded. - -"Very beautiful. The witches' trysting-place, they call it," he added, -absently. - -Stella's face paled, and she hung her head. - -"You were rather late, weren't you?" - -"Yes--too late," said Stella, guiltily. If she might only tell him! "I -won't be so late again." - -He looked up. - -"You will have Frank to keep you company now," he said. - -Stella turned to the boy with a smile that was still eloquent of guilt. - -"I shall be very glad," she said, feeling dreadfully deceitful. "You -know all the pretty places, no doubt, and must act as _cicerone_." - -His eyes dropped. - -"No, I don't," he said. "I haven't been here before." - -"Frank has been at school," said Mr. Etheridge, quietly. "You will have -to be the _cicerone_," and he rose and wandered to the window. - -Stella rang the bell, wheeled up the arm-chair, and got the old man's -pipe, hanging over him with marked tenderness, and the boy watched her -with the same intent look. - -Then she came back to her seat, and took out some work. - -"You are not going to work to-night?" he said, leaning his elbows on -the table and his head upon his hands--small, white, delicate hands, to -match the face. - -"This is only make-believe," she said. "Don't you know the old proverb -about idle hands?" And she laughed. - -He started, and his face paled. - -Stella wondered what she had said to affect him, and hurried on. - -"I can't sit still and do nothing, can you?" - -"Yes, for hours," he said, with a smile; "I am awfully idle, but I must -get better habits; I must follow your example. I mean to read while -I'm down here--read hard, don't you know. Shall I begin to-night?" he -asked, his eyes upon her with almost slavish intentness. - -"Not to-night," she said, with a laugh; "you must be tired. You have -come from London, haven't you?" - -"Yes," he said; "and I am rather tired. I would rather sit and watch -you, if you don't mind." - -She shook her head. - -"Not in the least. You can tell me about your school." - -"I would rather sit and watch you in silence," he said, "unless you -like to talk. I should like that." - -He seemed a queer boy; there was something almost sad in his quietness, -but Stella felt that it was only temporary. - -"He is tired, poor boy," she thought. - -Presently she said: - -"How old are you?" - -"Seventeen," he said. - -She looked at him. - -"I did not think you were so old," she said, with a laugh. - -He smiled. - -"Few persons do. Yes; I am seventeen." - -"Why, you are quite a man," she said, with a laugh. - -He blushed--proving his boyhood--and shook his head. - -"Stella," came the old man's voice, "will you play something?" - -She rose instantly, and glided to the organ and began to play. - -She had been playing some little time; then she commenced to sing. - -Suddenly she heard a sound suspiciously like a sob close to her side, -and looking round saw that the boy had stolen to a low seat near her, -and was leaning his face upon his hands. She stopped, but with a sudden -gesture and a look toward her, the silent, seated figure motioned her -to go on. - -She finished--it was the "Ave Maria,"--and then bent down to him. - -"You are tired!" she whispered. - -The voice was so sweet, so kind, so sisterly, that it went straight to -the bottom of the lad's heart. - -He looked up at her, with that expression in his eyes which one sees in -the eyes of a faithful, devoted dog then bent and kissed the sleeve of -her dress. - -All the tenderness of Stella's nature welled up at the simple act, and -with a little murmur she bent down and put her lips to his forehead. - -His face flushed and he shrank back. - -"Don't!" he said, in a strained voice. "I am not worthy!" - -For answer she stooped again and kissed him. - -He did not shrink this time, but took her hand and held it with a -convulsive grasp, and something trembled on his lip, when he started -and stared toward the window. - -Stella turned her head quickly and stared also, for there, standing -with his face turned toward them, with his eyes fixed on them, stood -Jasper Adelstone. She rose, but he came forward with his finger on his -lip. - -"He is asleep," he said, glancing at the chair, and he held out his -hand. - -Stella took it; it was hot and dry. - -"I ought to apologize for coming in so late," he said in a cautious -voice; "but I was passing, and the music proved too great a temptation. -Will you forgive me?" - -"Certainly," said Stella. "We are very glad to see you. This is my -Cousin Frank," she added. - -The small eyes that had been fixed on her face turned to the boy's, and -a strange look came into them for a second, then, in his usual tone, he -said: - -"Indeed! home for a holiday, I suppose? How do you do?" and he held out -his hand. - -Frank came out of the shadow and took it, and Jasper held his hand and -looked at him with a strange smile. - -"You have not introduced me," he said to Stella. - -Stella smiled. - -"This is Mr. Adelstone, a friend of uncle's," she said. - -Jasper Adelstone looked at her. - -"Will you not say a friend of yours also?" he asked, gently. - -Stella laughed. - -"I beg your pardon; yes, if I may. I'll say a friend of ours." - -"And yours too, I hope," said Jasper Adelstone to Frank. - -"Yes, thank you," answered the boy; but there was a strange, -ill-concealed shyness and reluctance in his manner. - -Stella drew a chair forward. - -"Won't you sit down?" she asked. - -He sat down. - -"I am afraid I have interrupted you," he said. "Will you go on--do, -please?" - -Stella glanced at her uncle. - -"I am afraid I should wake him," she said. - -He looked disappointed. - -"Some other time," said Stella. - -"Thanks," he said. - -"Uncle is very tired to-night; he has just come from London." - -"Indeed!" said Jasper, with well-feigned surprise. "I have been to -London also. That reminds me, I have ventured to bring some music for -you--for your uncle!" and he drew a book from his pocket. - -Stella took it, and uttered a little exclamation of pleasure. It was a -volume of Italian songs; some of them familiar to her, all of them good. - -"How nice, how thoughtful of you!" she said. "Some of them are old -favorites of mine. Uncle will be so pleased. Thank you very much." - -He put his hand to his mouth. - -"I am glad there are some songs you like," he said. "I thought that -perhaps you would prefer Italian to English?" - -"Yes--yes," said Stella, turning over the leaves. "Very much prefer it." - -"Perhaps some night you will allow me to hear some of them?" - -"Indeed, you shall!" she said, lightly. - -"I may have an opportunity," he went on, "for I am afraid I shall be -rather a frequent visitor." - -"Yes?" said Stella, interrogatively. - -"The fact is," he said, hesitatingly, and he could have cursed himself -for his hesitation and awkwardness--he who was never awkward or -irresolute at other times--he who had faced the proud disdain of Lady -Lenore and conquered it!--"the fact is that I have some business with -your uncle. A client of mine is a patron of the fine arts. He is a very -wealthy man, and he is anxious that Mr. Etheridge, whom he greatly -admires, should paint him a picture on a subject which he has given -to me! It is rather a difficult subject--I mean it will require some -explanation as the picture progresses, and I have promised, if Mr. -Etheridge will permit me, to give the explanation." - -Stella nodded. She had taken up her work again, and bent over it, quite -unconscious of the admiration with which the two pair of eyes were -fixed on her--the guarded, passionate, wistful, longing in the man's, -the open awe-felt admiration of the boy's. - -"But," she said with a smile, "you know how--I was going to say -obstinate--my uncle is; do you think he will paint it?" - -"I hope to be able to persuade him," he said, with a modest smile. -"Perhaps he will do it for me; I am an old friend, you know." - -"Is it for you, then?" she asked. - -"No, no," he said, quickly; "but this art-patron is a great friend of -mine, and I have pledged myself to persuade Mr. Etheridge." - -"I see," said Stella. - -Jasper was silent a moment, his eyes wandering round the room in search -of the flowers--_his_ flowers. They were nowhere to be seen; but on her -bosom were the wild blossoms which Lord Leycester had gathered. - -A dark shade crossed his face for a moment, and his hands clinched, -but he composed himself. The time would come when she would wear _his_ -flowers and his alone--he had sworn it! - -He turned to Frank with a smile. - -"Are you going to stay at home for long?" he asked. - -Frank had withdrawn into the shadow, where he had been watching Stella -and Jasper's faces alternately. He started visibly. - -"I don't know," he said. - -"I hope we shall see a great deal of each other," he said. "I am -staying at the Rectory, taking holiday also." - -"Thank you," said Frank, but not overjoyously. - -Jasper rose. - -"I must go now," he said, "Good-night." He took Stella's hand and bent -over it; then, turning to the boy, "Good-night. Yes," he added, and he -held the small hands with a tight pressure, "we must see a good deal of -each other, you and I." - -Then he stole out noiselessly. - -As he disappeared, Frank heaved a sigh of relief, and Stella looked at -him. - -He was still standing as he had stood when Jasper held his hand, -looking after him; and there was a strange look on his face which -aroused Stella's attention. - -"Well?" she said, with a smile. - -Frank started, and looked down at her with a smile. - -"Is it true," he asked, "that he is a great friend of my father's?" - -Stella nodded. - -"I suppose so, yes." - -"And of yours?" he said, intently. - -Stella hesitated. - -"I have known him such a short time," she said, almost apologetically. - -"I thought so," he said. "He is not a friend of yours--you don't like -him?" - -"But"--said Stella. - -"I know it," he said, "as well as if you had told me; and I am glad of -it." - -There was a tone of suppressed excitement in his voice--a restless, -uneasy look in his eyes, which astonished Stella. - -"Why?" she said. - -"Because," he answered, "I do not like him. I"--and a shiver ran -through him--"I hate him." - -Stella stared. - -"You hate him!" she exclaimed. "You have only seen him for a few -minutes! Ought you to say that?" - -"No, I suppose not," he replied; "but I can't help it. I hate him! -There is something about him that--that----" - -He hesitated. - -"Well?" - -"That makes me afraid. I felt while he was talking as if I was being -smothered! Don't you know what I mean?" - -"Yes," said Stella, quickly. - -It was that she had felt herself sometimes, when Jasper's low, smooth -voice was in her ears. But she felt that it was foolish to encourage -the boy's fancy. - -"But that is nonsense!" she said. "He is very kind and considerate. He -has sent me some beautiful flowers----" - -"He has?" he said, gloomily. - -"And this music." - -Frank took up the book and eyed it scornfully, and threw it on the -table as if he were tempted to pitch it out of the window. - -"What does he do it for!" he demanded. - -"I don't know--only out of kindness." - -Frank shook his head. - -"I don't believe it! I--I wish he hadn't! I beg your pardon. Have I -offended you?" he added, contritely. - -"No," said Stella, laughing. "Not a bit, you foolish boy," and she -leant on her elbows and looked up at him with her dark eyes smiling. - -He came nearer and looked down at her. - -"I am glad you don't like him." - -"I didn't say----" - -"But I know it. Because I shouldn't like to hate anyone you liked," he -added. - -"Then," said Stella, with her rare, musical laugh, "as it's very wicked -to hate anyone, and I ought to help you to be good, the best thing I -can do is to like Mr. Adelstone." - -"Heaven forbid!" he said, so earnestly, so passionately, that Stella -started. - -"You are a wicked boy!" she said, with a smile. - -"I am," he said, gravely, and his lips quivered. "But if anything could -make me better it would be living near you. You are not offended?" - -"Not a bit," laughed Stella; "but I shall be directly, so you had -better go to bed. Your room is quite ready, and you look tired. -Good-night," and she gave him her hand. - -He too bent over it, but how differently to Jasper! and he touched it -reverently with his lips. - -"Good-night," he said; "say good-night to my father for me," and he -went out. - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - - -One hears of the devotion of a dog to its master, the love of a horse -for its rider; such devotion, such love Stella received from the boy -Frank. He was a very singular boy, and strange; he soon lost the air of -melancholy and sadness which hung about him on the first night of his -arrival, and became happier and sometimes even merry; there was always -a certain kind of reserve about him. - -As Stella--knowing nothing of the history of the forged bill--said, he -had his thinking fits, when he used to sit with his head in his hands, -his eyes fixed on vacancy. - -But these fits were not of frequent occurrence, and oftener he was -in the best of boyish moods, chatty and cheerful, and "chaffy." His -devotion to Stella, indeed, was extraordinary. It was more than the -love of a brother, it was not the love of a sweetheart, it was a kind -of worship. He would sit for hours by her side, more often at her -feet listening to her singing, or watching her at work. He was never -so happy as when he was with her, walking in the meadows, and he would -gladly lay aside his fishing rod or his book, to hang about with her in -the garden. - -There had never been anyone so beautiful as Stella--there had never -been anyone so good. The boy looked up to her with the same admiration -and love with which the devotee might regard his patron saint. - -His attachment was so marked that even his father, who noticed so -little, observed it and commented on it. - -"Frank follows you like a dog, Stella," he said, the third evening -after the boy's arrival. "Don't let him bother you; he has his reading -to get through, and there's the river and his rod. Send him about his -business if he worries you." - -Stella laughed. - -"Frank worry me!" she exclaimed lightly. "He is incapable of such a -thing. There never was such a dear considerate boy. Why, I should miss -him dreadfully if he were to go away for an hour or two even. No, he -doesn't bother me in the slightest, and as to his books and his rod, he -shamelessly confessed yesterday, that he didn't care for any of them -half as much as he cared for me." - -The old man looked up and sighed. - -"It is strange," he said, "you seem to be the only person who ever had -any influence over him." - -"I ought to be very proud, then," said Stella, "and I am. No one could -help loving him, he is so irresistible." - -The old man went on with his work with a little sigh. - -"Then he's so pretty!" continued Stella. "It is a shame to call a boy -pretty, but that is just what he is." - -"Yes," said Mr. Etheridge, grimly. "It is the face of a girl, with all -a girl's weakness." - -"Hush," said Stella, warningly. "Here he comes. Well, Frank," she said, -as he came in, his slim form dressed in boating flannels, his rod in -his hand. "What have you been doing--fishing?" - -"No," he said, his eyes fixed on her face. "I meant to, but you said -that you would come out directly, and so I waited. Are you ready? It -doesn't matter--I'll wait. I suppose it's the pudding, or the custards, -or the canary wants feeding. I wish there were no puddings or canaries." - -"What an impatient boy it is," she exclaimed, with a laugh. "Well, now -I'm ready." - -"Let's go down to the river," he said. "There's someone fishing -there--at least, he's supposed to be fishing, but he keeps his eyes -fixed in this direction, so that I don't imagine he is getting much -sport." - -"What is he like?" said Stella. - -"Like?" said Frank. "Oh, a tall, well-made young fellow, in brown -velvet. A man with a yellow mustache." - -Stella's face flushed, and she glanced round at her uncle. - -"Let us go," she said. "I know who it is. It is Lord Leycester." - -"Not Lord Leycester Wyndward," exclaimed Frank. "Not really! I should -like to see him. Do you know him, Stella?" - -"Yes--a little," said Stella, shyly. "A little." - -"Yes, it is Lord Leycester," said Stella, and the color came to her -face. - -"I have heard so much about Lord Leycester," said Frank, eagerly; -"everybody knows him in London. He is an awful swell, isn't he?" - -Stella smiled. - -"You will teach me the most dreadful slang, Frank," she said. "Is he -such a 'swell,' as you call him?" - -"Oh, awful; there isn't anything that he doesn't do. He drives a coach -and four, and he's the owner of two of the best race horses in England, -and he's got a yacht--the 'Gipsy,' you know--and, oh, there's no end to -his swelldom. And you know him?" - -"Yes," said Stella, and her heart smote her, that she could not say: "I -know him so well that I am engaged to be married to him." But she could -not; she had promised, and must keep her promise. - -Frank could not get over his wonder and admiration. - -"Why, he's one of the most popular men in London," he said. "Let me -see! there's something else I heard about him. Oh, yes, he is going to -be married." - -"Is he?" said Stella, and a little smile came about her lips. - -Frank nodded. - -"To a swell as great as himself. To Lady Lenore Beauchamp." - -The smile died away from Stella's lips, and her face paled. - -It was false and ridiculous, but the mere rumor struck her, not with a -dagger's but a pin's point. - -"Is he?" she said, feeling deceitful and guilty, and she walked on in -silence to the river's bank, while Frank ran on telling all he knew of -Lord Leycester's swelldom. According to Frank he was a very great swell -indeed, a sort of prince amongst men, and as Stella listened her heart -went out to the boy in gratitude. - -And she was to marry this great man! - -They reached the river's bank, and Lord Leycester, who had been -watching them, put down his rod and came across. - -Stella held out her hand, her face crimson with a warm blush, her eyes -downcast. - -"How do you do, Stel--Miss Etheridge?" he said, pressing her hand; then -he glanced at Frank. - -"This is my cousin, Frank," said Stella. "Frank Etheridge." - -Frank, with his blue eyes wide open with awe, looked up at the handsome -face of the "awful swell," and bowed respectfully; but Lord Leycester -held out his hand, and smiled at him--the rare sweet smile. - -"How do you do, Mr. Etheridge?" he said, warmly, and at the greeting -the boy's heart leaped up and his face flushed. "I am very glad to meet -you," went on Leycester, in his frank way--just the way to enslave a -boy--"very glad, indeed, for I was feeling bored to death with rod and -line. Are you fond of fishing? Will you come for a row? Do you think -you can persuade your cousin to accompany us?" - -Frank looked up eagerly at Stella, who stood, her beautiful face -downcast and grave, but for the little tremulous smile of happiness -which shone in the dark eyes and played about the lips. - -"Do, Stella!" he said, "do let us go!" - -Stella looked up with a smile, and Lord Leycester helped her into the -boat. - -"You can row?" he said to Frank. - -"Yes," said Frank, eagerly, "I can row." - -"You shall pull behind me, then," said Leycester. - -They took up sculls, and Lord Leycester, as he leaned forward for the -stroke, spoke in a low tone: - -"My darling! Have you wondered where I have been?" - -Stella glanced at Frank, pulling away manfully. - -"He cannot hear," whispered Leycester; "the noise of the sculls -prevents him. Are you angry with me for being away?" - -She shook her head. - -"You haven't missed me?" - -"I have missed you!" she said, sharply. - -His heart leaped at the plain, frank avowal. - -"I have been to London," he said. "There has been some trouble about -some foolish, tiresome horses; I was obliged to go. Stella, every hour -seemed an age to me! I dared not write; I could not send a message. -Stella, I want to speak to you very particularly. Will he be offended -if I get rid of him. He seems a nice boy!" - -"Frank is the dearest boy in the world," she said, eagerly. - -Leycester nodded. - -"I did not know Mr. Etheridge had a son--it is his son?" - -"Yes," she said; "neither did I know it; but he is the dearest boy." - -Leycester looked round. - -"Frank," he said--"you don't mind my calling you Frank?" - -Frank colored. - -"It is very friendly of your lordship." - -Leycester smiled. - -"I shall think you are offended if you address me in that way," he -said. "My name is Leycester. If you call me 'my lord,' I shall have -to call you 'sir.' I can't help being a lord, you know. It's my -misfortune, not my fault." - -Frank laughed. - -"I wish it was my misfortune, or my fault," he said. - -Leycester smiled. - -"There is a jack just opposite where I was fishing; I saw him half an -hour ago. Would you like to try for him?" - -Frank put the sculls up at once. - -"All right," said Leycester, and he pulled for the shore. - -"You'll find my rod quite ready. You'll stay here Stel--Miss Etheridge. -We'll pull about gently till Frank has caught his fish." - -Frank sprang to land and ran to the spot where Leycester had left his -rod, and Leycester sculled up stream again for a few strokes, then he -put the sculls down and leant forward, and seized Stella's hand. - -"He will see you," said Stella, blushing. - -"No, he will not," he retorted, and he bent until his lips touched her -hand. "Stella, I want to speak to you very seriously. You must promise -you will not be angry with me." - -Stella looked at him with a smile. - -"Is it so serious," she said, in that low, murmuring voice which a -woman uses when she speaks to the man she loves. - -"Very," he said, gravely, but with the bold, defiant look in his eyes -which presaged some bold, defiant deed. "Stella, I want you to marry -me." - -Stella started, and her hand closed spasmodically on his. - -"I want you to marry me soon," he went on--"at once." - -"Oh, no, no!" she said, in a whisper, and her hand trembled in his. - -Marry him at once! The thought was so full of immensity that it -overwhelmed her. - -"But it must be 'Yes! yes! yes!'" he said. "My darling, I find that I -cannot live without you. I cannot! I cannot! You will take pity on me!" - -Take pity on him--the great Lord Leycester; the most popular man in -London; the heir to Wyndward; the hero of whom Frank had been speaking -so enthusiastically; while she was but Stella Etheridge, the painter's -penniless niece. - -"What am I to say? what can I say?" she said, in a low voice, her eyes -downcast, her heart beating fast. - -"I will tell you," he said. "You must say 'Yes,' my darling, to all I -ask you." - -There was a moment's pause, in which she felt that indeed she must say -'Yes' to anything he asked her. - -"Listen, darling," he went on, caressing her hand, his eyes fixed -on her face wistfully. "I have been thinking of this love of ours, -thinking of it night and day, and I feel that you and I can do no good -by waiting. You are happy--yes, because you are a woman; but I am not -happy, because, perhaps, that I am a man. I shall not be happy until we -are one--until you are my very own. Stella, we must be married at once." - -"Not at once," she pleaded. - -"At once," he said; and there was a strange, eager, impatient light -in his eyes. "Stella, I can speak to you as I can speak to no one -else--you and I are one in thought--you are my other self. My darling, -I would go through fire to save you a moment's pain, not only pain, but -uneasiness and annoyance." - -Her fingers closed on his hand, and her eyes, raised to his face for a -moment, plainly said, "I believe it;" but her lips said nothing. - -"Stella, there would be pain and annoyance to you, if--if we were to -make known our love. It is a foolish, stupid, idiotic world; but as the -world is, we must accept it--we cannot alter it. If we were to declare -our love, all sorts of people would be arrayed against us. Do you -think your uncle would consent to it?" - -Stella thought a moment. - -"I know what you mean," she said, in a low voice. "No, uncle would not -consent. But it is not that only. Lady Wyndward--the earl--no one of -your people would consent." - -His lips curled. - -"About their consent I care little," he said, in the quiet, defiant -manner peculiar to him. "But I do care for your happiness and peace of -mind, and I fear they might make you unhappy and--uncomfortable. So, -Stella, I think you and I had better walk to church one fine morning, -and say 'nothing to nobody.'" - -Stella started. - -"Secretly, do you mean? Oh, Leycester!" - -"My darling! Is it not best? Then when it is all over, and you are my -very own, nobody will say anything, because it will be no good to say -anything! Stella, it must be so! If we waited until we got everybody's -consent, we might wait until we were as old as Methuselah!" - -"But uncle!" murmured Stella. "He has been so good to me." - -"And I will be good to you!" he murmured, with such sweet significance -that the beautiful face crimsoned. "He only wants to see you happy, and -I will make you happy, my darling--my own!" - -As he spoke he took her hand, and held it to his lips as if he never -meant to part with it, and Stella could not find a word to say. If she -had found a word it would have been 'Yes.' - -He was silent a moment--thinking. Then he said-- - -"Stella, you think I have some plan ready, but I have not. I would -not even think of a plan till I got your consent. Now I have got your -consent--I have, haven't I?" - -Stella was silent, but her hand closed over his. - -"I will think. I will make a plan. We shall want some one to help us." - -He thought a moment, then he looked up with a smile. - -"I know! It shall be--Frank!" - -"Frank!" exclaimed Stella. - -He nodded. - -"Yes, I like him. I like him because he likes you. Stella, that boy -adores you." - -Stella smiled. - -"He is a dear good boy." - -"He shall help us. He shall be our Mercury, and carry messages. Do you -know, Stella, that you and I have never written to each other since we -have been engaged? When I was in London, I longed for some memento of -you, some written line, something you had touched. You will write now, -darling, and Frank shall act as messenger. I will think it all out, and -send you word, if I do not see you. Frank and I must be good friends. -It is quite true that the boy adores you. I can see it in his eyes. -That is no wonder--anybody, everybody who knows you must adore you, my -darling." - -Something has been said of the infinite charm possessed by Leycester, -a charm quite irresistible when he chose to exert it. This morning he -exerted it to the utmost extent. Stella felt in dreamland and under -a spell. If he had asked her to go to land and marry him there and -then--if he had asked her to follow him to the ends of the world, she -would have felt bound to so follow him. She forgot time and place and -everything as she listened to him, for a time at least, but as the boat -drifted down to the spot where they had left Frank, she remembered the -boy, and looked up with a start. - -"Frank is not there," she said. "Where has he gone?" - -Leycester looked up smiling. - -"You are a sister to him!" he said. "He must have wandered down the -bank. He is all right." - -Then he looked down the river, and a sudden light came into his eyes. - -"The foolish boy," he said. "He has gone on to the weir." - -"The weir!" exclaimed Stella. - -"Don't be frightened," he said. "He is all right. He is standing on the -wooden stage over the weir." - -Stella looked round. - -"He will fall!" she said. "Isn't it very dangerous?" - -It did look dangerous. Frank had climbed on to the weir bars and was -standing over a narrow beam, his legs apart, his eyes fixed on the big -float which danced in the foaming water. - -"He is all right," said Leycester. "I'll tell him to come off. Don't be -alarmed, my darling. You have gone quite pale!" - -"Call to him to come off at once," said Stella. - -Leycester rowed to land, and they both walked to the weir, a few paces -only. - -"Better come off there, Frank," called out Leycester. - -Frank looked round. - -"I've just had a touch," he said. "There is a tremendous jack there, or -perhaps it's a trout; he'll come again directly." - -"Come off," said Leycester. "You are frightening Stella--your cousin." - -"All right," said Frank, but at the moment the fish, jack or trout, -seized the bait, and with an exultant cry, Frank jerked his rod. - -"I've got him!" he shouted. "It's a monster! Have you got a net Lord--I -mean Leycester?" - -"No, bother the net and the fish too," said Leycester. "Leave the fish -and come off; your cousin is alarmed." - -"Oh, very well," said Frank, and he jerked the rod to get clear of the -fish, and at the same moment turned warily toward the shore. - -But the fish--jack or trout--had got a firm hold, and was not disposed -to go, and making a turn to the open river, put a strain on the rod -which Frank had not expected. - -It was a question whether he should drop the rod or cling on. - -He decided on the latter, and the next moment he missed his footing -and fell into the foaming water. Stella did not utter a cry--it was not -her way of expressing her emotion--but she grasped Leycester's arm. - -"All right, my darling," he murmured; "it is all right," and as he -spoke, he put her hand from his arm gently and tenderly. - -The next moment he had torn off his coat, and springing on the weir -stood for just a second to calculate the distance, and dived off. - -Stella, even then, did not shriek, but she sank speechless on the bank, -and with clasped hands and agonized terror, watched the struggle. - -Lord Leycester rose to the surface almost instantly. He was a skilled -diver and a powerful swimmer, and he had not lost his presence of mind -for a moment. - -It was a terrible place to jump from--a still more terrible place from -which to rescue a drowning person; but Lord Leycester had done the -thing before, and he was not afraid. - -He saw the boy's golden head come up a few yards beyond where he, Lord -Leycester, rose, and he struck out for it. A few stokes, and he reached -and grasped him. - -"Don't cling to me, my boy" he gasped. - -"No fear, Lord Leycester!" gasped Frank, in return. - -Then Lord Leycester seized him by the hair, and striking out for the -shore, fought hard. - -It was a hard fight. The recoil of the stream, as it fell from the -weir, was tremendous; it was like forcing one's way through liquid -iron. But Lord Leycester did force his way, and still clinging to the -boy's hair, dragged him ashore. - -Dripping wet, they stood and looked at each other. Then Lord Leycester -laughed; but Frank, the boy, did not. - -"Lord Leycester," he said, speaking pantingly, "you have saved my life." - -"Nonsense!" said Leycester, shaking himself; "I have had a pleasant -bath, that's all!" - -"You have saved my life," said Frank, solemnly. "I should never have -been able to force my way through that current alone. I know what a -weir stream is." - -"Nonsense," said Leycester, again. Then he turned to where Stella -stood, white and trembling. "Don't be frightened, Stella; don't be -frightened, darling!" - -The word was said before he could recall it, and he glanced at Frank. - -Frank nodded. - -"I know," he said with a smile. "I knew it half an hour ago; since you -first spoke to her." - -"Frank!" murmured Stella. - -"I knew he loved you," said Frank, calmly. "He could not help it; how -could anybody help it who knew you?" - -Leycester laid his hand on the boy's arm. - -"You must go home at once," he said, gently. - -"You have saved my life," said Frank again. "Lord Leycester, I shall -never forget it. Perhaps some day I shall be able to repay you. It -seems unlikely; but remember the story of the lion and the mouse." - -"Never mind the lion and the mouse," said Leycester, smiling, as he -wrung the Thames water from his clothes. "You must get home at once." - -"But I do remember the lion and the mouse," said Frank, his teeth -chattering. "You have saved my life." - -Meanwhile Stella stood wordless and motionless, her eyes wandering from -her lover to Frank. - -Wordless, because she could find no words to express her admiration for -her lover's heroism. - -At last she spoke. - -"Oh, Leycester!" she said, and that was all. - -Leycester took her in his arms and kissed her. - -"Frank," he said, "you must keep our secret." - -"I would lay down my life for either of you," said the boy, looking up -at him. - -They went down to the boat in silence, and Leycester rowed them across -in silence; then, as they landed, Frank spoke again, and there was a -strange light in his eyes. - -"I know," he said. "I know your secret. I would lay down my life for -you!" - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - - -Stella hurried Frank across the meadows, a rather difficult task, as -he would insist upon talking, his teeth chattering, and his clothes -dripping. - -"What a splendid fellow, Stella! What a happy girl you ought to be--you -are!" - -"Perhaps I am," assented Stella, with a little smile; "but do you make -haste, Frank! Can't you run any faster? I'll race you to the lane!" - -"No, you won't," he retorted cheerfully. "You run like a greyhound at -the best of times, and now I seem to have got a couple of tons clinging -to me, you'd beat me hollow. But, Stella! think of him plunging off the -beam! Many a man would have been satisfied to jump off the bank; if he -had, he wouldn't have saved me! He knew that; and he made nothing of -it, nothing! And that is the man they call a dandy and a fop!" - -"Never mind what they call him, but run!" implored Stella. - -"I don't know any other man who could have done it," he went on, his -teeth chattering; "and how friendly and jolly he was, calling me Frank -and telling me to call him Leycester! Stella, what a lucky girl you -are; but he is not a bit too good for you after all! No one is too good -for you! And he does love you, Stella; I could see it by the way he -looked at you, and you thought to hide it, and that I shouldn't see it. -Did you think I was a muff?" - -"I think you will be laid up with a bad cold, sir, if you don't run!" -said Stella. "What will uncle say?" - -Frank stopped short and his face paled; he seemed to shrink. - -"My father must know nothing about it," he said. "Don't tell him, -Stella; I will get in the back way and change. Don't tell him!" - -"But----" said Stella. - -"No, no," he reiterated; "I don't want him to know. It will only -trouble him, and"--his voice faltered--"I have given him so much -trouble." - -"Very well," said Stella. "But come along or you will be ill, and then -he must know." - -This appeared to have the desired effect, and he took her hand and set -off at a run. They reached the lane, and were just turning into it, -when the tall, thin figure of Jasper emerged. - -Both Stella and Frank stopped, and she felt his hand close in hers -tightly. - -"Stella, here's that man Adelstone," he said, in a whisper of aversion. -"Must we stop?" - -Jasper settled that question by raising his hat, and coming forward -with outstretched hand. - -"Good-evening!" he said, his small, keen eyes glancing from Stella to -the boy, and taking in the fact of the wet clothes in a moment. - -"What is the matter?" - -"Nothing much," said Stella with a smile, and hurriedly. "My cousin has -fallen into the water. We are hurrying home." - -"Fallen in the water!" said Jasper, turning and walking beside them. -"How did he manage that?" - -Frank was silent, and Stella, with a little flush, said, gravely: - -"We were on the water----" - -"I was fishing from the weir," broke in Frank, pressing her hand, -warningly, "and I fell in; that is all." - -There was something almost like defiance in the tone and the glance he -gave at the sinister face. - -"Into the weir stream!" exclaimed Jasper, "and you got ashore! You must -be a good swimmer, my dear Frank!" - -"I am--pretty well," said Frank, almost sullenly. - -"Perhaps you had the waterman to help you," said Jasper, looking from -one to the other. - -Then Stella, who felt that it would be better to speak out, said, -gravely: - -"Lord Leycester was near, and leapt in and saved him." - -Jasper's face paled, and an angry light shot from his eyes. - -"How fortunate that he should happen to be near!" he said. "It was -brave of him!" - -There was a suspicion of a sneer in the thin voice that roused the -spirit of the boy. - -"It was brave," he said. "Perhaps you don't know what it is to swim -through a weir current, Mr. Adelstone?" - -Jasper smiled down at the flushed, upturned face. - -"No, but I think I should have tried if I had been lucky enough to be -in Lord Leycester's place." - -"I'm very glad you weren't," said Frank, in a low voice. - -"I am sure you would," said Stella, quickly. "Anyone would. Come, -Frank. Good-evening, Mr. Adelstone." - -Jasper paused and looked at her. She looked very beautiful with her -flushed face and eager eyes, and his heart was beating rapidly. - -"I came out hoping to see you, Miss Etheridge," he said. "May I come -in?" - -"Yes, of course; uncle will be very pleased," she said. "But go in the -front way, please; we are going in at the back, because we don't wish -uncle to know. It would only upset him. You will not tell him, please?" - -"You may always rely on my discretion," said Jasper. - -Stella, still holding Frank's hand, dragged him into the kitchen, and -stopped Mrs. Penfold's exclamation of dismay. - -"Frank has had an accident, Mrs. Penfold. Yes, he fell in the river. -I'll tell you all about it afterward; but he must change his things at -once--at once. Run up, Frank, and get into the blanket----" - -"All right," he said; then, as he went out of the room, he took her by -the arm. - -"Don't let that man stay, Stella. I--hate him." - -"My dear Frank!" - -"I hate him! What did he mean by sneering at Lord Leycester?" - -"He doesn't like Lord Leycester," said Stella. - -"Who cares?" exclaimed Frank, indignantly. "Curs are not particularly -fond of lions, but----" - -Stella would hear no more, but pushed him up the stairs with anxious -impatience; then she went into the studio. As she neared the door she -could hear Jasper Adelstone's voice. He was talking to her uncle, -and something in the tone struck her as peculiar, and struck her -unpleasantly. - -There was a tone of familiarity, almost of covert power in it that -annoyed her. - -With her hand on the door she paused, and it seemed to her as if she -heard him speak her name; she was not sure, and she would not wait, but -with a little heightened color she opened the door and entered. - -As she did so Jasper laid his hand upon the old man's arm as if to call -his attention to her entrance, and the painter turned round with a -start, and looking at her intently, said, with evident perplexity: - -"A mere girl--a mere girl, Jasper!" and shaking his head, resumed his -work. - -Jasper stood a moment, a smile on his face, watching Stella from the -corner of his eyes; then he said, suddenly: - -"I have been admiring your roses, Miss Stella, and breaking the last -commandment. I have been coveting them." - -"Oh!" said Stella. "Pray take any you like, there are such numbers of -them that we can spare them; can we not, uncle?" - -As usual, the painter took no notice, and Jasper, in a matter-of-fact -voice, said: - -"Do you mind coming out and telling me which I may cut? I only want -one or two to take to London with me, to brighten my dull rooms." - -"Certainly," said Stella, moving toward the window. "Are you going to -London?" - -He muttered something and followed her out, his eyes taking in the -lithe grace of her figure with a hungry wistfulness. - -"Now then," said Stella, standing in the middle of the path and waving -her hand: - -"Which shall it be, white rose or red?" and she smiled up at him. - -He looked at her for a moment in silence. She had never appeared to -him more beautiful than this morning; there was a subtle light of -hidden joy shining in her eyes, a glow of youthful hope about her face -that set his heart beating with mingled pleasure and pain--delight in -the beauty which he had sworn should be his, pain and torture in the -thought that another--the hated Lord Leycester--had already looked upon -it that morning. - -Even as he stood silently regarding her, a bitter suspicion smote -through his heart that the joyousness which shone from the dark eyes -had been set there by Lord Leycester. He bit his lip and his face went -pale, then with a start he came close to her. - -"Give me which you please," he said. "Here is a knife." - -Stella took the knife heedlessly and carelessly. There was no -significance in the deed; she did not know that he would attach any -importance to the fact that she should cut the rose and give it to him -with her own hand; if she had so understood it she would have dropped -the knife as if it had been an adder. - -In simple truth she was not thinking of him--scarcely saw him; she was -thinking of that lover, the god of her heart, and seeing him as he -swam through the river foam. For she was scarcely conscious of Jasper -Adelstone's presence, and in the acuteness of his passion he almost -suspected it. - -"White or red?" she said, knife in hand. - -He glanced at her. - -"Red," he said, and his lips felt hot and dry. - -Stella cut a red rose--a dark red rose, and with a little womanly -gesture put it to her face; it was a little girlish trick, all -unthinking, unconsciously done, but it sent the blood to the heart of -the man watching her in a sudden, passionate rush. - -"There," she said; "it is a beauty. They speak of the roses of -Florence, but give me an English rose, Florentine roses are fuller than -these, but not so beautiful--oh, not so beautiful! There," and she held -it out to him, without looking at him. If she had done so, she would -have surely read something in the white constrained face, and small, -glittering eyes that would have warned her. - -He took it without a word. In simple truth he was trying to restrain -himself. He felt that the time was not ripe for action--that a word -of the devouring passion which consumed him would be dangerous, and -he whispered to himself, "Not yet! not yet!" But her loveliness, that -touch of the rose to his face, overmastered his cool, calculating -spirit. - -"Thank you," he said at last; "thank you very much. I shall value it -dearly. I shall put it on my desk in my dark, grim room, and think of -you." - -Then Stella looked up and started slightly. - -"Oh!" she said, hurriedly. "You would like some more perhaps? Pray take -what you would like," and she held out the knife, and looked upon him -with a sudden coldness in the eyes that should have warned him. - -"No, I want no more," he said. "All the roses that ever bloomed would -not add to my pleasure. It is this rose from your hand that I value." - -Stella made a slight movement toward the window, but he put out his -hand. - -"Stay one moment--only a moment," he said, and in his eagerness he put -out his hand and touched her arm, the arm sacred to Leycester. - -Stella shrank back, and a little shudder swept through her. - -"What--what is it!" she asked, in a low voice that she tried to make -calm and cold and repressive. - -He stood, shutting and opening the knife with a nervous restlessness, -as unlike his calm impassability as the streaming torrent that forces -its way through the mountain gorge is like the lake at their feet; his -eyes fixed on her face with anxious eagerness. - -"I want to speak to you," he said. "Only a few words--a very few words. -Will you listen to me? I hope you will listen to me." - -Stella stood, her face turned away from him, her heart beating, -but coldly and with fear and repugnance, not as it had beat when -Leycester's low tones first fell upon her ear. - -He moistened his lips again, and his hand closed over the shut knife -with a tight clasp, as if he were striving to regain self-command. - -"I know it is unwise. I feel that--that you would rather not listen to -me, and that I shall do very little good by speaking, but I cannot. -There are times, Stella----" - -Stella moved slightly at the familiar name. - -"There are times when a man loses self-control, when he flings prudence -to the winds, or rather, lets it slip from him. This is one of those -moments, Stella--Miss Etheridge; I feel that I must speak, let it cost -me what it may." - -Still silent, she stood as if turned to stone. He put his hand to his -brow--his white, thin hand, with its carefully trimmed nails--and wiped -away the perspiration that stood in big beads. - -"Miss Etheridge, I think you can guess what it is I want to say, and I -hope that you will not think any the less of me because of my inability -to say it as it should be said, as I would have it said. Stella, if you -look back, if you will recall the times since first we met, you cannot -fail to know my meaning." - -She turned her face toward him for a moment, and shook her head. - -"You mean that I have no right to think so. Do you think that you, a -woman, have not seen what every woman sees so quickly when it is the -case--that I have learned to love you!" - -The word was out at last, and as it left him he trembled. - -Stella did not start, but her face went paler than before, and she -shrank slightly. - -"Yes," he went on, "I have learned to love you. I think I loved you -the first evening we met; I was not sure then, and--I will tell you -the whole truth, I have sworn to myself that I would do it--I tried to -fight against it. I am not a man easily given to love; no, I am a man -of the world--one who has to make his way in the world, one who has an -ambition; and I tried to put you from my thoughts--I tried hard, but I -failed." - -He paused, and eyed her watchfully. Her face was like a mask of stone. - -"I grew to love you more day by day--I was not happy away from you. -I carried your image up with me to London--it came between me and my -work; but I was patient--I told myself that I should gain nothing by -being too rash--that I must give you time to know me, and to--to love -me." - -He paused and moistened his lips, and looked at her. Why did she not -speak--of what was she thinking? - -At that moment, if he could but have known it, she was thinking of her -true lover--of the young lord who had not waited and calculated, but -who had poured the torrent of his passionate love at her feet--had -taken her in his arms and made her love him. And as she thought, how -small, how mean this other man seemed to her! - -"I gave you mine--I meant to give you more," he continued; "I want to -do something worthy of your love. I am--I am not a rich man, Stella--I -have no title--as yet----" - -Stella's eyes flashed for a moment, and her lips closed. It was an -unlucky speech for him. - -"No, not yet; but I shall have riches and title--I have set my mind -on them, and there is nothing that I have set my mind on that I have -not got, or will not get--nothing!" he repeated, with almost fierce -intensity. - -Still she did not speak. Like a bird charmed, fascinated by a snake, -she stood, listening though every word was torture to her. - -"I have set my mind on winning your love, Stella. I love you as few men -love, with all my heart and soul. There is nothing I would not do to -win you, there is nothing I would--pause at." - -A faint shudder stole through her; and he saw it, and added, quickly: - -"I would do anything to make you happy--move heaven and earth to see -you always smiling as you smiled this morning. Stella, I love you! What -have you to say to me?" - -He stopped, white and seemingly exhausted, his thin lips tightly -compressed, his whole frame quivering. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. - - -Stella, turned her eyes upon him, and something like pity took -possession of her for a moment. It was a womanly feeling, and it -softened her reply. - -"I--am very sorry," she said, in a low voice. - -"Sorry!" he repeated, hoarsely, quickly. "Do not say that!" - -"Yes--I am very sorry," she repeated. "I--I--did not know----" - -"Did not know that I loved you!" he retorted, almost sharply. "Were you -blind? Every word, every look of mine would have told you, if you had -cared to know----" - -Her face flushed, and she raised her eyes to his with a flash of -indignation. - -"I did not know!" she breathed. - -"Forgive me!" he pleaded hoarsely. "I--I am very unfortunate. I offend -and anger you! I told you that I should not be able to say what I had -to say with credit to myself. Pray forgive me. I meant that though I -tried to hide my love, it must have betrayed itself. How could it be -otherwise? Stella, have you no other word for me?" - -"None," she said, looking away. "I am very sorry. I did not know. But -it could not have been. Never." - -He stood regarding her, his breath coming in long gasps. - -"You mean you never can love me?" he asked. - -Stella raised her eyes. - -"Yes," she said. - -His hand closed over the knife until the back of the blade pressed -deeply into the quivering palm. - -"Never is--is a long day," he said, hoarsely. "Do not say 'never.' I -will be patient; see, I am patient, I am calm now, and will not offend -you again! I will be patient and wait; I will wait for years, if you -will but give me hope--if you will but try to love me a little!" - -Stella's face paled, and her lips quivered. - -"I cannot," she said, in a low voice. "You--you do not understand. -One cannot teach oneself to love--cannot _try_. It is impossible. -Besides--you do not know what you ask. You do not understand!" - -"Do I not?" he said, and a bitter sneer curled the thin lips. "I do -understand. I know--I have a suspicion of the reason why you answer me -like this." - -Stella's face burnt for a moment, then went pale, but her eyes met his -steadily. - -"There is something behind your refusal; no girl would speak as you -do unless there was something behind. There is someone else. Am I not -right?" - -"You have no right to ask me!" said Stella, firmly. - -"My love gives me the right to ask. But I need not put the question, -and there is no necessity for you to answer. If you have been blind, I -have not. I have seen and noted, and I tell you, I tell you plainly, -that what you hope for cannot be. I say cannot--shall not be!" he -added, between his closed teeth. - -Stella's eyes flashed as she stood before him glorious in her -loveliness. - -"Have you finished?" she asked. - -He was silent, regarding her watchfully. - -"If you have finished, Mr. Adelstone, I will leave you." - -"Stay," he said, and he stood in the path so that she could not pass -him, "Stay one moment. I will not ask you to reconsider your reply. -I will only ask you to forgive me." His voice grew hoarse, and his -eyes drooped. "Yes, I will beg you to forgive me. Think of what I am -suffering, and you will not refuse me that. Forgive me, Stella--Miss -Etheridge! I have been wrong, mad, and brutal; but it has sprung from -the depth of my love; I am not altogether to blame. Will you say that -you will forgive me, and that--that we remain friends?" - -Stella paused. - -He watched her eagerly. - -"If--if," he said quickly, before she could speak--"if you will let -this pass as if it had not been--if you will forget all I have said--I -will promise not to offend again. Do not let us part--do not send me -away never to see you again. I am an old friend of your uncle's; I -should not like to lose his friendship; I think I may say that he would -miss mine. Let us be friends, Miss Etheridge." - -Stella inclined her head. - -"Thank you, thank you," he said, meekly, tremulously; "I shall be -very grateful for your friendship, Miss Stella. I will keep the rose -to remind me of your forbearance," and he was patting the rose in his -coat, when Stella with a start stretched out her hand. - -"No! give it me back, please," she said. - -He stood eying her. - -"Let me keep it," he said; "it is a little thing." - -"No!" she said, firmly, and her face burnt. "You must not keep it. I--I -did not think when I gave it to you! Give it me back, please," and she -held out her hand. - -He still hesitated, and Stella, overstrained, made a step toward him. - -"Give it me," she said. "I must--I will have it!" - -An angry flush came on his face, and he held the rose from her. - -"It is mine," he said. "You gave it to me; I cannot give it back." - -The words had scarcely left his lips, when the rose was dashed from his -hand, and Frank stood white and panting between them. - -"How dare you!" he gasped, passionately, his hands clinched, his eyes -gleaming fiercely upon the white face. "How dare you!" and with a -savage exclamation the boy dashed his foot on the flower, and ground it -under his heel. - -The action, so full of scornful defiance, spurred Jasper back to -consciousness. With a smothered oath he grasped the boy's shoulders. - -Frank turned upon him with the savage ferocity of a wild animal, with -upraised arm. Then, suddenly, like a lightning flash, Jasper's face -changed and a convulsive smile forced itself upon his lips. - -He caught the arm and held it, and smiled down at him. - -"My dear Frank," he murmured. "What is the matter?" - -So sudden was the change, so unexpected, that Stella, who had caught -the boy's other arm, stood transfixed. - -Frank gasped. - -"What did you mean by keeping the rose?" he burst out. - -Jasper laughed softly. - -"Oh, I see!" he said, nodding with amused playfulness. "I see. You -were watching--from the window, perhaps, eh?" and he shook his arm -playfully. "And like a great many other spectators, took jest for -earnest! Impetuous boy!" - -Frank looked at the pale, smiling face, and at Stella's downcast one. - -"Is it true?" he asked Stella, bluntly. - -"Oh, come!" said Jasper, reproachfully. "Isn't that rather rude? But I -must forgive you, and I do it easily, my dear Frank, when I remember -that your sudden onslaught was prompted by a desire to champion Miss -Stella! Now come, you owe me a rose, go and cut me one, and we will be -friends--great friends, will we not?" - -Frank slid from his grasp, but stood eying him suspiciously. - -"You will not?" said Jasper. "Still uncertain lest it should have been -sober earnest? Then I will cut one for myself. May I?" and he smiled at -Stella. - -Stella did not speak, but she inclined her head. - -Jasper went to one of the standards and cut a red rose deliberately and -carefully, and placed it in his coat, then he cut another, and with a -smile held it to Stella. - -"Will that do instead of the one the stupid boy has spoiled?" he said, -laughing. - -Stella would have liked to refuse it, but Frank's eyes were upon her. - -Slowly she held out her hand and took the rose. - -A smile of triumph glittered for a moment in Jasper's eyes, then he put -his hand on Frank's shoulder. - -"My dear Frank," he said, in a soft voice, "you must be careful; you -must repress that impulsive temper of yours, must he not?" and he -turned to Stella and held out his hand. "Good-bye! It is so dangerous, -you know," he murmured, holding Stella's hand, but keeping his smiling -eyes fixed on the boy's face. "Why, some of these days you will be -doing someone an injury and find yourself in prison, doing as they call -it, six months' hard labor, like a common thief--or forger!" and he -laughed, as if it were the best joke in the world. - -Not so Frank. As the bantering words left the thin, smiling lips, Frank -recoiled suddenly, and his face went white. - -Jasper looked at him. - -"And now you are sorry?" he said. "Tell me it was only your fun! Why, -my dear boy, you wear your heart on your sleeve! Well, if you would -really like to beg my pardon, you may do it." - -The boy turned his white face toward him. - -"I--beg--your--pardon," he said, as if every word cost him an agony, -and then, with a sudden twitch of the face, he turned and went slowly -with bent head toward the house. - -Jasper looked after him with a steely, cruel glitter in his eyes, and -he laughed softly. - -"Dear boy!" he murmured; "I have taken so fond a liking for him, and -this only deepens it! He did it for your sake. You did not think I -meant to keep the rose! No; I should have given it to you! But I may -keep this! I will! to remind me of your promise that we may still be -friends!" - -And he let her hand go, and walked away. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII. - - -Lord Leycester was on fire as he strode up the hill to the Hall, and -that notwithstanding he was wet to the skin. He was on fire with love. -He swore to himself, as he climbed up the slope, that there was no -one like his Stella, no one so beautiful, so lovable and sweet as the -dark-eyed girl who had stolen his heart from him that moonlight night -in the lane. - -And he also vowed that he would wait no longer for the inestimable -treasure, the exquisite happiness that lay within his grasp. - -His great wealth, his time honored title seemed as nothing to him -compared with the thought of possessing the first real love of his life. - -He smiled rather seriously as he pictured his father's anger, his -mother's dismay and despair, and Lil's, dear Lilian's, grief; but it -was a smile, though a serious one. - -"They will get over it when it has once been done. After all, barring -that she has no title and no money--neither of which are wanted, by the -way--she is as delightful a daughter-in-law as any mother or father -could wish for. Yes; I'll do it!" - -But how? that was the question. - -"There is no Gretna Green nowadays," he pondered, regretfully. "I wish -there were! A ride to the border, with my darling by my side, nestling -close to me all the way with mingled love and alarm, would be worth -taking. A man can't very well put up the banns in any out-of-the-way -place, because there are few out-of-the-way places where they -haven't heard of us Wyndwards. By Jove!" he muttered, with a little -start--"there is a special license. I was almost forgetting that! That -comes of not being used to being married. A special license!" and -pondering deeply he reached the house. - -The party at the hall was very small indeed now, but Lady Lenore and -Lord Charles still remained. Lenore had once or twice declared that she -must go, but Lady Wyndward had entreated her to stay. - -"Do not go, Lenore," she had said, with gentle significance. "You -know--you must know that we count upon you." - -She did not say for what purpose she counted upon her, but Lenore -had understood, and had smiled with that faint, sweet smile which -constituted one of her charms. - -Lord Charles stayed because Leycester was still there. - -"Of course I ought to go, Lady Wyndward," he said; "you must be -heartily tired of me, but who is to play billiards with Leycester if -I go, or who is to keep him in order, don't you see?" and so he had -stayed, with one or two others who were only too glad to remain at the -Hall out of the London dust and turmoil. - -By all it was quite understood that Lord Leycester should be considered -as quite a free agent, free to come and go as he chose, and never to -be counted on; they were as surprised as they were gratified if he -joined them in a drive or a walk, and were never astonished when he -disappeared without furnishing any clew to his intentions. - -Lady Wyndward bore it all very patiently; she knew that what Lady -Longford had said was quite true, that it was useless to attempt to -drive him; but she did say a word to the old countess. - -"There is something amiss!" she said, with a sigh, and the old countess -had smiled and shown her teeth. - -"Of course there is, my dear Ethel," she retorted; "there always is -where he is concerned. He is about some mischief, I am as convinced as -you are. But it does not matter, it will come all right in time." - -"But will it?" asked Lady Wyndward with a sigh. - -"Yes, I think so," said the old countess, "and Lenore agrees with me, -or she would not stay." - -"It is very good of her to stay," said Lady Wyndward, with a sigh. - -"Very!" assented the old lady, with a smile. "It is encouraging. I am -sure she would not stay if she did not see excuse. Yes, Ethel it will -all come right; he will marry Lenore, or rather, she will marry him, -and they will settle down, and--I don't know whether you have asked me -to stand god-mother to the first child." - -Lady Wyndward tried to feel encouraged and confident, but she felt -uneasy. She was surprised that Lenore still remained. She knew nothing -of that meeting between the proud beauty and Jasper Adelstone. - -And Lenore! A great change had come over her. She herself could -scarcely understand it. - -At night--as she sat before her glass while her maid brushed out the -long tresses that fell over the white shoulders like a stream of liquid -gold--she asked herself what it meant? Was it really true that she was -in love with Lord Leycester? She had not been in love with him when she -first came to the Hall--she would have smiled away the suggestion if -anyone had made it; but now--how was it with her now? And as she asked -herself the question, a crimson flush would stain the beautiful face, -and the violet eyes would gleam with mingled shame and self-scorn, so -that the maid would eye her wonderingly under respectfully lowered lids. - -Yes, she was forced to admit that she did love him--love him with a -passion which was a torture rather than a joy. She had not known the -full extent of that passion until the hour when she had stood concealed -between the trees at the river, and heard Leycester's voice murmuring -words of love to another. - -And that other! An unknown, miserable, painter's niece! Often, at -night, when the great Hall was hushed and still, she lay tossing to and -fro with miserable longing and intolerable shame, as she recalled that -hour when she had been discovered by Jasper Adelstone and forced to -become his confederate. - -She, the great beauty--before whom princes had bent in homage--to be -love-smitten by a man whose heart was given to another--she to be the -confederate and accomplice of a scheming, under-bred lawyer. - -It was intolerable, unbearable, but it was true--it was true; and in -the very keenest paroxysm of her shame she would confess that she would -do all that she had done, would conspire with even a baser one than -Jasper Adelstone to gain her end. - -"She!" she would murmur in the still watches of the night--"she to -marry the man to whom I have given my love! It is impossible--it shall -not be! Though I have to move heaven and earth, it shall not be." - -And then, after a sleepless night, she would come down to -breakfast--fair, and sweet, and smiling--a little pale, perhaps, but -looking all the lovelier for such paleness, without the shadow of a -care in the deep violet eyes. - -Toward Leycester her bearing was simply perfection. She did not wish to -alarm him; she knew that a hint of what she felt would put him on his -guard, and she held herself in severe restraint. - -Her manner to him was simply what it was to anyone else--exquisitely -refined and charming. If anything, she adopted a lighter tone, and -sought to and succeeded in calling forth his rare laughter. - -She deceived him completely. - -"Lenore in love with me!" he said to himself more than once; "the idea -is ridiculous! What could have made the mother imagine such a thing?" - -And so they met freely and frankly, and he talked and laughed with her -at his ease, little dreaming that she was watching him as a cat watches -a mouse, and that not a thing he said or did escaped her. - -She knew by instinct where he spent the times in which he was missing -from the Hall, and pictured to herself the meetings between him and the -girl who had robbed her of his love. And as the jealousy increased, so -did the love which created it. Day by day she realized still more fully -that he had won her heart--that it was gone to him forever--that her -whole future happiness depended upon him. - -The very tone of his voice, so deep and musical--his rare laugh--the -smile that made his face so gay and bright--yes, even the bursts of the -passionate temper which lit up the dark eyes with sudden fire, were -precious to her. - -"Yes, I love him," she murmured to herself--"it is all summed up in -that. I love him." - -And Leycester, still smiling to himself over his mother's "amusing -mistake," was all unsuspecting. All his thoughts were of Stella. - -Now as he came toward the terrace, she stood with Lady Longford and -Lord Charles looking down at him. - -She watched him, her cheek resting on her white hand, her face hidden -from the rest by the sunshade, whose lining of hearty blue harmonized -with the golden hair, and "her heart hungered," as Victor Hugo says. - -"Here's Leycester," said Lord Charles. - -Lady Longford looked over the balustrade. - -"What has he been doing? Rowing--fishing?" - -"He went out with a fishing rod," said Lord Charles, with a grin, "but -the fish appear to have devoured it; at any rate Leycester hasn't got -it now. Hullo, old man, where have you been? Come up here!" - -Leycester sprang up the steps and stood beside Lenore. It was the first -time she had seen him that morning, and she inclined her head and held -out her hand with a smile. - -He took her hand; it was warm and soft, his own was still cold from his -bath, and she opened her eyes widely. - -"Your hand is quite cold," she said, then she touched his sleeve, "and -you are wet. Where have you been?" - -Leycester laughed carelessly. - -"I have met with a slight accident, and gained a pleasant bath." - -"An accident?" she repeated, not curiously, but with calm, serene -interest. - -"Yes," he said, shortly, "a young friend of mine fell into the river, -and I joined company, just for company's sake." - -"I understand," she said with a smile, "you went in to save him." - -"Well, that's putting rather a fine point to it," he said, smilingly. - -"But it's true. May one ask his name?" - -Leycester flicked a piece of moss from the stone coping and hesitated -for a moment: - -"His name is Frank," he said; "Frank Etheridge." - -Lady Lenore nodded. - -"A pretty name; I don't remember it. I hope he is grateful." - -"I hope so," said Leycester. "I am sure he is more grateful than the -occasion merits." - -The old countess looked round at him. - -"What is it you say?" she said. "You have been in the river after some -boy, and you stand there lounging about in your wet clothes? Well, the -lad ought to be grateful, for though you will not catch your death, -you will in all probability catch a chronic influenza cold, and that's -worse than death; it's life with a pocket-handkerchief to your nose. -Go and change your things at once." - -"I think I had better, after that fearful prognostication," said -Leycester, with a smile, and he sauntered off. - -"Etheridge," said Lady Longford, "that is the name of that pretty girl -with the dark eyes who dined here the other night." - -"Yes," said Lenore, indifferently, for the old countess looked at her; -she knew that the indifference was assumed. - -"If Leycester doesn't take care, he will find himself in danger with -those dark eyes. Girls are apt to be grateful toward men who rescue -their cousins from a watery grave." - -Lady Lenore shifted her sunshade and smiled serenely. - -"No doubt she is very grateful. Why should she not be? Do you think -Lord Leycester is in danger? I do not." And she strolled away. - -The old lady glanced at Lord Charles. - -"That is a wonderful girl, Charles," she said, with earnest admiration. - -"What, Lenore?" he said. "Rather. Just found it out, Lady Longford?" - -"No, Mr. Impertinence. I have known it all along; but she astonishes me -afresh every day. What a great name she would have won on the stage. -But she will do better as Lady Wyndward." - -Lord Charles shook his head, and whistled softly. - -"Rather premature that, isn't it?" he said. "Leycester doesn't seem -very keen in that quarter, does he?" - -Lady Longford smiled at him and showed her teeth. - -"What does it matter how he seems?" she said. "It rests with her--with -her. You are a nice boy, Charles, but you are not clever." - -"Just exactly what my old schoolmaster used to say before he birched -me," said Lord Charles. - -"If you were clever, if you were anything else than unutterably stupid, -you would go and see that Leycester changes his clothes," snapped the -old lady. "I'll be bound he is sitting or lounging about in those wet -things still!" - -"A nod's as good as a wink to a blind horse," said Lord Charles, -laughing. "I'll go and do as I am bidden. He will probably tell me to -go and mind my own business, but here goes," and he walked off toward -the house. - -He found Leycester in the hands of his valet, being rapidly transferred -from wet flannels to orthodox morning attire, and apparently the valet -was not having a particularly easy time of it. - -Lord Charles sank into a chair, and watched the performance with amused -interest. - -"What's the matter Ley?" he asked, when the man left the room for a -moment. "You'll drive that poor devil into a lunatic asylum." - -"He's so confoundedly slow," answered Leycester, brushing away at his -hair, which the valet had already arranged, and tugging at a refractory -scarf. "I haven't a moment to lose." - -"May one ask whence this haste?" said Lord Charles, with a smile. - -Leycester colored slightly. - -"I've half a mind to tell you, Charlie," he said, "but I can't. I'd -better keep it to myself." - -"I'm glad of it," retorted Lord Charles. "I'm sure it's some piece of -madness, and if you told me, you'd want me to take a hand in it." - -"But that's just it," said Leycester, with a laugh. "You've got to take -a hand in it, old fellow." - -"Oh!" - -Leycester nodded and clapped him on the shoulder, with a musical laugh. - -"The best of you, Charlie," he said, "is, that one can always rely on -you." - -Lord Charles groaned. - -"Don't--don't, Ley!" he implored. "I know that phrase so well; you -always were wont to use it when there was some particularly evil -piece of business to be done in the old days. Frankly, I'm a reformed -character, and I decline to aid and abet you in any further madness." - -"This isn't madness," said Leycester;--"oh, keep outside a moment, -Oliver, I don't want you;--this is not madness, Charlie; it's the -sanest thing I've ever done in my life." - -"I dare say." - -"It is indeed. Look here! I am going up to London." - -"I guessed that. Poor London!" - -"Do stop and listen to me--I haven't a moment to spare. I want you to -do a little delicate service for me." - -"I decline. What is it?" retorts Lord Charles, inconsistently. - -"It is very simple. I want you to deliver a note for me." - -"Oh, come, you know! Won't one of the army of servants, who devour the -land like locusts, serve your turn?" - -"No; no none will do but yourself. I want this note delivered, at once. -And I don't want anyone but our two selves to know anything about it; I -don't want it to be carried about in one of the servant's pockets for -an hour or two." - -Lord Charles stretched his legs and shook his head. - -"Look here, Ley, isn't this rather too 'thin?'" he remonstrated. "Of -course it's to someone of the gentler sex!" - -Leycester smiled. - -"You are wrong," he said, with a smile. "Where's the Bradshaw, Oliver!" -and he opened the door. "Put out the note-paper, and then tell them to -get a dogcart to take me to the station." - -"You will want me, my lord?" - -"No, I am going alone. Look sharp!" - -Oliver put out the writing materials and departed, and Leycester sat -down and stared for a moment at the crested paper. - -"Shall I go?" asked Lord Charles, ironically. - -"No, I don't mean to lose sight of you, old fellow," replied Leycester. -"Sit where you are." - -"Can I help you? I am rather good at amorous epistles, especially other -people's." - -"Be quiet." - -Then he seized the pen and wrote:-- - - "MY DEAR FRANK--I have inclosed a note for Stella. Will you give it - to her when she is alone, and with your own hand! She will tell you - that I have asked her to come with you by the eleven o'clock train - to-morrow. Will you bring her to 24 Bruton Street? I shall meet - you there instead of meeting you at the station. You see I put it - quite simply, and am quite confident that you will help us. You know - our secret, and will stand by us, will you not? Of course you will - come without any luggage, and without letting anyone divine your - intentions." - - "Yours, my dear Frank, - - "LEYCESTER." - -This was all very well. It was easy enough to write to the boy, because -he, Leycester, knew that if he had asked Frank to walk through fire, -Frank would do it! But Stella? - -A sharp pang of doubt assailed him as he took up the second sheet of -paper. Suppose she should not come! - -He got up and strode to and fro the room, his brows knit, the old look -of determination on his face. - -"Drop it, Ley," said Lord Charles, quietly. - -Leycester stopped, and smiled down at him. - -"You don't know what that would mean, Charlie," he said. - -"Perhaps I do to--her, whomsoever it should be." - -Then Leycester laughed outright. - -"You are on the wrong track this time, altogether," he said, "quite -wrong." - -And he sat down and plunged into his letter. - -Like the first, it was very short. - - "MY DARLING,--Do not be frightened when you read what follows, and do - not hesitate. Think, as you read, that our happiness depends upon your - decision. I want you to come, with Frank, by the eleven o'clock train - to London, whither I am going now. I want you to take a cab and go to - 24 Bruton Street, where I shall be waiting for you. You know what will - happen, my darling! Before the morrow you and I will have set out on - that long journey through life, hand-in-hand, man and wife. My pen - trembles as I write the words. You will come, Stella? Think! I know - what you will feel--I know as if I were standing beside you, how you - will tremble, and hesitate, and dread the step; but you must take it, - dearest! Once we are married all will go well and pleasantly. I cannot - wait any longer: why should I? I have written to Frank, and confided - him to your care. Trust yourself to him, throw all your doubts and - fears to the winds. Think only of my love, and, may I add, your own?" - - "Yours ever, - - "LEYCESTER." - -He inclosed Stella's letter in a small envelope, and that, with Frank's -letter, in a larger one, which he addressed to Frank. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV. - - -"There," he said, balancing it on his finger and smiling, in his eager, -impatient way--"there is the missive, Charlie. Read the superscription -thereof." - -Lord Charles took the letter gingerly, and shook his head. - -"The lad you picked out of the water," he said. "What does it mean? I -wish you'd drop it, Ley." - -Leycester shook his head. - -"This is the last time I shall ask you to do me a favor, Charlie----" - -"Till the next." - -"You mustn't refuse. I want you to give this to the boy. You will find -him down at Etheridge's cottage. You cannot mistake him; he is a fair, -delicate-looking boy, with yellow hair and blue eyes." - -Lord Charles hesitated and looked up with a grave light in his eyes and -a faint flush on his face. - -"Ley," he said, in a low voice, "she is too good, far too good." - -Lord Leycester's face flushed. - -"If it were any other man, Charlie," he said, looking him full in the -eyes, "I should cut up rough. I tell you that you misunderstand me--and -you wrong me." - -"Then," said Lord Charles, "it is almost a worse case. Ley, Ley, what -are you going to do?" - -"I am going to do what no man on earth could prevent me doing," said -Leycester, calmly, but with a fierce light in his eyes. "Not even you, -Charlie." - -Lord Charles rose. - -"Give me the letter," he said, quietly. "At any rate, I know when -words are useless. Is there anything else? Shall I order a straight -waistcoat? This, mark my words, Ley!--this--if it is what I conjecture -it to be--this is the very maddest thing you have ever done!" - -"It is the very wisest and sanest," responded Leycester. "No, there is -nothing else, Charlie. I may wire for you to-morrow. If I do, you will -come?" - -"Yes, I will come," said Lord Charles. - -Oliver knocked at the moment. - -"The dogcart is waiting, my lord, and there is only just time." - -Leycester and Lord Charles passed out and down the stairs. - -The sound of laughter and music floated faintly through the parted -curtains of the drawing-room. - -"What shall I say to them?" asked Lord Charles, nodding toward the room. - -Leycester smiled, grimly. - -"Tell them," he said, "that I have gone to town _on business_," and he -laughed quietly. - -Then suddenly he stopped as if a thought had struck him, and glanced at -his watch. - -"One moment," he said, and ran lightly up the stairs to Lilian's room. -Her maid met him at the door. - -"Her ladyship is asleep," she said. - -Leycester hesitated, then he signed to her to open the door, and -entered. - -Lady Lilian lay extended on her couch, her eyes closed, a faint, -painful smile on her face. - -He stood and looked at her a moment, then he bent and lightly touched -her lips with his. - -"Good-bye, Lil," he murmured. "You at least will understand." - -Then he ran down, putting on his gloves, and had one foot on the -dogcart step when Lady Wyndward came into the hall. - -"Leycester," she said, "where are you going?" - -He turned and looked at her rather wistfully. Lord Charles fingered the -letter in his pocket, and wished himself in Peru. - -"To London, mother," he said. - -"Why?" she asked. - -It was an unusual question for her, who rarely asked him his -intentions, or the why and wherefore, and he hesitated. - -"On business," he said. - -She looked at the flushed face and the fire smoldering in his eyes, and -then at Lord Charles, who jingled the money in his pocket, and whistled -softly, with an air of pure abstraction. - -"What is it?" she asked, and an unusual look of trouble and doubt came -into her eyes. - -"Nothing that need trouble you, mother," he said. "I shall be back--" -he stopped; when should he be back?--"soon," he added. - -Then he stooped and kissed her. - -Lady Wyndward looked up into his eyes. - -"Don't go, Leycester," she murmured. - -Almost roughly, in his impatience, he put her arm from him. - -"You don't know what you ask," he said. Then in a gentle tone he said -"Good-bye," and sprang into the cart. - -The horse rose for a moment, then put his fore feet down and went off -like a rocket under the sharp cut of the whip, and Lady Wyndward, with -a sigh of apprehension, turned to where Lord Charles had stood. - -Had stood; for he had seized the moment of departure to steal off. - -He had helped Leycester in many a mad freak, had stood in with him in -many a wild adventure, which had cost them much after trouble and no -small amount of money, but Lord Charles had a shrewd suspicion that -this which he was asked to assist in was the climax of all that had -gone before. But he felt that he must do it. As we have said, there -were times when words were of as little use as chaff with Leycester, -and this was one of them. - -Ruefully, but unshaken in his devotion, he went up-stairs for his hat -and stick, and sauntered down, still wishing that he could have been in -Peru. - -"There will be a terrible storm," he muttered. "His people will cut up -rough, and I shall, of course, bear some portion of the blame; but -I don't mind that! It is Ley I am thinking of! Will it turn out all -right?" - -He was asking himself the question dolefully and helplessly as he -descended the stairs, when he became conscious of the graceful form of -Lady Lenore standing in the hall and looking up at him. - -She had watched Lord Leycester's departure from the window; she knew -that he was going to town suddenly--knew that Lord Charles had been -closeted with him, and now only needed to glance at Lord Charles' -rueful face to be convinced that something had happened. But there was -nothing of this in her smile as she looked up at him, gently fluttering -a Japanese fan, and holding back the trailing skirts with her white, -bejeweled fingers. - -Lord Charles started as he saw her. - -"By Jove!" he murmured, "if it is as I think, what will she do?" and -with an instinctive dread he felt half inclined to turn and reascend -the stairs, but Lenore was too quick for him. - -"We have been looking for you, Lord Charles," she said, languidly. -"Some rash individual has proposed lawn-tennis; we want you to play." - -Lord Charles looked confused. The letter burnt his pocket, and he knew -that he should know no peace until he got rid of it. - -"Awfully sorry," he said; "going down to the post-office to post a -letter." - -Lady Lenore smiled, and glanced archly at the clock. - -"No post till seven," she said; "won't it do after our game?" - -"No post!" he said, with affected concern. "Better telegraph," he -muttered. - -"I'll get you a form!" she said, sweetly; "and you can send it by one -of the pages." - -"Eh?" he stammered, blushing like a school-boy. "No, don't trouble; -couldn't think of it. After all it doesn't matter." - -Then she knew that Leycester had given him some missive, and she -watched him closely. No poorer hand at deception than poor Charles -could possibly be imagined; he felt as if the softly-smiling velvet -eyes could see into his pocket, and his hand closed over the letter -with a movement that she noted instantly. - -"It is a letter," she thought, "and it is for her." - -And a pang of jealous fire ran through her, but she still looked up at -him with a languid smile. - -"Well, are you coming?" - -"Of course," he assented, with too palpably-feigned alacrity. And he -ran down the stairs. - -She caught up a sun-hat and put it on, and pointed to the racquets that -stood in their stand in the hall. She would not let him out of her -sight for a moment. - -"They are all waiting," she said. - -He followed her on to the lawn. The group stood playing with the balls, -and waiting impatiently. - -Lord Charles looked round helplessly, but he had no time to think. - -"Shall we play together?" said Lenore. "We know each other's play so -well." - -Lord Charles nodded, not too gallantly. - -"All right," he said; and as he spoke, his hand wandered to his pocket. - -The game commenced. They were well matched, and presently Lord Charles, -whose two games were billiards and tennis, got interested. He also got -warm, and taking off his coat, flung it on to the grass. - -Lady Lenore glanced at it, and presently, as she changed places with -him, took off her bracelet and threw it on the coat. - -"Jewelery is superfluous in tennis," she said, with a soft laugh. "We -mean to win this set, do we not, Lord Charles?" - -He laughed. - -"If you say so," he replied. "You always win if you mean it." - -"Nearly always," she said, with a significant smile. - -All the four were enthusiasts, if Lenore could be called enthusiastic -about anything, and the game was hotly contested. The sun poured -down upon their faces, but they played on, pausing occasionally for -the usual squabble over the scoring; the servants brought claret and -champagne cup; Lady Wyndward and the earl came out and sat in the -shade, watching. - -"We shall win!" exclaimed Lord Charles, the perspiration running down -his face, his whole soul absorbed in the work, the letter entirely -forgotten. - -"I think so," said Lady Lenore, but as she spoke she missed a long ball. - -"How did you manage that?" he inquired. - -"It is the racquet," she said, apologetically. "It is a little too -heavy. It always gets too heavy when I have been playing a little -while. I wish I had my other one." - -"I'll send for it," he said, eagerly. - -"No, no," she said. "They won't know which it is--they never do." - -"I'll go for it, then," he said, gracefully. "Can't lose the game, you -know." - -"Will you?" she said, eagerly. "It stands on the hall table----" - -"I know," he said. "Wait a moment!" he called out to the others, and -bolted off. - -Lenore looked after him for a moment, then she glanced round. The other -two were standing discussing the game; the on-lookers were gathered -round the champagne cup. Lady Wyndward was lost in thought, with eyes -bent to the ground. - -The beauty's eyes flashed, and her face grew slightly pale. Her eyes -wandered to the coat, she hesitated for a moment, then she walked -leisurely toward it and stooped down and picked up the bracelet. As she -did so she turned the coat over with her other hand, and drew the note -from the pocket. - -A glance put her in possession of the address, and she returned the -note to its place, and strolled back to the tennis-court with an -unmoved countenance; but her heart beat fast, as her acute brain seized -upon the problem and worked it out. - -A note to the boy! A letter which can be confided to no less trusty a -hand than Lord Charles! Leycester's sudden departure for London! Lord -Charles's confusion and embarrassment! Secresy and mystery! What does -it mean? - -A presentiment seemed to possess her that a critical moment had -arrived. She seemed to feel, by instinct, that some movement was in -progress by which she should lose all chance of securing Leycester. - -Her heart beat fast, so fast that the delicate veins in her white -hands throbbed; but she still smiled, and even glided across to Lady -Wyndward, who sat thoughtfully in the shade, looking at the tennis, but -thinking of Leycester. - -She looked up as the tall graceful figure approached. - -"You are tiring yourself to death, my dear," she said, with a sigh. - -"No, I am enjoying it. What is the matter?" - -Lady Wyndward looked at her candidly. - -"I am troubled about my only troublous subject. Leycester has gone off -again." - -"I know," was the quiet answer. - -"Where, I know not; he said London. I don't know why I should feel -particularly uneasy, but I do. There is some plot afoot between Lord -Charles and him." - -"I know it," smiled Lenore, "Lord Charles is not good at keeping a -secret. He makes a very bad conspirator." - -"He would do anything for Leycester, any mad thing," sighed Lady -Wyndward. - -The beautiful face smiled down at her thoughtfully for a moment, then -Lenore said: - -"Do you think you could keep Lord Charles on the tennis-lawn, here, for -half-an-hour?" - -"Why?" asked Lady Wyndward. "Yes, I think so." - -"Do so, then," replied Lady Lenore, "I will tell you why afterward. -Lord Charles is very clever, no doubt, but I think I am cleverer, don't -you?" - -"I think you are all that is good and beautiful, my dear," sighed the -anxious mother. - -"Dear Lady Wyndward," softly murmured the beauty. "Well, keep him -chained here for half-an-hour, and leave the rest to me. I am not apt -to ask unreasonable requests, dear." - -"No. I'll do anything you want or tell me," replied Lady Wyndward. "I -am full of anxious fears, Lenore. Do you know what it means?" - -Lady Lenore hesitated. - -"No. I do not know, but I think I can guess. See, here he comes." - -Lord Charles came striding along, swinging the racquet. - -"Here you are, Lady Lenore. Is that the right one?" - -"Yes," she said, "but I can't play any longer. I am so sorry, but I -have hurt my hand. No, it's a mere nothing. I am going in to bathe it." - -"Oh, it's an awful pity," said Lord Charles. "I am very sorry. Well, -the game is over. We must play it out another day. I'm going down to -the village, and I'll call at the chemist's for a lotion. I expect you -have sprained your hand." And suddenly, reminded of his mission, he was -walking toward his coat, but Lenore glanced at the countess, and Lady -Wyndward stopped him with a word. - -"We can't have the game stopped," she said. "Here is Miss Dalton dying -to play, aren't you, dear?" she said, turning to a young girl who had -been watching the game. "Yes, I knew it. You must take her in place of -Lenore. Go on, my dear." - -Miss Dalton, or Miss any one else, would as soon have thought of -disobeying Lady Wyndward as jumping off the top story of the Hall, and -the girl rose obediently and took the racquet which Lenore smilingly -held out to her. - -Then what did Lenore do? She walked deliberately to Lord Charles' -coat, dropped her bracelet on it, stooped, picked up the bracelet, -and abstracted the letter, and concealing the latter in her sunshade, -glided toward the house. - -With fast beating heart she gained her own room and locked the door. - -Then she drew the letter from her sunshade and eyed it as a thief might -eye a safe in which lay the treasure he coveted. - -Then she rang the bell and ordered some hot water. - -"I have sprained my wrist," she said, in explanation, "and I want the -water very hot." - -The maid brought the water and offered to bathe the wrist, but Lady -Lenore sent her away, and locked the door again. - -Then she held the envelope over the steaming jug and watched the paper -part. - -Even then she hesitated, even as the note lay open to her. - -This which she contemplated doing was the meanest act a mortal could be -guilty of, and hitherto she had scorned all baseness and meanness. But -love is stronger than a sense of right and wrong in some women, and it -overcame her scruples. - -With a sudden compression of the lips she drew out the note and read -it, and as she read it her face paled. Every word of endearment stabbed -her straight to the heart, and made her writhe. - -"My darling!" she murmured; "my darling! How he must love her!" and for -a moment she sat with the letter in her hand overcome by jealousy and -misery. Then, with a start, she roused herself. Let come what might, -the thing should not happen. This girl should not be Leycester's wife. - -But how to prevent it? She sat and thought as the precious moments -ticked themselves out into eternity, and suddenly she remembered -Jasper Adelstone--remembered him with a scornful contempt, but still -remembered him. - -"Any port in a storm," she said; "a drowning man clings to a straw, and -he is no straw." - -Then she inclosed the letter in its envelope, and taking out the -writing-case wrote on a scented sheet of paper: "Meet me by the weir -at eight o'clock." This she inclosed in an envelope, and addressed to -Jasper Adelstone, Esq., and with the two notes in her hand returned to -the tennis lawn. - -They were still playing--Lord Charles absorbed in the game, and once -more quite oblivious of the letter. - -She stood and watched them for a minute; then she went and sank down -beside the jacket, and hiding the movements with her sunshade, restored -Leycester's letter to its place. - -A few minutes afterward the single line she had written was on its way -to Jasper. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV. - - -"I am Frank Etheridge," said Frank, looking up at Lord Charles, as -the latter stopped at the little gate in the lane. "Yes, I am Frank -Etheridge." And as he repeated the sentence, a shy, almost a timid, -apprehensive expression came into his eyes. - -"All right," said Lord Charles, looking round with a most inconsistent -look of caution on his frank, handsome face. "Then I have a letter for -you." - -"For me!" said Frank, and his face paled. - -Lord Charles eyed him with astonishment. - -"What is the matter?" he said. "What are you alarmed at? I am not a -bailiff--I am only Mercury." And he chuckled at the joke at his own -expense. "I have a letter for you--from my friend Lord Leycester." - -Frank's face lit up, and he held out his hand promptly. - -Lord Charles took the letter from his pocket and turned it over quickly. - -"It's got tumbled and creased," he said. "Fact is, I ought to have -given it to you an hour or two ago, but I was led on to tennis and -forgot it." - -"Oh, it's all right," said Frank, eagerly. "I am very much obliged, -sir. Won't you come in? My father and my cousin Stella will be glad to -see you." - -But Lord Charles shook his head, and glanced at the pretty cottage, -with its air of peace which surrounded it, with something like a pang -of remorse. - -"I do hope this will all turn out right," he thought. "Leycester -means well, but he is as likely as not to bungle it in one of his -mad humors!" Then aloud, he said, "No, I won't come in, but----" he -hesitated a moment, "but will you tell your cousin--Miss Etheridge, -that--that----" Simple Lord Charles hesitated and took off his hat, and -stared at the maker's name for a moment. "Well, look here, you know, if -either you or she want any assistance--want a friend, you know--come -to me. I shall be at the Hall. You understand, don't you? My name is -Guildford." - -Frank nodded, and took Lord Charles's extended hand. - -"Thank you, very much, Lord Guildford," he said. - -And Lord Charles, with another rather rueful glance at the cottage, -retired. - -Frank tore open the envelope and devoured the contents of the short -and pregnant note, then he went in search of Stella. - -She was sitting at the organ, not playing, but touching the keys with -her fingers, a rapt look of meditation on her face. Mr. Etheridge was -hard at work making the best of the golden evening light. - -Stella started as the boy came in, and would have spoken, but he put -his finger to his lips and beckoned her. - -They both passed out without attracting the attention of the absorbed -artist, and Frank drew Stella into the garden, and to a small arbor at -the further end. She looked at his flushed, excited face with a smile. - -"What does this mysterious conduct mean, Frank?" she asked. - -He put his arm round her and drew her to a seat. - -"I've got something for you, Stella," he said. "What will you give me -for it? It is worth--well, untold treasure, but I'll be satisfied with -a kiss." - -She bent and kissed his forehead. - -"Of course it is nothing," she said, with a laugh; but as he took the -letter from his pocket and held it up her face changed. "What is it -Frank?" - -He put the letter in her hand, and, with an instinctive delicacy got up -and walked away. - -"Read it, Stel," he said. "I'll be back directly." - -Stella took the letter and opened it. When Frank came back she was -sitting with the open letter in her hand, her face very pale, her eyes -filled with a strange light. - -"Well!" he said. - -"Oh Frank," she breathed, "I cannot do it! I cannot!" - -"Cannot!" he exclaimed. "You must! Why, Stella, of what are you afraid? -I shall be with you." - -She shook her head slowly. - -"It is not that. I am not afraid," and there was a touch of pride in -her voice. "Do you think I am afraid of--of Leycester?" - -"No!" he retorted. "I should think not! I would trust him, if I were in -your place, to the end of the world. I know what he has asked you to -do, Stel, and you--we--must do it!" - -Stella looked at him. - -"And uncle!" - -The boy colored, but his eyes met hers steadily. - -"Well, it will not hurt him! He will not mind. He likes Lord Leycester, -and when we come back and tell him he will be only too grateful that it -is all over without any fuss or trouble. You know that, Stel!" - -She did know it, but her heart still misgave her. With a touch of color -in her pale face at the thought of what "it" meant, she said gently. -"He has been a father to me, Frank; ah, you do not know!" - -"Yes, I do," he said, shortly; "but a husband is more than a father, -Stella. And my father won't be any the less fond of you because you are -Lady Leycester Wyndward!" - -"Oh, hush--hush!" breathed Stella, glancing round as if she feared the -very shrubs and flowers might hear. - -Frank threw himself beside her, and laying his hand on her arm, looked -up into her beautiful face with eager entreaty. - -"You will go, Stel; you will do what he asks!" and Stella looked down -at him with gentle wonder. Leycester himself could not have pleaded his -own cause more earnestly. - -"Don't you see, Stel?" he said, answering her look, for she had not -spoken; "I would do anything for him--anything! He risked his life -for me, but it is not only that; it is because he has treated me -so--so--well, I can't explain; but I would do anything for him, Stella. -I--I love you! you know; but--but I feel as if I should _hate_ you if -you refused to do what he asks!" - -Stella's eyes glistened; it made her heart throb to hear the boy's -championship of the man she loved. - -"Besides," he continued; "why should you hesitate? For it is for your -own happiness--for the happiness of us all! Think! you will be the -future Countess of Wyndward, the mistress of the Hall." - -Stella looked at him reproachfully. - -"Frank!" - -"Yes, I know you don't care about that, neither do I much, but other -people will. My father will be glad--he could not help being so, and -then you will be safe." - -"Safe? What do you mean?" asked Stella. - -He hesitated. Then he looked up at her with an angry resentful flash in -his blue eyes. - -"Stel! I was thinking of that fellow Adelstone. I don't like him! I -hate him, in fact; and I hate him all the more because he has set his -mind upon having you." - -Stella smiled and shook her head. - -"Oh, of course you can't see any harm in him. It's quite right you -shouldn't--you are a girl, and don't know the world; but I know -something of men, and I say that Jasper Adelstone is not a man to be -trusted." - -"_I_ don't like him," said Stella, in a low tone, "but I am quite -'safe,' as you call it, without marry--without doing what you and -Leycester wish." - -"I don't know," he muttered, gloomily. "At any rate, you _would_ be -safe then, and--and, Stella, you _must_ go. See, now, Leycester has -trusted you to me--has placed this in my hands. It is as if he said, 'I -saved your life--you promised to help me. Here is something to do--do -it!' And I will. You will go. Think, Stel!--A few short hours and you -will be Lady Leycester!" - -She did think of it, and her heart beat tumultuously. - -Yes, she would be safe not only from Jasper Adelstone, but from Lady -Lenore, whom she feared more than she did twenty Jasper Adelstones. -Leycester would be her own, her very own; and though she did not care -much for the Wyndward coronet, she did care for him. - -She covered her face with her hands, and sat quite motionless for a few -minutes, the boy watching her eagerly, impatiently; then she dropped -her hands, and looked down at him with the quiet, grave, resolute smile -which he knew so well. - -"Yes, Frank, I will do it," was all she said. - -He kissed her hand gratefully. - -"Think it is Lord Leycester thanking you, Stel," he whispered. "And -now for the preparations. You must pack a small bag, and I will do -the same, and then I must take them down the lane and hide them; it -wouldn't do to go out of the house in the morning with the bags in -our hands--Mrs. Penfold would raise the neighborhood, and we must -stroll out as if we were strolling down to the river. But there!"--he -broke off, for he saw Stella's face, always so eloquent, beginning to -show signs of irresolution--"leave it all to me--I'll see to it! Lord -Leycester knew he could trust me." - -Stella sat for a few minutes in silence, thinking of the old man who -had received her in her helplessness, who had loved and treated her as -a daughter, and whom she was about to deceive. - -Her heart smote her keenly, but still Frank had spoken the -truth--husband was more than father, and Leycester would be her husband. - -She stooped and kissed the boy. - -"I must go in now, Frank," she said. "Do not say any more. I will go, -but I cannot talk of it." - -She went in; the dusk was falling, and the old man stood beside his -easel eying it wistfully. - -She went and drew him away. - -"No more to-night, uncle," she said, in tones that quivered -dangerously. "Come and sit down; come and sit and watch the river, as -you sat the day I came; do you remember?" - -"Yes--yes, my dear," he murmured, sinking into the chair, and taking -the pipe she filled for him. "I remember the day. It was a happy day -for me; it would be a miserable day the day you left me, Stella!" - -Stella hid her face on his shoulder, and her arm went round his neck. - -He smoothed her hair in silence. - -"Where is Frank?" he asked, dreamily. - -"In the garden. Shall I call him? Dear Frank! He is a dear boy, uncle!" - -"Yes," he answered, musingly, then he roused slightly. "Yes, Frank is a -good boy. He has changed greatly; I have to thank you for that too, my -dear!" - -"Me, uncle?" - -The old man nodded, his eyes fixed on the distant lights of the Hall. - -"Yes, it is your influence, Stella. I have watched and noticed it. -There is no one in the world who has so much power over him. Yes, he is -a good boy now, thanks to you!" - -What could she say? Her heart throbbed quickly. Her influence! and she -was now going to help him to deceive his father--for her sake! - -In silence she hid her face, and a tear rolled down her cheek and fell -upon his arm. - -"Uncle," she murmured, "you know I love you! You know that! You will -always remember and believe that, whatever--whatever happens." - -He nodded all unsuspectingly, and smiled. - -"What is going to happen, Stella?" he asked; but even as he asked his -gaze grew dreamy and absent, and she, looking in his face, was silent. - - * * * * * - -As the clock struck the hour Jasper Adelstone threaded his way through -the wood, and stood concealed behind the oak by the weir. - -He had not spent a pleasant time since the avowal of his love to -Stella, and her refusal. Most men would have been daunted and -discouraged at such a refusal, so scornfully, so decidedly given, but -Jasper Adelstone was not the sort to be so easily balked. Opposition -only served to whet his appetite and harden his resolution. - -He had set his mind upon gaining Stella; he had set his mind upon -balking Lord Leycester, and he was not to be turned from his purpose by -her refusing his addresses or the petulance of the boy who had chosen -to insult and set him at defiance. - -But he had passed a bad time of it, and was meditating a renewal of the -attack when Lady Lenore's note was brought to him. Although it bore no -signature, he knew from whence it came, and he knew that something had -happened of importance or she would not have sent for him. - -Another man might have vented his spite, and taken revenge for the -haughty insolence displayed by her on their former meeting, by keeping -her waiting, but Jasper Adelstone was not altogether a mean man, and -certainly not such a fool as to risk an advantage for the sake of -gratifying a little private malice. - -He was punctual to the minute, and stood watching the weir and the -path by turns, with a face that was naturally calm and self-possessed, -though in reality he was burning with impatience. - -Presently he heard the rustle of a dress, and saw her coming swiftly -and gracefully through the trees. She wore a dark dress of some soft -stuff, that clung to her supple figure and awoke for a moment his sense -of admiration, but only for a moment; bad as he was, he was faithful -and of single purpose; he had no thought of anyone but Stella. If Lady -Lenore had laid her rank and her wealth at his feet he would have -turned from them. - -Lenore came down the path, neither looking to the right nor the left, -but straight before her, her head held up haughtily and her whole gait -as full of pride and conscious power as if she were treading the floor -of a London ball-room. Even in doing a mean thing, she could not do it -meanly. Arrived at the weir she stood for a moment looking down at the -water, her gloved hand resting on the wooden sill, and Jasper watching -her, could not but wonder at her calm self-possession. - -"And yet," he thought, "she has more at stake than I. She has a -coronet--and the man she loves," and the thought gave him courage, as -he came out and stood before her, raising his hat. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI. - - -She turned and inclined her head haughtily, and waited, as if for him -to speak, but Jasper remained silent. She had sent for him; he was here! - -At last she spoke. - -"You received my note, Mr. Adelstone?" - -"I am here," he said, with a slight smile. - -She bit her lip, her pride revolting at his presence, at his very tone. - -"I sent for you," she said, after a pause, and in the coldest tone, -"because I have some information which I thought would interest you." - -"Your ladyship is very good," he said. - -"And because," she went on, scorning to accept his thanks, "I thought -you might be of service." - -He inclined his head. He would not meet her half way--would not help -her. Let her tell him why she had sent for him, and he would throw -himself into the case, not till then. - -"The last time that we met you said words which I am not likely to have -forgotten." - -"I have not forgotten them," he said, "and I am prepared to stand by -them." - -"You profess to be willing--to be eager to prevent a certain -occurrence?" - -"If you mean the marriage of Lord Leycester and Stel--Miss Etheridge, I -am more than willing; I am determined to prevent it!" - -"You speak with great confidence," she said. - -"I am always confident, Lady Lenore," he said. "It is by confidence -that great things are achieved; this is only a small one." - -"And yet it may be beyond your power to achieve," she said, scornfully. - -"I think not," he retorted, quietly and gravely. - -"Be that as it may," she said, "I have come here this evening to place -in your hands a piece of information respecting the girl in whom you -profess to take an interest." - -The blood came to his pale face, and his eyes gleamed with sudden -resentment. - -"By 'the girl,' do you refer to Miss Stella Etheridge?" he said, -quietly. "If so, permit me to remind your ladyship that she is a lady!" - -Lady Lenore made a gesture of haughty indifference. - -"Call her what you please," she said, coldly, insolently. "I did refer -to her." - -"And to the man in whom you take an interest?" he said, with an -insolence that matched her own. - -The dark red flamed in her face, and she looked at him. - -"That is a side of the question which we will not enter upon, if you -please, Mr. Adelstone," she said. - -"I am to understand, then," he said, with quiet scorn, "that you came -here this evening by your own appointment to do me a service. Is that -so?" - -He had roused her at last. - -"Understand, think what you will," she said, in a low, strange voice; -"let there be no parley between us. I wanted to see you and sent for -you, and you are here, let that suffice. You wish to prevent the -marriage of Lord Leycester and _the lady_ whom we saw him with at this -spot. You speak confidently of your power to do so; you will have a -speedy opportunity of testing that power, for Lord Leycester intends -marrying her to-morrow, or at latest the next day." - -He did not start, neither did he turn pale, but he looked at her -calmly, fixedly; she knew that her shaft had told home, and she stood -and watched and enjoyed. - -"How do you know this?" he asked, quietly, in a very low voice. - -She paused. It was a bitter humiliation to have to admit to this man, -whom she regarded as the dust under her feet, that she, the Lady -Lenore, had stooped so low as to steal and read a letter addressed to -another person, and that person her rival--but it had to be admitted. - -"I know it because he wrote and made arrangements for her flight and -their clandestine meeting." - -"How do you know it?" he asked, and his voice was dry and harsh. - -She paused a moment. - -"Because I saw the letter," she said, eying him defiantly. - -He smiled--even in his agony and fury he smiled at her humiliation. - -"You have indeed done much in my service," he said, with a sneer. - -"Yours!" came fiercely to her lips; then she made a gesture of -contempt, as if he were beneath her resentment. - -"You saw the letter," he said. "What were the arrangements? When and -where was she to meet him? Curse him!" he ground out between his teeth. - -"She is to go to London by the eleven o'clock train to-morrow, and he -will meet her and take her to 24 Bruton Street," she said, curtly. - -He choked back the oath that came to his lips. - -"Meet him, and alone!" he muttered, the sweat breaking out on his -forehead, his lips writhing. - -"No, not alone; a boy, her cousin, is to accompany them." - -"Ah!" he said, and a malignant smile curled his lips; "I can scotch -that small snake; but him--Lord Leycester!" and his hands clinched. - -He took a turn in the narrow path, and then came back to her. - -"And afterward?" he asked. "What is to follow?" - -She shook her head with contemptuous indifference, and leant against -the wooden rail, looking down at the bubbling, seething water. - -"I do not know. I imagine, as the boy accompanies her, that he will -get a special license, and--marry her. But, perhaps"--and she glanced -round at his white face with a malicious smile--"perhaps the boy is a -mere blind, and Lord Leycester will dispose of him." - -"And then?" - -"Then," she said, slowly. "Well, Lord Leycester's character is -tolerably well known; in all probability he will not find it necessary -to make the girl--I beg your pardon! the young lady--the future -Countess of Wyndward." - -She had gone too far. As the cruel, fearful words left her lips in all -their biting, merciless scorn and contempt, he sprang upon her and -seized her by the arm. - -Her feet slipped, and she turned and clung to him, half her body -hanging over the white foaming water. - -For a moment they stood there, his gleaming eyes threatening death -into hers, then, with a sudden long breath as if he had mastered his -murderous impulse, he stepped backward, and drew her with him into -safety. - -"Take care!" he said, wiping the perspiration from his white forehead -with a trembling hand. "Your ladyship nearly went too far! You forget -that I love this girl, as you call her, though she is an angel of light -and a star of nobility beside you, who stoop to open letters and utter -slander! Take care!" - -She eyed him with a cruel scorn in her eyes and on her lips, that were -white and shamed. - -"You would murder me," she said. - -He laughed a low, dry laugh. - -"I would murder anyone who spoke of her as you spoke," he said, with -quiet intensity. "So be warned, my lady. For the future, teach your -proud temper respect when it touches her name. Besides"--and he made -a gesture as of contempt--"it was a foolish lie. You know that he -intended nothing of the kind; you know that she is too pure even for -his dastardly heart to compass her destruction. I imagine it is that -which makes you hate her so. Is it not? No matter. Now that you are -warned, and that you have learnt that I, Jasper Adelstone, am no mere -slave to dance or writhe at your pleasure, we will return to the -purport of the meeting. Will you not sit down?" and he pointed to the -weir stage. - -She was trembling from sheer physical weakness, combined with impotent -rage and fury, but she would rather have died than obey him. - -"Go on," she said. "What have you to say?" - -"This," he returned. "That this marriage must be prevented, and that -Miss Etheridge's good name must be preserved and protected. I can -prevent this marriage even now, at the last hour. I will do so, on the -condition that you give me your promise that you will never while life -lasts speak of this. I have not much fear that you will do so; even you -will hesitate before you proclaim to a third person your capability of -opening another person's letters!" - -"I promise," she said, coldly. "And how will you prevent this? You do -not know the man against whom you intend to pit yourself. Beware of -him! Lord Leycester is a man who will not be trifled with." - -"Thanks" he retorted. "You are very kind to warn me, especially as you -would very much like to see me at Lord Leycester's feet. But I need no -warning. I deal with her, not with him. How, is my affair." - -She rose. - -"I will go," she said, coldly. - -"Stay," he said; "you have got your part to do!" - -She eyed him with haughty surprise. - -"I?" - -He nodded. - -"Let me think for a moment," and he took a turn on the path, then he -came back and stood beside her. - -"This is your part," he said, in low, distinct tones, "and remember -that the stake you are playing for is as great and greater than mine. -I am playing for love, you are playing for love, and for wealth, and -rank, and influence, all that makes life worth living for, for such as -you." - -"You are insolent!" - -"No, I am simply candid. Between us two there can be no further -by-play or concealment. If she obeys this command of his, and--" and -he groaned--"I fear she will obey it! they will start by the eleven -o'clock train, and he will await them at the London terminus. They must -start by that train but they must not reach the terminus." - -She started, and eyed him in the dusk. - -He smiled sardonically. - -"No, I do not take extreme measures until they are absolutely -necessary, Lady Lenore. It is an easy matter to prevent them reaching -the terminus, a very easy one--it is only a matter of a forged note." - -Her lips moved. - -"A forged note?" - -He nodded. - -"Yes; having bidden her take a decided course, he must write and alter -his instructions. Do you not understand?" - -She was silent, watching him. - -"A note must come from him--it will be better to write to the boy, -because he is not familiar with Lord Leycester's hand-writing--telling -them to get out at the station before London, at Vauxhall. They are to -get out and go to the entrance, where they will find a brougham, which -will take them to him. You understand?" - -"I understand," she said. "But the note--who is to forge--write it?" - -He smiled at her with malignant triumph. - -"You." - -"I?" - -He smiled again. - -"Yes, you. Who so well able to do it? You are an adept at manipulating -correspondence, remember, my lady!" - -She winced, and her eyes blazed under their lowered lids. - -"You know his hand-writing, you can easily obtain access to his writing -materials; the paper and envelope will bear the Wyndward crest. The -note can be delivered by a servant from the Hall." - -She was silent, overwhelmed by the power of his cunning, and a -reluctant admiration of his resource and ready ingenuity took -possession of her. As he had said, he was no slave--no puppet to be -worked at will. - -"You see," he said, after allowing a moment for his scheme to sink into -her brain, "the note will be delivered almost at the last moment, at -the carriage door, as the train starts. You will do it?" - -She turned away with a last effort. - -"I will not!" - -"Good," he said. "Then I will find some other means. Stella Etheridge -shall never be Lord Leycester's wife; but neither shall a certain Lady -Lenore Beauchamp." - -She turned upon him with a scornful smile. - -"To-morrow, when he stands balked and discomfited, filled with impotent -rage, and sees me carry her off before his eyes, I will give him -something to console him. This little note to wit, and a full account -of _your_ share in this conspiracy which robs him of his prey." - -"You will not dare!" she breathed, her head erect, her eyes blazing. - -"Dare!" and he laughed. "What is there to dare? Come, my lady! It is -not my fault if you remain in ignorance of the nature of the man you -are dealing with. Work with me and I will serve you, desert me--for it -would be desertion--and I will thwart you. Which is it to be? You will -write and send the note!" - -She moved her hand. - -"What else?" - -A gleam of triumph shot from his small eyes. He thought for a moment. - -"Only this" he said, "and it is your welfare that I am now thinking -of. When Lord Leycester returns from his fruitless errand, he will be -in a fit state for consolation. You can give it to him. I have greatly -over-rated the ingenuity and tact of Lady Lenore Beauchamp if that tact -and ingenuity does not enable her to bring Lord Leycester Wyndward to -her feet before the month has passed." - -Pale and humiliated, but still meeting his sneering contemptuous gaze -with steadfast eyes, she inclined her head. - -"Is that all?" - -"That is all," he said. "I can rely on you. Yes, I think--I am sure I -can. After all, our interests are mutual!" - -She gathered her shawl round her, and moved toward the path. - -He raised his hat. - -"When next we meet, Lady Lenore, it will be as strangers who have -nothing in common. The past will have been wiped out from both our -minds and our lives. I shall be the chosen husband of Stella Etheridge -and you will be the Lady Trevor and future Countess of Wyndward. I -never prophesy in vain, my lady; I never prophesied more confidently -than I do now. Good-night." - -She did not return his greeting--scarcely looked at him, but glided -quietly into the darkness. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII. - - -Sleep kept afar off from Stella's eyelids that night. The momentous -morrow loomed before her, at one moment filling her with a nameless -dread, at another suffusing her whole being with an equally nameless -ecstasy. - -Could it be possible that to-morrow--in a few hours--she would be -Leycester's wife? There was enough in the reflection to banish sleep -for a week. - -Let us do her justice. Love and not ambition was the sentiment that -moved and agitated her. It was not the thought of the title and the -wealth which awaited her, not the future Wyndward coronet which set her -trembling and her heart throbbing, but the reflection that Leycester, -her lover, her ideal of all that was great and noble, and manfully -beautiful, would be her own, all her own. - -At an early hour she heard Frank wandering up and down outside her -door, and at last he knocked. - -"Are you getting up, Stel?" he asked, in a whisper. - -Stella opened the door and stood before him in her plain stuff dress, -which Frank was wont to declare became her better than the satins and -silks of a duchess, and he looked up at her with an admiring nod. - -"That's right!" he said. "I've been up ages. I've taken my bag and -hidden it in the lane. Is yours ready?" - -She gave him a small handbag--gave it with a certain reluctance that -hung about her still; but he took it eagerly. - -"That's a good girl! It isn't too big! I can carry both of them. Keep -up your spirits, Stel!" he added, smiling encouragingly, as he stole -off with the bag. - -The warning was not altogether unnecessary, for Stella, when she came -down stairs and found the old man standing before his easel, his white -locks stirred by the light wind which came through the open window, -felt very near tears. - -It was a great blot on her happiness that she could not go to him -and throw her arms round his neck and say, "Uncle, to-day I am to be -married to Lord Leycester; give me your blessing!" - -As it was she went up to him and kissed him with more than her usual -caressing tenderness. - -"How quietly happy you always are, dear," she said, with a little -tremulous undertone in her voice. "You will always be happy while you -have your art, uncle." - -"Eh!" he said, patting her arm, and letting his eye wander over her -face. "Yes, art is long, life is short, Stella. Happy! yes; but I like -to have you as well as my art. Two good things in life should make a -man content." - -"You have Frank, too," she said, as she poured out his coffee and drew -him to the table. - -Frank came in and breakfast proceeded. They were all very silent; the -old man rapt in dreams, as usual--the two young ones stilled by the -weight of their guilty secret. - -Once or twice Frank pressed Stella's feet under the table -encouragingly, and when they rose and Stella went to the window, he -followed her and whispered: - -"Good news, Stel!" - -She turned her eyes upon him. - -"I've just learned that the fellow Adelstone has gone to London. I was -half afraid that he might turn up at the last moment and spoil our -plans; but the groom at the vicarage, whom I just met, told me that -Jasper Adelstone had been summoned to London on business." - -Stella felt a sense of relief, though she smiled. - -"Mr. Adelstone is your _bete noire_, Frank," she said. - -He nodded. - -"I'd rather have his room than his company, any day." Then, after a -pause, he added, "I don't think we'd better start together, Stel. -I'll walk on directly, and you can follow. Whatever you do, avoid a -collision with Mrs. Penfold; her eyes are sharp, and there's something -in your face this morning that would set her curiosity on the _qui -vive_." - -A few moments afterward he left the room, and Stella was left alone. -Her heart beat fast, and, try as she would, she could not keep her eyes -from the silent, patient figure at the easel, and at last she went up -and stood beside him. - -"You seem restless this morning, my child," he said. "Meditating any -secret crime?" And he smiled. - -Stella started guiltily. - -"I wonder what you would say, what you would think, uncle," she -murmured, with a little laugh that bordered on the hysterical, "if I -were to do anything wrong--if I were to deceive you in anything?" - -He stepped back to look at his picture. - -"I should say, my dear, that the last shred of faith and trust in women -to which I have clung had given way, and landed me in despair." - -"No, no! Don't say that!" she said, quickly. - -He looked at her with a sad smile. - -"My dear," he answered, "I do not speak without cause. I have reason to -be incredulous as to the faith and honesty of women. But my trust in -you is as limitless as the sky yonder. I don't think you will destroy -it, Stella," and he turned to his picture again. - -The tears came into Stella's eyes, and she clung to his arm in silent -remorse. - -"Uncle!" she said, brokenly, then she stopped. - -The clock chimed the half-hour; it was time that she started, if she -intended to obey Leycester. - -Unconsciously the old man helped her. - -"You look pale this morning, my dear," he said, patting her shoulder. -"Go and run in the meadows and get some color on your cheeks; I miss -it." - -Stella took up her hat, which was generally lying about ready to be -snatched up, and kissed him without a word, and left the room. - -Five minutes afterward she passed out into the lane and hurried toward -the road. - -Frank was waiting for her with boyish impatience. - -"I thought you were never coming!" he exclaimed. "We haven't over much -time," and he slung the two bags together and led the way; but Stella -paused a moment to look back with a pang at her heart, and it was not -until Frank seized her arm that she moved toward the railway station. - -But once there, when the tickets were taken, the excitement buoyed her -up. Frank, with the two bags, was perpetually on the alert, watching -for someone they knew, and preparing to meet them with some excuse. - -But no one of the village people appeared on the platform, and much to -Frank's relief, the train drew up. - -With all the pride of a chief conspirator and guardian, he put Stella -into a carriage and was stepping in after her, when a groom came up to -the door and touched his hat. - -"Mr. Etheridge--Mr. Frank Etheridge, sir?" he said, respectfully. - -Frank stared, but the man seemed prepared for some little hesitation, -and without waiting for an answer, thrust a note into Frank's hand. - -"From Lord Guildford, sir," he said. - -The train moved off, and Frank tore open the envelope. - -"Why, Stella," he exclaimed, in an excited whisper, though they were -alone in the carriage, "it is from Lord Leycester. Look here! he wants -us to get out at the station before London--at Vauxhall--he has changed -his plans slightly," and he held the note out to her. - -Stella took it. It was written on paper bearing the Wyndward crest; the -hand-writing was exactly like that of Lord Leycester. No suspicion of -its genuineness crossed her mind for a moment, but yet she said: - -"But--Frank--isn't Lord Leycester in London?" - -Frank thought a moment. - -"Yes," he said; "but he must have sent this down to Lord Guildford; -sent it down by special messenger--special train perhaps. It wouldn't -matter to him what trouble or expense he took. And yet how careful he -is. He asks us to destroy it at once. Tear it up, Stella, and throw it -out of the window." - -Stella read the note again, and then slowly and reluctantly tore it -into small fragments and dropped it out of the window. - -"Of course we must stop," said Frank. "I think I know what it is. -Something had prevented him from meeting us, and he thought you would -rather get out at a nearer station than go through the crowd at the -terminus. Isn't it thoughtful and considerate of him?" - -"He is always thoughtful and considerate," said Stella, in a low voice. - -Then Frank launched forth in a paean of praise. - -There was nobody like Leycester; nobody so handsome and so brave or -noble. - -"You'll be the happiest girl in the whole world, Stel," he exclaimed, -his blue eyes alight with excitement. "Think of it. And, Stella, you -will let me see you sometimes; you will let me come and stay with you?" - -And Stella, with a moist look about her eyes, put her hand on his arm -and murmured: - -"Where my home may be, there will be a sister's welcome for you, Frank." - -"Don't be afraid I shall be a nuisance, Stel," he said. "I shan't bore -you for long. I shall only want to come and see you and share your -happiness; and I don't think Lord Leycester will mind." - -And Stella smiled as she thought in her innermost heart how sure she -was of Lord Leycester not minding. - -The train was an express one, and stopped at very few stations, -but when those stoppages occurred, Frank, in his character of -guardian, always drew the curtains and kept a watch for intruders, -notwithstanding that he had told the guard to lock the door. - -"You see, it isn't as if you were an ordinary looking girl," he -explained; "a man wouldn't get a glimpse of you without wanting to take -second, and it's best to be careful. I'm engaged to watch over you, and -I must do it." - -He was so happy, so boyishly gratified at his own importance, that -Stella could not help laughing. - -"I believe you are thoroughly enjoying the wickedness of the thing, -Frank," she said, with a little sigh that had not much of unhappiness. - -"No," he said; "but I want to hear Lord Leycester say, 'Thank you, -Frank,' and to see him smile when he says it. Do you think he will let -me go with you, or will he send me back, Stel?" - -Stella shook her head. - -"I do not know," she answered; "I feel like a person groping in the -dark. Go with us! Yes, you must go with us!" she added. "Frank, you -must go with me!" - -"I'll stay with you till doomsday, and go to the end of the world with -you," he responded, "if he will let me!" - -It seemed a long journey to both of them; to Frank, in his impatience; -to Stella, in the whirl of excited and conflicting emotions. But at -last they reached Vauxhall. - -Frank got the door unlocked and gave up the tickets; then he stepped -out on to the platform, telling Stella to remain in the carriage for a -moment while he examined the ground. - -But there was not much need for caution; as he stepped out, a thin, -strange-looking old man came up to him. - -"Mr. Etheridge!" he asked. - -Frank replied in the affirmative. - -The old man nodded. - -"All right, sir; the brougham is waiting;" then he looked round -expectantly, and Frank went and got Stella out. - -The old man just glanced at her, not curiously, but in a mechanical -sort of way, as if he were a machine, and he turned toward the carriage -and took up the bags. - -Stella laid her hand on Frank's arm with a questioning gesture; it was -not exactly one of fear or of suspicion, but a strange, instinctive -commingling of both sensations. - -"Ask him, Frank!" she murmured. - -Frank nodded, understanding her in a moment, and stopped the strange -old man. - -"Wait a moment," he said; "you come from----" - -The man looked round. - -"Better not mention names here, sir," he said. "I am obeying my orders. -The brougham is waiting outside." - -"It is all right," answered Frank; "he knows my name. He is quite right -to be careful." - -They followed the man down the stairs; a brougham was in waiting, as he -had said, and he put the bags inside and held the door open for them to -enter. - -Stella paused--even at that moment she paused with the same instinctive -feeling of distrust--but Frank whispered, "Be quick," and she entered. - -The old man closed the door. - -"You know where to drive," said Frank, in a low voice. - -"I know, sir," he said, in the same expressionless, apathetic fashion, -and mounted to the box. - -Stella looked at the crowded streets through which they drove at a -rapid pace, and a strange feeling of helplessness took possession -of her. She would not own to herself that she was disappointed at -Leycester's not meeting her, but his absence filled her with a vague -alarm and disquietude, which she mentally assured herself were foolish -and unwoman-like. - -But the vastness and strangeness of the great city overwhelmed her. - -"Do you know where Bruton street is?" she asked, in a low voice. - -"No," said Frank; "but it must be in the West-end somewhere, of course. -He must be going to Leycester's rooms. I wonder what prevented him from -meeting us." - -Stella wondered too, little dreaming that Leycester was pacing up and -down the platform at Waterloo at that moment, and impatiently awaiting -the arrival of the train that was, he thought, to bring his love. - -"I expect," said Frank, "that something turned up at the last -moment--something to do with the ceremony." - -A sudden dash of color came into Stella's face, but it went again the -next moment, and she leant back and watched the people hurrying along -the streets, with eyes that scarcely saw them. - -The brougham, a well appointed one, driven by a man in plain livery, -seemed to wind about a great deal and cover a long stretch of ground, -but at last it drove under an archway and into a quiet square, and -stopped before one of a series of tall and dingy-looking houses. - -Frank let down the window as the old man opened the door. - -"Is this Bruton street?" said Frank. - -"Yes, sir," said the man, quietly. - -Frank stepped out and looked around. - -"These are lawyers' offices," he said. - -"Quite right, sir," was the response. "The gentleman is waiting for -you." - -"You mean----" said Frank, inquiringly. - -"Lord Leycester Wyndward," he replied. - -Frank turned to Stella. - -"It is all right," he said, in a low voice. - -Stella got out and looked round. The air of quietude and gloomy -depression seemed to strike her, but she put her hand on Frank's arm, -and then followed the man into the doorway. - -"Come as gently as you can, sir," he muttered. "It's better the young -lady shouldn't be seen." - -Frank nodded, and they passed up the stairs. Frank threw a glance at -the numerous doors. - -"They are lawyers' chambers," he said, in a low voice. "I think I -understand; it is something--some deed or other--Leycester wants you to -sign." - -Stella did not speak. The chill which had fallen on her as she alighted -seemed to grow keener. - -Suddenly the man stopped before a door, the name on which had been -covered over with a sheet of paper. - -Could they have seen through it, and read the name of Jasper Adelstone, -there would have been time to draw back, but unsuspectingly they -followed the man in, the door closed, and unseen by them, was locked. - -"This way, sir," said Scrivell, and he opened the inner door and -ushered them in. - -"If you'll take a seat for a moment, sir," he said, putting two chairs -forward, and addressing Frank, "I will tell him you have arrived," and -he went out. - -Stella sat down, but Frank went to the window and looked out, then he -came back to her restlessly and excitedly. - -"I wonder where he is--why he does not come?" he said, impatiently. - -Stella looked up; her lips were trembling. - -"There, don't look like that!" he exclaimed, with a smile. "It is all -right!" - -As he spoke he drew near the table aimlessly, and as aimlessly glanced -at the piles of papers with which it was strewn. - -"I am making you nervous with my excitement----" he stopped suddenly, -and snatched up one of the papers. It was a folded brief, and bore upon -its surface the name of Jasper Adelstone, written in large letters. - -He stared at it for a moment as if it had bitten him, then, with an -inarticulate cry, he flung it down and sprang toward her. - -"Stella, we have been trapped! Come! quick!" - -Stella sprang to her feet, and instinctively moved to the door: but -before she had taken a couple of steps the door opened, and Jasper -Adelstone stood before them. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII. - - -Jasper Adelstone closed the door behind him, and stood looking at them. - -His face was very pale, his lips were tightly compressed, and there was -that peculiar look of decision and resolution which Stella had often -remarked. - -True it struck her as ominous--a chill, cold and awesome, ran through -her--but she stood and confronted him with a face that, though as -pale as his own, showed no sign of fear; her eyes met his own with a -haughty, questioning gaze. - -"Mr. Adelstone," she said, in low, clear, indignant tones, "what does -this mean?" - -Before he could make any reply, Frank stepped between them, and with -crimson face and flashing eyes confronted him. - -"Yes! what does this mean, Mr. Adelstone?" he echoed. "Why have you -brought us here--entrapped us?" - -Jasper Adelstone just glanced at him, then looked at Stella--pale, -beautiful and indignant. - -"I fear I have offended you," he said, in a low, clear voice, his eyes -fixed with concentrated watchful intentness on her face. - -"Offended!" echoed Stella, with mingled surprise and anger. "There is -no question of offense, Mr. Adelstone. This--this that you have done is -an insult!" - -And her face flushed hotly. - -He shook his head gravely, and his hands clasped themselves behind his -back, where they pecked at each other in his effort to remain calm and -self-possessed under her anger and scorn. - -"It is not an insult; it was not intended as an insult. Stella----" - -"My name is Etheridge, Mr. Adelstone," Stella broke in, calmly and -proudly. "Be good enough to address me by my title of courtesy and -surname." - -"I beg your pardon," he said, in slow tones. "Miss Etheridge, I am -aware that the step I have taken--and I beg you to mark that I do not -attempt to deny that it is through my order that you are here----" - -"We know all that!" interrupted Frank, fiercely. "We don't wish for any -verbiage from you; we only want, my cousin and I, a direct answer to -our question, 'Why have you done this?' When you have answered it, we -will leave you as quickly as possible. If you don't choose to answer, -we will leave you without. In fact, Stella"--and he turned with a -glance of contempt and angry scorn at the tall motionless figure with -the pale face and compressed lips--"in fact, Stella, I don't think we -much care to know. We had better go, I think, and leave it to someone -else to demand an explanation and reparation." - -Jasper did not look at him, took no notice whatever of the boyish scorn -and indignation: he had borne Stella's; the boy's could not touch him -after hers. - -"I am ready to afford you an explanation," he said to Stella, with an -emphasis on the 'you.' - -Stella was silent, her eyes turned away from him, as if the very -thought of him were distasteful to her. - -"Go on, we are waiting!" exclaimed Frank, with all a boy's directness. - -"I said that I would afford 'you,' Miss Etheridge," said Jasper. "I -think it would be better if you were to hear me alone." - -"What!" shouted Frank, drawing Stella's arm through his. - -"Alone," repeated Jasper. "It would be better for you--for all of us," -he repeated, with a significance in his voice that sank to Stella's -heart. - -"I won't hear of it!" exclaimed Frank. "I am here to protect her. I -would not leave her alone with you a moment. You are quite capable of -murdering her!" - -Then, for the first time, Jasper noticed the boy's presence. - -"Are you afraid that I shall do you harm?" he said, with a cold smile. - -He knew Stella. - -The cold sneer stung her. - -"I am not afraid of those I despise," she said, hotly. "Go, Frank. You -will come when I call you." - -"I shall not move," he responded, earnestly. "This man--this Jasper -Adelstone--has already shown himself capable of an illegal, a criminal -act, for it is illegal and criminal to kidnap anyone, and he has -kidnapped us. I shall not leave you. You know," and he turned his eyes -reproachfully on Stella, "I am responsible for you." - -Stella's face flushed, then went pale. - -"I know," she said, in a low voice and she pressed his arm. -"But--but--I think it is better that I should listen to him. You -see"--and her voice dropped still lower and grew tremulous, so that -Jasper Adelstone could not hear it--"you see that we are in his power; -we are his prisoners almost; and he will not let us go till I have -heard him. It will be more prudent to yield. Think, Frank, who is -waiting all this time." - -Frank started, and appeared suddenly convinced. - -"Very well," he whispered. "Call me the moment you want me. And, mind, -if he is impertinent--he can be, you know--call at once." - -Then he moved to the door, but paused and looked at Jasper with all the -scorn and contempt he could summon up into his boyish face. - -"I am going, Mr. Adelstone; but, remember, it is only because my cousin -wishes me to. You will say what you have to say, quickly, please; and -say it respectfully, too." - -Jasper held the door for him calmly and stolidly, and Frank passed out -into the outer office. There he put on his hat and made for the door, -struck by a sudden bright idea. He would drive to Bruton Street and -fetch Lord Leycester. But as he touched the door old Scrivell rose from -his seat and shook his head. - -"Door's locked, sir," he said. - -Frank turned purple. - -"What do you mean?" he exclaimed. "Let me out at once; immediately." - -The old man shrugged his shoulders. - -"Orders, sir; orders," he said, in his dry voice, and resumed his work, -deaf to all the boy's threats, entreaties, and bribes. - -Jasper closed the door and crossing the room laid his hand on a chair -and signed respectfully to Stella to sit down, but without a word she -drew a little away and remained standing, her eyes fixed on his face, -her lips tightly pressed together. - -He inclined his head and stood before her, one white hand resting on -the table, the other thrust into his vest. - -"Miss Etheridge," he said, slowly, and with intense earnestness, "I beg -you to believe that the course which I have felt bound to adopt has -been productive of as much pain and grief to me as it can possibly have -been to you----" - -Stella just moved her hand with scornful impatience. - -"Your feelings are a matter of supreme indifference to me, Mr. -Adelstone," she said, icily. - -"I regret that, I regret it with pain that amounts to anguish," he -said, and his lips quivered. "The sentiments of--of devotion and -attachment which I entertain for you, are no secret to you----" - -"I cannot hear this," she said, impatiently. - -"And yet I must urge them," he said, "for I have to urge them as an -excuse for the liberty--the unpardonable liberty as you at present deem -it--which I have taken." - -"It is unpardonable!" she echoed, with suppressed passion. "There is no -excuse--absolutely none." - -"And yet," he said, still quietly and insistently, "if my devotion were -less ardent, my attachment less sincere and immovable, I should have -allowed you to go on your way to ruin and disaster." - -Stella started and looked at him indignantly. - -He moved his hand, slightly deprecatory of her wrath. - -"I will not conceal from you that I knew of your destination, of your -appointment." - -"You acted the spy!" she articulated. - -"I acted rather the guardian!" he said. "What kind of love, how poor -and inactive that would be, which could remain quiescent while the -future of its object was at stake!" - -Stella put up her hand to silence him. - -"I do not care--I will not listen to your fine phrases. They do not -move me, Mr. Adelstone. To your devotion and--and attachment I am -indifferent; I refuse to accept them. I await your explanations. If -you have none to give, I will go," and she made a movement as if to -depart. - -"Wait, I implore, I _advise_ you." - -Stella stopped. - -"Hear me to the end," he said. "You will not permit me to allude to -the passionate love which is my excuse and my warranty for what I have -done. So be it. I will speak of it no more, if I can so control myself -as to refrain from doing so. I will speak of yourself and--and of the -man who plots your ruin." - -Stella opened her lips, but refrained from speech, and merely smiled a -smile of pitiless scorn. - -"I speak of Lord Leycester Wyndward," said Jasper Adelstone, the name -leaving his lips as if every word tortured them. "It is true, is it -not, that this Lord Leycester has asked you to meet him at a place in -London--at Bruton Street, his lodgings? It is true that he has told you -that he was prepared to make you his wife!" - -"And you will say that it is a lie, and ask me to believe you--_you_ -against _him_!" she broke in, with a laugh that cut him like a whip. - -"No," he said; "I will admit that it may be true--I think that it is -possible that it may be true; and yet, you see, I have braved your -wrath and, far worse, your scorn, and balked him." - -"For a time," she said, almost beneath her breath--"for a time, a short -time. I fear, Mr. Adelstone, that he will demand reparation, heavy -reparation at your hands for such 'balking.'" - -To save her life she could not have suppressed her threat. - -"I do not fear Lord Leycester, or any man," he said. "Where you are -concerned I fear only--yourself." - -"Do you intend giving me the explanation, sir?" she demanded, -impetuously. - -"I have stepped in between him and his prey," he went on, still -gravely, "because I thought, I hoped, that were time given you, though -it were at the last moment, that you would see the danger which lay -before you, and draw back." - -"Thanks!" she said, scornfully--"that is your explanation. Having -afforded it, be kind enough to open that door and let me depart." - -"Stay!" he said, and for the first time his voice broke and showed -signs of the storm that was raging within him. "Stay, Stella--I -implore, I beseech of you! Think, consider for one moment to what doom -your feet are carrying you! The man proposes--has the audacity to -propose--a clandestine elopement, a secret marriage; he treats you as -if you were not worthy to be his wife, as if you were the dirt under -his feet! Do you think, dare you, blinded as you are by a momentary -passion, dare you hope that any good can spring from such an union, -that any happiness can follow such a shameful marriage? Dare you hope -that this man's love--love!--which will not brave the temporary anger -and contempt of his relations, can be strong enough to last a lifetime? -Think, Stella! He is ashamed of you already; he, the heir to Wyndward, -is ashamed to make you his bride before the world. He must lower and -degrade you by a secret ceremony. What is his love compared with -mine--with mine?" and in the fierce emotion of the moment he put his -hand upon her arm and held her. - -With a fierce, angry scorn, which no one who knew Stella Etheridge -could have thought her capable of, she flung his hand from her and -confronted him, her beautiful face looking lovely in its scorn and -wrath. - -"Silence!" she exclaimed, her breast heaving, her eyes darting -lightning. "You--you coward! You dare to speak thus to me, a weak, -defenseless girl, whom you have entrapped into listening to you! I -dare you to utter them to him--him, the man you traduce and slander. -You speak of love; you know not what it is! You speak of shame----" -she paused, the word seemed to overcome her. "Shame," she repeated, -struggling for breath and composure; "you do not know what that is. -Shall I tell you? I have never felt it until now; I feel it now, -because I have been weak enough to remain and listen to you! It is -shameful that your hand should have touched me! It is shameful that I -should have listened to your protestations of love--love! You speak of -the shame which he would bring upon me! Well, then--listen for once -and all!--if such shame were to befall me from his hand, I would go -to meet it, yes, and welcome it, rather than take from yours all the -honor which you could extend to me! You say that I am going to ruin and -unhappiness! So be it; I accept your words--to silence you, learn from -my own lips that I would rather bear such shame and misery with him, -than happiness and honor with you. Have I--have I," she panted, "spoken -plainly enough?" and she looked down at him with passionate scorn. He -was white, white as death, his hands hung at his side clinched and -burning; his tongue seemed to cleave to the roof of his mouth, and -render speech impossible. - -Her scorn lashed him; every word fell like the thong of a knout, and -cut into his heart; and all the while his eyes rested on hers with -anguished entreaty. - -"Spare me," he cried, hoarsely, at last. "Spare me! I have tried to -spare you!" - -"You--spare me!" she retorted, with a short contemptuous laugh. - -"Yes," he said, wetting his lips, "I have tried to spare you! I tried -argument, entreaty, all to no purpose! Now--now you compel me to use -force!" - -She glanced at the door, though she seemed to know instinctively that -he did not mean physical force. - -"I would have saved you without this last step," he said, slowly, -almost inaudibly. "I call upon you to remember this in the after-time. -That not until you had repulsed all my efforts to turn you from your -purpose--not until you had lashed me with your scorn and contempt, -did I take up this last weapon. If in using it--though I use it as -mercifully as I can--it turns and wounds you, bear this in mind, that -not until the last did I direct it against you!" - -Stella put her hand to her lips; they were trembling with excitement. - -"I will not hear another word," she said. "I care as little for your -threat--this is a threat----" - -"It is a threat," he said, with deadly calmness. - -"As I do for your entreaties. You cannot harm me." - -"No," he said; "but I can harm those you love." - -She smiled, and moved to the door. - -"Stay," he said. "For their sakes, remain and hear me to the end." - -She paused. - -"You speak of shame," he said, "and fear it as naught. You do not -know what it means, and--and--I forget the fearful words that stained -your lips. But there are others, those you love, for whom shame means -death--worse than death." - -She looked at him with a smile of contemptuous disbelief. She did not -believe one word of the vague threat, not one word. - -"Believe me," he said, "there hangs above the heads of those you love -a shame as deadly and awful as that sword which hung above the head of -Damocles. It hangs by a single thread which I, and I alone, can sever. -Say but the word and I can cast aside that shame. Turn from me to -him--to him--and I cut the thread and the sword falls!" - -Stella laughed scornfully. - -"You have mistaken your vocation," she said. "You were intended for the -stage, Mr. Adelstone. I regret that I have no further time to waste -upon your efforts. Permit me to go." - -"Go, then," he said, "and the misery of those dear to you be upon your -hands, for you will have dealt it, not I! Go! But mark me, before you -have reached the man who has ensnared you that shame will have fallen; -a shame so bitter that it will yawn like a gulf between you and him; a -gulf which no time can ever bridge over." - -"It--it is a lie!" she breathed, her eyes fixed upon his white face, -but she paused and did not go. - -He inclined his head. - -"No," he said, "it is true, an awful, shameful truth. You will wait and -listen?" - -She looked at him for a moment in silence. - -"I will wait five minutes--just five minutes," she said, and she -pointed to the clock. "And I warn you--it is I who warn you now--that -by no word will I attempt to screen you from the punishment which will -meet this lie." - -"I am content," he said, and there was something in the cold tone of -assured triumph that struck to her heart. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX. - - -"Five minutes!" said Stella, warningly; and she turned her face from -him, and kept her eyes fixed on the clock. - -"It will suffice," said Jasper. "I have to ask you to bear with me -while I tell you a short history. I will mention no names--you yourself -will be able to supply them. All I have to ask of you further is that -you will hear me to the end. The history is of father and son." - -Stella did not move; she thought that he referred to the earl and -Leycester. She had determined to listen calmly until the five minutes -were expired, and then to go--to go without a word. - -"The father was an eminent painter"--Stella started slightly, but kept -her eyes fixed on the clock--"a man who was highly gifted, of a rare -and noble mind, and possessed of undeniable genius. Even as a young man -his gifts were meeting with acknowledgment. He married a woman above -him in station, beautiful, and fashionable, but altogether unworthy -of him. As might have been expected, the marriage turned out ill. The -wife, having nothing in common with her high-souled husband, plunged -into the world, and was swallowed up in its vortex. I do not wish to -speak of her further; she brought him shame." - -Stella paled to the lips. - -"Shame so deep that he cast aside his ambition and left the world. -Casting away his old life, and separating himself entirely from -it--separating himself from the child which the woman who had -betrayed him had born to him--he settled in a remote country village, -forgotten and effaced. The son was brought up by guardians appointed -by the father, who could never bring himself to see him. This boy -went to school, to college, was launched, so to speak, on the world -without a father's care. The evil results which usually follow such a -starting followed here. The boy, left to himself, or at best to the -hired guardianship of a tutor, plunged into life. He was a handsome, -high-spirited boy, and found, as is usual, ready companionship. -Folly--I will not say vice--worked its usual charm; the boy, alone and -uncared for, was led astray. In an unthinking moment he committed a -crime----" - -Stella, white and breathless, turned upon him. - -"It is false!" she breathed. - -He looked at her steadily. - -"Committed a crime. It was done unthinkingly, on the spur of the -moment; but it was done irrevocably. The punishment for the crime was -a heavy one--he was doomed to spend the best part of his life as a -convict----" - -Stella moaned and put up her hand to her eyes. - -"It is not true." - -"Doomed to a felon's expiation. Think of it. A handsome, high-born, -high-spirited, perhaps gifted lad, doomed to a felon's, a convict's -fate! Can you not picture him, working in chains, clad in yellow, -branded with shame----" - -Stella leaned against the door, and hid her face. - -"It is false--false!" she moaned; but she felt that it was true. - -"From that doom--one--one whom you have lashed with your scorn--stepped -forward to save him." - -"You?" - -"I," he said--"even I!" - -She turned to him slightly. - -"You did this?" - -He inclined his head. - -"I did it," he repeated. "But for me he would be, at this moment, -working out his sentence, the just sentence of the outraged law." - -Stella was silent, regarding him with eyes distended with horror. - -"And he--he knew it?" she murmured, brokenly. - -"No," he said. "He did not know it; he does not know it even now." - -Stella breathed a sigh, then shuddered as she remembered how the boy -Frank had insulted and scorned this silent, inflexible man, who had -saved him from a felon's fate. - -"He did not know it!" she said. "Forgive him!" - -He smiled a strange smile. - -"The lad is nothing to me," he said. "I have nothing to forgive. One -does not feel angered at the attack of a gnat; one brushes the insect -off, or lets it remain as the case may be. This lad is nothing to -me. So far as he is concerned I might have allowed him to take his -punishment. I saved him, not for his sake, but for another's." - -Stella leaned against the door. She was beginning to feel the meshes of -the net that was drawing closer and closer around her. - -"For another," he continued, "I saved him for your sake." - -She moistened her parched lips and raised her eyes. - -"I--I am very grateful," she murmured. - -His face flushed slightly. - -"I did not seek your gratitude; I did not desire that you should even -know that I had done this thing. Neither he nor you would ever have -known it, but--but for this that has happened. It would have gone down -with me into my grave--a secret. It would have done so, although you -had refused me your love, although you should have given your heart to -another. If"--and he paused--"if that other had been a man worthy of -you." Stella's face flushed, and her eyes flashed, but she remembered -all that he had done, and averted her gaze from him. "If that other -had been one likely to have insured your happiness, I would have gone -my way and remained silent; but it is not so. This man, this Lord -Leycester, is one who will effect your ruin, one from whom I must--I -will--save you. It is he who rendered this disclosure necessary." - -He was silent, and Stella stood, her eyes bent on the ground. Even yet -she did not realize the power he held over her--over those she loved. - -"I am very grateful," she said at last. "I am fully sensible of all -that you have done for us, and I am sorry that--that I should have -spoken as I did, though"--and she raised her eyes with a sudden frank -wistfulness--"I was much provoked." - -"What was I to do?" he asked. She shook her head. "Could I stand idle -and see you drift to destruction?" - -"I shall not go to destruction," she said, with a troubled look. "You -do not know Lord Leycester--you do not know--but we will not speak -of that," she broke off, suddenly. "I will go now, please. I am very -grateful, and--and--I hope you will forgive all that has passed!" - -He looked at her. - -"I will forgive all--_all_," he emphasized, "if you will turn back; if -you will go back to your home, and promise that this thing which he has -asked you to do shall not come to pass." - -She turned upon him. - -"You have no right----" then she stopped, smitten with a sudden fear -by the expression of his face. "I cannot do that," she said, in a -constrained voice. - -He closed his hands tightly together. - -"Do not force me," he said. "You will not force me to compel you?" - -She looked at him tremblingly. - -"Force!" - -"Yes, force! You speak of gratitude; but I do not rely on that. If you -were really grateful to me you would go back; but you are not. I cannot -trust to gratitude." Then he came closer to her, and his voice dropped. - -"Stella, I have sworn that this shall not be--that he shall not have -you! I cannot break my oath. Do you not understand?" - -She shook her head. - -"No! I know that you cannot prevent me." - -"I can," he said. "You do not understand. I saved the boy, but I can -destroy him." - -She shrank back. - -"With a word!" he said, almost fiercely, his lips trembling. "One word, -and he is destroyed. You doubt? See!" And he drew a paper from his -pocket-book. "The crime he committed was forgery--forgery! Here is the -proof!" - -She shrank back still further, and held up her hands as if to shut the -paper from her sight. - -"Do not deceive yourself," he said, in his intense voice; "his safety -lies in my hands--I hold the sword. It is for you to say whether I -shall let it fall." - -"Spare him!" she breathed, panting--"spare me!" - -"I will spare him--I will save both him and you. Stella, say but the -word; say to me here, now, 'Jasper, I will marry you,' and he is safe!" - -With a low cry she sank against the door, and looked at him. - -"I will not!" she panted, like some wild animal driven to bay. - -"I will not." - -His face darkened. - -"You hate me so much?" - -She was silent, regarding him with the same fearful, hunted look. - -"You hate me!" he said, between his teeth. "But even that shall not -prevent me from having my way. You will learn to hate me less--in time -to love me." - -She shuddered, and he saw the shudder, and it seemed to lash him into -madness. - -"I say you shall! Such love as mine cannot exist in vain, cannot be -repelled; it must, it must win love in return. I will chance it. When -you are my wife--do not shrink, mine you must and shall be!--you will -grow to a knowledge of the strength of my devotion, and admit that I -was justified----" - -"No, never!" she panted. - -He drew back, and let his hand fall on the back of the chair. - -"Is that answer final?" he said hoarsely. - -"Never!" she reiterated. - -"Remember!" he said. "In that word you pronounce the doom of this lad; -by that word you let fall the sword, you darken the few remaining years -of an old man's life with shame!" - -White and breathless she sank on to the floor and so knelt--absolutely -knelt--to him, with outstretched hands and imploring eyes. - -He looked at her, his heart beating, his lips quivering, and his hand -moved toward the bell. - -"If I ring this it is to send for a constable. If I ring this, it is to -give this lad into custody on a charge of forgery. It is impossible for -him to escape, the evidence is complete and damning." - -His hand touched the bell, had almost pressed it, when Stella uttered a -word. - -"Stay!" she said, and so hoarse, so unnatural was the sound of her -voice, that it went to his heart like a stab. - -Slowly, with the movement of a person numbed and almost unconscious, -she rose and came toward him. - -Her face was white, white to the lip, her eyes fixed not on him, but -beyond him; she had every appearance of one moving in a dream. - -"Stay?" she said. "Do not ring." - -His hand fell from the bell, and he stood regarding her with eager, -watchful eyes. - -"You--you consent?" he asked hoarsely. - -Without moving her eyes, she seemed to look at him. - -"Tell me," she said, in slow, mechanical tones, "tell me all--all that -you wish me to do, all that I must do to save them." - -Her agony touched him, but he remained inflexible, immovable. - -"It is soon told," he said. "Say to me, 'Jasper, I will be your wife!' -and I am content. In return, I promise that on the day, the hour in -which you become my wife, I will give you this paper; upon it the boy's -fate depends. Once this is destroyed he is safe--absolutely." - -She held out her hand mechanically. - -"Let me look at it." - -He glanced at her, scarcely suspiciously but hesitatingly, for a -moment, then placed the paper in her hands. - -She took it, shuddering faintly. - -"Show me!" - -He put his finger on the forged name. Stella's eyes dwelt upon it with -horror for a moment, then she held out the paper to him. - -"He--he wrote that?" - -"He wrote it," he answered. "It is sufficient to send him----" - -She put up her hand to stop him. - -"And--and to earn the paper I must--marry you?" - -He was silent, but he made a gesture of assent. - -She turned her head away for a moment, then she looked him full in the -eyes, a strange, awful look. - -"I will do it," she said, every word falling like ice from her white -lips. - -A crimson flush stained his face. - -"Stella! My Stella!" he cried. - -She put up her hand; she did not shrink back, but simply put up her -hand, and it was he who shrank. - -"Do not touch me," she said, calmly, "or--or I will not answer for -myself." - -He wiped the cold beads from his brow. - -"I--I am content!" he said. "I have your promise. I know you too well -to dream that you would break it. I am content. In time--well, I will -say no more." - -Then he went to the table and pressed the bell. - -She looked up at him with a dull, numbed expression of inquiry which he -understood and answered. - -"You will see. I have thought of everything. I foresaw that you would -yield and have planned everything." - -The door opened as he spoke, and Scrivell came in followed by -Frank, who hurled Scrivell out of the way and sprang before Jasper, -inarticulate with rage. - -But before he could find breath for words, his eyes fell upon Stella's -face, and a change came over him. - -"What does this mean?" he stammered. "What do you mean, Mr. Adelstone, -by this outrage? Do you know that I have been kept a prisoner----" - -Jasper interrupted him calmly, quietly, with an exasperating smile. - -"You are a prisoner no longer, my dear Frank!" - -"How dare you!" exclaimed the enraged boy, and he raised his cane. - -It would have fallen across Jasper's face, for he made no attempt to -ward it, but Stella sprang between them, and it fell on her shoulder. - -"Frank," she moaned rather than cried, "you--you must not." - -"Stella," he exclaimed, "stand away from him. I think I shall kill him." - -She laid her hand upon his arm and looked up into his face with, ah! -what an anguish of sorrowful pity and love. - -"Frank," she breathed, pressing her hand to her bosom, "listen to me. -He--Mr. Adelstone was--was right. He has done all for--for the best. -You--you will beg his pardon." - -He stared at her as if he thought that she had taken leave of her -senses. - -"What! What do you say!" he cried, below his breath. "Are you mad, -Stella?" - -She put her hand to her brow with a strange, weird smile. - -"I wish--I almost think I am. No, Frank, not another word. You must not -ask why. I cannot tell you. Only this, that--that Mr. Adelstone has -explained, and that--that"--her voice faltered--"we must go back." - -"Go back? Not go to Leycester?" he demanded, incredulous and -astonished. "Do you know what you are saying?" - -She smiled, a smile more bitter than tears. - -"Yes, I know. Bear with me, Frank." - -"Bear with you? What does she mean? Do you mean to say that you have -allowed yourself to be persuaded by this--this hound----?" - -"Frank! Frank!" - -"Do not stop him," came the quiet, overstrained voice of 'the hound.' - -"This hound, I said," repeated the boy, bitterly. "Has he persuaded you -to break faith with Leycester? It is impossible. You would not, _could_ -not, be so--so bad." - -Stella looked at him, and the tears sprang to her eyes. - -"Have pity, and--and--send him away," she said, without turning to -Jasper. - -He went up to Frank, who drew back as he approached, as if he were -something loathsome. - -"You are making your cousin unhappy by this conduct," he said. "It is -as she says. She has changed her mind." - -"It is a lie," retorted Frank, fiercely. "You have frightened her and -tortured her into this. But you shall not succeed. It is easy for you -to frighten a woman, as easily as it is to entrap her; but you will -sing a different tune before a man. Stella, come with me. You must, you -_shall_ come. We will go to Lord Leycester." - -"It is unnecessary," cried Jasper, quietly. "His lordship will be here -in a few minutes." - -Stella started. - -"No, no," she said, and moved to the door. Frank, staring at Jasper, -caught and held her. - -"Is that a lie, too?" he demanded. "If not--if it be true--then we -will wait. We shall see how much longer you will be able to crow, Mr. -Adelstone!" - -"Let us go, Frank," implored Stella. "You will let me go now?" And she -turned to Jasper. - -Frank was almost driven to madness by her tone. - -"What has he said and done to change you like this?" he said. "You -speak to him as if you were his slave!" - -She looked at him sadly. - -Jasper shook his head. - -"Wait," he said--"it will be better that you wait. Trust me. I will -spare you as much as possible; but it will be better that he should -learn all that he has to learn from your lips, here and now." - -She bowed her head, and still holding Frank's arm sank into a chair. - -The boy was about to burst out again, but she stopped him. - -"Hush!" she said, "do not speak, every word cuts me to the heart. Not a -word, dear--not another word. Let us wait." - -They had not long to wait. - -There was a sound of footsteps, hurried and noisy, on the stairs--an -impatient, resolute voice uttering a question--then the door was thrown -open, and Lord Leycester burst in! - - - - -CHAPTER XXX. - - -Leycester looked round for a moment eagerly, then, utterly disregarding -Jasper, he hurried across to Stella, who at his entrance had made an -involuntary movement towards him, but had then recoiled, and stood with -white face and tightly-clasped hands. - -"Stella!" he exclaimed, "why are you here? Why did you not come to -Waterloo? Why did you send for me?" - -She put her hand in his, and looked him in the face--a look so full of -anguish and sorrow that he stared at her in amazement. - -"It was I who sent for you, my lord," said Jasper, coldly. - -Leycester just glanced at him, then returned to the study of Stella's -face. - -"Why are you here, Stella?" - -She did not speak, but drew her hand away and glanced at Jasper. - -That glance would have melted a heart of stone, but his was one of fire -and consumed all pity. - -"Will you not speak? Great Heaven, what is the matter with you?" -demanded Leycester. - -Jasper made a step nearer. - -Leycester turned upon him, not fiercely, but with contempt and -amazement, then turned again to Stella. - -"Has anything happened at home--to your uncle?" - -"Mr. Etheridge is well," said Jasper. - -Then Leycester turned and looked at him. - -"Why does this man answer for you?" he said. "I did not put any -question to you, sir." - -"I am aware of that, my lord," said Jasper, his small eyes glittering -with hate and malice, and smoldering fury. The sight of the handsome -face, the knowledge that Stella loved this man and hated him, Jasper, -maddened and tortured him, even in his hour of triumph. "I am aware -of that, Lord Leycester; but as your questions evidently distress and -embarrass Miss Etheridge, I take upon myself to answer for her." - -Leycester smiled as if at some strange conceit. - -"You do indeed take upon yourself," he retorted, with great scorn. -"Perhaps you will kindly remain silent." - -Jasper's face whitened and winced. - -"You are in my apartment, Lord Leycester." - -"I regret to admit it. I more deeply regret that this lady should be -here. I await her explanation." - -"And what if I say she will not gratify your curiosity?" said Jasper, -with a malignant smile. - -"What will happen, do you mean?" asked Leycester, curtly. "Well, I -shall probably throw you out of the window." - -Stella uttered a low cry and laid her hand upon his arm; she knew him -so well, and had no difficulty in reading the sudden lightning in the -dark eyes, and the resolute tightening of the lips. She knew that -it was no idle threat, and that a word more from Jasper of the same -kind would rouse the fierce, impetuous anger for which Leycester was -notorious. - -In a moment his anger disappeared. - -"I beg your pardon," he murmured, with a loving glance, "I was -forgetting myself. I will remember that you are here." - -"Now, sir," and he turned to Jasper, "you appear anxious to offer some -explanation. Be as brief and as quick as you can, please," he added -curtly. - -Jasper winced at the tone of command. - -"I wished to spare Miss Etheridge," he said. "I have only one desire, -and that is to insure her comfort and happiness." - -"You are very good," said Leycester, with contemptuous impatience. -"But if that is all you have to say we will rid you of our presence, -which cannot be welcome. I would rather hear an account of these -extraordinary proceedings from this lady's lips, at first, at any rate; -afterwards I may trouble you," and his eyes darkened ominously. - -Then he went up to Stella, and his voice dropped to a low whisper. - -"Come, Stella. You shall tell me what this all means," and he offered -her his arm. - -But Stella shrank back, with a piteous look in her eyes. - -"I cannot go with you," she murmured, as if each word cost her an -effort. "Do not ask me!" - -"Cannot!" he said, still in the same low voice. "Stella! Why not?" - -"I--I cannot tell you! Do not ask me!" was her prayer. "Go now--go and -leave me!" - -Lord Leycester looked from her to Frank, who shook his head and glared -at Jasper. - -"I don't understand it, Lord Leycester; it is no use looking to me. I -have done as you asked me--at least as far as I was able until I was -prevented. We got out at Vauxhall as you wished us to do----" - -"I!" said Leycester, not loudly, but with an intense emphasis. "I! I -did not ask you to do anything of the kind! I have been waiting for you -at Waterloo, and thinking that I had missed you and that you had gone -on to--to the place I asked you to go to, I hurried there. A man--Mr. -Adelstone's servant, I presume--was waiting, and told me Stella was -here waiting for me. I came here--that is all!" - -Frank glared at Jasper and raised an accusing finger, which he pointed -threateningly. - -"Ask _him_ for an explanation!" he said. - -Leicester looked at the white, defiant face. - -"What jugglery is this, sir?" he demanded. "Am I to surmise that--that -this lady was entrapped and brought here against her will?" - -Jasper inclined his head. - -"You are at liberty to surmise what you will," he said. "If you ask me -if it was through my instrumentality that this lady was led to break -the assignation you had arranged for her, I answer that it was!" - -"Soh!" - -It was all Leycester said, but it spoke volumes. - -"That I used some strategy to effect my purpose, I don't for a moment -deny. I used strategy, because it was necessary to defeat your scheme." - -He paused. Leycester stood upright watching him. - -"Go on," he said, in a hard, metallic voice. - -"I brought her here that I, her uncle's and guardian's friend, might -point out to her the danger which lay in the path on which you would -entice her. I have made it clear to her that it is impossible she -should do as you wish." - -He paused again, and Leycester removed his eyes from the pale face and -looked at Stella. - -"Is what this man says true?" he asked, in a low voice. "Has he -persuaded you to break faith with me?" - -Stella looked at him, and her hands closed over each other. - -"Don't ask her," broke in Frank. "She is not in a fit state to answer. -This fellow, this Jasper Adelstone, has bewitched her! I think he has -frightened her out of her senses by some threat----" - -"Frank! Hush! Oh, hush!" broke from Stella. - -Lord Leycester started and eyed her scrutinizingly, but he saw only -anguish and pity and sorrow--not guilt--in her face. - -"It is true," declared Frank. "This is what she has said, and this only -since I came back into the room, and I can't get any more out of her. I -think, Lord Leycester, you had better throw him out of the window." - -Leycester looked from one to the other. There was evidently more in the -case than could be met by following Frank's advice. - -He put his hand to his head for a moment. - -"I don't understand," he said, almost to himself. - -"It is not difficult to understand," said Jasper, with an ill-concealed -sneer. "The lady absolutely refuses to keep the appointment you -made--you forced upon her. She declines to accompany you. She----" - -"Silence," said Leycester, in a low voice that was more terrible than -shouting. Then he turned to Stella. - -"Is it so?" he asked. - -She raised her eyes, and her lips moved. - -"Yes," she said. - -He looked as if he could not believe the evidence of his senses. The -perspiration broke out on his forehead, and his lips trembled, but he -made an effort to control himself, and succeeded. - -"Is what this man says true, Stella?" - -"I--I cannot go with you," she trembled, with downcast eyes. - -Leycester looked round the room as if he suspected he must be dreaming. - -"What does it mean?" he murmured. "Stella;" and now he addressed her as -if he were oblivious of the presence of others. "Stella, I implore, I -command you to tell me. Consider what my position is. I--who have been -expecting you as--as you know well--find you here, and here you, with -your own lips, tell me that all is altered between us; so suddenly, so -unreasonably." - -"It must be so," she breathed. "If you would only go and leave me!" - -He put his hand on the back of a chair to steady himself, and the chair -shook. - -Jasper stood gloating over his emotion. - -"Great Heaven!" he exclaimed, "can I believe my ears? Is this -you, Stella--speaking to me in these words and in this fashion? -Why!--why!--why!" - -And the questions burst forth from him passionately. - -She clasped her hands, and looked up at him. - -"Do not ask me--I cannot tell. Spare me!" - -Leycester turned to Frank. - -"Will you--will you leave us, my dear Frank?" he said, hoarsely. - -Frank went out slowly, then Leycester turned to Jasper. - -"Hear me," he said. "You have given me to understand that the key of -this enigma is in your possession; you will be good enough to furnish -me with it. There must be no more mystery. Understand once for all, and -at once, that I will have no trifling." - -"Leycester!" - -He put up his hand to her, gently, reassuringly, - -"Do not fear; this gentleman has no need to tremble. This matter -lies between us three--at present, rather, it lies between you two. -I want to be placed on an equality, that is all." And he smiled a -fiercely-bitter smile. "Now, sir!" - -Jasper bit his lips. - -"I have few words to add to what I have already said. I will say them, -and I leave it to Miss Etheridge to corroborate them. You wish to know -the reason why she did not meet you as you expected, and why she is -here instead, and under my protection?" - -Leycester moved his hand impatiently. - -"The question is easily answered. It is because she is my affianced -wife!" said Jasper quietly. - -Leycester looked at him steadily, but did not show by a sign that he -had been smitten as his adversary had hoped to smite him. Instead, he -seemed to recover coolness. - -"I have been told," he said, quietly and incisively, "that you are -a clever man, Mr. Adelstone. I did not doubt it until this moment. -I feel that you must be a fool to hope that I should accept that -statement." - -Jasper's face grew red under the bitter scorn; he raised his hand and -pointed tremblingly to Stella. - -"Ask her," he said, hoarsely. - -Leycester turned to her with a start. - -"For form's sake," he said, almost apologetically, "I will ask you, -Stella. Is this true?" - -She raised her eyes. - -"It is true," she breathed. - -Leycester turned white for the first time, and seemed unable to -withdraw his eyes from hers for a moment, then he walked up to her and -took her hands. - -"Look at me!" he said, in a low, constrained voice. "Do you know that I -am here?--I--am--here!--that I came here to protect you? That whatever -this man has said to force this mad avowal from your lips I will make -him answer for! Stella! Stella! If you do not wish to drive me mad, -look at me and tell me that this is a lie!" - -She looked at him sadly, sorrowfully. - -"It is true--true," she said. - -"Of your own free will?--you hesitate! Ah!" - -She flung her hands before her eyes for a moment to gain strength to -deal him the blow, then with white constrained face she said-- - -"Of my own free will!" - -He dropped her hands, but stood looking at her. - -Jasper's voice aroused him from the stupor which fell upon him. - -"Come, my lord," he said, in a dry, cold voice, "you have received -your answer. Let me suggest that you have inflicted more than enough -pain upon this lady, and let me remind you that as I am her affianced -husband I have the right to request you to leave her in peace." - -Leycester turned to him slowly, but without speaking to him went up to -Stella. - -"Stella," he said, and his voice was harsh and hoarse. "For the last -time I ask you--for the last time!--is this true? Have you betrayed me -for this man? Have you promised to be--his wife?" - -The answer came in a low clear voice: - -"It is true. I shall be his wife." - -He staggered slightly, but recovered himself, and stood upright, his -hands clasped, the veins on his forehead swelling. - -"It is enough," he said. "You tell me that it is of your own free will. -I do not believe that. I know that this man has some hold upon you. -What it is I cannot guess. I feel that you will not tell me, and that -he would only lie if I asked him. But it is enough for me. Stella--I -call you so for the last time--you have deceived me; you have kept this -thing hidden from me. May Heaven forgive you, I cannot!" - -Then he took his hat and turned to leave the room. - -As he did so she swayed toward him, and almost fell at his feet, but -Jasper glided toward her and held her, and, as Leycester turned, he saw -her leaning on Jasper, her arm linked in his. - -Without a word Leycester opened the door and went out. - -Frank sprang toward him, but Leycester put him back with a firm grasp. - -"Oh, Lord Leycester!" he cried. - -Leycester paused for a moment, his hand on the boy's arm. - -"Go to her," he said. "She has lied to me. There is something between -her and that man. I have seen her for the last time," and before the -boy could find a word of expostulation or entreaty, Leycester pushed -him aside and went out. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXI. - - -Leycester went down the stairs with the uncertain gait of a drunken -man, and having reached the open air stood for a moment staring round -him as if he were bereft of his senses; as indeed he almost was. - -The shock had come so suddenly that it had deprived him of the power -of reasoning, of following the thing out to its logical conclusion. -As he walked on, threading his way along the crowded thoroughfare, -and exciting no little attention and remark by his wild, distraught -appearance, he realized that he had lost Stella. - -He realized that he had lost the beautiful girl who had stolen into -his heart and absorbed his love. And the manner of his losing her made -the loss so bitter! That a man, that such a creature as this Jasper -Adelstone, should come between them was terrible. If it had been any -other, who was in some fashion his own equal--Charlie Guildford, for -instance, a gentleman and a nobleman--it would have been bad enough, -but he could have understood it. He would have felt that he had been -fairly beaten; but Jasper Adelstone! - -Then it was so evident that love was not altogether the reason of her -treachery and desertion; there was something else; some secret which -gave that man a hold over her. He stopped short in the most crowded -part of the Strand, and put his hand to his brow and groaned. - -To think that his Stella, his beautiful child-love, whom he had deemed -an angel for innocence, should share a secret with such a man. And -what was it? Was there shame connected with it? He shuddered as the -suspicion crossed his mind and smote upon his heart. What had she done -to place her so utterly in Jasper Adelstone's hands? What was it? The -question harassed and worried him to the exclusion of all other sides -of the case. - -Was it something that had occurred before he, Leycester, had met her? -She had known this Jasper Adelstone before she knew Leycester; but he -remembered her speaking of him as a conceited, self-opinioned young -man; he remembered the light scorn with which she had described him. - -No, it could not have happened thus early. When then? and where was -it? He could find no solution to the question; but the terrible result -remained, that she had delivered herself, body and soul, into the -hands of Jasper Adelstone, and was lost to him, Leycester! - -Striking along, careless of where he was going, he found himself -at last in Pall Mall. He entered one of his clubs, and went to the -smoking-room. There he lit a cigar, and took out the marriage license -and looked at it long and absently. If all had gone right, Stella would -have been his, if not by this time, a very little later, and they would -have gone to Italy, they two, together and alone--with happiness. - -But now it was all changed--the cup had been dashed from his lips at -the last moment, and by--Jasper Adelstone! - -He sat, with the unsmoked cigar in his fingers, his head drooped -upon his breast, the nightmare of the secret mystery pressing on his -shoulders. It was not only the loss of Stella, it was the feeling that -she had deceived him that was so bitter to bear; it was the existence -of the secret understanding between the two that so utterly overwhelmed -him. He could have married Stella though she had been a beggar in the -streets, but he could have no part or lot in the woman who shared a -secret with such a one as Jasper Adelstone. - -The smoking-room footman hovered about, glancing covertly and curiously -at the motionless figure in the deep arm-chair; acquaintances sauntered -in and gave him good-bye; but Leycester sat brooding over his sorrow -and disappointment, and made no response. - -A more miserable young man it would have been impossible to find in all -London than this viscount and heir to an earldom, with all his immense -wealth and proud hereditary titles. - -The afternoon came, hot and sultry, and to him suffocating. The -footman, beginning to be seriously alarmed by the quiescence of the -silent figure, was just considering whether it was not his duty to -bring him some refreshment, or rouse him by offering him the paper, -when Leycester rose, much to the man's relief, and walked out. - -Within the last few minutes he had decided upon some course of action. -He could not stay in London, he could not remain in England; he would -go abroad--go right out of the way, and try and forget. He smiled to -himself at the word, as if he should ever forget the beautiful face -that had lain upon his breast, the exquisite eyes that had poured the -lovelight into his, the sweet girl-voice that had murmured its maiden -confession in his ear! - -He called a cab, and told the man to drive to Waterloo; caught a train, -threw himself into a corner of the carriage, and gave himself up to the -bitterness of despair. - -Dinner was just over when his tall figure passed along the terrace, and -the ladies were standing under the drawing-room veranda enjoying the -sunset. A little apart from the rest stood Lenore. She was leaning -against one of the iron columns, her dress of white cashmere and satin -trimmed with pearls standing out daintily and fairy-like against the -mass of ferns and flowers behind her. - -She was leaning in the most graceful air of abandon, her sunshade -lying at her feet, her hands folded with an indolent air of rest on -her lap; there was a serene smile upon her lips, a delicate languor in -her violet eyes, an altogether at-peace-with-all-the-world expression -which was in direct contrast with the faint expression of anxiety which -rested on the handsome face of the countess. - -Every now and then, as the proud and haughty woman, but anxious mother, -chatted and laughed with the women around her, her gaze wandered to the -open country with an absent, almost fearful expression, and once, as -the sound of a carriage was heard on the drive, she was actually guilty -of a start. - -But the carriage was only that of one of the guests, and the countess -sighed and turned to her duties again. Lenore, with head thrown back, -watched her with a lazy smile. She was suffering likewise, but she had -something tangible to fear, something definite to hope; the mother knew -nothing, but feared all things. - -Presently Lady Wyndward happened to come within the scope of Lenore's -voice. - -"You look tired to-night, dear," she said. - -The countess smiled, wearily. - -"I will admit a little headache," she said; then she looked at the -lovely indolent face. "You look well enough, Lenore!" - -Lady Lenore smiled, curiously. - -"Do you think so!" she answered. "Suppose I also confessed a headache!" - -"I should outdo you even then," said the countess, with a sigh, "for I -have a heartache!" - -Lenore put out her hand, white and glittering with pearls and diamonds, -and laid it on the elder woman's arm with a little caressing gesture -peculiar to her. - -"Tell me dear," she whispered. - -The countess shook her head. - -"I cannot," she said, with a sigh. "I scarcely know myself. I am quite -in the dark, but I know that something has happened or is happening. -You know that Leycester went suddenly yesterday?" - -Lady Lenore moved her head in assent. - -The countess sighed. - -"I am always fearful of him." - -Lenore laughed, softly. - -"So am I. But I am not fearful on this occasion. Wait until he comes -back." - -The countess shook her head. - -"When will that be? I am afraid not for some time!" - -"I think he will come back to-night," said Lenore, with a smile that -was too placid to be confident or boastful. - -The countess smiled and looked at her. - -"You are a strange girl, Lenore," she said. "What makes you think that?" - -Lenore turned the bracelet on her arm. - -"Something seems to whisper to me that he will come," she said. "Look!" -And she just moved her hand toward the terrace. Leycester was coming -slowly up the broad stone steps. - -Lady Wyndward made a move forward, but Lenore's hand closed over her -arm, and she stopped and looked at her. - -Lenore shook her head, smiling softly. - -"Better not," she murmured, scarcely above her breath. "Not yet. Leave -him alone. Something has happened as you surmised. I have such keen -eyes, you know, and can see his face." - -So could Lady Wyndward by this time, and her own turned white at sight -of the pale, haggard face. - -"Do not go to him," whispered Lenore, "do not stop him. Leave him -alone; it is good advice." - -Lady Wyndward felt instinctively that it was, and so that she might not -be tempted to disregard it, she turned away and went into the house. - -Leycester came along the terrace, and raising his eyes, heavy and -clouded, saw the ladies, but he only raised his hat and passed on. -Then he came to where the figure in white, glimmering with pearls and -diamonds, leaned against the column and he hesitated a moment, but -there was no look of invitation in her eyes, only a faint smile, and he -merely raised his hat again and passed on; but, half unconsciously, he -had taken in the loveliness and grace of the picture that she made, and -that was all that she desired for the present. - -With heavy steps he crossed the hall, climbed the stairs, and entered -his own room. - -His man Oliver, who had been waiting for him and hanging about, came in -softly, but stole out again at sight of the dusky figure lying wearily -on the chair; but presently Leycester called him and he went back. - -"Get a bath ready, Oliver," he said, "and pack a portmanteau; we shall -leave to-night." - -"Very good, my lord," was the quiet response, and then he went to -prepare the bath. - -Leycester got up and strode to and fro. Though she had never entered -his rooms, the apartments seemed full of her; from the easel stared the -disfigured Venus which he had daubed out on the first night he had seen -her. On the table, in an Etruscan vase of crystal, were some of the -wild flowers which her hand had plucked, her lips had pressed. These he -took--not fiercely but solemnly--and threw out of the window. - -Suddenly there floated upon the air the strains of solemn music. He -started. He had almost forgotten Lilian; the great sorrow and misery -had almost driven her from his memory. He sat the vase down upon the -table, and went to her room; she knew his knock, and bade him come in, -still playing. - -But as he entered, she stopped suddenly, and the smile which had flown -to her face to welcome him disappeared. - -"Ley!" she breathed, looking up at his pale, haggard face and -dark-rimmed eyes; "what has happened? What is the matter?" - -He stood beside her, and bent and kissed her; his lips were dry and -burning. - -"Ley! Ley!" she murmured, and put her white arm round his neck to draw -him down to her, "what is it?" - -Then she scanned him with loving anxiety. - -"How tired you look, Ley! Where have you been? Sit down!" - -He sank into a low seat at her feet, and motioned to the piano. - -"Go on playing," he said. - -She started at his hoarse, dry voice, but turned to the piano, and -played softly, and presently she knew, rather than saw, that he had -hidden his face in his hands. - -Then she stopped and bent over him. - -"Now tell me, Ley!" she murmured. - -He looked up with a bitter smile that cut her to the heart. - -"It is soon told, Lil," he said, in a low voice, "and it is only an -old, old story!" - -"Ley!" - -"I can tell you--I could tell only you, Lil--in a very few words. I -have loved--and been deceived." - -She did not speak, but she put her hand on his head where it lay like a -peaceful benediction. - -"I have staked my all, all my happiness and peace, upon a cast and have -lost. I am very badly hit, and naturally I feel it very badly for a -time!" - -"Ley!" she murmured, reproachfully, "you must not talk to _me_ like -this; speak from your heart." - -"I haven't any left, Lil!" he said; "there is only an aching void where -my heart used to be. I lost it weeks ago--or was it months or years? I -can't tell which now!--and she to whom I gave it, she whom I thought -an angel of purity, a dove of innocence, has thrown it in the dirt and -trampled upon it!" - -"Ley, Ley, you torture me! Of whom are you speaking?" - -"Of whom should I be speaking but the one woman the world holds for me?" - -"Lenore!" she murmured, incredulously. - -"Lenore!" and he laughed bitterly. "No; she did not pronounce her name -so. I am speaking and thinking of Stella Etheridge." - -Her hand trembled, but she did not withdraw it. - -"Stella?" - -"Yes," he said, and his lips twitched. "A star. A star that will shine -in another man's bosom, not in mine as I, fool that I was, dreamed -that it would. Lil, I believe that there is only one good woman in the -world, and she sits near me now." - -"Oh, Ley, Ley--but tell me!" - -"There is so little to tell," he said, wearily. "I cannot tell you all. -This will suffice, that to-night I expected and hoped to have been able -to call her my wife, instead--well, you see, I am sitting here!" - -"Your wife?" she murmured. "Stella Etheridge your wife. Was that--that -wise, Ley?" - -"Wise! What have I to do with wisdom?" he retorted. "I loved her--loved -her passionately, madly, as I never, nor shall ever, love another -woman! Heaven help me, I love her now! Don't you see that is the worst -part of it. I know, as surely as I am sitting here, that my life has -gone. It has gone to pieces on the rocks like a goodly ship, and there -is an end of it!" - -There was silence for a moment, then she spoke, and, woman-like, her -thoughts were of the woman. - -"But she, Ley? How is it with her?" - -He laughed again, and the gentle girl shuddered. - -"Don't Ley," she murmured. - -"She will be all right," he said. "Women are made like that--all -excepting one," and he touched her dress. - -"And yet--and yet," she murmured, troubled and sorrowful, "now I look -back I am sure that she loved you, Ley! I remember her face, the look -of her eyes, the way she spoke your name. Oh, Ley, she loved you!" - -"She did--perhaps. She loves me now so well, that on our -wedding-day--wedding-day!--she allows a man to step in between us and -claim her as his own!" - -Maddened by the memory which her words had called up he would have -risen, but she held him down with a gentle hand. - -"A man! What man, Ley?" - -"One called Jasper Adelstone, a lawyer; a man it would be gross -flattery to call even a gentleman! Think of it, Lil. Picture it! I wait -to receive my bride, and instead of it happening so, I am sent for to -meet her at this man's chambers. There I am informed that all is over -between us, and that she is the affianced wife of Mr. Jasper Adelstone." - -"But the reason--the reason?" - -"There is none!" he exclaimed, rising and pacing the room, "I am -vouchsafed no reason. The bare facts are deemed sufficient for me. I am -cast adrift, as something no longer necessary or needful, without word -of reason or even of rhyme!" and he laughed. - -She was silent for a moment, then a murmur broke from her lips. - -"Poor girl!" - -He stooped and looked down at her. - -"Do not waste your pity, Lil," he said, with a grim smile. "With her -own lips she declared that what she did she did of her own free will!" - -"With this man standing by her side?" - -He started, then he shook his head. - -"I know what you mean!" he said, hoarsely. "And do you not see that -that is the worst of it. She is in his power; there is some secret -understanding between them. Can I marry a woman who is in another man's -power so completely that she is forced to break her word to me, to jilt -me for him!--can I?" - -His voice was so hoarse and harsh as to be almost inarticulate, and he -stood with outstretched, appealing hands, as if demanding an answer. - -What could she say? For a moment she was silent, then she put out her -hand to him. - -"And you have left her with him, Ley?" - -The question sent all the blood from his face. - -"Yes," he said, wearily, "I have left her with her future husband. -Possibly, probably, by this time she has become his wife. One man can -procure a marriage license as easily as another." - -"You did that! What would papa and my mother have said?" she murmured. - -He laughed. - -"What did, what should I care? I tell you I loved her madly; you do not -know, cannot understand what such love means! Know, then, Lil, that I -would rather have died than lose her--that, having lost her, life has -become void and barren for me--that the days and hours until I forget -her will be so much time of torture and regret, and vain, useless -longing. I shall see her face, hear her voice, wherever I may be, in -the day or in the night; and no pleasure, no pain will efface her from -my memory or my heart." - -"Oh, Ley!--my poor Ley!" - -"Thus it is with me. And now I have come to say 'good-bye.'" - -"Good-bye. You are going--where?" - -"Where?" he echoed, with the same discordant laugh. "I neither know nor -care. I am afraid all places will be alike for awhile. The whole earth -is full of her; there is not a wild flower that will not remind me of -her, not a sound of music that will not recall her voice. If I meet -a woman I shall compare her with my Stella--_my_ Stella! no, Jasper -Adelstone's! Oh, Heaven! I could bear all but that. If she were dead, I -should have at least one comfort--the consolation of knowing that she -had belonged to no other man--that in some other remote world we might -meet again, and I might claim her as mine! But that is denied to me. My -white angel is stained and besmirched, and is mine no longer!" - -Worn out by the passion of his grief, he dropped on the seat at her -feet, and hid his face in his hands. - -She put her arm round his neck, but spoke no word. Words at such -moments are like gnats round a wound--they can only irritate, they -cannot heal. - -They sat thus motionless for some minutes, then he rose, calmer but -very white and worn. - -"This is weak of me, worse than weak, inconsiderate, Lil," he said, -with a wan smile. "You have so much of your own sorrows that you should -be spared the recital of other people's woes. I will go now. Good-bye, -Lil!" - -"Oh, what can I do for you?" she murmured. "My dear! My dear!" - -He stooped and kissed her, and looked down at her pale face so full of -sorrow for his sorrow, and his heart grew calmer and more resigned. - -"Nothing, Lil," he said. - -"Yes," she said in a low voice; "if I can do nothing else I can pray -for you, Ley!" - -He smiled and stroked her hair. - -"You are an angel, Lil," he said, softly. "If all women were made like -you, there would be no sin and little sorrow in the world. In the -future that lies black and drear before me I shall think of you. Yes, -pray for me, Lil. Good-bye!" and he kissed her again. - -She held him to the last, then when he had gone she buried her face in -her hands and cried. But suddenly she sat up and touched the bell that -stood near her. - -"Crying will do no good for my Ley," she murmured. "I must do more -than that. Oh, if I could be strong and hale like other girls for an -hour, one short hour! But I will, I must do something! I cannot see him -suffer so and do nothing!" - -Her one special maid, a girl who had been with her since her childhood -and knew every mood and change in her, came in and hurried to her side -at the sight of her tear-dimmed eyes. - -"Oh, Lady Lilian, what is the matter? You have been crying!" - -"A little, Jeanette," she said, smiling through her tears. "I am in -great trouble--Lord Leycester is in great trouble----" - -"I have just met him, my lady, looking so ill and worried." - -"Yes, Jeanette; he is in great trouble, and I want to help him," and -then, with fear and trembling, she announced an intention she had -suddenly formed. Jeanette was aghast for a time, but at last she -yielded, and hurried away to make the preparation for the execution of -her beloved mistress's wishes. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXII. - - -As the door closed on Lord Leycester, Stella's heart seemed to leave -her bosom; it was as if all hope had fled with him, and as if her doom -was irrevocably fixed. For a moment she did not realize that she was -leaning upon Jasper Adelstone for support, but when her numbed senses -woke to a capacity for fresh pain, and she felt his hand touching hers, -she shrank away from him with a shudder, and summoning all her presence -of mind, turned to him calmly: - -"You have worked your will," she said, in a low voice. "What remains? -What other commands have you to lay upon me?" - -He winced, and the color struggled to his pale face. - -"In the future," he said, in a low voice, "it will be your place to -command, mine to obey those commands, willingly, cheerfully." - -Stella waved her hand with weary impatience. - -"I am in your hands," she said; "what am I to do now? where am I to go? -No! I know that; I will go back----" then she stopped, and a look of -pain and fear came upon her beautiful face as she thought of the alarm -with which her uncle would discover her flight, and the explanation -which he would demand. "How can I go back? What can I say?" - -"I have thought of that," he said, in a low voice. "I had foreseen the -difficulty, and I have provided against it. I know that what I have -done may only increase your anger, but I did it for the best." - -"What have you done?" asked Stella. - -"I have telegraphed to your uncle to say that I had tempted you and -Frank to run up to town, and that I would bring you back this evening. -I knew he would not be anxious then, seeing that Frank was with you." - -Stella stared at the firm, self-reliant face. He had provided for every -contingency, had foreseen everything, and had evidently felt so assured -of the success of his plans. She could not refrain a slight shudder as -she realized what sort of a man this was who held her in his power. She -felt that it were as useless to attempt to escape him as it would be -for a bird to flutter against the bars of its cage. - -"Have I done wrong?" he asked, standing beside her, his head bent, his -whole attitude one of deference and humility. - -She shook her head. - -"No, I suppose not. It does not matter if he can be spared pain." - -"He shall be," he responded. "I will do all in my power to render both -him and you and Frank happy." - -She looked at him with a pitiful smile. - -"Happy!" - -"Yes, happy!" he repeated, with low but intense emphasis. "Remember, -that, though I have won you by force, I love you; that I would die for -you, yes, die for you, if need were----" - -She rose--she had sunk into a chair--and put her hand to her brow. - -"Let me go now, please," she said, wearily. - -He put on his hat, but stopped her with a gesture. - -"Frank," he said. - -She knew what he meant, and inclined her head. - -Jasper went to the door and called him by name, and he entered. Jasper -laid his hand on his shoulder and kept it there firmly, notwithstanding -the boy's endeavor to shrink away from him. - -"Frank," he said, in his low, quiet voice, "I want to say a few words -to you. Let me preface them with the statement that what I am going to -say your cousin Stella fully endorses." - -Frank, looking at Stella--he had not taken his eyes from her face--said: - -"Is that so, Stella?" - -She inclined her head. - -"I want you," said Jasper--"we want you, we ask you, my dear Frank, to -erase from your memory all that has occurred here this morning, and -before that; remember only that your cousin Stella is my affianced -wife. I am aware that the suddenness of the thing causes you surprise, -as is only natural; but get over that surprise, and learn, as soon as -possible, to recognize it as an inevitable fact. Of all that has passed -between--between"--he hesitated at the hated name, and drew a little -breath--"Lord Leycester and Stella, nothing remains--nothing! We will -forget all that, will we not, Stella?" - -She made the same gesture. - -"And we ask you to do the same." - -"But!" exclaimed Frank, white with suppressed excitement and -indignation. - -Jasper glanced at Stella, almost with an air of command, and Stella -went over to Frank and laying her hand on his arm, bent and kissed him. - -"It must be so, dear," she said in a low tremulous whisper. "Do not ask -me why, but believe it. It is as he has said, inevitable. Every word -from you in the shape of a question will add to my mis--will only pain -me. Do not speak, dear, for my sake!" - -He looked from one to the other, then he took her hand with a curious -expression in his face. - -"I will not ask," he said. "I will be silent for your sake." - -She pressed his hand and let it drop. - -"Come!" said Jasper with a smile, "that is the right way to take it, my -dear Frank. Now let me say a word for myself, it is this, that you do -not possess a truer friend and one more willing and anxious to serve -you than Jasper Adelstone. Is that not so?" and he looked at Stella. - -"Yes," she breathed. - -Frank stood with his eyes cast down; he raised them for a moment and -looked Jasper full in the face, then lowered them again. - -"And now," said Jasper, with a smile and in a lighter voice, "you must -take some refreshment," and he went to the cupboard and brought out -some wine. Frank turned away, but Stella, nerving and forcing herself, -took the glass he extended to her and put the edge to her lips. - -Jasper seemed satisfied, though he saw that she had not touched a drop. - -"Let me see," he said, taking out his watch, "there is a train back in -half an hour. Shall we catch that?" - -"Are you coming back with us?" said Frank in a quiet voice. - -Jasper nodded. - -"If you will allow me, my dear Frank," he said, calmly. "I won't keep -you a moment." - -He rang the bell as he spoke and Scrivell entered. - -There was no sign of any kind either in his face or his bearing that -he was conscious of anything out of the ordinary having happened; he -came in with his young old face and colorless eyes, and stood waiting -patiently. Jasper handed him some letters, and gave him instructions in -a business tone, then asked if the brougham was waiting. - -"Yes, sir," said Scrivell. - -"Come then!" said Jasper, and Scrivell held the door open and bowed -with the deepest respect as they passed out. - -It was so sudden a change from the storm of passion that had just -passed over them all, that Frank and Stella felt bewildered and -benumbed, which was exactly as Jasper wished them to feel. - -His manner was deferential and humble but fully self-possessed; he put -Stella in the brougham, and insisted quietly upon Frank sitting beside -her, he himself taking the front seat. - -Stella shrank back into the corner, and lowered her veil. Frank sat -staring out of the window, and avoiding even a glance at the face -opposite him. Jasper made no attempt to break the silence, but sat, his -eyes fixed on the passers-by, the calm, inscrutable expression on his -face never faltering, though a triumph ran through his veins. - -The train was waiting, and he put them into a carriage, lowered the -window and drew the curtain for Stella, and at the last moment bought a -bunch of flowers at the refreshment-bar, and laid it beside her. Then -he got in and unfolded a newspaper and looked through it. - -Scarcely a word was spoken during the whole journey; it was an express -train, but it seemed ages to Stella before it drew up at Wyndward -Station. - -Jasper helped her to alight, she just touching his hand with her gloved -fingers, and they walked across the meadow. As they came in sight of -the Hall, shining whitely in the evening sunlight, Stella raised her -eyes and looked at it, and a cold hand seemed to grasp her heart. As if -he knew what was passing in her mind, Jasper took her sunshade and put -it up. - -"The sun is still hot," he said; and he held it so as to shut the hall -from her sight. - -They came to the lane--to the spot where Stella had stood up on the -bank and looked down at the upturned eyes which she had learned to -love; she breathed a silent prayer that she might never see them again. - -Jasper opened the gate, and a smile began to form on his lips. - -"Prepare for a scolding," he said, lightly. "You must put all the blame -on me." - -But there was no scolding; the old man was seated in his arm-chair, and -eyed them with mild surprise and anxiety. - -"Stella," he said, "where have you been? We have been very anxious. How -pale and tired you look!" - -Jasper almost stepped before her to screen her. - -"It is all my fault, my dear sir," he said. "Lay the blame on me. I -ought to have known better, I admit, but I met the young people on -their morning stroll and tempted them to take a run to town. It was -done on the spur of the moment. You must forgive us!" - -Mr. Etheridge looked from one to the other and patted Stella's arm. - -"You must ask Mrs. Penfold," he said, with a smile. "She will be -difficult to appease, I'm afraid. We have been very anxious. It -was--well, unlike you, Stella." - -"I hope I shall be able to appease Mrs. Penfold," said Jasper. "I want -her good word; I know she has some influence with you, sir." - -He paused, and the old man looked up, struck by some significance in -his tone. - -Jasper stood looking down at him with a little smile of pleading -interrogation. - -"I have come as a suppliant for your forgiveness on more accounts than -one," he continued. "I have dared to ask Stella to be my wife, sir." - -Stella started, but still looked out beyond him at the green hills and -the water glowing in the sunset. Mr. Etheridge put his hand on her head -and turned her face. - -"Stella!" - -"You wish to know what she has answered, sir," said Jasper to spare -Stella making any reply. "With a joy I cannot express, I am able to say -that she has answered 'Yes.'" - -"Is that so, my dear?" murmured the old man. - -Stella's head drooped. - -"This--this--surprises me!" he said in a low voice. "But if it is -so, if you love him, my dear, I will not say 'No.' Heaven bless you, -Stella!" and his hand rested upon her head. - -There was silence for a moment, then he started and held out his other -hand to Jasper. - -"You are a fortunate man, Jasper," he said. "I hope, I trust you will -make her happy!" - -Jasper's small eyes glistened. - -"I will answer for it with my life," he said. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIII. - - -"Oh, my love, my love!" - -She stood with her arms outstretched toward the white walls of the -Hall, the moon shining over meadow and river, the night jay creaking in -silence. - -In all her anguish and misery, in all her passionate longing and -sorrow, these were the only words that her lips could frame. All was -still in the house behind her. Frank, worn out with excitement, had -gone to his own room. The old man sat smoking, dreaming and thinking -of his little girl's betrothal. Jasper had gone--he was too wise to -prolong the strain which he knew she was enduring--and she had crept -out into the little garden and stood leaning against the gate, her -eyes fixed on the great house, which at that moment perhaps held -him--Leycester--who, a few short hours ago, was hers, and in a low -voice the cry broke from her lips: - -"Oh, my love, my love!" - -It was a benediction, a farewell, a prayer, in one; all her soul seemed -melting and flowing toward him in the wail. All the intense longing -of her passionate nature to fly to his protecting arms and tell him -all--to tell him that she still loved him as the flowers love the sun, -the hart the waterbrook--was expressed in the words; then, as she -remembered he could not hear them--that it would avail nothing if he -could hear them, her face dropped into her hands, and she shut out the -Hall from her hot, burning eyes. She had not yet shed one tear; if she -could but have wept, the awful tightening round her brain, the burning -fire in her eyes, would have been assuaged; but she could not weep, she -was held in thrall, benumbed by the calamity that had befallen her. - -She, who was to have been Leycester's bride, was now the betrothed -of--Jasper Adelstone. - -And yet, as she stood there, alone in her misery, she knew that were it -to be done again she would do it. To keep shame and disgrace from the -old man who loved her as a father--the boy who loved her as a brother, -she would have laid down her life; but this was more than life. The -sacrifice demanded of her, and which she had yielded, was worse than -death. - -Death! She looked up at the blue vault of heaven with aching, longing -eyes. If she could but die--die there and then, before Jasper could lay -his hand upon her! If she could but die, so that he, Leycester, might -come and see her lying cold and white, but still his--his! He would -know then that she loved him, that without him she would not accept -even life. He would look down at her with the odd light in his dark -eyes, perhaps stoop and kiss her--and now he would never kiss her again! - -How often have blind mortals clamored to the gods for this one boon -which they will not yield. When sorrow comes, the cry goes up--"Give us -death!" but the gods turn a deaf ear to the prayer. "Live," they say, -"the cup is not yet drained; the task is not yet done." - -And she was young, she thought, with a sigh, "so young, and so strong," -she might live for--for years! Oh, the long, dreary vista of years -that stretched before her, down which she would drag with tired feet -as Jasper Adelstone's wife. No thought of appealing to him, to his -mercy, ever occurred to her; she had learned to know him, during that -short hour in London, so well as to know that any such appeal would be -useless. The sphinx rearing its immovable head above the dreary desert -could not be more steadfast, more unyielding than this man who held her -in his grasp. - -"No," she murmured, "I have taken up this burden; I must carry it to -the end. Would to Heaven that end were nigh." - -She turned with dragging step toward the house, scarcely hearing, -utterly heedless of the sound of approaching wheels; even when they -stopped outside the gate she did not notice; but suddenly a voice -cried, in low and tremulous accents, "Stella!" and she turned, with her -hand pressed to her bosom. She knew the voice, and it went to her heart -like a knife. It was not _his_, but so like, so like. - -She turned and started, for there, standing in the moonlight, leaning -on the arm of her maid, was Lady Lilian. - -The two stood for a moment regarding each other in silence, then Stella -came nearer. - -Lady Lilian held out her hand, and Stella came and took her by her arm. - -"Wait for me in the lane, Jeanette," said Lady Lilian. "You will let me -lean on you, Stella," she added, softly. - -Stella took her and led her to a seat, and the two sat in silence. -Stella with her eyes on the ground, Lilian with hers fixed on the pale, -lovely face--more lovely even than when she had last seen it, flushed -with happiness and love's anticipation. A pang shot through the tender -heart of the sick girl as she noted the dark rings under the beautiful -eyes, the tightly drawn lips, the wan, weary face. - -"Stella," she murmured, and put her arm round her. - -Stella turned her face; it was almost hard in her effort at -self-control. - -"Lady Lilian----" - -"Lilian--only Lilian." - -"You have come here--so late!" - -"Yes, I have come, Stella," she murmured, and the tears sprang to her -eyes, drawn thither by the sound of the other voice, so sad and so -hopeless. "I could not rest, dear. You would have come to me, Stella, -if I had--if it had happened to me!" - -Stella's lips moved. - -"Perhaps." - -Lilian took her hand--hot and feverish and restless. - -"Stella, you must not be angry with me----" - -A wan smile flickered on the pale face. - -"Angry! Look at me. There is nothing that could happen to-night that -would rouse me to anger." - -"Oh, my dear, my dear! you frighten me!" - -Stella looked at her with awful calm. - -"Do I?" Then her voice dropped. "I am almost frightened at myself. Why -have you come?" she asked almost sharply. - -"Because I thought you needed me--some one, some girl young like -yourself. Do not send me away, Stella. You will hear what I have come -to say?" - -"Yes, I will hear," said Stella, wearily, "though no words that can be -spoken will help me, none." - -"Stella, I--I have heard----" - -Stella looked at her, and her lips quivered. - -"You have seen him--he has told you?" she breathed. - -Lilian bent her head. - -"Yes, dear, I have seen him. Oh, Stella, if you had seen him as I have -done!--if you had heard him speak! His voice----" - -Stella put up her hand. - -"Don't!--Spare me!" she uttered, hoarsely. - -"But why--why should it be?" murmured Lilian, clinging to her hand. -"Why, Stella, you cannot guess how he loves you? There never was love -so deep, so pure, so true as his!" - -A faint flush broke over the pale face. - -"I know it," she breathed. Then, with a sharp, almost fierce energy, -"Have you come to tell me that--me who know him so well? Was it worth -while? Do you think I do not know what I have lost?" - -"You promised not to be angry with me, Stella." - -"Forgive me--I--I scarcely know what I am saying! You did not come for -that; what then?" - -"To hear from your own lips, Stella, the reason for this. Bear with me, -dear! Remember that I am his sister, that I love him with a love only -second to yours! That all my life I have loved him, and that my heart -is breaking at the sight of his unhappiness. I have come to tell you -this--to plead for him--to plead with you for yourself! Do not turn a -deaf ear, a cold heart to me, Stella! Do not, do not!" and she clung to -the hot hands, and looked up at the white face with tearful, imploring -eyes. - -"You say you know him; you may do so; but not so well as I, his sister. -I know every turn of his nature--am I not of the same flesh and blood? -Stella, he is not like other men--quick to change and forget. He will -never bend and turn as other men. Stella, you will break his heart!" - -Stella turned on her like some tortured animal driven to bay. - -"Do I not know it! Is it not this knowledge that is breaking my -heart--that has already broken it?" she retorted wildly. "Do you think -I am sorrowing for myself alone? Do you think me so mean, so selfish? -Listen, Lady Lilian, if--if this separation were to bring him happiness -I could have borne it with a smile. If you could come to me and say, -'He will forget you and his love in a week--a month--a year!' I would -welcome you as one who brings me consolation and hope. Who am I that -I should think of myself alone?--I, the miserable, insignificant girl -whom he condescended to bless with his love! I am--nothing! Nothing -save what his love made me. If my life could have purchased his -happiness I would have given it. Lady Lilian you do not know me----" - -The tempest of her passion overawed the other weak and trembling girl. - -"You love him so!" she murmured. - -Stella looked at her with a smile. - -"I love him," she said, slowly. "I will never say it again, never! I -say it to you that you may know and understand how deep and wide is the -gulf which stretches between us--so wide that it can never, never be -overpassed." - -"No, no, you shall not say it." - -Stella smiled bitterly. - -"I think I know why you have come, Lilian. You think this a mere -lovers' quarrel, that a word will set straight. Quarrel! How little you -know either him or me. There never could have been a quarrel between -us--one cannot quarrel with oneself! His word, his wish were law to -me. If he had said 'do this,' I should have done it--if he had said -'go thither,' I should have gone; but once he laid his command on me, -and I obeyed. There is nothing I would not have done--nothing, if he -had bidden me. I know it now--I know now that I was like a reed in his -hands now that I have lost him." - -Lilian put her hand upon her lips. - -"You shall not say it!" she murmured, hoarsely. "Nothing can part -you--nothing can stand against such love! You are right. I never knew -what it meant until to-night. Stella, you cannot mean to send him -away--you will not let anything save death come between you?" - -Stella looked at her with aching eyes that, unlike Lilian's, were dry -and tearless. - -"Death!" she said, "there are things worse than death----" - -"Stella!" - -"Words one cannot mention, lest the winds should catch them up and -spread them far and wide. Not even death could have divided us more -effectually than we are divided." - -Lilian shrank back appalled. - -"What is it you say?" she breathed. "Stella, look at me! You will, you -must tell me what you mean." - -Stella did look at her, with a look that was awful in its calm despair. - -"I was silent when _he_ bade me speak; do you think that I can open my -lips to you?" - -Lilian hid her face in her hand, tremblingly. - -"Oh, what is it?--what is it?" she murmured. - -There was silence for a moment, then Stella laid her hand on Lilian's -arm. - -"Listen," she said, solemnly. "I will tell you this much, that you may -understand how hopeless is the task which you have undertaken. If--if -I were to yield, if I were to say to him 'Come back! I am yours, take -me!' you--_you_, who plead so that my heart aches at your words--would, -in the coming time, when the storm broke and the cost of my yielding -had to be paid--you would be the first to say that I had done wrong, -weakly, selfishly. You would be the first, because you are a woman, -and know that it is a woman's duty to sacrifice herself for those she -loves! Have I made it plain?" - -Lilian raised her head and looked at her, and her face went white. - -"Is--is that true?" - -"It is so true, that if I were to tell you what separates us, you would -go without a word; no! you would utter that word in a prayer that I -might remain as firm and unyielding as I am!" - -So utterly hopeless were the words, the voice, that they smote on the -gentle heart with the force of conviction. She was silent for a moment, -then, with a sob, she held out her arms. - -"Oh, my dear, my dear! Stella, Stella!" she sobbed. - -Stella looked at her for a moment, then she bent and kissed her. - -"Do not cry," she murmured, no tear in her own eye. "I can not cry, I -feel as if I shall never shed another tear! Go now go!" and she put her -arm round her. - -Lilian rose trembling, and leant upon her, looking up into her face. - -"My poor Stella!" she murmured. "He--he called you noble; I know now -what he meant! I think I understand--I am not sure, even now; but I -think, and--and, yes, I will say it, I feel that you are right. But, -oh, my dear, my dear!" - -"Hush! hush!" breathed Stella, painfully. "Do not pity me----" - -"Pity! It is a poor, a miserable word between us. I love, I honor you, -Stella!" and she put her arm round Stella's neck. "Kiss me, dear, once!" - -Stella bent and kissed her. - -"Once--and for the last time," she said, in a low voice. "Henceforth we -must be strangers." - -"Not that, Stella; that is impossible, knowing what we do!" - -"Yes, it must be," was the low, calm response. "I could not bear it. -There must be nothing to remind me of--him," and her lips quivered. - -Lilian's head drooped. - -"Oh, my poor boy!" she moaned. "Stella," she said, in a pleading -whisper, "give me one word to comfort him--one word?" - -Stella turned her eyes upon her; they had reached the gate, the -carriage was in sight. - -"There is no word that I can send," she said, almost inaudibly. "No -word but this--that nothing he can do can save us, that any effort will -but add to my misery, and that I pray we may never meet again." - -"I cannot tell him that! Not that, Stella!" - -"It is the best wish I can have," said Stella, "I do wish it--for -myself, and for him. I pray that we never meet again." - -Lilian clung to her to the last, even when she had entered the -carriage, and to the last there was no tear in the dark sorrowful -eyes. White and weary she stood, looking out into the night, worn out -and exhausted by the struggle and the storm of pent-up emotion, but -fixed and immovable as only a woman can be when she has resolved on -self-sacrifice. - -A few minutes later, Lilian stood on the threshold of Leycester's room. -She had knocked twice, scarcely daring to use her voice, but at last -she spoke his name, and he opened the door. - -"Lilian!" he said, and he took her in his arms. - -"Shut the door," she breathed. - -Then she sank on to his breast and looked up at him, all her love and -devotion in her sorrowful eyes. - -"Oh, my poor darling," she murmured. - -He started and drew her to the light. - -"What is it! Where have you been?" he asked, and there was a faint -sound of hope in his voice, a faint light in his haggard face, as she -whispered-- - -"I have seen her!" - -"Seen her--Stella?" - -And his voice quivered on the name. - -"Yes. Oh, Ley! Ley!" - -His face blanched. - -"Well!" he said, hoarsely. - -"Ley, my poor Ley! there is no hope." - -His grasp tightened on her arm. - -"No hope!" he echoed wearily. - -She shook her head. - -"Ley, I do not wonder at you loving her! She is the type of all that is -beautiful and noble----" - -"You--you torture me!" he said, brokenly. - -"So good and true and noble," she continued, sobbing; "and because she -is all this and more you must learn to bear it, Ley!" - -He smiled bitterly. - -"You must bear it, Ley; even as she bears it----" - -"Tell me what it is," he broke in, hoarsely. "Give me something -tangible to grapple with, and--well, then talk to me of bearing it!" - -"I cannot--she cannot," she replied, earnestly, solemnly. "Even to -me, heart to heart, she could not open her lips. Ley! Fate is against -you--you and her. There is no hope, no hope! I feel it; I who would not -have believed it, did not believe it even from you! There is no hope, -Ley!" - -He let her sink into a chair and stood beside her, a look on his face -that was not good to see. - -"Is there not?" he said, in a low voice. "You have appealed to her. -There is still one other to appeal to; I shall seek him." - -She looked up, not with alarm but with solemn conviction. - -"Do not," she said, "unless you wish to add to her sorrow! No, Ley, if -you strike at him, the blow must reach her." - -"She told you that?" - -"Yes; by word, by look. No, Ley, there is no hope there. You cannot -reach him except through her, and you will spare her that. 'Tell him,' -she said, 'that any effort he makes will add to my misery. Tell him -that I pray we may never meet again.'" She paused a moment. "Ley, I -know no more of the cause than you, but I know this, that she is right." - -He stood looking down at her, his face working, then at last he -answered: - -"You are a brave girl, Lil," he said. "You must go now; even you cannot -help me to bear this. 'Pray that we may never meet again,' and this was -to have been our marriage day!" - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIV. - - -I have carefully avoided describing Lord Leycester Wyndward as a -"good" man. If to be generous, single-minded, impatient of wrong and -pitiful of the wronged; if to be blessed, cursed with the capacity for -loving madly and passionately; if to be without fear, either moral or -physical, be heroic, then he was a hero; but I am afraid it cannot be -said that he was "good." - -Before many weeks had elapsed since his parting with Stella, the world -had decided that he was indeed very bad. It is scarcely too much to say -that his name was the red rag which was flourished in the eyes of those -righteous, indignant bulls whose mission in life it is to talk over -their fellow-creatures' ill deeds and worry them. - -One mad exploit after another was connected with his name, and it soon -came to pass that no desperate thing was done within the circle of the -higher class, but he was credited with being the ringleader, or at -least with having a hand in it. - -It was said that at that select and notorious club, "The Rookery," -Lord Leycester was the most desperate of gamblers and persistent of -losers. Rumor went so far as to declare that even the Wyndward estates -could not stand the inroads which his losses at the gaming table were -making. It was rumored, and not contradicted, that he had "plunged" on -the turf, and that his stud was one of the largest and most expensive -in England. - -The society papers were full of insinuating paragraphs hinting at the -wildness of his career, and prophesying its speedy and disastrous -termination. He was compared with the lost characters of past -generations--likened to Lord Norbury, the Marquis of Waterford, and -similar dissipated individuals. His handsome face and tall, thin, but -still stalwart figure, had become famous, and people nudged each other -and pointed him out when he passed along the fashionably-frequented -thoroughfares. - -His rare appearance in the haunts of society occasioned the deepest -interest and curiosity. - -One enterprising photographer had managed, by the exercise of vast -ingenuity, to procure his likeness, and displayed copies in his window; -but they were speedily and promptly withdrawn. - -There was no reckless hardihood with which he was not credited. Men -were proud of possessing a horse that he had ridden, because their -capability of riding it proved their courage. - -Scandal seized upon his name and made a hearty and never-ending meal -of it; and yet, by some strange phenomenal chance, no one heard it -connected with that of a woman. - -Some said that he drank hard, rode hard, and played hard, and that he -was fast rushing headlong to ruin, but no one ever hinted that he was -dragging a member of the fair sex with him. - -He was seen occasionally in drags bound to Richmond, or at Bohemian -parties in St. John's Wood, but no woman could boast that he was her -special conquest. - -It was even said that he had suddenly acquired a distinct distaste for -female society, and that he had been heard to declare that, but for the -women, the world would still be worth living in. - -It was very sad; society was shocked as well as curious, dismayed as -well as intensely interested. Mothers with marriageable daughters -openly declared that something ought to be done, that it was impossible -that such a man, the heir to such a title and estates should be -allowed to throw himself away. The deepest pity was expressed for Lady -Wyndward, and one or two of the aforesaid mammas had ventured, with -some tremors, to mention his case to that august lady. But they got -little for their pains, save a calm, dignified, and haughty rebuff. -Never, by word, look, or sign did the countess display the sorrow which -was imbittering her life. - -The stories of his ill-doings could not fail to reach her ears, seeing -that they were common talk, but she never flushed or even winced. She -knew when she entered a crowded room, and a sudden silence fell, to be -followed by a spasmodic attempt at conversation, that those assembled -were speaking of her son, but by no look or word did she confess to -that knowledge. - -Only in the secrecy of her own chamber did she let loose the floodgates -of her sorrow and admit her despair. The time had come when she felt -almost tempted to regret that he had not married "the little girl---the -painter's niece," and settled down in his own way. - -She knew that it was broken off; she knew, or divined that some plot -had brought about the separation, but she had asked no questions, not -even of Lenore, who was now her constant companion and chosen friend. - -Between them Leycester's name was rarely mentioned. Not even from her -husband would she hear aught of accusation against the boy who had ever -been the one darling of her life. - -Once old Lady Longford had pronounced his name, had spoken a couple -of words or so, but even she could not get the mother to unburden her -heart. - -"What is to be done?" the old lady had asked, one morning when the -papers had appeared with an account of a mad exploit in which the -well-known initials Lord Y---- W---- had clearly indicated his -complicity. - -"I do not know," she had replied. "I do not think there is anything to -be done." - -"Do you mean that he is to be allowed to go on like this, to drift -to ruin without a hand to stay him?" demanded the old lady almost -wrathfully; and the countess had turned on her angrily. - -"Who can do anything to stay him? Have you yourself not said that it is -impossible, that he must be left alone?" - -"I did, yes, I did," admitted the old countess, "but things were not so -bad then, not nearly. All this is different. There is a woman in the -case, Ethel!" - -"Yes," said the countess, bitterly, "there is," and she felt tempted to -echo the assertion which Leycester had been reputed to utter, "that if -there had been no women the world would have been worth living in." - -Then Lady Longford had attempted to "get at" Leycester through his -companion Lord Charles, but Lord Charles had plainly intimated his -helplessness. - -"Going wrong," he said, shaking his head. "If Leycester's going wrong, -so am I, because, don't you see, I'm bound to go with him. Always did, -you know, and can't leave him now; too late in the day." - -"And so you'll let your bosom friend go to the dogs"--the old lady had -almost used a stronger word--"rather than say a word to stop him?" - -"Say a word!" retorted Lord Charles, ruefully. "I've said twenty. Only -yesterday I told him the pace couldn't last; but he only laughed and -told me that was his business, and that it would last long enough for -him." - -"Lord Charles, you are a fool!" exclaimed the old lady. - -And Lord Charles had shook his head. - -"I daresay I am," he said, not a whit offended. "I always was where -Leycester was concerned." - -The one creature in the world--excepting Stella--who could have -influenced him, knew nothing of what was going on. - -The excitement of her visit to Stella, and her terrible interview -during it, had utterly prostrated the delicate girl, and Lilian lay -in her room in the mansion in Grosvenor Square, looking more like the -flower namesake than ever. - -The doctor had insisted that no excitement of any kind was to be -permitted to approach her, and they had kept the rumors and stories of -Leycester's doings from her knowledge. - -He came to see her sometimes, and even in the darkened room she could -see the ravages which the last few months had made with him; but he was -always gentle and considerate toward her, and in response to her loving -inquiries always declared that he was well--quite well. Stella's name, -by mutual consent, was never mentioned between them. It was understood -that that page of his life was closed for ever; but after every visit, -when he had left her, she lay and wept over the knowledge that he had -not forgotten her. She could see it in his eyes, hear it in his voice. -As Stella had said, Leycester was not one to love and unlove in a -day--in a week--in a month! - -So the Summer had crept on to the Autumn. Not one word has he heard of -Stella. Though she was in his thoughts day and night, alike in the hour -of the wildest dissipation, and in the silent watches of the night, -he had heard no word of her. All his efforts were directed towards -forgetting her. And yet if he picked up a paper or a book and chanced -to come upon her name--Stella!--a pang shot through his heart, and the -blood fled from his face. - -The Autumn had come, and London was almost deserted, but there were -some who clung on still. There are some to whom the shady side of Pall -Mall and their clubs are the only Paradise; and the card-rooms of the -Rookery are by no means empty. - -In the middle of September, when half "the town" was in the country -popping at the birds, Leycester and Lord Charles were still haunting -Pall Mall. - -"Better go down and look at the birds," said Lord Charles one night, -morning rather, for it was in the small hours. "What do you say to -running down to my place, Ley?" - -"My place" was Vernon Grange, a noble Elizabethan mansion, standing -right in the center of one of the finest shooting districts. The grange -was at present shut up, the birds running wild, the keepers in despair, -all because Lord Leycester could not forget Stella, and his friend -would not desert him! - -"Suppose we start to-morrow morning," went on Lord Charles, struggling -into his light over-coat and yawning. "We can take some fellows -down!--plenty of birds, you know. Had a letter from the head keeper -yesterday; fellow quite broken-hearted, give you my word! Come on, -Ley! I'm sick of this, I am, indeed. I hate the place," and he glanced -sleepily at the dimly lit hall of the Rookery. "What's the use of -playing ecarte and baccarat night after night; it doesn't amuse you -even if you win!" - -Leycester was striding on, scarcely appearing to hear, but the word -"amuse" roused him. - -"Nothing 'amuses,' Charles," he said, quietly. "Nothing. Everything is -a bore. The only thing is to forget, and the cards help me to do that, -for a little while, at least--a little while." - -Lord Charles nearly groaned. - -"They'll make you forget you've anything to lose shortly," he said. -"We've been going it like the very deuce, lately, Ley!" - -Leycester stopped and looked at him, wearily, absently. - -"I suppose we have, Charles," he said; "why don't you cut it? I don't -mind it; it is a matter of indifference to me. But you! you can cut it. -You shall go down to-morrow morning, and I'll stay." - -"Thanks," said the constant friend. "I'm in the same boat, Ley, and -I'll pull while you do. When you are tired of this foolery, we'll come -to shore and be sensible human beings again. I shan't leave the boat -till you do." - -"You'll wait till it goes down?" - -"Yes, I suppose I shall," was the quiet response, "if down it must go." - -Leycester walked on in silence for a minute. - -"What a mockery it all is!" he said, with a half smile. - -"Yes," assented Lord Charles, slowly; "some people would call it by a -stronger name, I suppose. I don't see the use of it. The use--why it's -the very ruination. Ley, you are killing yourself." - -"And you." - -"No," said Lord Charles, coolly, "I'm all right--I've got nothing on my -mind. I'm bored and used-up while it lasts, but when it's over I can -turn in and get to sleep. You can't--or you don't." - -Leycester thrust his hands in his pockets in silence, he could not deny -it. - -"I don't believe you sleep one night out of three," said Lord Charles. -"You've got the mad fever, Ley. I wish it could be altered." - -Leycester walked on still more quickly. - -"You shall go down to-morrow, Charles," he said. "I don't think I'll -come." - -"Why not?" - -Leycester stopped and put his hand on his arm, and looked at him with a -feverish smile on his face. - -"Simply because I cannot--I cannot. I hate the sight of a green field. -I hate the country. Heaven! go down there! Charlie, you know dogs can't -bear the sight of water when they are queer. You've got a river down -there, haven't you? Well, the sight of that river, the sound of that -stream, would drive me mad! I cannot go, but you shall." - -Lord Charles shook his head. - -"Very well. Where now! Let us go home." - -Leycester stopped short. - -"Good-night," he said. "Go home. Don't be foolish, Charlie--go home." - -"And you!" - -Leycester put his hand on his arm slowly, and looked round. - -"Not home," he said--"not yet. I'm wakeful to-night." - -And he smiled grimly. - -"The thought of the meadow and the river has set me thinking. I'll go -back to the 'Rookery.'" - -Lord Charles turned without a word, and they went back. - -The tables were still occupied, and the entrance of the two men was -noticed and greeted with a word here and there. Lord Charles dropped on -to a chair and called for some coffee--a great deal of coffee was drank -at the "Rookery"--but Leycester wandered about from table to table. - -Presently he paused beside some men who were playing baccarat. - -They had been playing since midnight, and piles of notes, and gold, and -I O U's told pretty plainly of the size of the stakes. - -Leycester stood leaning on the back of a chair, absently watching the -play, but his thoughts were wandering back to the meadows of Wyndward, -and he stood once more beside the weir stream, with the lovely face -upon his breast. - -But suddenly a movement of one of the players opposite him attracted -his attention, and he came back to the present with a start. - -A young fellow--a mere boy--the heir to a marquisate, Lord Bellamy--the -reader will not have forgotten him--had dropped suddenly across the -table, his outstretched hands still clutching the cards. There was an -instant stir, the men started to their feet, the servants crowded up; -all stood aghast. - -Leycester was the first to recover presence of mind, and, hurrying -round the table, picked the boy up in his strong arms. - -"What's the matter, Bell?" he said; then, as he glanced at the white -face, with the dark lines round the eyes, he said in his quiet, -composed voice: "He has fainted; fetch a doctor, some of you." - -And lifting him easily in his arms, he carried him in to an adjoining -room. - -Lord Charles followed with a glass of water, but Leycester put it aside -with the one word-- - -"Brandy." - -Lord Charles brought some brandy and closed the door, the others -standing outside aghast and frightened. Leycester poured some of the -spirit through his closed teeth, and the boy came back to life--to what -was left for him of life--and smiled up at him. - -"The room was hot, Bell," said Leycester, in his gentle way; he could -be gentle even now. "I wanted you to go home two--three--hours ago! Why -didn't you go?" - -"You--stayed----" gasped the boy. - -Leicester's lips twitched. - -"I!" he said. "That is a different matter." - -The boy's head drooped, and fell back on Leycester's arm. - -"Tell them not to stop the game," he said; "let somebody play for me!" -then he went off again. - -The doctor came, a fashionable, hardworked man, a friend both of -Leycester's and Guildford's, and bent over the lad as he lay. - -"It's a faint," said Lord Charles, nervously; "nothing else, eh, -doctor?" - -The doctor looked up. - -"My brougham is outside," he said. "I will take him home." - -Leycester nodded, and carried the slight frame through the hall and -placed it in the brougham. The doctor followed. The cool air revived -the boy, and he made an effort to sit up, looking round as if in search -of something; at last his wandering sight fell on Leycester's, and he -smiled. - -"That's right, Bell!" said Leycester; "you will be well to-morrow; but -mind, no more of this!" and he took the small white hand. - -The heir to a marquisate clung to the hand, and smiled again. - -"No, there will be no more of it, Leycester," he breathed, painfully. -"There will be no more of anything for me; I have seen the last of the -Rookery--and of you all. Leycester, I am dying!" - -Leycester forced a smile to his white face. - -"Nonsense, Bell," he said. - -The boy raised a weak, trembling finger, and pointed to the doctor's -face. - -"Look at him," he said. "He never told a lie in his--life. Ask him." - -"Tell them to drive on, my lord," said the doctor. - -The boy laughed, an awful laugh; then his face changed, and even as the -brougham moved on, he clung to Leycester's hand, and bending forward, -panted: - -"Leycester--good-bye!" - -Leycester stood, white and motionless as a statue, for the space of a -minute; then he turned to Lord Charles, who stood biting his pale lips -and looking after the brougham. - -"I will go with you to-morrow," he said, hoarsely. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXV. - - -Time--which Lord Leycester had been so recklessly wasting in "riotous -living"--passed very quiet indeed in the Thames valley, beneath the -white walls of Wyndward Hall. - -During the months which elapsed since that fearful parting between the -two lovers, life had gone on at the cottage just as before, with the -one great exception that Jasper Adelstone had become almost a daily -visitor, and that Stella was engaged to him. - -That was all the difference, but what a difference it was! - -Lord Leycester gone--her tried, her first lover, the man who had won -her maiden heart--and in his place this man whom she--hated. - -But yet she fought the battle womanfully. She had made a bargain--she -had sacrificed herself for her two loved ones, had given herself freely -and unreservedly, and she strove to carry out her part of the compact. - -She looked a little pale, a little graver than of old, but there was no -querulous tone of complaint about her; if she did not laugh the frank, -light-hearted laugh that her uncle used to declare was like the "voice -of sunlight," she smiled sometimes; and if the smile was rather sad -than mirthful, it was very sweet. - -The old man noticed nothing amiss; he thought she had grown quieter, -but set the change down to her betrothal; he went on painting, absorbed -in his work, scarcely heeding the world that ran by him so merrily, so -sadly, and was quite content. Jasper's quiet, low-toned voice did not -disturb him, and he would go on painting while they were talking near -him, dead to their presence. Since that last blow his boy's crime had -struck him, he had lived more entirely and completely in his art than -ever. - -Of the two, Frank and Stella, perhaps it was Frank who seemed the -most changed. He had grown thinner and paler, and more girlish and -delicate-looking than ever. - -It had been arranged that he should go up to the university for the -next term, but Mr. Hamilton, the old doctor, who had been called in to -see to a slight cough which the boy had started, had hummed and hawed, -and advised that the 'varsity should be shelved for the present. - -"Was he ill?" Stella had asked, anxiously--very anxiously, for, -woman-like, she had grown to love with a passionate devotion the boy -for whom she had sacrificed herself. - -"N--o; not ill," the old doctor had said. "Certainly not ill," and he -went on to explain that Frank was delicate--that all boys with fair -hair and fair complexions were more or less delicate. - -"But he has such a beautiful color," said Stella, nervously. - -"Y--es; a nice color," said the old man, and that was all she could get -out of him. - -But the cough did not go; and as the Autumn mists stole up from the -river and covered the meadows with a filmy veil, beautiful to behold, -the cough got worse; but the beautiful color did not go either, and so -Stella was not very anxious. - -As for Frank himself, he treated his ailments with supreme indifference. - -"Do I take any medicine?" he said, in answer to Stella's questioning. -"Yes, I take all the old woman--I beg his pardon!--the doctor sends. -It isn't very unpleasant, and though it doesn't do me much good -apparently, it seems to afford you and the aforesaid old woman some -satisfaction, and so we are pleased all round." - -"You don't seem to take any interest in things, Frank," said Stella, -one morning, when she had come into the garden to look at the trees -that drew a long line of gold and brown and yellow along the river -bank, and had found him leaning on the gate, his hands clasped before -him, his eyes fixed on the Hall, very much as she had first seen him, -the night he had come home. - -He looked round at her and smiled faintly. - -"Why don't you go and try the fish?" she said. "Or--or--go for a ride? -You only wander about the gardens or in the meadows." - -He looked at her curiously. - -"Why do not you?" he said, slowly, his large blue eyes fixed on her -face, which grew slowly blush-red under his regard. "You do not seem to -take much interest in things, Stel. You don't go and fish, or--or--take -a drive, or anything. You only wander about the garden, or in the -meadows." - -The long lashes swept her cheeks, and she struggled with a sigh. His -words had told home. - -"But--but," she said falteringly, "I am not a boy. Girls should stay at -home and attend to their duties." - -"And walk and move as if they were in a dream--as if their hearts and -souls were divorced from their bodies--and miles, miles away," he said, -waving his thin white hand in the air slowly. - -Her lips quivered, and she turned her face away, but only for a moment; -it was back upon him with a smile again. - -"You are a foolish, fanciful boy!" she said, putting her hand on his -shoulder and caressing his cheek. - -"Perhaps so," he said. "'My fancies are more than all the world to me,' -says the poet, you know," he added, bitterly. - -Stella's heart ached. - -"Are you angry with me, Frank?" she said. "Don't be!" - -He shook his head. - -"No, not angry," he said, looking out at the mist that was rising. - -She smothered a sigh; she understood his reproach; not a moment of the -day but he accused her in his heart of betraying Lord Leycester; if he -could but have known why she had done it; but that he never would know! - -"You are a fanciful boy," she said, with a forced lightness. "What are -you dreaming about now, I wonder?" - -"I was wondering too," he answered, without looking at her, "I was -wondering--shall I tell you----" - -She answered "yes," with her hand against his cheek. - -"I was wondering where Lord Leycester was, and how----" - -Her hand dropped to her side and pressed her heart; the sudden mention -of the name had struck her like a blow. - -He glanced round. - -"I beg your pardon," he said, "I forgot; his name was never to be -mentioned, was it? I will not sin again--in word. In thought--one can't -help one's thoughts, Stel!" - -"No," she murmured, almost inaudibly. - -"Thoughts are free," he said; "mine are not, however; they are always -flying after him--after him, the best and noblest of men, the man who -saved my life. You see, though I may not speak of him, it would be -ungrateful to forget him!" - -"Frank!" - -At her tone of piteous supplication and almost reproach, he turned and -put his hand on her arm. - -"Forgive me, Stel! I didn't mean to hurt you, but--but--well it is -so hard to understand, so hard to bear! To feel, to know that he is -far away and suffering, while that man, Jasper Adelstone--I beg your -pardon, Stel! There! I will say no more!" - -"Do not," she murmured, her face white and strained, but resigned--"do -not. Besides, you are wrong; he has forgotten by this time." - -He turned and looked at her with a sudden anger; then he smiled as the -exquisite beauty of her face smote him. - -"You wrong him and yourself. No, Stel, men do not forget such a girl as -you----" - -"No more!" she said, almost in a tone of command. - -He shook his head, and the cough came on and silenced him. - -She put her arm round his neck. - -"That cough," she said. "You must go in, dear! Look at the mist. Come, -come in!" - -He turned in silence and walked beside her for a few steps. Then he -said tremulously: - -"Stella, let me ask one question, and then I will be silent--for -always." - -"Well?" she said. - -"Have you heard from him?--do you know where he is?" - -She paused a moment to control her voice, then she said: - -"I have heard no word; I do not know whether he is alive or dead." - -He sighed and his head dropped upon his breast. - -"Let us go in," he said, then he started, for his ears, particularly -sharp, had caught the sound of a well-known footstep. - -"There is--Jasper," he said, with a pause before the name, and he drew -his arm away and walked away from her. Stella turned with a strange set -smile on her face, the set smile which she had learnt to greet him with. - -He came up the path with his quick and peculiar suppressed step, his -hand outstretched. He would have taken her in his arms and kissed -her--if he had dared. But he could not. With all his determination and -resolution he dared not. There was something, some mysterious halo -about his victim which kept him almost at arm's length; it was as if -she had surrounded herself by a magic circle which he could not pass. - -He took her hand and raised it to his lips and kissed it, his eyes -drinking in her beauty and grace with a thirsty wistfulness. - -"My darling," he murmured, in his soft, low voice, "out so late. Will -you not catch cold?" - -"No," she said, and like her smile her voice seemed set and tutored. -"I shall not catch cold, I never do under any circumstance. But I have -just sent Frank in, he has been coughing terribly--he does not seem at -all strong." - -He frowned with swift impatience. - -"Frank is all right," he said, and there was a touch of jealousy in his -voice. "Are you not unduly anxious about the boy--you alarm yourself -without cause." - -"Alarm myself," she repeated, ready to be alarmed at the suggestion. -"I--don't think, I hope I am not alarmed. Why should I be?" she said, -anxiously. - -The jealousy grew more pronounced. - -"There is no reason whatever," he said, shortly. "The boy is all -right. He has been getting his feet wet and caught cold, that is all." - -Stella smiled. - -"Yes, that is all," she said, "of course. But it is strange Dr. -Hamilton doesn't get rid of it for him." - -"Perhaps he doesn't help the doctor," he retorted. "Boys always -are careless about themselves. But don't let Frank absorb all the -conversation," he said. "Let us talk of ourselves," and he kissed her -hand again. - -"Yes," said Stella, obediently. - -He kept her hand in his and pressed it. - -"I have come to speak to you to-night, Stella, about ourselves, -darling. I want you to be very good to me!" - -She looked forward at the lighted room with the same set expression, -waiting patiently, obediently, for him to proceed. There was no -response in her touch or in her face. He noticed it--he never failed to -notice it, and it maddened him. He set his teeth hard. - -"Stella, I have been waiting month after month to say what I am going -to say now; but I couldn't wait any longer, my darling, my own, I wish -the marriage to take place." - -She did not start, but she turned and looked at him, and her face -shone whitely in the darkness, and he felt a faint shudder in the hand -imprisoned in his. - -"Will you not speak?" he said, after a moment, almost angry, because -of the tempest of passion and breathed tenderness that possessed him. -"Have you nothing to say, or will you say 'no?' I almost expect it." - -"I will not say no," she said, at last, and her voice was cold and -strained. "You have a right--the right I have given you--to demand the -fulfillment of our bargain." - -"Good Heaven!" he broke in, passionately. "Why do you talk like this? -Shall I never, never win you to love me? Will you never forget how we -came together?" - -"Do not ask me," she said, almost pleaded, and her face quivered. -"Indeed--indeed, I try, try--try hard to forget the past, and to please -you!" - -It was piteous to hear and see her, and his heart ached; but it was for -himself as well as for her. - -"Do you doubt my love?" he said, hoarsely. "Do you think any man could -love you better than I do? Does that count as nothing with you?" - -"Yes, yes," she said, slowly, sadly. "It does count. I--I----" then she -looked down. "Why will you speak of love between us?" she said. "Ask -me--tell me to do anything, and I will do it, but do not speak of love!" - -He bit his lip. - -"Well," he said, with an effort, "I will not. I see I cannot touch your -heart yet. But the time will come. You cannot stand against a love like -mine. And you will let our marriage be soon?" - -"Yes," she said, simply. - -He raised her hand to his lips, and kissed it, hungrily, and she forced -back the shudder which threatened to overmaster her. - -"By soon," he murmured, as they walked toward the house, "I mean quite -soon--before the winter." - -Stella did not speak. - -"Let it be next month, darling," he murmured. "I shall not feel sure -of you until you are my very own. Once you are mine beyond question, I -will teach you to love me." - -Stella looked at him, and a strange, despairing smile, more bitter and -sad than tears, shone on her pale lips. Teach her to love him! As if -love could be taught! - -"I am not afraid," he said, answering her smile; "no one could -withstand it--not even you, though your heart were adamant." - -"It is not that," she said, in a low voice, as she thought of the dull -aching which was its pittance by day and night. - -They went into the house. Mr. Etheridge was wandering about the -room, smoking his pipe, his head upon his breast, buried in thought, -as usual. Frank was lying back in the old arm-chair; he looked -wearily-fragile and delicate, but the beautiful color shone in his face. - -He looked up and nodded as Jasper entered, but Jasper was not satisfied -with the nod, and went over to him and laid a hand upon his shoulder, -at which the boy winced and shrank faintly; he never could bear Jasper -to touch him, and always resented it. - -"Well, Frank," he said, with his faint smile, "how's the cold to-night?" - -Frank murmured something indistinctly, and shifted in his seat. - -"Not so well, eh?" said Jasper. "It seems to me that a change would do -you good. What do you say to going away for a little while?" - -The boy looked up at Stella with a glance of alarm. Leave Stella! - -"I don't want to go away," he said, shortly. "I am quite well. I hate a -change." - -Stella came up to his chair, and knelt beside him. - -"It would do you good, dear," she said, in her low, musical voice. - -He bent near her. - -"Do you mean--alone?" he asked. "I don't want to go alone--I won't, in -fact." - -"No, not alone, certainly," said Jasper, with his smile. "I think some -one else wants a change too." - -And he looked at Stella tenderly. - -"I'll go if Stella goes," said Frank, curtly. - -"What do you say, sir?" said Jasper to the old man. - -He stared, and the proposal had to be put to him _in extenso_; he had -not heard a word of what had been said. - -"Go away! yes, if you like. But why? Frank's cold? I don't suppose any -other place is better for a cold is it? It is? Very well then. You -don't want me to come, I suppose?" - -"Well----" said Jasper. - -"I couldn't do it!" exclaimed the old man, almost with alarm. "I should -be like a fish out of water. I couldn't paint away from the river and -the meadows. Oh, it's impossible! Besides, you don't want an old man -pottering about," and he looked at Stella and smiled grimly. - -"I couldn't go without you," said Stella, quietly. - -"Nonsense," he said; "there's the other old woman, Mrs. Penfold, take -her; she can go. It will do her good, though she hasn't a cold." - -Then he stopped in front of the boy and looked at him, with the strange -reserved, almost sad, expression which always came upon his race when -he regarded him. - -"Yes," he said, in a low voice; "he wants a change. I haven't noticed; -he looks thin and unwell. Yes, you had better go! Where will you go?" - -Stella shook her head with a smile, but Jasper was ready. - -"Let me see," he said, thoughtfully. "We don't want a cold place, the -change would be too great; and we don't want too hot a place. What do -you say to Cornwall?" - -The old man nodded. - -Stella smiled again. - -"I haven't anything to say," she said. "Would you like Cornwall, Frank?" - -He looked from one to the other. - -"What made you think of Cornwall?" he asked Jasper, suspiciously. - -Jasper laughed softly. - -"It seemed to me just the place to suit you. It is mild and clear, and -just what you want. Besides, I remember a little place near the sea, a -sheltered village in a bay--Carlyon they call it--that would just do -for us. What do you say? Let me see, where is the map?" - -He went and got a map and spreading it out on the table, called to -Stella. - -"This is it," he said, then in a low voice he whispered: "There is a -pretty, secluded little church there, Stella. Why should we not be -married there?" - -She started, and her hand fell on the map. - -"I am thinking of you, my darling," he said. "For my part I should like -to be married here----" - -"No, not here," she faltered, as she thought of standing before the -altar in the Wyndward Church and seeing the white walls of the Hall as -she uttered her marriage vow. "Not here." - -"I understand," he said. "Then why not there? Your uncle could come -down for that, I think." - -She did not speak, and with a smile of satisfaction he folded the map. - -"It is all settled," he said. "We go to Carlyon. You will come down for -a little while, I hope, sir. We shall want you." - -The old man pushed the white hair off his forehead. - -"Eh?" he asked. "What for?" - -"To give Stella away," replied Jasper. "She has promised to marry me -there." - -The old man looked at her. - -"Why not here?" he asked, naturally, but Stella shook her head. - -"Very well," he said. "It is a strange fancy, but girls are fanciful. -Off you go, then, and don't make more fuss than you can help." - -So Stella's fate was settled, and the day, the fatal day, loomed darkly -before her. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVI. - - -Lord Charles was too glad to gain Leycester's consent to leave town to -care where they went, and to prevent all chance of Leycester's changing -his mind, this stanch and constant friend went with him to his rooms -and interviewed the patient Oliver. - -"Go away, sir?" said that faithful and long-suffering individual. -"I'm glad of it! His lordship--and you too, begging your pardon, my -lord--ought to have gone long ago. It's been terrible hot work these -last few weeks. I never knew his lordship so wild. And where are we -going, my lord?" - -That was the question. Leycester rendered no assistance whatever, -beyond declaring that he would not go where there was a houseful of -people. He had thrown himself into a chair, and sat moodily regarding -the floor. Bellamy's sudden illness and prophetic words had given him -a shock. He was quite ready to go anywhere, so that it was away from -London, which had become hateful to him since the last hour. - -Lord Charles lit a pipe, and Oliver mixed a soda-and-brandy for him, -and they two talked it over in an undertone. - -"I've got a little place in the Doone Valley, Devonshire, you know," -said Lord Charles, talking to Oliver quite confidentially. "It's a mere -box--just enough for ourselves, and we should have to rough it, rough -it awfully. But there's plenty of game, and some fishing, and it's as -wild as a March hare!" - -"That's just what his lordship wants," said Oliver. "I know him so -well, you see, my lord. I must say that I've taken the way we've been -going on lately very serious; it isn't the money, that don't matter, my -lord; and it isn't altogether the wildness, we've been wild before, my -lord, you know." - -Lord Charles grunted. - -"But that was only in play like, and there is no harm in it; but this -sort of thing that's being going on hasn't been play, and it ain't -amused his lordship a bit; why he's more down than when we came up." - -"That's so, Oliver," assented Lord Charles, gloomily. - -"I don't know what it was, and it isn't for me to be curious, my lord," -continued the faithful fellow, "but it's my opinion that something went -wrong down at the Hall, and that his lordship cut up rough about it." - -Lord Charles, remembering that letter and the beautiful girl at the -cottage, nodded. - -"Perhaps so," he said. "Well, we'll go down to the Doone Valley. -Better pack up to-night, or rather this morning. I'll go home and get a -bath, and we'll be off at once. Fish out the train, will you?" - -Oliver, who was a perfect master of "Bradshaw," turned over the leaves -of that valuable compilation, and discovered a train that left in the -afternoon, and Lord Charles "broke it" to Leycester. - -Leycester accepted their decision with perfect indifference. - -"I shall be ready," he said, in a dispassionate, indifferent way. "Tell -Oliver what you want." - -"It's a mere box in a jungle," said Lord Charles. - -"A jungle is what I want," said Leycester, grimly. - -With the same grim indifference he started by that afternoon train, -smoking in silence nearly all the way down to Barnstaple, and showing -no interest in anything. - -Oliver had telegraphed to secure seats in the coach that leaves that -ancient town for the nearest point to the Valley, and early the next -morning they arrived. - -A couple of horses and a dogcart had been sent on--how Oliver managed -to get them off was a mystery, but his command of resources at most -times amounted to the magical--and they drove from Teignmouth to the -Valley, and reached the "Hut," as it was called. - -It was in very truth a mere box, but it was a box set in the center of -a sportsman's paradise. Lonely and solitary it stood on the edge of the -deer forest, within sound of a babbling trout-stream, and in the center -of the best shooting in Devonshire. - -Oliver, with the aforesaid magic, procured a couple of servants, and -soon got the little place in order; and here the two friends lived, -like hermits in a dell. - -They fished and shot and rode all day, returning at night to a plain, -late dinner; and altogether led a life so different to that which they -had been leading as it was possible to imagine. - -Lord Charles enjoyed it. He got brown, and as fit and "as hard as -nails," as he described it, but Leycester took things differently. The -gloom which had settled upon him would not be dispelled by the mountain -air and the beauty of the exquisite valley. - -Always and ever there seemed some cloud hanging over him, spoiling his -enjoyment and witching the charm from his efforts at amusement. While -Charles was killing trout in the stream, or dropping the pheasants in -the moors, Leycester would wander up and down the valley, gun or rod -in hand, using neither, his head drooping, his eyes fixed in gloomy -retrospection. - -In simple truth he was haunted by a spirit which clung to him now as it -had clung to him in those days of feverish gayety and dissipation. - -The vision of the slim, beautiful girl whom he loved was ever before -him, her face floated between him and the mountains, her voice mingled -with the stream. He saw her by day, he dreamed of her by night. -Sometimes he would wake with a start, and fancy that she was still -his own, and that they were standing by the weir, her hand in his, -her voice whispering, "Leycester, I love you!" Distance only lent -enchantment to her beauty and her grace. In a word, he could not forget -her! - -Sometimes he wondered whether he had been right in yielding her up -to Jasper Adelstone so quietly; but as he recalled that morning, and -Stella's face and words, he felt that he could not have done otherwise. -Yes, he had lost her, she had gone forever, yet he could not forget -her. It seemed very strange, even to himself. After all, there were so -many beautiful women he could have chosen; some he had been almost in -love with, and yet he had forgotten them. What was there about Stella -to cling to him so persistently? He remembered every little unconscious -trick of voice and manner, the faint little smile that curved her lip, -the deep light in the dark eyes as they lifted to his, asking, taking -his love. There was a special little trick or mannerism she had, a way -of bending her head and looking at him half over her shoulder, that -simply haunted him; she came--the vision of her--to the side of his -chair and his bed, and looked at him so, and he could see the graceful -curve of the delicate neck. Ah, me! ah, me! It was very weak and -foolish, perhaps, that a strong man of the world should be held in such -thrall by a simple girl, just a girl; but men are made so, and will so -be held, when they are strong and true, till the world ends. - -It was very slow for Charlie--very slow and very rough, but he was -one of those rare friends who stick close in such a time. He fished, -and shot, and rode, and walked, and was always cheerful and never -obtrusive; but though he never made any remark, he could not but notice -that Leycester was in a bad way. He was getting thinner and older -looking, and the haggard lines, which the wild town life had begun to -draw, deepened. - -Lord Charles was beginning to be afraid that the Doone Valley also -would fail. - -"Ever hear anything of your people, Ley?" he asked one night, as they -sat in the living room of the hut. The night was warm for the time of -year, and they sat by the open window smoking their pipes, and clad in -their shooting suits of woolen mixture. - -Leycester was leaning back, his head resting on his hand, his eyes -fixed on the starlit sky, his long knickerbockered legs outstretched. - -"My people?" he replied, with a little movement as of one waking from a -dream. "No. I believe they are in the country somewhere." - -"Didn't leave any address for them?" - -Leycester shook his head. - -"No. I have no doubt they know it, however; Oliver is engaged to -Lilian's maid, Jeanette, and doubtless writes to her." - -Charles looked at him. - -"Getting tired of this, old man?" he asked, quietly. - -"No," said Leycester. "Not at all. I can keep it up as long as you -like. If you are tired, we will go. Don't imagine that I am insensible -to the boredom you are undergoing, Charlie. But I advised you to let me -go my way alone, did I not?" - -"That's so," was the cheerful response. "But I didn't choose, did I? -And I don't now. But all the same, I should like to see you look a -little more chippy, Ley." - -Leycester looked up at him and smiled, grimly. - -"I wonder whether you were ever in any trouble in your life, Charlie," -he said. - -Lord Charles drained the glass of whisky and water that stood beside -him. - -"Yes," he said; "but I'm like a duck, it pours off my back, and there I -am again." - -"I wish I were like a duck!" said Leycester, with bitter self-scorn. -"Charlie, you have the misfortune to be tied to a haunted man. I am -haunted by the ghost of an old and lost happiness, and I can't get rid -of it." - -Charlie looked at him and then away. - -"I know," he said; "I haven't said anything, but I know. Well, I am not -surprised; she is a beautiful creature, and one of the sort to stick in -a man's mind. I'm very sorry, old man. There isn't any chance of its -coming right?" - -"None whatever," said Leycester, "and that is why I am a great fool in -clinging to it." - -He got up and began to pace the room, and the color mounted to his -haggard face. - -"I cannot--I cannot shake it off. Charlie, I despise myself; and yet, -no, no, to love her once was to love her for always--to the end." - -"There's another man, of course," said Lord Charles. "Didn't it occur -to you to--well, to break his neck, or put a bullet through him, or get -him appointed governor of the Cannibal Islands, Ley? That used to be -your style." - -Leycester smiled grimly. - -"This man cannot be dealt with in any one of those excellent ways, -Charlie," he said. - -"If it's the man I suppose, that fellow Jasper Addled egg--no, -Adelstone, I should have tried the first at any rate," said Lord -Charles, emphatically. - -Leycester shook his head. - -"It's a bad business," he said, curtly, "and there is no way of making -it a good one. I will go to bed. What shall we do to-morrow?" and he -sighed. - -Lord Charles laid his hand on his arm and kept him for a moment. - -"You want rousing, Ley," he said. "Rousing, that's it! Let's have the -horses to-morrow and take a big spin; anywhere, nowhere, it doesn't -matter. We'll go while they can." - -Ley nodded. - -"Anything you like," he said, and went out. - -Lord Charles called to Oliver, who was standing outside smoking a -cigar--he was quite as particular about the brand as his master: - -"Where did you say the earl and countess were, Oliver?" he asked. - -"At Darlingford Court, my lord." - -"How far is it from here? Can we do it to-morrow with the nags?" - -Oliver thought a moment. - -"If they are taken steadily, my lord; not as his lordship has been -riding lately; as if the horse were cast iron and his own neck too." - -Lord Charles nodded. - -"All right," he said, "we'll do it. Lord Leycester wants a change -again, Oliver." - -Oliver nodded. - -"We'll run over there. Needn't say anything to his lordship--you -understand." - -Oliver quite understood, and went off to the small stable to see about -the horses, and Lord Charles went to bed chuckling over his little plot. - -When they started in the morning, Leycester asked no questions and -displayed the supremest indifference to the route, and Lord Charles, -affecting a little indecision, made for the road to which Oliver had -directed him. - -The two friends rode almost in silence as was their wont, Leycester -paying very little attention to anything excepting his horse, and -scarcely noticing the fact that Lord Charles seemed very decided about -the route. - -Once he asked a question; it was when the evening was drawing in, and -they were still riding, as to their destination, but Lord Charles -evaded it: - -"We shall get somewhere, I expect," he said quietly. "There is sure to -be an inn--or something." - -And Leycester was content. - -About dusk they reached the entrance to Darlingford. There was no -village, no inn. Leycester pulled up and waited indifferently. - -"What do we do now?" he asked. - -Lord Charles laughed, but rather consciously. - -"Look here," he said: "I know some people who have got this place. We'd -better ride up and get a night's lodging." - -Leycester looked at him, and smiled suddenly. - -"Isn't this rather transparent, Charlie?" he said, calmly. "Of course -you intended to come here from the very start, very well." - -"Well, I suspect I did," said Lord Charles. "You don't mind?" - -Leycester shook his head. - -"Not at all. They will let us go to bed, I suppose. You can tell them -that you are traveling keeper to a melancholy monomaniac, and they'll -leave me alone. Mind, we start in the morning." - -"All right," said Lord Charles, chuckling inwardly--"of course; quite -so. Come on." - -They rode up the avenue, and to the front of a straggling stone -mansion, and a groom came forward and took their horses. Lord Charles -drew Leycester's arm within his. - -"We shall be sure of a welcome." - -And he walked up a broad flight of steps. - -But Leycester stopped suddenly; for a figure came out of one of the -windows, and stood looking down at them. - -It was a woman, gracefully and beautifully dressed in some softly-hued -evening robe. He could not see her face, but he knew her, and turned -almost angrily to Lord Charles. But Lord Charles had slipped away, -muttering something about the horses, and Leycester went slowly up. - -Lenore--it was she--awaited his approach all unconsciously. She could -not see him as plainly as he saw her, and she took him for some strange -chance visitor. - -But as he came up and stood in front of her she recognized him, and, -with a low cry, she moved toward him, her lovely face suddenly smitten -pale, her violet eyes fixed on him yearningly. - -"Leycester!" she said, and overcome for the moment by the suddenness of -his presence, she staggered slightly. - -He could do no less than put his arm round her, for he thought she -would have fallen, and as he did so his heart reproached him, for the -one word "Leycester," and the tone told her story. His mother was -right. She loved him. - -"Lenore," he said, and his deep, grave, musical voice trembled -slightly. She lay back in his arms for a moment, looking up at him with -an expression of helpless resignation in her eyes, her lovely face -revealed in the light which poured from the window full upon her. - -"Lenore," he said, huskily, "what--what is this?" - -Her eyes closed for a moment, and a faint thrill ran through her, -then she regained her composure, and putting him gently from her, she -laughed softly. - -"It was your fault," she said, the exquisite voice tremulous with -emotion. "Why do you steal upon us like a thief in the night, or--like -a ghost? You frightened me." - -He stood and looked at her, and put his hand to his brow. He was but -mortal, was but a man with a man's passions, a man's susceptibility to -woman's loveliness, and he knew that she loved him. - -"I----" he said, then stopped. "I did not know. Charlie brought me -here. Who are here?" - -"They are all here," she said, her eyes downcast. "I will go and tell -them lest you frighten them as you frightened me," and she stole away -from him like a shadow. - -He stood, his hands thrust in his pockets, his eyes fixed on the ground. - -She was very beautiful, and she loved him. Why should he not make her -happy? make one person happy at least? Not only one person, but his -mother, and Lilian--all of them. As for himself, well! one woman was as -good as another, seeing that he had lost his darling! And this other -was the best and rarest of all that were left. - -"Leycester!" - -It was his mother's voice. He turned and kissed her; she was not -frightened, she did not even kiss him, but she put her hand on his -arm, and he felt it tremble, and the way she spoke the word told of all -her past sorrow at his absence, and her joy at his return. - -"You have come back to us!" she said, and that was all. - -"Yes, I have come back!" he said, with something like a sigh. - -She looked at him, and the mother's heart was wrung. - -"Have you been ill, Leycester?" she asked, quietly. - -"Ill, no," he said, then he laughed a strange laugh. "Do I look so -seedy, my lady?" - -"You look----" she began, with sad bitterness, then she stopped. "Come -in." - -He followed her in, but at the door he paused and looked out at the -night. As he did so, the vision of the slim, graceful girl, of his -lost darling, seemed to float before him, with pale face, and wistful, -reproachful eyes. He put up his hand with a strange, despairing -gesture, and his lips moved. - -"Good-bye!" he murmured. "Oh, my lost love, good-bye!" - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVII. - - -Lord Charles' little plot had succeeded beyond his expectation. He had -restored the prodigal and shared the fatted calf, as he deserved to do. -Although it was known all over the house, in five minutes, that Lord -Leycester, the heir, had returned, there was no fuss, only a pleasant -little simmer of welcome and satisfaction. - -The countess had gone to the earl, who was dressing for dinner, to tell -him the news. - -"Leycester has returned," she said. - -The earl started and sent his valet away. - -"What!" - -"Yes, he has come back to us," she said, sinking into a seat. - -"Where from?" he demanded. - -She shook her head. - -"I don't know. I don't want to know. He must be asked no questions. -Lord Charles brought him. I always loved Charles Guildford." - -"So you ought, out of pity," said the earl, grimly, "seeing that your -son has almost led him to ruin." - -Then the countess fired up. - -"There must be no talk of that kind," she said. "You do not want to see -him go again? No word must be said unless you want to drive him away. -He has been ill." - -"I am not surprised," said the earl, still a little grimly, "a man -can't lead the life he has been leading and keep his health, moral or -physical." - -"But that is all past," said the countess confidently. "I feel that is -all past. If you do not worry him he will stay, and all will go well." - -"Oh, I won't worry his Imperial Highness," said the earl, with a smile, -"that is what you want me to say, I suppose. And the girl--what about -her?" - -"I don't know," said the countess with all a mother's supreme -indifference for the fate of any other than her son. "She is past, too. -I am sure of that. How thankful I am that Lenore is here." - -"Ah," said the earl who could be sarcastic when he liked. "So she is to -be sacrificed as a thank-offering for the prodigal's return, is she? -Poor Lenore, I am almost sorry for her. She is too good for him." - -"For shame," exclaimed the countess, flushing; "no one is too good for -him. And--and she will not deem it a sacrifice." - -"No, I suppose not," he said, fumbling at his necktie. "It is well to -be born with a handsome face, and a dare-devil temper, because all -women love you then, and the best and fairest think it worth while to -offer themselves up. Poor Lenore! Well, I'll be civil to his Highness, -notwithstanding that he has spent a small fortune in two months, -and declined to honor my house with his presence. There," he added, -touching her cheek and smiling, "don't be alarmed. We will kill the -fatted calf and make merry--till he goes off again." - -The countess was satisfied with this, and went down to find Leycester -and Lord Charles standing near the fire. Though they had only rented -the place for a month, curtains were up on all the doors, and there was -a fire in all the sitting-rooms, and in the earl's apartments. - -The countess held out her hand to Lord Charles. - -"I am very glad to see you, Charlie," she said, with her rare smile. -"You can give me a kiss if you like," and Charlie, as he blushed and -kissed the white forehead, knew that she was thanking him for bringing -her son back to her. - -"But we've got to go back at once," he said, with a laugh. - -"We can't sit down in this rig out," and he looked ruefully at his -riding suit. - -The countess shook her head. - -"You shall sit down in a smock frock if you like," she said. "But there -is no occasion. I have brought Leycester's things down, and--it's not -the first time you have borrowed suits from each other, I expect." - -"Not by a many!" laughed Lord Charles. "I'll go and dress. Where is -Ley?" - -Leycester had gone out of the room quietly, and was then sitting beside -Lilian, his hand in hers, her head upon his breast. - -"You have come back to us, Ley?" she said, caressing his hand. "It has -been so long and weary waiting! You will not go again?" - -He paused a moment, then he looked at her. - -"No," he said, in a low voice. "No, Lil, I shall not go again." - -She kissed him, and as she did so, whispered, anxiously: - -"And--and--Stella, Ley?" - -His face contracted with a frown of pain and trouble. - -"That is all past," he said, using his mother's words; and she kissed -him again. - -"How thin and worn you look. Oh, Ley!" she murmured, with sorrowful, -loving reproach. - -He smiled with a touch of bitterness. - -"Do I? Well, I will wax fat and grow mirthful for the future," he said, -rising. "There is the dinner bell." - -"Come to me afterward, Ley," she pleaded, as she let him go, and he -promised. - -There was to be no fuss, but it was noteworthy that several of -Leycester's favorite dishes figured in the menu, and that there was a -special Indian curry for Lord Charles. - -Leycester did not descend to the dining-room till ten minutes after the -time, and the greeting between father and son was characteristic of the -two men. The earl put out his thin, white hand, and smiled gravely. - -"How do you do, Leycester," he said. "Will you have the Lafitte or the -Chateau Margaux? The weather is fine for the time of year." - -And Leycester said, quietly: - -"I hope you are well, sir. The Margaux, I suppose, Charles? Yes, we -have had some good weather." - -That was all. - -He went to his place and sat down quietly and composedly, as if he had -dined with them for months without a break, and as if the papers had -not been chronicling his awful doings. - -The earl could not suppress a pang of pity as he glanced across at the -handsome face and saw how worn and haggard it looked, and he bent his -head over his soup with a sigh. - -Leycester looked round the table presently, and then turned to the -countess. - -"Where is Lenore?" he asked. - -The countess paused a moment. - -"She has rather a bad headache, and begged to be excused," she said. - -Leycester bent his head. - -"I am sorry," he remarked. - -Then the countess talked, and Lord Charles helped her. He was in the -best of spirits. The dinner was excellent, and the curry admirable, -considering the short notice; and he was delighted with the success of -his maneuver. He rattled on in his humorous style, told them all about -the hut, and represented that they lived somewhat after the manner of -savages. - -"Eat our meals with a hunting knife, don't we, Leycester? I hope you'll -excuse us if we don't hold our forks properly. I daresay we shall soon -get into the way of it again." - -All this was very well, and the earl smiled and grew cheerful; but the -countess, watching the haggard, handsome face beside her, saw that -Leycester was absorbed and pre-occupied. He passed dish after dish, and -the Margaux stood beside him almost untouched. She was still anxious -and fearful, and as she rose she threw a glance at the earl, half of -entreaty, half of command, that he would not "say anything." - -"It is nice to get back to the old wine," said Charlie, leaning back -in his chair, and eying his glass with complacent approval. "Whisky -and water is a fine drink, but one tires of it; now this----" and he -reached the claret jug expressively. - -The earl talked of politics and the coming hunting season, and still -Leycester was silent, eying the white cloth and fingering the stem of -his wine glass. - -"Will you hunt this year, Leycester?" said the earl, addressing him at -last. - -He looked up gravely. - -"I don't know, sir; only a day a week if I do." - -"We shall go to Leicestershire, of course," said the earl. "I shall -have to be up for the season, but you can take charge if you will." - -Leycester inclined his head. - -"Will you see to the horses?" asked the earl. - -Leycester thought a moment. - -"I shall only want two," he said; "the rest will be sold." - -"Do you mean the stud?" asked the earl, with a faint air of surprise. - -"Yes," said Leycester, quietly. "I shall sell them all. I shall not -race again." - -The earl understood him; the old wild life was to come to an end. But -he put in a word. - -"Is that wise?" he said. - -"I think so," said Leycester. "Quite enough money has been spent. Yes, -I shall sell." - -"Very well," assented the earl, who could not but agree with the remark -respecting money. "After all, I imagine one tires of the turf. I always -thought it a great bore." - -"So it is--so it is," said Lord Charles, cheerfully. "Everything is a -bore." - -The earl smiled. - -"Not everything," he said. "Leycester, you are not touching the wine," -he added, graciously. - -Leycester filled his glass and drank it, and then, to Charles' surprise, -refilled it, not once only, but twice and thrice, as if he had suddenly -become thirsty. - -Presently the earl, after vainly pushing the decanter to them, rose, -and they followed him into the drawing-room. - -The countess sat at her tea-table, and beside her was Lenore. She was -rather paler than usual, and the beautiful eyes were of a deep violet -under the long sweeping lashes. She was exquisitely dressed, but there -was not a single jewel about her; a spray of white orchid nestled on -her bosom and shone in her golden hair, showing the exquisite delicacy -of the fair face and throat. Leycester glanced at her, but took his cup -of tea without a word, and Lord Charles made all the conversation, as -at the dinner-table. - -Presently Leycester put down his cup and walked to the window, and -drawing the curtain aside, stood looking out at the night. There was a -flush of color in his face, owing perhaps to the Margaux, and a strange -light in his eyes. What did he see in the darkness? Was it the spirit -of Stella to whom he had said farewell? He stood wrapt in thought, the -buzz of conversation and the occasional laugh of Charlie behind him; -then suddenly he turned and went up to the silent figure with the while -flower in its bosom and its hair, and sat down beside her. - -"Are you better?" he asked. - -She just glanced at him, and smiled slowly. - -"Yes, I am quite well. It was only a headache." - -"Are you well enough to come on to the terrace--there is a terrace, is -there not?" - -"A balcony." - -"Will you come? It is quite warm." - -She rose at once, and he took up a shawl and put it round her, and -offered her his arm. - -She just laid her finger-tips on it, and he led her to the window. She -drew back, and smiled over her shoulder. - -"It is a capital offence to open a window at night." - -"I forgot," he said. "You see, I am so great a stranger, that I fail to -remember the habits of my own people. Will you show me the way round?" - -"This way," she said; and opening a small door, she took him into a -conservatory, and thence to the balcony. - -They were silent for a moment or two--he looking at the stars, she -with eyes bent to the ground. He was fighting for resolution and -determination, she was silently waiting, knowing what was passing in -his heart, and wondering, with a throbbing heart, whether her hour of -triumph had come. - -She had stooped to the very dust to win him, to snatch him from that -other girl who had ensnared him; but as she stood now and glanced at -him--at the tall, graceful figure, and the handsome face, all the -handsomer in her eyes for its haggardness--she felt that she could -have stooped still lower if it had been possible. Her heart beat with -expectant passion--she longed for the moment when she could rest upon -his breast and confess her love. Why did he not speak? - -He turned to her at last, and spoke. - -"Lenore," he said, and his voice was deep and earnest, almost solemn, -"I want to ask you a question. Will you answer me?" - -"Ask it," she said, and she raised her eyes to his with a sudden flash. - -"When you saw me to-night, when I came in unexpectedly, you -were--moved. Was it because you were glad to see me?" - -She was silent a moment. - -"Is that a fair question?" she murmured. - -"Yes," he said. "Yes, Lenore; we will not trifle with each other, you -and I. If you were glad to see me, do not hesitate to say so; it is not -idle vanity that prompts the question." - -She faltered and turned her head away. - -"Why will you press me?" she murmured in a low, tremulous voice. "Do -you wish to see me ashamed?" Then she turned to him suddenly, and the -violet eyes met his with a light of passionate love in their depths. -"But I will answer it," she said. "Yes, I was glad." - -He was silent for a moment, then he drew closer to her and bent over -her. - -"Lenore, will you be my wife?" - -She did not speak, but looked at him. - -"Will you be my wife?" he repeated, almost fiercely; her supreme -loveliness was telling upon him; the light in her eyes was sinking to -his heart and stirring his pulses. "Tell me, Lenore, do you love me?" - -Her head drooped, then she sighed. - -"Yes, I love you," she said, and almost imperceptibly swayed toward him. - -He took her in his arms, his heart beating, his brain whirling, for the -memory of that other love seemed to haunt him even at that moment. - -"You love me!" he murmured, hoarsely, looking back on the night of the -past. "Can it be true, Lenore? You!" - -She nestled on his breast and looked up at him, and from the pale face -the dark eyes gleamed passionately. - -"Leycester," she breathed, "you know I love you! You know it!" - -He pressed her closer to him, then a hoarse cry broke from him. - -"God forgive me!" - -It was a strange response at such a moment. - -"Why do you say that?" she asked, looking up at him; his face was -haggard and remorseful, anything but as a lover's face should be, but -he smiled gravely and kissed her. - -"It is strange!" he said, as if in explanation--"strange that I should -have won your love, I who am so unworthy, while you are so peerless!" - -She trembled a little with a sudden qualm of fear. If he could but know -of what she had been guilty to win him! It was she who was unworthy! -But she put the fear from her. She had got him, and she did not doubt -her power to hold him. - -"Do not speak of unworthiness," she murmured, lovingly. "We have both -passed through the world, Leycester, and have learned to value true -love. You have always had mine," she added, in a faint whisper. - -What could he do but kiss her? But even as he took her in his arms and -laid his hand on the shapely head with its golden wealth, a subtle -pain thrilled at his heart, and he felt as if he were guilty of some -treachery. - -They stood for some time almost in silence--she was too wise to disturb -his mood--side by side; then he put her arm in his. - -"Let us go in," he said. "Shall I tell my mother to-night, Lenore?" - -"Why not," she murmured, leaning against him, and with the upturned -eyes glowing into his with suppressed passion and devotion. "Why not? -Will they not be glad, do you think?" - -"Yes," he said, and he remembered how differently Stella had spoken. -"After all," he thought with a sigh, "I shall make a great many -persons happy and comfortable. Very well," he said, "I will see them." - -He stooped to kiss her before they passed into the light, and she did -not shrink from his kiss; but put up her lips and met it with one in -return. - -There were men, and not a few, who would have given some years of their -life for such a kiss from the beautiful Lenore, but he, Leycester, took -it without a thrill, without an extra heartbeat. - -There was not much need to tell them what had happened; the countess -knew in a moment by Lenore's face--pale, but with a light of triumph -glowing in it--that the hour had come, and that she had won. - -In her graceful manner, she went up to the countess, and bent over to -kiss her. - -"I am going up now, dear," she said, in a whisper. "I am rather tired." - -The countess embraced her. - -"Not too tired to see me if I come?" she said, in a whisper, and Lady -Lenore shook her head. - -She put her hand in Leycester's for a moment, as he opened the door for -her, and looked into his face; but he would not let her go so coldly, -and raising her hand to his lips, said-- - -"Good-night, Lenore." - -The earl started and stared at this familiar salutation, and Lord -Charles raised his eyebrows; but Leycester came to the fire, and stood -looking into it for a minute in silence. - -Then he turned to them and said, in his quiet way-- - -"Lenore has promised to be my wife. Have you any objection, sir?" - -The earl started and looked at him, and then held out his hand with an -emphatic nod. - -"Objection! It is about the wisest thing you ever did, Leycester." - -Leycester smiled at him strangely, and turned to his mother. She did -not speak, but her eyes filled, and she put her hand on his shoulder -and kissed him. - -"My dear Leycester, I congratulate you!" exclaimed Charlie, wringing -his hand and beaming joyously. "'Pon my word, this is the--the happiest -thing we've come across for many a day! By George!" - -And having dropped Leycester's hand, he seized that of the earl, and -wrung that, and would in turn have seized the countess's, had she not -given it to him of her own free will. - -"We have to thank you in some measure for this, Charles," she said, in -a low voice, and with a grateful smile. - -Leycester leant against the mantel-shelf, his hands behind him, his -face set and thoughtful, almost absent, indeed. He had the appearance -of a man in a dream. - -The earl roused him with a word or two. - -"This is very good news, Leycester." - -"I am very glad you are pleased, sir," said Leycester, quietly. - -"I am more than pleased, I am delighted," responded the earl, in his -quiet way. "I may say that it is the fulfillment of a hope I have -cherished for some time. I trust, more, I believe, you will be happy. -If you are not," he added, with a smile, "it will be your own fault." - -Leycester smiled grimly. - -"No doubt, sir," he said. - -The old earl passed his white hands over each other--just as he did in -the House when he was about to make a speech. - -"Lenore is one of the most beautiful and charming women it has been my -fate to meet; she has been regarded by your mother, and I may say by -myself, as a daughter. The prospect of receiving her at your hands as -one in very truth affords me the most intense pleasure." - -"Thank you, sir," said Leycester. - -The earl coughed behind his hand. - -"I suppose," he said, with a glance at the haggard face, "there will be -no delay in making your happiness complete?" - -Leycester almost started. - -"You mean----?" - -"I mean your marriage," said the earl, staring at him, and wondering -why he should be so dense and altogether grim, "of course, of course, -your marriage. The sooner the better, my dear Leycester. There will -be preparations to make, and they always take time. I think, if you -can persuade Lenore to fix an early date, I would see Harbor and -Harbor"--the family solicitors--"at once. I need hardly say that -anything I can do to expedite matters I will do gladly. I think you -always had a fancy for the place in Scotland--you shall have that; -and as to the house in town, well if you haven't already thought of a -place, there is the house in the square----" - -Leycester's face flushed for a moment. - -"You are very good to me, sir," he said; and for the first time his -voice showed some feeling. - -"Nonsense!" said the earl cordially. "You know that I would do -anything, everything to make your future a happy one. Talk it over with -Lenore!" - -"I will, sir," said Leycester. "I think I will go up to Lilian now, she -expects me." - -The earl took his hand and shook it as he had not shaken it for many a -day, and Leycester went up-stairs. - -The countess had left the room, but he found her waiting for him. - -"Good-night, mother," he said. - -"Oh, Leycester, you have made me--all of us--so happy!" - -"Ay," he said, and he smiled at her. "I am very glad. Heaven knows I -have often enough made you unhappy, mother." - -"No, no," she said, kissing him; "this makes up for all--for all!" - -Leycester watched her as she went down-stairs, and a sigh broke from -him. - -"Not one of them understands, not one," he murmured. - -But there was one watching for him who understood. - -"Leycester," she said, holding out her hands to him and almost rising. - -He sat on the head of the couch and put his hand on her head. - -"Mamma has just told me, Ley," she murmured. "I am so glad, so glad. I -have never been so happy." - -He was silent, his fingers caressing her cheek. - -"It is what we have all been hoping and praying for, Ley! She is so -good and sweet, and so true." - -"Yes," he said, little guessing at her falsity. - -"And, Ley--she loves you so dearly." - -"Aye," he said, with almost a groan. - -She looked up at him and saw his face, and her own changed color; her -hand stole up to his. - -"Oh, Ley, Ley," she murmured, piteously. "You have forgotten all that?" - -He smiled, not bitterly but sadly. - -"Forgotten? No," he said; "such things are not easily forgotten. But it -is past, and I am going to forget now, Lil." - -Even as he spoke he seemed to see the loving face, with its trusting -smile, floating before him. - -"Yes, Ley, dear Ley, for her sake. For Lenore's sake." - -"Yes," he said, grimly, "for hers and for my own." - -"You will be so happy; I know it, I feel it. No one could help loving -her, and every day you will learn to love her more dearly, and the past -will fade away and be forgotten, Ley." - -"Yes," he said, in a low, absent voice. - -She said no more, and they sat hand in hand wrapped in thought. Even -when he got up to go he said nothing, and his hand as it held hers was -as cold as ice. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVIII. - - -It had come so suddenly as to almost overwhelm her; the great gift of -the gods that she had been waiting, aye, and plotting for, had fallen -to her at last, and her cup of triumph was full to overbrimming, but at -the same time she, as Lord Charles would have put it, "kept her head." -She thoroughly understood how and why she had gained her will. She -could read Leycester as if he were a book, and she knew that, although -he had asked her to be his wife, he had not forgotten that other girl -with the brown hair and dark eyes--that "Stella," the painter's niece. - -This was a bitter pang to her, a drop of gall to her cup, but she -accepted it. - -Just as Jasper said of Stella, so she said of Leycester. - -"I will make him love me!" she thought. "The time shall come when he -will wonder how he came to think of that other, and be filled with -self-contempt for having so thought of her." And she set about her work -well. Some women in the hour of their triumph, would have shown their -delight, and so worried, or perhaps disgusted, their lover; but not so -did Lady Lenore. - -She took matters with an ineffable calm and serenity, and never for -one moment allowed it to be seen how much she had gained on that -eventful evening. - -To Leycester her manner was simply charming. She exerted herself to win -him without permitting the effort to be even guessed at. - -Her very beauty seemed to grow more brilliant and bewitching. She moved -about the place "like a poem," as Lord Charles declared. Her voice, -always soft and musical, with unexpected harmonies, that charmed by -their very surprises, was like music; and, more important still, it was -seldom heard. She exacted none of the privileges of an engaged woman; -she did not expect Leycester to sit with her by the hour, or walk about -with her all day, or to whisper tender speeches, and lavish secret -caresses. Indeed, she almost seemed to avoid being alone with him; in -fact she humored him to the top of his bent, so that he did not even -feel the chain with which he had bound himself. - -And he was grateful to her; gradually the charm of her presence, the -music of her voice, the feeling that she belonged to him told upon him, -and he found himself at times sitting, watching, and listening to her -with a strange feeling of pleasure. He was only mortal and she was not -only supremely beautiful, but supremely clever. She had set herself to -charm him, and he would have been less, or more than man, if he had -been able to resist her. - -So it happened that he was left much to himself, for Charlie, thinking -himself rather _de trop_ and in the way, had taken himself off to join -his shooting party, and Leycester spent most of his time wandering -about the coast or riding over the hills, generally returning at -dinner-time tired and thoughtful, and very often expecting some word or -look of complaint from his beautiful betrothed. - -But they never came. Exquisitely dressed, she always met him with the -same serene smile, in which there was just a suggestion of tenderness -she could not express, and never a question as to where he had been. - -After dinner he would come and sit beside her, leaning back and -watching her, too often absently, and listening to her as she talked -to the others. To him she very seldom said much, but if he chanced to -ask her for anything--to play or to sing--she obeyed instantly, as if -he were already her lord and master. It touched him, her simple-minded -devotion and thorough comprehension of him--touched him as no display -of affection on her part would have done. - -"Heaven help her, she loves me!" he thought, often and often. "And I!" - -One evening they chanced to be alone together--he had come in after -dinner, having eaten some sort of meal at a shooting lodge on the -adjoining estate--and found her seated by the window, her white hands -in her lap, a rapt look on her face. - -She looked so supremely lovely, so rapt and solitary that his heart -smote him, and he went up to her, his step making no sound on the thick -carpet, and kissed her. - -She started and looked up with a burning blush which transfigured her -for a moment, then she said, quietly: - -"Is that you, Leycester? Have you dined?" - -"Yes," he said, with a pang of self-reproach. "Why should you think of -that? I do not deserve that you should care whether I dine or not." - -She smiled up at him; her eyebrows arched themselves. - -"Should it not? But I do care, very much. Have you?" - -He nodded impatiently. - -"Yes. You do not even ask me where I have been?" - -"No," she murmured, softly. "I can wait until you tell me; it is for -you to tell me, and for me to wait." - -Such submission, such meekness from her who was pride and hauteur -personified to others, amazed him. - -"By Heaven, Lenore!" he exclaimed, in a low voice, "there never was a -woman like you." - -"No?" she said. "I am glad you will have something that is unique then." - -"Yes," he said, "I shall." Then he said, suddenly, "When am I to -possess my gem, Lenore?" - -She started, and turned her face from him. - -He looked down at her, and put his hand on her shoulder, white and warm -and responsive to his touch. - -"Lenore, let it be soon. We will not wait. Why should we? Let us make -ourselves and all the rest of them happy." - -"Will it make you happy?" she asked. - -It was a dangerous question, but the impulse was too strong. - -"Yes," he said, and indeed he thought so. "Can you say the same, -Lenore?" - -She did not answer, but she took his hand and laid it against -her cheek. It was the action of a slave--a beautiful and -exquisitely-graceful woman, but a slave. - -He drew his hand away and winced with remorse. - -"Come," he said, bending over her, "let me tell them that it shall be -next month." - -"So soon?" she murmured. - -"Yes," he said, almost impatiently. "Why should we wait? They are all -impatient. I am impatient, naturally, but they all wish it. Let it be -next month, Lenore." - -She looked up at him. - -"Very well," she said, in a low voice. - -He bent over her, and put his arm round her, and there was something -almost desperate in his face as he looked up at her. - -"Lenore," he said, in a low voice, "I wish, to Heaven I wish I were -worthy of you!" - -"Hush!" she whispered, "you are too good to me. I am quite content, -Leycester--quite content." - -Then, as her head rested on his shoulder, she whispered, "There is only -one thing, Leycester, I should like----" - -She paused. - -"What is it, Lenore?" - -"It is about the place," she said. "You will not mind where it takes -place, will you? I do not want to be married at Wyndward." - -This was so exactly in accordance with his own wishes that he started. - -"Not at Wyndward!" he said, hesitating. "Why?" - -She was silent a moment. - -"Fancy," she said, with a little rippling laugh. "Fancies are permitted -one at such times, you know." - -"Yes, yes," he said. "I know my mother and father would wish it to be -there--or in London." - -"Nor in London," she said, almost quickly. "Leycester, why should it -not be here?" - -He was silent. This again would be in accordance with his own desire. - -"I should like a quiet wedding," she said. "Oh! very quiet." - -"You!" he exclaimed, incredulously. "You, whose marriage would at -any time have so much interest for the world in which you have -moved--reigned, rather!" - -She laughed again. - -"It has always been one of my day-dreams to steal away to church with -the man I loved, and be married without the usual fuss and formality." - -He looked at her with a gleam of pleasure and relief in his eyes, -little dreaming that it was for his sake she had made the proposal. - -"How strange!" he muttered. "It--well, it is unlike what one fancies of -you, Lenore." - -"Perhaps," she said, with a smile, "but it is true, nevertheless. If I -may choose, I would like to go down to the little church there, and be -married like a farmer's daughter, or, if not that exactly, as quietly -as possible." - -He rose and stood looking out of the window, thoughtfully. - -"I shall never understand you, Lenore." he said; "but this pleases me -very much indeed. It has always been my day-dream, as you call it,"--he -smothered a sigh. "Certainly it shall be as you wish! Why should it not -be?" - -"Very well," she said; "then that is agreed. No announcements, no fuss, -no St. George's, Hanover Square, and no bishop!" and she rose and -laughed softly. - -He looked at her, and smiled. - -"You appear in a new light every day, Lenore," he said. "If you had -expressed my own thoughts and desires, you could not have hit them off -more exactly; what will the mother say?" - -The countess had a great deal to say about the matter. She declared -that it was absurd, that it was worse than absurd; it was preposterous. - -"It is all very well to talk of a farmer's daughter, my dear, but you -are not a farmer's daughter; you are Lady Lenore Beauchamp, and he is -the next earl. The world will say you have both taken leave of your -senses." - -Lenore looked at her with a sudden gleam in her violet eyes. - -"Do you think I care?" she said, in a low voice--Leycester was not -present. "I would not care whether we were married in Westminster -Abbey, by the archbishop himself, with all the Court in attendance, or -in a village chapel. It is not I, though I say so. It is for him. Say -no more about it, dear Lady Wyndward; his lightest wish is law to me." - -And the countess obeyed. The passionate devotion of the haughty beauty -astonished even her, who knew something of what a woman's love can be -capable of. - -"My dear," she murmured, "do not give way too much." - -The beauty smiled a strange smile. - -"It is not a question of giving way," she retorted, with suppressed -emotion. "It is simply that his wish is my law; I have but to obey--it -will always be so, always." Then she slipped down beside the countess, -and looked up with a sudden pallor. - -"Do you not understand yet how I love him?" she said, with a smile. -"No, I do not think anyone can understand but myself--but myself!" - -The earl offered no remonstrance or objection. - -"What does it matter!" he said. "The place is of no consequence. The -marriage is the thing. The day Leycester is married, a heavy load of -care and apprehension and I shall be divorced. Let them be married -where they like, in Heaven's name." - -So Harbor and Harbor were set to work, and the principal of that -old-established and aristocratic firm came all the way down to -Devonshire, and was closeted with the earl for a couple of hours, and -the settlement deeds were put in hand. - -Lady Lenore's fortune, which was a large one, was to be settled upon -herself, supplemented by another large fortune from the hand of the -earl. So large, that the lawyer ventured on a word of remonstrance, but -the earl put it aside with a wave of the hand. - -"It is the same amount as that which was settled upon the countess," he -said. "Why should my son's wife have less?" - -Quiet as the betrothal had been, and quietly as the nuptials were to -be, rumors had spread, and presents were arriving daily. If Lenore -could have found any particular pleasure in precious gems, and -gold-fitted dressing-bags, and ivory prayer-books, there they were in -endless variety for her delight, but they afforded her none beyond the -fact of their being evidence of her coming happiness. - -One present alone brought her joy, and that was Leycester's, and that -not because the diamonds of which the necklet was composed were large -and almost priceless, but for the fact that he fastened the jewels -round her neck with his own hands. - -"These are my necklets," she murmured, taking his hands as they touched -her neck and pressing them. - -How could he resist her? - -And yet as the time moved on with that dogged obstinacy which it -assumes for us while we would rather have it pause awhile, something -of the old moodiness seemed to take possession of him. The long walks -and rides grew longer, and often he would not return until late in the -night, and then weary and listless. At such times it was Lenore who -made excuses for him, if by chance the countess uttered a word of -comment or complaint. - -"Why should he not do as he likes?" she said, with a smile. "It is I -who am the slave, not he." - -But alone in her chamber, where already the signs of the approaching -wedding were showing themselves in the shape of new dresses and wedding -_trousseau_, the anguish of unrequited love overmastered her. Pacing -to and fro, with clasped hands and pale face, she would utter the old -moan, the old prayer, which the gods have heard since the world was -young: - -"Give me his love--give me his love! Take all else but let his heart -turn to me, and to me only!" - -If Stella could have known it, she was justly avenged already. Not even -the anguish she had endured surpassed that of the proud beauty who had -helped to rob her, and who had given her own heart to the man who had -none to give her in return. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIX. - - -"It certainly must have been made a hundred years after the rest of -the world," said Mr. Etheridge. "Where on earth did you hear of it, -Jasper?" - -They were standing, the painter, Jasper, and Stella, on the little -stretch of beach that fronted the tiny village of Carlyon, with its -cluster of rough-stone cottages and weather-beaten church, the whole -nestling under the shadow of the Cornish cliffs that kept the east -winds at bay and offered a stern face to the wild seas which so often -roared and raged at its base. - -Jasper smiled. - -"I can't exactly say, sir," he answered. "I met with it by chance, and -it seemed to me just the place for our young invalid. You like it, -Stella, I hope?" and he turned to Stella with a softened smile. - -Stella was leaning on the old man's arm, looking out to sea, with a -far-away expression in her dark eyes. - -"Yes," she said, quietly; "I like it." - -"Stella likes any place that is far from the madding crowd," remarked -Mr. Etheridge, gazing at her affectionately. "You don't appear to have -got back your roses yet, my child, however." - -"I am quite well," she said, not so wearily as indifferently. "I am -always well. It is Frank who is ill, you know, uncle." - -"Ay, ay," he said, with the expression of gravity which always came -upon him when the boy was mentioned. "He looks very pale and thin, poor -boy." - -Stella sighed, but Jasper broke in cheerfully-- - -"Better than when he first came," he said. "I noticed the difference -directly I saw him. He will pick up his strength famously, you will -see." - -Stella sighed again. - -"You must make sketches of this coast," said Jasper, as if anxious to -get away from the subject. "It is particularly picturesque, especially -about the cliffs. There is one view in particular which you should not -fail to take; you get it from the top of the cliff there." - -"Rather a dangerous perch," said Mr. Etheridge, shading his eyes and -looking up. - -"Yes, it is," assented Jasper. "I have been trying to impress the fact -upon Stella. It is her favorite haunt, she tells me, and I am always in -fear and trembling when I see her mounting up to it." - -The old man smiled. - -"You will soon have the right to protect her," he said, glancing at the -church. "Have you made all the arrangements?" - -Jasper's face flushed as he answered, but Stella's remained pale and -set. - -"Yes, everything is ready. The clergyman is a charming old gentleman, -and the church is a picture inside. I tell Stella that one could not -have chosen a more picturesque spot." - -And he glanced toward her with the watchful smile. - -Stella turned her face away. - -"It is very pretty," she said, simply. "Shall we go in now? Frank will -be expecting us." - -"You must know," said Jasper, "that we are leading the most rustic of -lives--dinner in the middle of the day, tea at five o'clock." - -"I see," said Mr. Etheridge. "Quite a foretaste of Arcadia! But, after -all," he added, perhaps remembering the long journey which he had been -compelled to take, and which he disliked, "I can't see why you should -not have been married at Wyndward." - -Jasper smiled. - -"And risk the chance of Lord Leycester turning up at the last moment -and making a scene," he might have answered, if he had replied -candidly; but instead, he said, lightly: - -"Oh, that would have been too commonplace for such a romantic man as -your humble servant, sir." - -Mr. Etheridge eyed him in his usual grave, abstracted way. - -"You are the last person I should have accused of a love of the -romantic," he said. - -"Then there was Frank," added Jasper, in a lower voice, but not too -low to reach Stella, for whom the addition was intended; "he wanted a -change, and he would not have come without Stella." - -They entered the cottage, in the tiny sitting-room of which Mrs. -Penfold had already set the tea. - -Frank was lying on a sofa whose metallic hardness had been mitigated by -cushions and pillows; and certainly if he was pulling up his strength, -as Jasper asserted, it was at a very slow rate. - -He looked thinner than ever, and there was a dark ring under his eyes -which made the hectic flush still more beautiful by contrast than when -we saw him last. He greeted their entrance with a smile at Stella, and -a cold evasive glance at Jasper. She went and smoothed the pillow at -his head; but, as if ashamed that the other should see his weakness, he -rose and walked to the door. - -The old man eyed him sadly, but smiled with affected cheerfulness. - -"Well, Frank, how do you feel to-night? You must be well to the front -to-morrow, you know, or you will not be the best man!" - -Frank looked up with a sudden flush, then set down without a word. - -"I shall be very well to-morrow," he said. "There is nothing the matter -with me." - -Jasper, as usual, cut in with some remark to change the subject, and, -as usual, did all the talking; Stella sat silent, her eyes fixed on the -distant sun sinking slowly to rest. The word "to-morrow" rang in her -ears; this was the last day she could call her own; to-morrow, and all -after to-morrows would be Jasper's. All the past, full of its sweet -hopes and its passionate love, had gone by and vanished, and to-morrow -she would stand at the altar as Jasper Adelstone's bride. It seemed -so great a mockery as to be unreal, and at times she found herself -regarding herself as another person, in whom she took the merest -interest as a spectator. - -It could not be that she, whom Leycester Wyndward had loved, should be -going to marry Jasper Adelstone! Then she would look at the boy, so -thin, and wan, and fading, and love would give her strength to carry -out her sacrifice. - -To-night he was very dear to her, and she sat holding his hand under -the table; the thin, frail hand that closed with a spasmodic gesture of -aversion when Jasper's smirkish voice broke in on the conversation. It -was wonderful how the boy hated him. - -Presently she whispered--"You must go and lie down again, Frank." - -"No, not here," he said. "Let me go outside." - -And she drew his hand through her arm and went out with him. - -Jasper looked after them with a smile. - -"Quite touching to see Frank's devotion to Stella," he said. - -The old man nodded. - -"Poor boy!" he said--"poor boy!" - -Jasper cleared his throat. - -"I think he had better come with us on our wedding trip," he said. "It -will give Stella pleasure, I know, and be a comfort to Frank." - -The old man nodded. - -"You are very kind and considerate," he said. - -"Not at all," responded Jasper. "I would do anything to insure Stella's -happiness. By-the-way, speaking of arrangements, I have executed a -little deed of settlement----" - -"Was that necessary?" asked Mr. Etheridge. "She comes to you penniless." - -"I am not a rich man," said Jasper, meekly, "but I have secured a -sufficient sum upon her to render her independent." - -The old man nodded, gratefully. - -"You have behaved admirably," he said; "I have no doubt Stella will be -happy. You will bear with her, I hope, Jasper, and not forget that she -is but a girl--but a girl." - -Jasper inclined his head for a moment in silence. Bear! Little did the -old man know how much he, Jasper, had to bear. - -They sat talking for some little time, Jasper listening, as he talked, -to the two voices outside--the clear, low, musical tones of Stella, the -thin weak voice of the boy. Presently the voices ceased, and after a -time he went out. Frank was sitting in the sunset light, his head on -his hands. - -"Where is Stella?" asked Jasper, almost sharply. - -Frank looked up at him. - -"She has escaped," he said, sardonically. - -Jasper started. - -"What do you mean?" - -"She has gone on the cliffs for a stroll," said Frank, with a little -smile at the alarm he had created and intended to create. - -Jasper turned upon him with a suppressed snarl. He was battling with -suppressed excitement to-night. - -"What do you mean by escaped?" he demanded. - -The hollow sunken eyes glared up at him. - -"What did you think I meant?" he retorted. "You need not be frightened, -she will come back," and he laughed bitterly. - -Jasper glanced at him again, and after a moment of hesitation turned -and went into the house. - -Meanwhile Stella was climbing the steep ascent to the bit of table-land -on the cliff. She felt suffocated and overwhelmed. "To-morrow! -to-morrow!" seemed to ring in her ears. Was there no escape? As she -looked down at the waves rolling in beneath her, and beating their -crested heads against the rocks, she almost felt as if she could drop -down to them and so find escape and rest. So strong was the feeling, -the temptation, that she shrank back against the cliff, and sank down -on dry and chalky turf, trembling and confused. Suddenly, as she thus -sat, she heard a man's step coming up the cliff, and thinking it was -Jasper, rose and pushed the hair from her face with an effort at -self-command. - -But it was not Jasper, it was a straighter, more stalwart figure, and -in a moment, as he stood to look at the sea, she knew him. It was -Leycester, and with a low, inarticulate cry, she shrank back against -the cliff and watched him. He stood for a while motionless, leaning -on his stick, his back turned from her, then he took up a pebble and -dropped it down into the depths beneath, sighed, and to her intense -relief, went down again. - -But though he had not spoken, the sight of him, his dearly-loved -presence so near her, shook her to her center. White and breathless -she leaned against the hard rock, her eyes strained to catch the last -glimpse of him; then she sank on to the ground and hiding her face in -her hands burst into tears. - -They were the first tears that she had shed since that awful day, and -every drop seemed of molten fire that scorched her heart as it flowed -from it. - -If ever she had persuaded herself that the time might come when she -would cease to love him, she knew, now that she had seen him again, -that she could not so hope again. Never while life was left to her -should she cease to love him. And to-morrow, to-morrow. - -"Oh, my love, my love!" she murmured, stretching out her hands as she -had done that night in the garden, "come back to me! I cannot let you -go! I cannot do it! I cannot!" - -Nerved by the intensity of her grief she sprang to her feet, and -swiftly descended the cliff. Near the bottom there were two paths, -one leading to the village, the other to the open country beyond. -Instinctively she took the one leading to the village, and so missed -Leycester, for he had gone down the other. - -Had she but made a different choice, had she turned to the right -instead of the left, how much would have been averted; but she sped, -almost breathlessly to the left, and instead of Leycester found Jasper -waiting for her. - -With a low cry she stopped short. - -"Where is he?" she asked, almost unconsciously. "Let me go to him!" - -Jasper stared at her, then he grasped her arm. - -"You have seen him!" he said, not roughly, not fiercely, but with a -suppressed fury. - -There was a rough seat cut out of the stone beside her, and she sank -into it, shrinking away from his eager watching in quest of that other. - -"You have seen him!" he repeated, hoarsely. "Do not deny it!" - -The insult conveyed in the words recalled her to herself. - -"Yes!" she said, meeting his gaze steadily; "I have seen him. Why -should I deny it?" - -"No," he said; "and you will not deny that you were running after him -when I--I stopped you. You will admit that, I suppose?" - -"Yes," she answered, with a deadly calm, "I was following him." - -He dropped her arm which he had held, and pressed his hand to his heart -to still the pang of its throbbing. - -"You--you are shameless!" he said at last, hoarsely. - -She did not speak. - -"Do you realize what to-night is?" he said, glaring down at her. "This -is our marriage eve; do you hear--our marriage eve?" - -She shuddered, and put up her hands to her face. - -"Did you plan this meeting?" he demanded, with a fierce sneer. "You -will admit that, I suppose? It is only a mere chance that I did not -find you in his arms; is that so? Curse him! I wish I had killed him -when I met him just now!" - -Then the old spirit roused itself in her bosom, and she looked up at -him with a scornful smile on her beautiful, wasting face. - -"You!" she said. - -That was all, but it seemed to drive him mad. For a moment he stood -breathless and panting. - -The sight of his fury and suffering--for the suffering was -palpable--smote her. - -Her mood changed suddenly; with a cry she caught his arm. - -"Oh, Jasper, Jasper! Have pity on me!" she cried; "have pity. You wrong -me, you wrong him. He did not come to see me; he did not know I was -here! We have not spoken--not a word, not a word!" and she moaned; "but -as I stood and watched him, and saw how changed he was, and heard him -sigh, I knew that he had not forgotten, and--and my heart went out to -him. I--I did not mean to speak, to follow him, but I could not help -it. Jasper, you see--you see, it is impossible--our marriage, I mean. -Have pity on me and let me go! For your own sake let me go! Think, -think! What satisfaction, what joy can you hope for? I--I have tried to -love you, Jasper, but--but I cannot! All my life is his! Let me go!" - -He almost flung her from him, then caught her again with an oath. - -"By Heaven, I will not!" he cried, fiercely. "Once for all, I will not! -Take care, you have made me desperate! It is your fault if I were to -take you at your word." - -He paused for breath; then his rage broke out again, more deadly for -its sudden, unnatural quietude. - -"Do you think I am blind and bereft of my senses not to see and -understand what this means? Do you think you are dealing with a child? -You have waited your time, and bided your chance, and you think it has -come. Would you have dared to do this a month ago? No, there was no -certainty of the boy's death then; but now--now that you see he will -die, you think my power is at an end----" - -With a cry she sprang to her feet and confronted him, terror in her -face, an awful fear and sorrow in her eyes. As the cry left her lips, -it seemed to be echoed by another close behind them, but neither of -them noticed it. - -"Frank--die!" she gasped. "No, no; not that! Tell me that you did not -mean it, that you said it only to frighten me." - -He put her imploring hand away with a bitter sneer. - -"You would make a good actress," he said, "do you mean to tell me that -you were not counting on his death? Do you mean to tell me that you -would not have wound up the scene by begging for more time--time to -allow you to escape, as you would call it! You think that once the -boy is dead you can slip from your bargain and laugh at me! You are -mistaken; since the bargain was struck, I have strove, as no man ever -strove, to make it easy for you, to win your love, because I loved you. -I love you no longer, but I will not let you go. Love you! As there is -a Heaven above us, I hate you to-night, but you shall not go." - -She shrank from him cowering, as he towered above her, like some -beautiful maiden in the old myths shrinking from some devouring monster. - -"Listen to me," he said, hoarsely, "to-morrow I either give this -paper"--and he snatched the forged bill from his breast pocket and -struck it viciously with his quivering hand--"I either give it into -your hands as my wife, or I give it to the nearest magistrate. The boy -will die! It rests with you whether he dies at peace or in a jail." - -White and trembling she sat and looked at him. - -"This is my answer to your pretty prayer," he said, with a bitterness -incredible. "It is for you to decide--I use no further argument. Soft -speeches and loving words are thrown away upon you; besides, the time -has passed for them. There is no love, no particle of love, in my heart -for you to-night--I simply stand by my bond." - -She did not answer him, she scarcely heard him; she was thinking of -that sad face that had appeared to her for a moment as if in reproach, -and vanished ghost-like; and it was to it that she murmured: - -"Oh, my love--my love!" - -He heard her; and his face quivered with speechless rage; then he -laughed. - -"You made a great mistake," he said, with a sneer--"a very great -mistake, if you are invoking Lord Leycester Wyndward. He may be your -love, but you are not his! It is a matter of small moment--it does not -weigh a feather in the balance between us--but the truth is, 'your -love' is now Lady Lenore Beauchamp's!" - -Stella looked up at him, and smiled wearily. - -"A lie? No," he said, shaking his head tauntingly. "I have known it for -weeks past. It is in every London paper. But that is nothing as between -you and me--I stand by my bond. To-morrow the boy's fate lies in your -hands or in that of the police. I have no more to say--I await your -answer. I do not even demand it to-night--no doubt you would be----" - -She arose, white and calm, her eyes fixed on him. - -"--I say I await your answer till to-morrow. Acts, not words, I -require. Fulfill your part of the bargain, and I will fulfill mine." - -As he spoke he folded the forged bill which, in his excitement, had -blown open, and put it slowly into his pocket again; then he wiped his -brow and looked at her, biting his lip moodily. - -"Will you come with me now," he said, "or will you wait and consider -your course of action?" - -His question seemed to rouse her; she raised her head, and disregarding -his proffered arm, went slowly past him to the house. - -He followed her for a few steps, then stopped, and with his head on -his breast, went toward the cliffs. His fury had expended itself, and -left a confused, bewildering sensation behind. For the time it really -seemed, as he said, that his baffled love had turned to hate. But as he -thought of her, recalling her beauty, his hate shrank back and returned -to its old object. - -"Curse him!" he hissed, "it is he who has done this! If he had not come -to-night this would not have happened. Curse him! From the first he has -stood in my path. Let her go! To him! Never! No, to-morrow she shall be -mine in spite of him, she cannot draw back, she will not!" - -Then his brain cleared; he began to upbraid himself for his violence. -"Fool, fool!" he muttered, hoarsely, as he climbed the path, scarcely -heeding where he went. "I have lost her love forever! Why did I not -bear with her a few hours longer? I have borne with her so long that -I should have borne with her to the end! It was that cry of hers that -maddened me! Heaven! to think that she should love him so; that she -should have clung to him so persistently, him whom she had not seen for -months, and keep her heart steeled against me who have hung about her -like a slave! But I will be her slave no longer, to-morrow makes me her -master." - -As he muttered this sinister threat, he found that he had reached -the end of the cutting that had been made in the cliff, and turned -mechanically. The wind was blowing from the sea, and the sound of the -waves rose from the depths beneath, crying hoarsely and complainingly -as if in harmony with his mood. He paused a moment and looked down -abstractedly. - -"I would rather have her lying dead there," he muttered, "than that -there should be a chance of her going back to him. No! he shall never -have her. To-morrow shall set that fear at rest forever. To-morrow!" -With a long breath he turned from the edge of the cliff, to descend, -but as he did so he felt a hand on his arm, and looking up he saw the -thin, frail figure of the boy standing in the path. - -He was so wrapt in his own thoughts that he was startled, and made a -movement to throw the hand off roughly, but it stuck fast, and with an -effort to command himself, he said: - -"Well, what are you doing up here?" - -As he put the question, he saw by the fading light that the boy's face -was deathly white--that for once the beautiful, fatal flush of red was -absent. - -"You are not fit to be out at this time of night," he said, harshly. -"What are you doing up here?" - -The boy looked at him, still retaining his hold, and standing in his -path. - -"I have come to speak to you, Jasper," he said, and his thin voice was -strangely set and earnest. - -Jasper looked down at him impatiently. - -"Well," he said, roughly, "what is it? Couldn't you wait until I came -in." - -The boy shook his head. - -"No," he said, and there was a strange light in his eyes, which never -for a moment left the other's face. "I wanted to see you alone." - -"Well, I am alone--or I wish I were," retorted Jasper, brutally. "What -is it?" then he put his hand on the boy's shoulder and looked at him -more closely. "Oh, I see!" he said, with a sneer. "You've been playing -eavesdropper! Well," and he laughed cruelly, "listeners hear no good of -themselves, though you heard no news." - -A slight contraction of the thin lips was the only sign that the fell -shaft had sped home. - -"Yes," he said, calmly and sternly; "I have been eavesdropping; I have -heard every word, Jasper." - -Jasper nodded. - -"Then you can indorse the truth of what I said, my dear Frank," and he -smiled, evilly. "I have no doubt you have not forgotten your little -escapade." - -"I have not forgotten," was the response. - -"Very good. Then I should advise you, if you care for your own safety -and your cousin's welfare, to say nothing of the family honor, to -advise her to come to terms--my terms. You have heard them, no doubt!" - -"I have heard about them," said the boy. "I have--" he stopped a second -to cough, but his hold on Jasper's sleeve did not relax even during -the paroxysm--"I have heard them. I know what a devil you are, Jasper -Adelstone. I have long guessed it, but I know now." - -Jasper laughed. - -"Thanks! and now you have discharged yourself of your venom, my young -asp, we will go down. Take your hand from my coat, if you please." - -"Wait," said the boy, and his voice seemed to have grown stronger; "I -have not done yet. I have followed you here, Jasper, for a purpose; I -have come to ask you for--for that paper." - -Calmly and dispassionately the request was made, as if it were the -most natural in the world. To say that Jasper was astonished does not -describe his feelings. - -"You--must be mad!" he exclaimed; then he laughed. - -"You will not give it to me?" was the quiet demand. - -Jasper laughed again. - -"Do you know what that precious piece of hand-writing of yours cost -me, my dear Frank? One hundred and fifty pounds that I shall never see -again, unless your friend Holiday takes to paying his debts." - -"I see," said the boy, slowly, and his voice grew reflective; "you -bought it from him? No!"--with a sudden flash of inspiration--"he was a -gentleman! By hook or by crook you stole it!" - -Jasper nodded. - -"Never mind how I got it, I have got it," and he struck his breast -softly. - -The sunken eyes followed the gesture, as if they would penetrate to the -hidden paper itself. - -"I know," he said, in a low voice; "I saw you put it there." - -"And you will not see it again until I hand it to Stella, to-morrow, -or give it to the magistrate before whom you will stand, my dear lad, -charged with forgery." - -The word had scarcely left his lips, but the boy was upon him, his -long, thin arms--endued for a moment, as it seemed, with a madman's -strength--encircling Jasper's neck. Not a word was uttered, but the -thin, white face, lit up by the gleaming eyes, spoke volumes. - -Jasper was staggered, not frightened, but simply surprised and -infuriated. - -"You--you young fool!" he hissed. "Take your arms off me." - -"Give it to me! Give it to me!" panted the boy, in a frenzy. "Give it -to me! The paper! The paper!" and his clutch tightened like a band of -steel. - -Jasper smothered an oath. The path was narrow; unconsciously, or -intentionally, the frenzied lad had edged them both, while talking, to -the brink, and Jasper was standing with his back to it. In an instant -he realized his danger; yes, danger! For, absurd as it seemed, the -grasp of the weak, dying boy could not be shaken off; there was danger. - -"Frank!" he cried. - -"Give it me!" broke in the wild cry, and he pressed closer. - -With an awful imprecation, Jasper seized him and bore him backward, but -as he did so his foot slipped, and the boy, falling upon him, thrust a -hand into Jasper's breast and snatched the paper. - -Jasper was on his feet in a moment, and flying at him tore the paper -from his grasp. The boy uttered a wild cry of despair, crouched down -for a moment, and then with that one wild prayer upon his lips: "Give -it me!" hurled himself upon his foe. For quite a minute the struggle, -so awful in its inequality, raged between them. His opponent's strength -so amazed Jasper that he was lost to all sense of the place in which -they stood; in his wild effort to shake the boy off he unconsciously -approached the edge of the cliff. Unconsciously on his part, but the -other noticed it, even in his frenzy, and suddenly, as if inspired, he -shrieked out-- - -"Look! Leycester! He is there behind you!" - -Jasper started and turned his head; the boy seized the moment, and the -next the narrow platform on which they had stood was empty. A wild -hoarse shriek rose up, and mingled with the dull roar of the waves -beneath, and then all was still! - - - - -CHAPTER XL. - - -Leycester had reached Carlyon on foot. He had left the house in the -morning, simply saying that he was going for a walk, and that they -were not to wait any meal for him. During the last few days he had -wandered in this way, seemingly desirous of being alone, and showing no -inclination toward even Charlie's society. Lady Wyndward half feared -that the old black fits was coming on him; but Lenore displayed no -anxiety; she even made excuses for him. - -"When a man feels the last hour of his liberty approaching, he -naturally likes to use his wings a little," she said, and the countess -had smiled approvingly. - -"My dear, you will make a model wife; just the wife that Leycester -needs." - -"I think so; I do, indeed," responded Lenore, with her frank, charming -smile. - -So Leycester was left alone to his own wild will during those last -few days, while the dressmakers and upholsterers were hard at work -preparing for "the" day. - -He could not have told why he came to Carlyon. He did not even know -the name of the little village in which he found himself. With his -handsome face rather grave and weary-looking, he had tramped into the -inn, and sunk down into the seat which had supported many a generation -of Carlyon fisherman and many sea-coast travelers. - -"This is Carlyon, sir," said the landlord, in answer to Leycester's -question, eying the tall figure in its knee breeches and shooting -jacket. "Yes, sir, this is Carlyon; have you come from St. Michael's, -sir?" - -Leycester shook his head; he scarcely heard the old man. - -"No," he answered; "but I have walked some distance," and he mentioned -the place. - -The old man stared. - -"Phew! that's a long walk, sir; a main long walk. And what can I get -you to eat, sir?" - -Leycester smiled rather wearily. He had heard the question so often in -his travels, and knew the results so perfectly. - -"Anything you like," he said. - -The landlord nodded in approval at so sensible an answer, and went out -to consult his wife, who had been staring at the handsome traveler from -behind the half-open door of the common living room. Presently he came -out with the result. The gentleman could have a bit of fish and a chop, -and some Falmouth potatoes. - -Leycester nodded indifferently--anything would do. - -Both the fish and the chop were excellent, but Leycester did anything -but justice to them. A strange feeling of restlessness seemed to have -taken possession of him, and when he had lit his cigar, instead of -sitting down and taking it comfortably, he felt compelled to get up and -wander to the door. The evening was drawing in; there were a fairish -number of miles between him and home--it was time for him to start, but -still he leant against the door and looked at the sea and cliffs that -rose in a line with the house. - -At last he paid his reckoning, supplemented it with a half-crown for -the landlord in his capacity of waiter, and started. But not homeward; -the cliff seemed to exercise a strange fascination for him, and obeying -the impulse which was almost irresistible, he set off for the path that -ascended to the summit, and strode upward. - -A great peace was upon the scene, a great unrest and unsatisfied desire -was in his heart. All the air seemed full of Stella; her voice mingled, -for him, in the plash of the waves. Thinking of her with a deep, -sorrowful wistfulness, he climbed on and--passed her. - -Stood within reach of her as she cowered and shrank against the wall of -chalk, and all unconscious of her nearness he turned and came down. The -evening had grown chilly and keen, but his walk had made him hot, and -he turned into the inn to get a glass of ale. - -The landlord was surprised to see him again, and said so, and Leycester -stood, with the glass in his hand, explaining that he had been up the -cliff to look at the view. - -"Aye, sir, and a grand view it is," said the old man, with pardonable -pride. "Man and boy I've growed under the shadow of that cliff, and -I know every inch of it, top and bottom. Mighty dangerous it is too, -sir," he added, reflectively. "It's not one or two, but nigh upon a -score o' accidents as I've known on that cliff." - -"The path is none too wide," said Leycester. - -"No, sir, and in the dark----" he stopped suddenly, and started. "What -was that?" he exclaimed. - -"What is the matter?" Leycester asked. - -The old man caught his arm suddenly, and pointed to the cliff. -Leycester looked up, and the glass fell from his hand. There, on the -giddy height, clearly defined against the sky, were two figures, locked -together in what appeared a deadly embrace. - -"Look!" exclaimed the old man. "The glass--give me the glass!" - -Leycester caught up a telescope that stood on a seat beside them and -gave it to him; he himself did not need a glass to see the dark, -struggling figures, they were all too plain. For one second they stood -as if benumbed, and then the echo of the shriek smote upon their ears, -and the cliff was bare. The old man dropped the telescope and caught -Leycester's arm as he made a bound toward the path. - -"No, no, sir!" he exclaimed. "No use to go up there, the boat! the -boat!" and he ran to the beach. Leycester followed him like a man in a -dream, and tearing off his coat, seized an oar mechanically. - -There was not a soul in sight, the peace of the Autumn evening rested -on sea and shore, but in Leycester's ears the echo of that awful -death-shriek rung as plainly as when he had first heard it. The -landlord of the inn, an old sailor, rowed like a young man, and the -boat rose over the waves and cleaved its way round the bay as if a -dozen men were pulling. - -Not a word was spoken, the great beads of sweat stood on their -foreheads, their hearts throbbed in unison with every stroke. Presently -Leycester saw the old man relax his stroke and bend peering over the -boat, and suddenly he dropped his oar and sprang up, pointing to a dark -object floating on the top of the waves. Leycester rose too, calm and -acute enough now, and in another minute Jasper Adelstone was lying at -their feet. - -Leycester uttered no cry as his eyes fell upon the pale, set face, but -he sank down in the boat and put his hands to his eyes. - -When he looked up he saw the old man quietly putting his oar into its -place. - -"Yes, sir," he said, gravely answering Leycester's glance, "he is dead, -stone dead; row back, sir." - -"But the other!" said Leycester, in a whisper. - -The old man shook his head and glanced upward at the cliff. - -"He is up there, sir. Alive or dead, he is up there. He didn't fall -into the sea or we should have met him." - -"Then--then," said Leycester, his voice struggling for calm, "he may be -alive!" - -"We shall soon see, sir; row for life or death." - -Leycester needed no further prompting, and the boat sped back. By the -time they had gained the shore a crowd had collected, and Leycester -felt, rather than saw, that the motionless, lifeless form that had -haunted him from its place at the bottom of the boat was carried -off--felt, rather than was conscious, that he was speeding up the cliff -followed by the landlord and half-a-dozen fishermen. - -Silent and breathless they gained the top, and stood for a moment -uncertain; then Leycester saw one of them step forward with a rope. - -"Now, mates," the old man said, "which of us goes down?" - -There was a moment's silence, then Leycester stepped forward and took -up the rope. - -"I," he said. - -It was but a word, but no one ventured to dispute his decision. - -Quietly and calmly they fastened the rope round his waist, leaving a -loop lower down. He had left his coat in the boat, and stood bareheaded -for a moment. The old man stood beside him, calm and grave. - -"Hold tight, sir," he said; "and if--if--you find him, sling the rope -round him and give the word." - -Leycester nodded, held up his hand, and the next moment was swinging in -the air. Slowly and steadily, inch by inch, they lowered him down the -awful depths amidst a death-like silence. Suddenly his voice broke it, -coming up to them in one word-- - -"Stop!" - -Breathless they waited, then they felt the rope jerk and they pulled -up. A great sob of relief rather than a cheer rose as he appeared, -bearing on his arm the slight figure of poor Frank. - -Gently but swiftly they unwound the ropes and laid him down at -Leycester's feet, and the old man knelt beside him. - -Leycester did not speak, but stood panting and pale. The old man looked -up. - -"Give me a hand, boys," he said, slowly and sternly. "He is alive!" - -"Alive!" said Leycester, hoarsely. - -"Alive," repeated the old man. "Yes, sir, you have saved him, but----" - -Leycester followed them down the cliff, followed them to the inn. Then, -as the thin, wasted figure disappeared within the house, he sank on to -the bench at the door, and covered his face with his hands. - -Was it an awful dream?--would he awake presently and find himself at -home, and this dreadful nightmare vanished? - -Suddenly he felt a hand upon his arm, and looking up, saw a staid, -elderly man, with "doctor" written plainly on his face. - -"I beg your pardon, sir," he said. "You know this poor lad?" - -Leycester nodded. - -"So I understood from a word you let drop on the cliff. As that is the -case, perhaps you would not mind breaking it to his friends?" - -"His friends?" asked Leycester, mechanically. - -The doctor nodded. - -"They are staying at that cottage," he said, pointing. "They should be -here at once." - -Leycester rose, dazed for a moment; then he said, in a low voice: - -"I understand. Yes, I will do it." - -Without another word, he strode off. It was no great distance, but -he had not to traverse it, short as it was. At the turn of the road -a slight, girlish figure came flitting toward him. It was Stella. He -stopped irresolute, but at that moment she had no thought even for -him. Without hesitating, she came toward him, her face pale, her hands -outstretched. - -"Leycester! where is he?" - -Without thinking he put his arm round her and she rested on his breast -for a moment. - -"Stella, my Stella! be brave." - -She uttered a little inarticulate cry, and hid her face for a moment, -then she raised her head, and looked at him. - -"Take me to him!" she moaned, "take me to him. Oh my poor boy! my poor -boy!" - -In silence he led her to the inn, and she passed up the stairs. The -fishermen gathered round the door drew back and turned their eyes from -him with respectful sympathy, and he stood looking out at the sea. The -minutes passed, years they seemed to him, then he heard the doctor's -voice. - -"Will you go up-stairs, my lord?" - -Leycester started, and slowly ascended the stairs. - -Stretched on a small bed lay the poor erring boy, white and death-like, -already in the shadow of death. Beside him knelt Stella, her hand -clasping his, her face lying beside his. - -He looked up as Leycester entered, and raised a thin white hand to -beckon him near. Instinctively Leycester knelt beside him. - -"You want to see me, Frank?" - -The boy raised his eyelids heavily, and seemed to make a great struggle -for strength. - -"Leycester," he said, "I--I have something to give you. You--you will -understand what it means. It was the charm that bound her to him. I -have broken it--broken it! It was for my sake she did it, for mine! I -did not know it till to-night. Take it, Leycester," and slowly he drew -from his breast the forged paper. - -Leycester took it, deeming the boy delirious, and Frank seemed to read -his thought. - -"You will understand," he panted. "I--I--forged it, and he knew it, -and held the knowledge and the paper over her head. You saved my life, -Leycester: I give you something better than life, Leycester; I give -you--her--Stella!" - -His lips quivered, and he seemed sinking; but he made a last effort. - -"I--I am dying, Leycester. I am glad, very, very glad. I don't wish to -live. It is better that I should die!" - -"Frank!" broke from Stella's white lips. - -"Don't cry, Stella. While I lived he--he would have held you bound. Now -I am dying----" Then his voice failed and his eyes closed, but they saw -his lips move, and Stella, bending over him, heard the words--"Forgive, -forgive!" - -With a loud cry she caught him in her arms, but he had passed away, -even beyond her love, and the next moment she fell fainting, still -holding him to her bosom, as a mother holds her child. - -An hour afterward Leycester was pacing the beach, his arms folded -across his breast, his head bent, a storm of conflicting emotions -raging within. The boy had spoken truly. The time had come when he -understood fully the lad's words. He had gleaned much from the forged -bill, which, all torn and stained, lay hidden in his pocket; but the -full meaning of the mystery had been conveyed to him by the delirious -words of Stella, who lay in a high fever. - -He had just left her, and was now waiting for the doctor, waiting for -his verdict--life or death. Life or death! He had often heard, often -used the words, but never until this moment knew their import. - -Presently the doctor joined him, and Leycester uttered the one word: - -"Well?" - -"She will live," he said. - -Leycester raised his head and drew a long breath. The doctor continued: - -"Yes, I think I may say she will pull through. I shall know more -to-morrow. You see, she has undergone a severe strain; I do not allude -to the tragic incidents of the evening; those in themselves are -sufficient to try a young girl; but she has been laboring under extreme -nervous pressure for months past." - -Leycester groaned. - -"Come, come, my lord," said the doctor, cheerfully. "You may depend -upon me. I should not hold out hope unless I had good reason for so -doing. We shall save her, I trust and believe." - -Leycester inclined his head; he could not speak. The doctor looked at -him gravely. - -"If you will permit me, my lord," he said, "I would suggest that you -should now take some rest. You are far from strong yourself." - -Leycester smiled grimly. - -"Far from strong," repeated the doctor, emphatically. "And there is a -great deal more endurance before you. Be advised and take some rest, my -lord. - -"The landlord has been speaking to me, sir, about the unfortunate man -you found. It seems that there are papers and valuables--jewelry, and -such like. Will your lordship take charge of them until the police -arrive? I understand that you knew him." - -"Yes, I knew him," said Leycester. He had, in truth, almost forgotten -Jasper Adelstone. "I will take charge of the things, if you wish it." - -"Follow me, then," said the doctor. - -They went to the inn, and up the stairs, with that quiet, subdued step -with which men approach the presence of grim death, and stood beside -the bed upon which lay all that remained of the man who had so nearly -wrecked two lives. - -Leycester looked down at the white face, calm and -expressionless--looked down with a solemn feeling at his heart, and the -doctor drew some papers from the coat. - -"These are them," he said, "if your lordship will take charge of them." - -Leycester took them, and as he did so, he glanced mechanically at them -as they lay in his hand, and uttered an exclamation. - -There in his hand lay the note which Lenore had written, bidding Jasper -Adelstone meet her in the wood. He knew the writing in a moment, and -before he had time to prevent it, had read the few pregnant words. - -The doctor turned round. - -"What is the matter?" - -Leycester stood, and for the first time that awful night trembled. -The idea of treachery and deceit so connected with Lenore utterly -unnerved him. He knew, he felt as if by instinct, that he held in his -hand a link in the chain of cunning and chicanery which had so nearly -entangled him, and the thought that her name would become the prey of -the newspapers was torture. - -"Doctor," he said, and his voice trembled, "I have seen by accident -a letter written to this unfortunate man. It consists of a few lines -only. It will compromise a lady whose good name is in my keeping----" - -The doctor held up his hand. - -"Your lordship will be guided by your sense of honor," he said. - -Leycester inclined his head and put the note in his pocket. - -Then they went down, and the doctor strode off to the cottage and left -Leycester still pacing the beach. - -Yes, the boy had spoken truly. He saw it all now. He knew how it had -been brought to pass that Stella had been entrapped into Jasper's -chambers; he saw the unscrupulous hand of a woman weaving the threads -of the net in which they had been entangled. Minute details were not -necessary, that little note in the dainty hand-writing told its own -story; Jasper Adelstone and Lady Lenore Beauchamp had been in league -together; death had squared the reckoning between him and the man, but -he had still to settle the tragic account with the woman. - -The night passed, and the dawn broke, and the little doctor returning, -weary and exhausted, found the tall figure still pacing the beach. - - - - -CHAPTER XLI. - - -Lenore sat in her dainty room, her long golden hair flooding her -white shoulders, her fair face reflected in the Venetian mirror with -its edging of antique work and trimming of lace. Not even a Venetian -mirror could have desired to hold a fairer picture; youth, beauty, and -happiness, smiled from its surface. The rich, delicately curved lips -smiled to-night, with an ineffable content, and serene satisfaction. - -There was a latent gleam of triumph in the violet eyes, eloquent -of triumph and victory. She had conquered; the desire of her life -was nearly within her grasp; two days--forty-eight hours--more and -Leycester Wyndward would be hers. An ancient name, an historic title, -an immense estate were to be hers. To do her justice at this moment, -she thought neither of the title nor the estate; it was of the man, of -the man with his handsome face, and musical voice, and _debonnaire_ -manner that she thought. If they had come and told her, there where she -sat, that it had been discovered that he was neither noble nor rich, -she would not have cared, it would not have mattered. It was the man, -it was Leycester himself, for whom she had plotted and schemed, and she -would have been content with him alone. - -Even now, as she looked at the beautiful reflection in the mirror, it -was with no thought of her own beauty, all her thoughts were of him; -and the smile that crossed the red lips was called up by no spirit of -vanity, but by the thought that in forty-eight hours, the wish and the -desire of her life would be gratified. - -In silence the maid brushed out the wealth of golden tresses, of which -she was almost as proud as the owner herself; she had heard a whisper -in the servants' hall, but it was not for her to speak. It was a rumor -that something had happened to Lord Leycester, that he had not returned -yet, and that one of the wild fits, with which all the household were -familiar, had seized him, and that he was off no one knew where. - -It was not for her to speak, but she watched her beautiful mistress -covertly, and thought how quickly she could dispel the smile of -serenity which sat upon the fair face. - -Quiet as the wedding was intended to be, there was necessarily some -stir; the society papers had got hold of it, and dilated upon it in -paragraphs, in which Lenore was spoken of as "our reigning beauty," -and Leycester described as the son of a well-known peer, and a man of -fashion. Quite an army of upholsterers had been at work at the house -in Grosvenor Square, and another army of milliners and dressmakers -had been preparing the bride's _trousseau_. A pile of imperials and -portmanteaus stood in the dressing-room, each bearing the initials "I," -with the coronet. - -One or two of the Beauchamps, the present earl and a brother--together -with three young lady cousins, who were to act as bridesmaids--had been -invited, and were to arrive the following evening. Certainly there -must be some slight fuss, and Lenore, as she thought of Leycester's -absence, ascribed it to his dislike to the aforesaid fuss, and his -desire to escape from it. - -The maid went at last, and Lenore, with a happy sigh, went to sleep. -At that time Leycester was pacing the beach at Carlyon, and Jasper -and poor Frank were lying dead. Surely if dreams come to warn one of -impending trouble, Lady Lenore should have dreamed to-night; but she -did not. She slept the night through without a break, and rose fresh -and beautiful, with only twenty-four hours between her and happiness. - -But when she entered the breakfast-room, and met the pale, anxious face -of the countess, and the grave one of the earl, a sudden spasm of fear, -scarcely fear, but apprehension, fell upon her. - -"What is the matter?" she asked, gliding to the countess, and kissing -her. - -"Nothing--really nothing, dear," she said, attempting to speak lightly. - -"Where is Leycester?" she asked. - -"That is it," replied the countess, pouring out the coffee, and keeping -her eye fixed on the cup. "The foolish boy hasn't returned yet." - -"Not returned?" echoed Lenore, and a faint flush came into her face. -"Where did he go?" - -"I don't know, my dear Lenore, and I cannot find out. He didn't tell -you?" - -Lenore shook her head, and fastened a flower in her dress with a hand -that quivered faintly. - -"No. I did not ask him. I saw him go." - -"Was he on foot, or riding?" asked the earl. - -"On foot," said Lenore. "He was in his shooting clothes, and I thought -he was going for a walk on the hills." - -The earl broke his piece of toast with a little irritable jerk. - -"It is annoying," he said. "It is extremely inconsiderate of him, -extremely. To-day, of all others, he should have remained at home." - -"He will be here presently," said Lenore, calmly. - -The countess sighed. - -"Nothing--of course nothing could have happened to him." - -She merely made the suggestion in a suppressed, hushed, anxious voice. - -Lenore laughed--actually laughed. - -"Happened to him, to Leycester!" she said, with proud contempt. "What -could have happened to him? Leycester is not the sort of man to meet -with accidents. Pray do not be uneasy, dear; he will come in directly, -very tired, and very hungry, and laugh at us." - -"I give him credit for better manners," said the earl, curtly. - -He was angry and annoyed. As he had said to the countess before Lenore -came in, he had hoped and believed that Leycester had given up this -sort of boyish nonsense, and intended to act sensibly, as became a man -who had settled to marry. - -There was a moment's pause while the earl buttered his toast, still -irritably; then Lady Wyndward said almost to herself-- - -"Perhaps Lilian knows?" - -"No," said Lenore, quickly, "she does not, or she would have told me. I -saw her last night the last thing, and she did not know he was out. Do -not tell her." - -The countess glanced at her gratefully. - -"She would only be anxious and fret," said Lenore. "While I am not, and -shall not be," she added, with a smile. "I am not afraid that Leycester -has run away from me." - -She looked up as she spoke, and flashed her beauty upon them, as it -were, and smiled, and the mother felt reassured. Certainly it did not -seem probable that any man would run away from her. - -She herself felt no fear, not even when the morning grew to noon and -the noon to evening. She went about the house superintending the -packing of the multitudinous things, arranging the epergnes, playing -the piano even, and more than once the light air from the French opera -floated through the room. - -Lord Beauchamp and the rest of the visitors were to arrive about seven, -just in time to dress for dinner, and the stir that had reigned in the -house grew accentuated as the time approached. Lenore went to her room -at six to dress; she meant to look her best to-night, as well indeed -as she meant to look on the following day; and her maid knew by the -attention which her mistress had paid to the wardrobe that every care -would be expected from her ministering hands. Just before she went to -her room she met the countess on the stairs; they had not seen very -much of each other during the day; there was a great deal to do, and -the countess, notwithstanding her rank, was a housekeeper in something -more than name. - -"Lenore," she said, then stopped. - -The beauty bent over from her position on a higher step and kissed her. - -"I know, dear--he has not come yet. Well, he will be here by -dinner-time. Why are you so anxious? I am not." - -And she laughed. - -It certainly encouraged the countess, and she even called up a smile. - -"What a strange girl you are, Lenore," she said. "One would have -thought that you, before all of us, would have been uneasy." - -Lenore shook her head. - -"No, dear; I feel--I feel that he will come. Now see if my prophecy -comes true." - -And she went up the stairs, casting a serene and confident smile over -her shoulder. - -"I will wear that last blue dress of Worth's, and the pearls," she said -to her maid, and the girl started. The dress had just arrived, and was -supposed to be reserved for future London triumphs. - -"The last, my lady?" - -Lenore nodded. - -"Yes; I want to look my best to-night; and if I were not afraid of -being thought too pronounced, I would wear my diamonds." - -The girl arranged the beautiful hair in its close curls of gold, and -fastened the famous pearls upon the white wrists and round the dainty -throat; and Lenore surveyed herself in the Venetian mirror. A smile of -satisfaction slowly lit up her face. - -"Well?" she said, over her shoulder. - -"Beautiful," breathed the girl, who was proud of her mistress's -loveliness. "Oh, beautiful, my lady! but isn't it a pity to wear it -to-night?" - -Lenore shook her head. - -"I would wear a better if I had it," she said, softly. "Now go -down-stairs, and tell me when Lord Leycester returns." - -The girl stared and then smiled. After all then they had been worrying -themselves about nothing; her ladyship had received a message from him -and knew when to expect him! She went down and crowed over them in the -servants' hall, and watched for Lord Leycester. - -Seven o'clock chimed from the stables, and the carriage that had been -sent to meet the guests returned. Lord Beauchamp was a tall, stately -old gentleman who hated traveling as he hated anything else that gave -him any trouble or inconvenience, and the rest were tired and dusty, -and generally pining for soap and water. The earl and countess met them -in the hall, and in the bustle and fuss Leycester was not missed. - -"Do not hurry, Lord Beauchamp," said the poor countess. "We will make -the dinner half-past eight," and she wished in her heart that she could -postpone it altogether; for Leycester had not come. - -"What shall we do--what shall we do?" she exclaimed, as the earl stood -at her dressing-room door with his coat in his hand. - -"Do!" he retorted. "Go on without him. This comes of humoring an only -son till he develops into a lunatic. Poor Lenore! I pity her!" and he -went out frowning. - -"He has not come, my lady!" murmured the maid, entering Lenore's room a -few minutes afterwards. "Lord Beauchamp's party have arrived, but Lord -Leycester has not come." - -Lenore was standing by the open window, and she turned with a sudden -smile. The sound of horse's feet had struck upon her ear. - -"Yes, he has," she said. "He is here now," and she closed the window -and sat down calmly. - -Leycester rode into the courtyard on the horse that he had borrowed -from the doctor, and, throwing the bridle to a groom, ascended the -stone steps and made his way through the hall. - -Excepting some of the servants, there was no one about, they had all -gone to their dressing-rooms, and he went up the stairs in silence and -uninterrupted. With bent head and dragging step, for the long vigil and -hours of excitement had told upon him, he stood before Lilian's room. -It was worthy of notice that in this awful coming back of his he went -to her first, as a matter of course, and knocking gently, went in. - -It was dark, and the lamp was burning softly, but she, accustomed to -the dim light, saw plainly that something had happened. - -"Leycester!" she exclaimed. "Why--how is this, dear? Where have you -been all day and all last night? You did not come to me and----" she -stopped as he sat down beside her and put his hand upon her head. The -hand was burning hot, his face was white and haggard and worn, and yet -in some way strangely peaceful, with a far-away, dreamy expression upon -it--"Leycester, where have you been?" - -He bent and kissed her. - -"Lil," he said, and there was a great peace in his voice though it was -weary and husky, "you will be a brave good girl while I tell you!" - -"Ah, Leycester!" was all she murmured. - -"Well, Lil, I have found her--I have got her back--my poor Stella." - -Her hand closed on his, and her delicate face went white as ivory. - -"Got her back!" - -"Yes," he said, in low tones. "I have found out the mystery--no, not I. -It was solved for me by a mightier hand than any human one--by Death, -Lil." - -"Death, Leycester! She is not dead! Oh, Stella--Stella!" - -"Heaven forbid," he breathed. "No, no; she is alive, though fearfully -near death still. I left her lying white and still and weak as a broken -lily--my poor, sweet darling!--but she is alive, thank Heaven!--she is -alive! And now can you bear to hear what separated us, Lil?" - -"Tell me," she said. - -Sitting there, with her loving, sympathizing heart beating against -his, he told her the strange story. Sobs, low and moving, broke from -her as he told of the boy's death, and an awful chill fell on her as -he spoke as shortly as he could of the fate that had befallen Jasper -Adelstone; but when he came to speak of that short damning note that he -had found--that note in the hand-writing of Lenore, and hinted at her -share in the conspiracy--the gentle heart grew cold and terrified, and -she hid her face for a moment, then she looked up and clasped her hands -round his neck. - -"Oh, Ley, Ley! deal gently with her! Forgive her! We all need -forgiveness! Forgive her; she did it out of her love for you, and has -suffered, and will suffer! Deal gently with her!" - -He bit his lip, and his brow darkened. - -"Ley, Ley!" the gentle creature pleaded, "think of her now waiting for -you, think of her who was to be your wife. She loved you. Ley, she -loves you still; and that will be her punishment! Ley, you will not be -hard with her!" - -Her prayer prevailed; he drew a long breath. - -"No, Lil," he said, in a low voice, "I will not be hard with her. But -as for love! True love does not stand by and see its beloved suffer -as I have suffered; not true love. There is a passion which men libel -by calling love--that is what she has borne for me. Love! Think of -her? Yes; I will think of her; but how am I to forget my beautiful, -suffering darling, lying so white and wan and broken," and he hid his -face in his hands. Presently he rose and kissed her. - -"I am going to her," he said. "Do not fear! I have given you my word; I -will deal gently with her." - -She let him go without another word, and he went straight to Lenore's -sitting-room, travel-stained and haggard, and unrefreshed. - -The maid heard his knock, and opened the door, and passed out as he -entered and stood in the middle of the room. There was a faint rustle -in the adjoining room, and then she came floating toward him in all her -loveliness, the faint, ethereal blue making her white skin to shame the -rare and costly pearls. She was dazzling in her supreme loveliness, -and at any other time he would have been moved, but now it was as if -a deadly, venomous serpent, glorious in its scaly beauty, lay coiled -before him. - -She came forward, her hands outstretched, her eyes glowing with a -passionate welcome, and then stopped. Not a word passed for a moment; -the two, she in all her costly attire and loveliness, he in his stained -cord suit and with his haggard face, confronted each other. She read -her doom at a glance, but the proud, haughty spirit did not quail. - -"Well?" she said at last. - -Chivalrous to the last, even in this moment, he pointed to a seat, -but she made a gesture of refusal and stood, her white hands clasped -tightly, her head erect, her eyes glowing. "Well? You have come back?" - -"Yes, I have come back, Lady Lenore," he said, his voice dry and hoarse. - -She smiled bitterly at the "lady." - -"You are late," she said. "Was it worth while coming back?" - -It was a proud and insolent question, but he bore with her. - -"I came back for your sake," he said. - -"For mine!" and she smiled incredulously. She could smile still, though -an icy hand was closing round her heart, and wringing the life blood -out of it. - -"For yours. It was not fitting that you should hear from other lips -than mine that from this hour you and I are as far apart as pole from -pole." - -She inclined her head. - -"So be it. There is no appeal from such a sentence. But may I ask you -to explain; dare I venture so far?" and her lip curled. - -"Do you think you dare?" he said, sternly. - -She inclined her head, his sternness struck her like a blow. - -"You have come to tell me, have you not?" she said. "Where have you -been?" - -"I have come from Carlyon," he said. - -"From whom?" - -"From the girl from whom your base scheming separated me," he said, -sternly. - -"Ah," she breathed, but her eyes opened with a wild stare. "You--you -have gone back to her?" - -He waved his hand. - -"Let there be no word of her between us," he said; "your lips shall not -profane her name." - -She turned white and her hand went to her heart. - -"Forgive me," he said, hoarsely. Had he not promised to deal gently -with her? "I have not come to utter reproaches--I came to shield you, -if that were possible." - -"To shield!--from what?" she demanded, in a low murmur. - -"From the consequences of your crime," he said. "What that is, I have -only learnt to-night; but for a chance accident the world would know -to-morrow that Lady Lenore Beauchamp had stooped so low as to become -the accomplice of Jasper Adelstone in a vile conspiracy." - -She waved her hand. - -"He dare not speak. I defy him!" - -Leycester held up his hand. - -"He is beyond your defiance," he said--"Jasper Adelstone is dead!" - -She made a gesture of contemptuous indifference. - -"What is that to me?" she said, hoarsely. "Why do you speak to me of -him or any other man? Is it not enough that I have failed? Have you -come to gloat over me? What is it that you want?" - -He thrust his hand in his breast, and drew forth the note. - -"I have come to restore this to you," he said. "I took it from the dead -man's bosom--took it to save your reputation. The story it told me I -have heard in fact from the lips of the girl you have plotted against -and wronged. It is at her bidding that I am here--here to save you from -scandal, and to cover if possible your retreat." - -"At her's--at Stella Etheridge's?" she breathed, as though the name -would choke her. - -He waved his hand. - -"You will leave this house to-night. I have made all arrangements -necessary, and you will start in an hour's time." - -She laughed discordantly. - -"And if I say I will not?" - -He looked at her sternly. - -"Then I will tell the story to my mother and you shall hear your -dismissal from her lips. Choose!" - -She dropped into a chair, and made a gesture of scorn. - -"Tell whom you please," she said. "I am your affianced wife, my people -are under your roof at this moment; go to them and tell them that you -have deserted me for a low-born girl!" - -He turned and strode to the door; but ere he had reached it the -reaction had come. With a low cry, she flew to him and sank at his -feet, her hands clasped on his arm, her face upturned with an awful -imploration. - -"Leycester, Leycester! Do not leave me! Do not go! Leycester, I was -wrong, wicked, base, vile; but it was all for you--for you! Leycester, -listen to me! You will not go! Do not fling me from you! Look at me, -Leycester!" - -He did look at her, lovely in her abandon and despair, and then averted -his eyes; it horrified him to see her so low and degraded. - -"You will not look at me!" she wailed; "you will not! Oh, Heaven! am -I so changed? am I old, ugly, hideous? Leycester, you have called -me beautiful a hundred--a thousand times; and now you will not look -at me! You will leave me! You shall not; I will hold you like this -forever--forever! Ah!"--for he had made a movement to disengage -himself--"you will not hurt me! Yes; kill me, kill me here at your -feet! I would rather die so than live without you. I cannot, Leycester! -Listen, I love you; I love you twenty thousand times better than that -wretched girl can do! Leycester, I will give my life for you! See, I am -kneeling here at your feet! You will not spurn me, you cannot repel me! -Leycester! oh, my darling, my love! do what you will with me, but do -not spurn me! Oh, my love, my love!" - -It was piteous, it was awful, to see and hear her, and the strong man -trembled and turned pale, but his heart was stone and ice toward her; -the white, wan face of his darling came between them, and made the -flushed, passion-distorted face at his feet seem hideous and repellant. - -"Rise!" he said, sternly. - -"No, no; I will not," she moaned. "I will die at your feet! Leycester, -you will kill me! I have lost all for your sake, pride and honor, and -now my fair name, for you cannot shield me; and you will thrust me -aside. Leycester, you cannot! you cannot! Oh, my love, my love, do not -spurn me from you!" and still on her knees, she bent her head upon his -arm, and poured a storm of passionate, broken kisses upon his hand. - -That roused him. With an exclamation of abhorrence, he threw her grasp -off, and stood with his hand on the door. - -She sprang to her feet, and, white and breathless, looked at him as if -she would read his soul; then throwing her hands above her head, she -fell to the ground. - -He stood for a moment or two bending over her, thinking her senseless, -but it was simply mental and physical exhaustion, and when he strode to -the bell, she opened her eyes and held up her hand to stop him. - -"No," she murmured. "Let no one see me. Go now. Go!" - -He went to the door, and she rose and supported herself against a chair. - -"Good-bye, Leycester," she said. "I have lost you--and all! All!" - -It was the last words he heard her utter for many and many a year. - - - - -CHAPTER XLII. - - -"After all, there is nothing like English scenery; this is very -beautiful. I don't suppose you could get a greater variety of opal -tints in one view than lies before us now, but there is something -missing. It is all too beautiful, too rich, too gorgeous; one finds -one's breath coming too quickly, and one longs for just a dash of -English gloom to tone down the brilliant colors and give a relief." - -It was Mr. Etheridge who spoke. He was standing beside a low rustic -seat which fronted the world-famous view from the Piazza at Nice. The -sun was dropping into the horizon like a huge ball of crimson fire, -the opal tints of the sky stretched far above their heads and even -behind them. It was one blaze of glory in which a slim, girlish figure, -leaning far back in the seat, seemed bathed. - -She was pale still, was this Stella, this little girl heroine of -ours, but the dark look of trouble and leaden sorrow had gone, and -the light of youth and youthful joy had come back to the dark eyes; -the faint, ever ready smile hovered again about the red, mobile lips. -"Sorrow" says Goethe, "is the refining touch to a woman's beauty," -and it refined Stella's. She was lovely now, with that soft, ethereal -loveliness which poets sing of, and artists paint, and we poor penman -so vainly strive to describe. - -She looked up with a smile. - -"Homesick, uncle?" she murmurs. - -The old man strokes his beard, and glances at her. - -"I plead guilty," he says. "You cannot make a hermit crab happy if you -take him out of his shell, and the cottage is my shell, Stella." - -She sighed softly, not with unhappiness, but with that tender -reflectiveness which women alone possess. - -"I will go back when you please, dear," she says. - -"Hem!" he grunts. "There is someone else to consult, mademoiselle; -that someone else seems particularly satisfied to remain where we are; -but then I suppose he would be contented to remain anywhere so that a -certain pale-faced, insignificant chit of a girl were near him." - -A faint blush, a happy flush spreads over the pale face, and the long -lashes droop over the dark eyes. - -"At any rate we must ask him," says the old man; "we owe him that -little attention at least, seeing how much long-suffering patience he -has and continues to display." - -"Don't, uncle," murmurs the half-parted lips. - -"It is all very well to say 'don't,'" retorts the old man with a grim -smile. "Seriously, don't you think that you are, to use an Americanism, -playing it rather low down on the poor fellow?" - -"I--I--don't know what you mean," she falters. - -"Permit me to explain then," he says, ironically. - -"I--I don't want to hear, dear." - -"It is fitting that girls should be made to hear sometimes," he -says, with a smile. "What I mean is simply this, that, as a man with -something approaching a conscience and a fellow feeling for my kind, I -feel it my duty to point out to you that, perhaps unconsciously, you -are leading Leycester the sort of life that the bear who dances on hot -bricks--if any bear ever does--is supposed to lead. Here for months, -after no end of suffering----" - -"I have suffered too," she murmurs. - -"Exactly," he assents, in his gently-grim way; "but that only makes -it worse. After months of suffering, you allow him to dangle at -your heels, you drag him at your chariot wheels, tied him at your -apron strings from France to Italy, from Italy to Switzerland, from -Switzerland back to France again, and gave him no more encouragement -than a cat does a dog." - -The faint flush is a burning crimson now. - -"He--he need not come," she murmurs, panting. "He is not obliged." - -"The moth--the infuriated moth, is not obliged to hover about the -candle, but he does hover, and generally winds up by scorching his -wings. I admit that it is foolish and unreasonable, but it is none the -less true that Leycester is simply incapable, apparently, of resting -outside the radius of your presence, and therefore I say hadn't you -better give him the right to remain within that radius and----" - -She put up her hand to stop him, her face a deeper crimson still. - -"Permit me," he says, obstinately, and puffing at his pipe to -emphasize. "Once more the unfortunate wretch is on tenterhooks; he is -dying to take possession of you, and afraid to speak up like a man -because, possibly, you have had a little illness----" - -"Oh, uncle, and you said yourself that you thought I should have died." - -He coughs. - -"Ahem! One is inclined to exaggerate sometimes. He is afraid to speak -because in his utter sensitiveness he will insist upon considering you -an invalid still, whereas you are about as strong and healthy now as, -to use another Americanism, 'they make 'em.' Now, Stella, if you mean -to marry him, say so; if you don't mean to, say so, and for goodness -sake let the unfortunate monomaniac go." - -"Leycester is not a monomaniac, uncle," she retorts, in a low, -indignant voice. - -"Yes, he is," he says, "he is possessed by a mania for a little chit -of a girl with a pale face and dark eyes and a nose that is nothing to -speak of. If he wasn't an utterly lost maniac he would have refused -to dangle at your heels any longer, and gone off to someone with some -pretension to a regular facial outline." He stops, for there comes the -sound of a firm, manly tread upon the smooth gravel path, and the next -instant Leycester's tall figure is beside them. - -He bends over the slight, slim, graceful figure, a loving, reverential -devotion in his handsome face, a faint anxiety in his eyes and in his -voice as he says, in that low, musical undertone which has charmed so -many women's ears: - -"Have you no wrap on, Stella? These evenings are very beautiful but -treacherous." - -"There isn't a breath of air," says Stella, with a little laugh. - -"Yes, yes!" he says, and puts his hand on the arm that rests on the -seat, "you must be careful, indeed you must, my darling, I will go and -get you a----" - -"Blanket and a suit of sables," broke in the old man, with good -humorous banter. "Allow me, I am young and full of energy, and you are -old and wasted and wearied, watching over a sick and perhaps dying -girl, who eats three huge meals a day, and can outwalk Weston. I will -go," and he goes and leaves them, Stella's soft laughter following him -like music. - -Leycester stands beside her looking down at her in silence. For him -that rustic seat holds all that is good and worth having in life, and -as he looks, the passionate love that burns so steadily in his heart -glows in his eyes. - -For weeks, for months he has watched her--watched her patiently as -now--watched her from the shadow of death, into the world of life; -and though his eyes and the tone of his voice have spoken love often -and often, he has so tutored his lips as to refrain from open speech. -He knows the full measure of the shock which had struck her down, -and in his great reverence and unfathomable love for her, he has -restrained himself, fearing that a word might bring back that terrible -past. But now, to-night, as he sees the faint color tinting the clear -cheeks--sees the sunset light reflected in her bright eyes--his heart -begins to beat with that throb which tells of long-suppressed passion -clamoring for expression. - -Maiden-like, she feels something of what is passing through his mind, -and a great shyness falls upon her. She can almost hear her heart beat. - -"Won't you sit down?" she says, at last, in that little, low, murmuring -voice, which is such sweet music in his ears. And she moves her dress -to make room for him. - -He comes round, and sinks in the seat beside her. - -"Can you not feel the breeze now?" he asks. "I wish I had brought a -wrap with me, on the chance of your having forgotten it." - -She looks round at him, with laughter in her eyes and on her lips. - -"Did you not hear what uncle said?" She asks. "Don't you know that -he was laughing, actually laughing at me? When will you _begin_ to -believe that I am well and strong and ridiculously robust? Don't you -see that the people at the hotel are quite amused with your solicitude -respecting my delicate state of health?" - -"I don't care anything about the people at the hotel," he says, in that -frank, simple way which speaks so plainly of his love. "I know that I -don't mean you to catch cold if I can help it!" - -"You--you are very good to me," she says, and there is a slight tremor -in her voice. - -He laughs his old short, curt laugh, softened in a singular way. - -"Am I? You might say that a man was particularly 'good' because he -showed some concern for the safety of a particularly precious stone!" - -Her eyes droop, and, perhaps unconsciously, her arm draws a little -nearer to him. - -"You are good," she says, "but I am not a precious stone, by any means." - -"You are all that is rare and precious to me, my darling," he says; -"you are all the world to me. Stella!----" he stops, alarmed lest he -should be alarming her, but his arm slides round her, and he ventures -to draw her nearer to him. - -It is the only embrace he has ventured to give her since that night -when she fell into his arms at the cottage door at Carlyon, and he half -fears that she will shrink from him in the new strange shyness that -has fallen upon her; but she does not, instead she lets her head droop -until it rests upon his breast, and the strong man's passion leaps full -force and masterful in a moment. - -"Stella!" he murmurs, his lips pressed to hers, which do not swerve, -"may I speak? Will you let me? You will not be angry?" - -She does not look angry; her eyes fixed on his have nothing but -submissive love in them. - -"I have waited,--it seems so long--because I was afraid to trouble you, -but I may speak now, Stella?" and he draws her closer to him. "Will you -be my wife--soon--soon?" - -He waits, his handsome face eloquent in its entreaty and anxiety, and -she leans back and looks up at him, then her gaze falters. A little -quiver hovers on her lips, and the dark eyes droop. - -Is it "Yes"? If so, he alone could have heard it. - -"My poor darling!" he murmurs, and he takes her face in his hands and -turns it up to him. "Oh, my darling, If you knew how I loved you--how -anxiously I have waited! And it shall be soon, Stella! My little wife! -My very own!" - -"Yes!" she said, and, as in the old time, she raises herself in his -arms and kisses him. - - * * * * * - -"And--and the countess, and all of them!" she murmurs, but with a -little quaint smile. - -He smiles calmly. "Not to-night, darling, do not let us talk of the -outside world to-night. But see if 'all of them,' as you put it, are -not exactly of one mind; one of them is," and he takes out a letter -from his pocket. - -"From Lilian!" she says, guessing instinctively. - -Leycester nods. - -"Yes, take it and read; you will find your name in every line. Stella, -it was this letter that gave me courage to speak to you to-night. A -woman knows a woman after all--you will read what she says. 'Are you -still afraid, Ley,' she writes, 'ask her!' and I have asked. And now -all the past will be buried and we shall be happy at last. At last, -Stella, where--where shall it be?" - -She is silent, but she lifts the letter to her lips and kisses it. - -"What do you say to Paris?" he asks. - -"Paris!" she echoes, flushing. - -"Yes," he says, "I have been talking to the old doctor, and he thinks -you are strong enough to have a little excitement now, and thinks that -a tour in Paris would be the very thing to complete things. What do -you say," he goes on, trying to speak in a matter-of-fact voice, but -watching her with eager eyes, "if we start at the end of the week, that -will give you time to make your preparations, won't it?" - -"Oh, no, no----!" - -"Then say the beginning of next," he returns, magnanimously, "and we -will be married about Wednesday"--she utters a faint exclamation, and -turns pale and red by turns, but he is steadfast--"and then we can have -a gay time of it before we settle down." - -"Settle down," she says, with a little longing sigh. "How sweet it -sounds--but next week!" - -"It is a cruel time to wait," he declares, drawing her nearer to him, -"cruel--next week! It is months, years, ages----" - -"Hush!" she says, struggling gently away from him, "here is uncle." - -It is uncle, but he is innocent of wraps. - -"Going to stay out all night?" he asks, with fine irony. - -"Why, where are the wraps?" demands Leycester. - -"Eh? Oh, nonsense!" says the old man. "Do you want to commit suicide -together by suffocation? It's as warm as an oven. Oh, for my little -garden, and the cool room." - -"You shall have it in a week or two," says Leycester, with a smile of -ineffable satisfaction. "We are going to take you to Paris, and then -will come and stay with you----" - -"Oh, will you? and who asked you, Mr. Jackanapes?" - -"Why, you wouldn't refuse shelter to your niece's husband?" retorts -Leycester, laughing. - -"Oh, that's it!" says the old man. "Allow me to wish you good-night. -I'll leave you to your Midsummer madness--no, to your Autumn wisdom, -for, upon my word, it's the most sensible word I've heard you utter for -months past!" - -And he goes; but before he goes he lays his hand upon the sleek head -and whispers: - -"That's a good girl! Now be happy." - - * * * * * - -They were married in Paris, very quietly, very happily. Lord Charles -came over from Scotland, leaving the grouse and the salmon, to act -as best man, and it was an open question which of the two men looked -happiest--he or the bridegroom. Lord Charles had never heard of that -forged note and his inadvertent share in the plot that had worked so -much harm, and he never would hear of it; and furthermore he never -quite understood how it was that Stella Etheridge and not Lady Lenore -became Leycester's wife; but he was quite satisfied and quite assured -that it was the best of all possible arrangements. - -"Leycester's the happiest man in the world, and he used to be the most -wretched, and so there's an end of it," he declared, whenever he spoke -of the match. "And," he would add, "the man who could have the moral -cheek to be anything but absurdly happy with such an angel as Lady -Stella wouldn't be fit to be anywhere out of a lunatic asylum." - -They were married, and Charlie went back to the grouse, and the painter -went back to the cottage and Mrs. Penfold, leaving the young couple to -have their gay time of it in the gayest city of the world. It was not -particularly gay after all, but it was ecstatically joyous. They went -to the theaters and concerts and enjoyed themselves like boy and girl, -and Leycester found himself continually amazed at the youthfulness -which remained in him. - -"I have begun to live for the first time," he declared one day. "I only -existed before." - -As for Stella, the days went by in a sort of ecstatic dream, and only a -little cloud lined the golden sky--the earl and countess still hardened -their hearts. - -Though not a week passed without bringing a letter full of love -and longing from Lilian, the old people made no sign. In the proud -countess' eyes her son's wife was still Stella Etheridge, the painter's -niece, and she could not forgive her for--making Leycester happy. It -would have made Stella miserable if anything could have done so, but -Leycester's love and watchful care often kept the cloud back--for a -time. - -They stayed in Paris until a little bijou place in Park Lane was ready, -then they went home and took quiet possession. - -It was the most charming of little nests--Leycester had given Jackson -and Graham _carte blanche_--and formed a fitting casket for the -beautiful young viscountess. - -"After all, Ley," she said, as she sat upon his knee on their first -evening and looked round her exquisite room, "it is almost as good as -the little laborer's cottage I used to picture for myself." - -"Yes, it only needs that I should sit in my shirt sleeves and smoke a -long pipe, doesn't it?" he said, laughing. - -For some weeks they did almost lead an isolated life; they were always -together, never tired or wearied of each other. Of Stella, with her -exquisite variety, with her ever changing mirth and rare, delicate -wit, it would certainly have been difficult for any man to tire, and -what woman would have wearied of the devoted attention of such a man -as Leycester! They lived quietly for a little time, but as the season -commenced people got scent of them, and soon the world swooped down -upon them. - -Stella protested at first, but she was powerless to resist, and -soon the names of Lord and Lady Trevor appeared in the fashionable -lists. Then came a surprise. Like Lord Byron, she woke one morning to -find herself famous; the world had pronounced her a beauty, and had -elected her to one of its thrones. Men almost fought for the honor of -inserting their names upon her ball-cards; women copied her dress, -and envied her; the photographers would have hung her portraits in -their windows if she had not been too wary to have one taken. She had -become a reigning queen. Leycester did not mind; he knew her too well -to be afraid that it would spoil her, and it amused him to find that -the world was rowing in the same boat with him--had gone mad over his -little Stella. - -Now it was a gay time, but still the countess made no sign. The -Wyndwards were away on the continent in the winter, and in the spring -they went down to the Hall. Letters came from Lilian regularly, and she -grew more pathetic as time rolled on, she was pining for Leycester. -Stella urged him to sink his pride and go down to the Hall, but he -would not. - -"Where I go I take my wife," he said, in his quiet way, and Stella knew -that it was useless to urge him. - -But one day when it chanced that Stella was at home resting after a -grand ball at which she had reigned supreme, a brougham drove up to -the door, and while she was just preparing to say "not at home," the -servant opened the door of the boudoir, and there stood the tall, -graceful, lady-like figure of Lilian. - -Stella sprang forward and caught her in her arms, with a cry that -brought Leycester bounding up-stairs. - -The two girls clung to each other for at least five minutes, crying -softly, and uttering little piteous monosyllables, after the manner of -their kind; then Lilian turned to Leycester. - -"Oh, Ley, don't be angry. I've come!" she cried. - -"So I see, Lil," he said, kissing her. "And how glad we are I need not -say." - -"And she shall never go again, shall she?" exclaimed Stella, with her -arm round the fragile form. - -"Why, I don't mean to!" said Lilian, piteously. "You won't send me -away, will you, Stella? I can't live without him, I can't indeed. You -will let me stay, won't you? I shan't be in the way. I'll creep into a -corner, and efface myself; and I shan't be very much trouble, because I -am so much stronger now, and--oh, you will let me stay?" - -There is no need to set down in hard, cold, black letters their answer. - -"There is only one thing more I want to make my happiness complete," -said Stella; and they knew that she meant the reconciliation of -Leycester with the old people. - -So Lilian stayed, and made an additional sunshine and joy in the little -house; and it amused Leycester to see how soon she too fell at the feet -of the new beauty and worshipped her. - -"If any one could be too good for you, Ley," she said, "Stella would be -that one." - -Well, time passed; the season was at its height, and the countess came -to town. The earl had been in his place in the Upper House from the -beginning of the season, of course; but the countess had remained at -the Hall nursing her disappointment. She came up in time for one of -the State balls, at which her presence was indispensable. It was the -great official ball of the season, and crowded to excess. The countess -arrived with the earl just before the small hours, and after the usual -ceremonies and exchanges of salutations with the great world which she -had left for so many months, she had time to look round the room. She -did so with a little inward tremor, for she knew that Leycester and -"his wife" were to be present. To her relief--and disappointment--they -had not arrived. For all her pride and hauteur the mother's heart ached. - -But if they were not there, their reputation had preceded them. She -heard Stella's name every five minutes, heard the greatest in the land -regretting her absence, and wondering what kept her away. - -Presently, toward two o'clock, there was a perceptible stir in the -magnificent salon, and the murmur went up: - -"Lord and Lady Trevor!" - -The countess turned pale for a moment, then looked toward the door -and saw a beautiful woman--or a girl still--entering, leaning upon -Leycester's arm. Society does for a man or woman what a lapidary does -for a precious stone. It was precious when it first came into his -hands, but when it leaves them it is polished! Stella had become, if -the word is allowable when applied to her, the pink of refinement and -delicacy, "polished." She had learnt, unconsciously, to wear diamonds, -and that with princes. As she came in now, a crowd of "the best" people -came round her and did homage, and the countess, looking on, saw with -her own eyes, what she had heard rumored, that this daughter-in-law of -hers, this penniless niece, had become a power in the land. It amazed -her at first, but as she watched she lost her wonder. It was only -natural and reasonable; there was no more beautiful or noble looking -woman in the room. - -The band began to play a waltz, the crowds began to move, dancing and -promenading. The countess sat amongst the dowagers, pale and smiling, -but with an aching heart. Where was Leycester? Presently four persons -approached her. Charlie, with Stella on his arm, Leycester with another -lady. Suddenly, not seeing her, Charlie stopped, and Stella turning, -found herself face to face with the countess. - -For a moment the proud woman melted, then she hardened her heart and -turned her head aside. - -Leycester, who been been watching, passed in front of her, and he put -his hand out. - -"Leycester!" - -But he drew Stella's arm within his--she was white and trembling--and -looking his mother in the face sternly, passed on with Stella. - -"Take me home, Leycester," she moaned. "Oh, take me home! How can she -be so cruel?" - -But he would not. - -"No," he said. "This is your place as much as hers. My poor mother, I -pity her. Oh, pride, pride! You must stay." - -Of course the incident had been noticed and remarked, and, amongst the -persons who had seen it was a prince of the blood. - -This distinguished individual was not only a prince but a -gentle-hearted man, and as princes can take things as they please, he -disregarded the best name on his ball programme and walking straight up -to Stella, begged with that grand humility which distinguishes him, for -the honor of her hand. - -Stella, pale and beautifully pathetic in her trouble, faltered an -excuse, an excuse to a royal command. - -But he would not take it. - -"A few turns only, Lady Trevor, I implore. I will take care of her, -Leycester," he added in a murmur, and he led Stella away. - -They took a few turns, then he stopped. - -"You are tired," he said: "will you let me take you into the cool?" - -He drew her arm through his, but instead of "taking her into the cool," -as he phrased it, in his genial way, he marched straight up to the -countess. - -"Lady Wyndward," he said; and his clear, musical voice was just audible -to those around, "your daughter has been too gracious to her devoted -adherents, and tired herself in the mazy dance. I resign her to your -maternal care." - -Stella would have shrunk back, but the countess, who knew what was due -to royalty, rose and took the fair, round arm in her matronly one. - -"Come," she said, "his royal highness is right--you must rest." - -All in a dream, Stella allowed herself to be led into a shaded recess, -all fresh with ferns and exotica. Then she woke, and murmuring-- - -"Thank you," was for flying; but the countess held out her arms -suddenly, and for the first time--well, for many years--burst into -tears, not noisy sobbing, but quiet, flooding tears. - -"Oh, my dear!" she murmured, brokenly. "Forgive me! I am only a proud, -wicked old woman!" - -Stella was in her arms in an instant, and thus Leycester found them. - -When old Lady Longford heard of this scene, she was immensely amused in -her cynical way. - -"It would have served you right my dear," she told the countess, "if -she had turned round and said, 'Yes, you are a very wicked old woman,' -and walked off." - -So Stella's cup of happiness was full to the brim. - -It is not empty yet, and will not be while Love stands with upraised -hand to replenish it. - -She is a girl still, even now that there is a young Leycester to run -about the old man's studio and upset the pictures and add to the -litter, and it is the old painter's oft expressed opinion that she will -be a girl to the end of the chapter. - -"Stella, you see," he is fond of remarking, whenever he hears her -sweet voice carolling about the little cottage--and it is as often -heard there as at the Hall--"Stella, you see, was born in Italy, and -Italians--good Italians--never grow old. They manage to keep a heart -alive in their bosoms and laughter on their lips at a period when -people of colder climes are gloomy and morosely composing their own -epitaphs. There is one comfort for you, Leycester, you have got a wife -who will never grow old." - - -[THE END.] - - - - -Great Stories by a Great Author - -_The New Fiction Series_ - -ISSUED QUARTERLY - - -Letters of congratulation have been showered upon us from all over the -country by enthusiastic readers who say that had we not announced that -Mr. Cook wrote all of these stories, it would have been very difficult -to determine it. - -The reason is that Mr. Cook is a widely traveled man and has, -therefore, been enabled to lay the plot of one of his stories in the -"land of little rain," another on the high seas, another in Spain and -Spanish America, and to write a railroad story that a reader of thirty -years' experience decided must have been written by a veteran railroad -man. If stories of vigorous adventure are wanted, stories that are -drawn true to life and give that thrill which all really good fiction -ought to give, the books listed here are what you want. - - - _ALL TITLES ALWAYS IN PRINT_ - - TO THE PUBLIC:--These books are sold by news dealers everywhere. If - your dealer does not keep them, and will not get them for you, send - direct to the publishers, in which case four cents must be added to - the price per copy to cover postage. - - - _By WILLIAM WALLACE COOK_ - - 1--The Desert Argonaut. - 2--A Quarter to Four. - 3--Thorndyke, of the "Bonita." - 4--A Round Trip of the Year 2000. - 5--The Gold Gleaners. - 6--The Spur of Necessity. - 7--The Mysterious Mission. - 8--The Goal of a Million. - 9--Marooned in 1492. - 10--Running the Signal. - 11--His Friend, the Enemy. - 12--In the Web. - 13--A Deep Sea Game. - 14--The Paymaster's Special. - 15--Adrift in the Unknown. - 16--Jim Dexter, Cattleman. - 17--Juggling With Liberty. - 18--Back From Bedlam. - 19--A River Tangle. - 20--An Innocent Outlaw. - 21--Billionaire Pro Tem and the Trail of the Billy Doo. - 22--Rogers of Butte. - 23--In the Wake of the "Simitar." - 24--His Audacious Highness. - 25--At Daggers Drawn. - 26--The Eighth Wonder. - 27--The Catspaw. - 28--The Cotton Bag. - 29--Little Miss Vassar. - 30--Cast Away at the Pole. - 31--The Testing of Noyes. - 32--The Fateful Seventh. - 33--Montana. - 34--The Deserter. - 35--The Sheriff of Broken Bow. - 36--Wanted--A Highwayman. - 37--Frisbie, of San Antone. - 38--His Last Dollar. Published during Jan., 1913. - 39--Fools for Luck. Published during March, 1913. - 40--Dare, of Darling & Co. Published during May, 1913 - 41--Trailing the "Josephine." - - - - -BERTHA CLAY LIBRARY - -ISSUED SEMI-MONTHLY - - -The only complete line of Bertha M. Clay's stories. Many of these -titles are copyrighted and cannot be found in any other edition. - - - ALL TITLES ALWAYS IN PRINT - - TO THE PUBLIC:--These books are sold by news dealers everywhere. If - your dealer does not keep them, and will not get them for you, send - direct to the publishers, in which case four cents must be added to - the price per copy to cover postage. - - 1--A Bitter Atonement. - 2--Dora Thorne. - 3--A Golden Heart. - 4--Lord Lisle's Daughter. - 5--The Mystery of Colde Fell; or, "Not Proven." - 6--Diana's Discipline; or, Sunshine and Roses. - 7--A Dark Marriage Morn. - 8--Hilda's Lover; or, The False Vow; or, Lady Hutton's Ward. - 9--Her Mother's Sin; or, A Bright Wedding Day. - 10--One Against Many. - 11--For Another's Sin; or, A Struggle for Love. - 12--At War With Herself. - 13--Evelyn's Folly. - 14--A Haunted Life. - 15--Lady Damer's Secret. - 16--His Wife's Judgment. - 17--Lady Castlemaine's Divorce; or, Put Asunder. - 19--Two Fair Women; or, Which Loved Him Best? - 21--Wife In Name Only. - 22--The Sin of a Lifetime. - 23--The World Between Them. - 24--Prince Charlie's Daughter. - 25--A Thorn in Her Heart. - 26--A Struggle for a Ring. - 27--The Shadow of a Sin. - 28--A Rose In Thorns. - 29--A Woman's Love Story. - 30--The Romance of a Black Veil. - 31--Redeemed by Love; or, Love's Conflict; or, Love Works Wonders. - 32--Lord Lynne's Choice. - 33--Set in Diamonds. - 34--The Romance of a Young Girl; or, The Heiress of Hill-drop. - 35--A Woman's War. - 36--On Her Wedding Morn, and Her Only Sin. - 37--Weaker Than a Woman. - 38--Love's Warfare. - 40--A Nameless Sin. - 41--A Mad Love. - 42--Hilary's Folly; or, Her Marriage Vow. - 43--Madolin's Lover. - 44--The Belle of Lynn; or, The Miller's Daughter. - 45--Lover and Husband. - 46--Beauty's Marriage, and Between Two Sins. - 47--The Duke's Secret. - 48--Her Second Love. - 49--Addie's Husband, and Arnold's Promise. - 50--A True Magdalen; or, One False Step. - 51--For a Woman's Honor. - 52--Claribel's Love Story; or, Love's Hidden Depths. - 53--A Fiery Ordeal. - 54--The Gipsy's Daughter. - 55--Golden Gates. - 56--The Squire's Darling, and Walter's Wooing. - 57--Violet Lisle. - 58--Griselda. - 59--One False Step. - 60--A Heart's Idol. - 61--The Earl's Error, and Letty Leigh. - 63--Another Woman's Husband. - 64--Wedded and Parted, and Fair But False. - 65--His Perfect Trust. - 66--Gladys Greye. - 67--In Love's Crucible. - 68--'Twixt Love and Hate. - 69--Fair But Faithless. - 70--A Heart's Bitterness. - 71--Marjorie Dean. - 72--Between Two Hearts. - 73--Her Martyrdom. - 74--Thorns and Orange Blossoms. - 75--A Bitter Bondage. - 76--A Guiding Star. - 77--A Fair Mystery. - 78--Another Man's Wife. - 79--An Ideal Love. - 80--The Earl's Atonement. - 81--Between Two Loves. - 82--A Dead Heart, and Love for a Day. - 83--A Fatal Dower. - 84--Lady Latimer's Escape, and Other Stories. - 85--A Woman's Error. - 86--Guelda. - 87--Beyond Pardon. - 88--If Love Be Love. - 89--A Coquette's Conquest. - 90--In Cupid's Net, and So Near and Yet So Far. - 91--Under a Shadow. - 92--At Any Cost, and A Modern Cinderella. - 94--Margery Daw. - 95--A Woman's Temptation. - 96--The Actor's Ward. - 97--Repented at Leisure. - 98--James Gordon's Wife. - 99--For Life and Love, and More Bitter Than Death. - 100--In Shallow Waters. - 101--A Broken Wedding Ring. - 102--Dream Faces. - 103--Two Kisses, and The Fatal Lilies. - 105--A Hidden Terror. - 106--Wedded Hands. - 107--From Out the Gloom. - 108--Her First Love. - 109--A Bitter Reckoning. - 110--Thrown on the World. - 111--Irene's Vow. - 112--His Wedded Wife. - 113--Lord Elesmere's Wife. - 114--A Woman's Vengeance. - 115--A Queen Amongst Women, and An Unnatural Bondage. - 116--The Queen of the County. - 117--A Struggle for the Right. - 118--The Paths of Love. - 119--Blossom and Fruit. - 120--The Story of an Error. - 121--The White Witch. - 123--Lady Muriel's Secret. - 124--The Hidden Sin. - 125--For a Dream's Sake. - 126--The Gambler's Wife. - 127--A Great Mistake. - 128--Society's Verdict. - 129--Lady Gwendoline's Dream. - 130--The Rival Heiresses. - 131--A Bride from the Sea, and Other Stories. - 132--A Woman's Trust. - 133--A Dream of Love. - 134--The Sins of the Father. - 135--For Love of Her. - 136--A Loving Maid. - 137--A Heart of Gold. - 138--The Price of a Bride. - 139--Love in a Mask. - 140--A Woman's Witchery. - 141--The Burden of a Secret. - 142--One Woman's Sin. - 143--How Will It End? - 144--The Hand Without a Wedding Ring. - 145--A Sinful Secret. - 146--Lady Marchmont's Widowhood. - 147--The Broken Trust. - 148--Lady Ethel's Whim. - 149--A Wife's Peril. - 150--The Tragedy of Lime Hall. - 151--Lady Ona's Sin. - 152--A Bitter Courtship. - 153--A Tragedy of Love and Hate. - 154--A Stolen Heart. - 155--Every Inch a Queen. - 156--A Maid's Misery. - 157--Love's Redemption. - 158--The Sunshine of His Life. - 159--The Lost Lady of Haddon. - 160--The Love of Lady Aurelia. - 161--His Great Temptation. - 162--An Evil Heart. - 163--Gladys' Wedding Day. - 164--Lost for Love. - 165--On With the New Love. - 168--A Fateful Passion. - 169--A Captive Heart. - 170--A Deceptive Lover. - 171--An Untold Passion. - 172--A Purchased Love. - 173--The Queen of His Soul. - 174--A Pilgrim of Love. - 175--The Girl of His Heart. - 176--A Wife's Devotion. - 177--The Price of Love. - 178--When Love and Hate Conflict. - 180--A Misguided Love. - 181--The Chains of Jealousy. - 182--A Loveless Engagement. - 183--A Heart's Worship. - 184--A Queen Triumphant. - 185--Between Love and Ambition. - 186--True Love's Reward. - 187--A Poisoned Heart. - 188--What It Cost Her. - 189--Paying the Penalty. - 190--The Old Love or the New? - 191--Her Honored Name. - 192--A Coquette's Victim. - 193--An Ocean of Love. - 194--Sweeter Than Life. - 195--For Her Heart's Sake. - 196--Her Beautiful Foe. - 197--A Soul Ensnared. - 198--A Heart Forlorn. - 199--Strong in Her Love. - 200--Fair as a Lily. - 205--Her Bitter Sorrow. - 210--Hester's Husband. - 215--An Artful Plotter. - 228--A Vixen's Love. - 232--The Dawn of Love. - 236--Love's Coronet. - 237--The Unbroken Vow. - 238--Her Heart's Hero. - 239--An Exacting Love. - 240--A Wild Rose. - 241--In Defiance of Fate. - 242--Lack of Gold. - 244--Two True Hearts. - 245--Baffled by Fate. - 246--Two Men and a Maid. - 247--A Cruel Revenge. - 248--The Flower of Love. - 249--Mistress of Her Fate. - 250--The Wooing of a Maid. - 251--A Blighted Blossom. - 252--Love's Conquest. - 253--For Old Love's Sake. - 254--Love's Debt. - 255--Her Heart's Victory. - 256--Tender and True. - 257--The Love He Spurned. - 258--Withered Flowers. - 259--When Woman Wills. - 260--Love's Twilight. - 261--True to His First Love. - 262--Suffered in Silence. - 263--A Modest Passion. - 264--Beyond All Dreams. - 265--Loved and Lost. - 266--The Bride of the Manor. - 267--Love, the Avenger. - 268--Wedded at Dawn. - 269--A Shattered Romance. - 270--With Love at the Helm. - 271--Her Faith Rewarded. - 272--Love Finds a Way. - 273--An Ardent Wooing. - 274--Love Grown Cold. - 275--Love Hath Wings. - 276--When Hot Tears Flow. - 277--The Wages of Deceit. - 278--Love and the World. - 279--Love's Sweet Hour. - 280--Faithful and True. - 281--Sunshine and Shadow. - 282--For Love or Wealth? - 283--A Crown of Faith. - 284--The Harvest of Sin. - 285--A Secret Sorrow. - 286--In Quest of Love. - 287--Beyond Atonement. - 288--A Girl's Awakening. - 289--The Hero of Her Dreams. - 290--Love's Burden. - 291--Only a Flirt. - 292--When Love is Kind. - 293--An Elusive Lover. - 294--The Hour of Temptation. - 295--Where Love Leads. - 296--Her Struggle With Love. - 297--In Spite of Fate. - 298--Can This Be Love? - 299--The Love of His Youth. - 300--Enchained by Passion. - 301--The New Love or the Old? - 302--At Her Heart's Command. - 303--Cast Upon His Care. - 304--All Else Forgot. - 305--Sinner or Victim? - 307--Answered in Jest. - 308--Her Heart's Problem. - 309--Rich in His Love. - 310--For Better, For Worse. - 311--Love's Caprice. - 312--When Hearts Are Young. - 314--In the Golden City. - 315--A Love Victorious. - 316--Her Heart's Delight. - 317--The Heart of His Heart. - 318--Even This Sacrifice. - 319--Love's Crown Jewel. - 320--Suffered in Vain. - 321--In Love's Bondage. - 322--Lady Viola's Secret. - 323--Adrift on Love's Tide. - 324--The Quest of His Heart. - 325--Under Cupid's Seal. - 326--Earlescourt's Love. - 327--Dearer Than Life. - 328--Toward Love's Goal. - 329--Her Heart's Surrender. - 330--Tempted to Forget. - 331--The Love That Blinds. - 332--A Daughter of Misfortune. - 333--When False Tongues Speak. - 334--A Tempting Offer. - 335--With Love's Strong Bonds. - 336--That Plain Little Girl. - 337--And This is Love! - 338--The Secret of Estcourt. - 339--For His Love's Sake. - 340--Outside Love's Door. - 341--At Love's Fountain. - 342--A Lucky Girl. - 343--A Dream Come True. - 344--By Love's Order. - 345--Fettered for Life. - 346--Beyond the Shadow. - 347--The Love That Won. - 348--Fair to Look Upon. - 349--A Daughter of Eve. - 350--When Cupid Frowns. - 351--The Wiles of Love. - 352--What the World Said. - 353--Mabel and May. - 354--Her Love and His. - 355--A Captive Fairy. - 356--Her Sacred Trust. - 357--A Child of Caprice. - 358--He Dared to Love. - 359--While the World Scoffed. - 360--On Love's Highway. - 361--One of Love's Slaves. - 362--The Lure of the Flame. - 363--A Love in the Balance. - 364--A Woman of Whims. - 365--In a Siren's Web. - 366--The Tie That Binds. - 367--Love's Harsh Mandate. - 368--Love's Carnival. - 369--With Heart and Voice. - 370--In Love's Hands. - 371--Hearts of Oak. - 372--A Garland of Love. - 373--Among Love's Briers. - 374--Love Never Fails. - 375--The Other Man's Choice. - 376--A Lady of Quality. - 377--On Love's Demand. - 378--A Fugitive from Love. - 379--His Sweetheart's Promise - 380--The Schoolgirl Bride. - 381--Her One Ambition. - 382--Love for Love. - 383--His Fault or Hers? - 384--New Loves for Old. - 385--Her Proudest Possession. - 386--Cupid Always Wins. - 387--Love is Life Indeed. - 388--When Scorn Greets Love. - 389--Love's Potent Charm. - 390--By Love Alone. - 391--When Love Conspires. - 392--No Thought of Harm. - 393--Cupid's Prank. - 394--A Sad Awakening. - 395--What Could She Do? - 396--Sharing His Burden. - 397--Steadfast in Her Love. - 398--A Love Despised. - 399--One Life, One Love. - 400--When Hope is Lost. - 401--A Heart Unclaimed. - 402--His Dearest Wish. - 403--Her Cup of Sorrow. - 404--When Love is Curbed. - 405--A Pitiful Mistake. - 406--A Love Profound. - 407--A Bitter Sacrifice. - 408--What Love is Worth. - 409--When Life's Roses Bloom. - 410--Her Only Choice. - 411--Forged on Love's Anvil. - 412--She Hated Him! - 413--When Love's Charm is Broken. - 414--Led by Destiny. - - Published during January, 1913. - - 415--When Others Sneered. - 416--Golden Fetters. - - - Published during February, 1913. - - 417--The Love That Prospered. - 418--The Song of the Siren. - - - Published during March, 1913. - - 419--Love's Gentle Whisper. - 420--The Girl Who Won. - - - Published during April, 1913. - - 421--The Love That Was Stifled. - 422--The Love of a Lifetime. - - - Published during May, 1913. - - 423--Her One Mistake. - 424--At War With Fate. - - - Published during June, 1913. - - 425--When Love Lures. - 426--'Twixt Wealth and Want. - - - Published during July, 1913 - - 427--Love's Pleasant Dreams. - -In order that there may be no confusion, we desire to say that the -books listed above will be issued, during the respective months, in New -York City and vicinity. They may not reach the readers, at a distance, -promptly, on account of delays in transportation. - - - - -BEST COPYRIGHTS - -[Illustration] - - -Years ago, one of our readers said that the S. & S. novels were "the -right books at the right price," and the term still applies to all of -the 3000 titles in the S. & S. lines. - -Our novels are principally copyrights by the best authors, such as: - - =CHARLES GARVICE= - =MRS. GEORGIE SHELDON= - =NICHOLAS CARTER= - =RICHARD MARSH= - =BURT L. STANDISH= - =GERALDINE FLEMING= - =IDA READE ALLEN= - =E. PHILLIPS OPPENHEIM= - -and dozens of others whose work usually appears between cloth covers. - -Send for our complete catalogue. You will be surprised at the value it -contains. - -[Illustration] - - -STREET & SMITH :: Publishers :: NEW YORK - - - - - * * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber's note: - -Numerous printer errors have been corrected. There were so many printer -errors that these have been corrected without being documented. The -author's original spelling, punctuation and hyphenation have been left -intact. - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ONLY A GIRL'S LOVE*** - - -******* This file should be named 53416.txt or 53416.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/5/3/4/1/53416 - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. 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