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+Project Gutenberg's Behind A Mask, Or A Woman's Power, by A. M. Barnard
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere 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
+
+
+Title: Behind A Mask, Or A Woman's Power
+
+Author: A. M. Barnard
+
+
+Release Date: August, 2005  [EBook #8677]
+This file was first posted on July 31, 2003
+Last Updated: April 24, 2013
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BEHIND A MASK, OR A WOMAN'S POWER ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Beginners Projects, Martin Agren and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+BEHIND A MASK _OR_ A WOMAN'S POWER
+
+By A.M. Barnard
+
+
+
+
+_Chapter I_
+
+
+JEAN MUIR
+
+"Has she come?"
+
+"No, Mamma, not yet."
+
+"I wish it were well over. The thought of it worries and excites me. A
+cushion for my back, Bella."
+
+And poor, peevish Mrs. Coventry sank into an easy chair with a nervous
+sigh and the air of a martyr, while her pretty daughter hovered about
+her with affectionate solicitude.
+
+"Who are they talking of, Lucia?" asked the languid young man lounging
+on a couch near his cousin, who bent over her tapestry work with a happy
+smile on her usually haughty face.
+
+"The new governess, Miss Muir. Shall I tell you about her?"
+
+"No, thank you. I have an inveterate aversion to the whole tribe. I've
+often thanked heaven that I had but one sister, and she a spoiled child,
+so that I have escaped the infliction of a governess so long."
+
+"How will you bear it now?" asked Lucia.
+
+"Leave the house while she is in it."
+
+"No, you won't. You're too lazy, Gerald," called out a younger and more
+energetic man, from the recess where he stood teasing his dogs.
+
+"I'll give her a three days' trial; if she proves endurable I shall not
+disturb myself; if, as I am sure, she is a bore, I'm off anywhere,
+anywhere out of her way."
+
+"I beg you won't talk in that depressing manner, boys. I dread the
+coming of a stranger more than you possibly can, but Bella _must_ not be
+neglected; so I have nerved myself to endure this woman, and Lucia is
+good enough to say she will attend to her after tonight."
+
+"Don't be troubled, Mamma. She is a nice person, I dare say, and when
+once we are used to her, I've no doubt we shall be glad to have her,
+it's so dull here just now. Lady Sydney said she was a quiet,
+accomplished, amiable girl, who needed a home, and would be a help to
+poor stupid me, so try to like her for my sake."
+
+"I will, dear, but isn't it getting late? I do hope nothing has
+happened. Did you tell them to send a carriage to the station for
+her, Gerald?"
+
+"I forgot it. But it's not far, it won't hurt her to walk" was the
+languid reply.
+
+"It was indolence, not forgetfulness, I know. I'm very sorry; she will
+think it so rude to leave her to find her way so late. Do go and see
+to it, Ned."
+
+"Too late, Bella, the train was in some time ago. Give your orders to me
+next time. Mother and I'll see that they are obeyed," said Edward.
+
+"Ned is just at an age to make a fool of himself for any girl who
+comes in his way. Have a care of the governess, Lucia, or she will
+bewitch him."
+
+Gerald spoke in a satirical whisper, but his brother heard him and
+answered with a good-humored laugh.
+
+"I wish there was any hope of your making a fool of yourself in that
+way, old fellow. Set me a good example, and I promise to follow it. As
+for the governess, she is a woman, and should be treated with common
+civility. I should say a little extra kindness wouldn't be amiss,
+either, because she is poor, and a stranger."
+
+"That is my dear, good-hearted Ned! We'll stand by poor little Muir,
+won't we?" And running to her brother, Bella stood on tiptoe to offer
+him a kiss which he could not refuse, for the rosy lips were pursed up
+invitingly, and the bright eyes full of sisterly affection.
+
+"I do hope she has come, for, when I make an effort to see anyone, I
+hate to make it in vain. Punctuality is _such_ a virtue, and I know this
+woman hasn't got it, for she promised to be here at seven, and now it is
+long after," began Mrs. Coventry, in an injured tone.
+
+Before she could get breath for another complaint, the clock struck
+seven and the doorbell rang.
+
+"There she is!" cried Bella, and turned toward the door as if to go and
+meet the newcomer.
+
+But Lucia arrested her, saying authoritatively, "Stay here, child. It is
+her place to come to you, not yours to go to her."
+
+"Miss Muir," announced a servant, and a little black-robed figure stood
+in the doorway. For an instant no one stirred, and the governess had
+time to see and be seen before a word was uttered. All looked at her,
+and she cast on the household group a keen glance that impressed them
+curiously; then her eyes fell, and bowing slightly she walked in. Edward
+came forward and received her with the frank cordiality which nothing
+could daunt or chill.
+
+"Mother, this is the lady whom you expected. Miss Muir, allow me to
+apologize for our apparent neglect in not sending for you. There was a
+mistake about the carriage, or, rather, the lazy fellow to whom the
+order was given forgot it. Bella, come here."
+
+"Thank you, no apology is needed. I did not expect to be sent for." And
+the governess meekly sat down without lifting her eyes.
+
+"I am glad to see you. Let me take your things," said Bella, rather
+shyly, for Gerald, still lounging, watched the fireside group with
+languid interest, and Lucia never stirred. Mrs. Coventry took a second
+survey and began:
+
+"You were punctual, Miss Muir, which pleases me. I'm a sad invalid, as
+Lady Sydney told you, I hope; so that Miss Coventry's lessons will be
+directed by my niece, and you will go to her for directions, as she
+knows what I wish. You will excuse me if I ask you a few questions, for
+Lady Sydney's note was very brief, and I left everything to her
+judgment."
+
+"Ask anything you like, madam," answered the soft, sad voice.
+
+"You are Scotch, I believe."
+
+"Yes, madam."
+
+"Are your parents living?"
+
+"I have not a relation in the world."
+
+"Dear me, how sad! Do you mind telling me your age?"
+
+"Nineteen." And a smile passed over Miss Muir's lips, as she folded her
+hands with an air of resignation, for the catechism was evidently to be
+a long one.
+
+"So young! Lady Sydney mentioned five-and-twenty, I think, didn't
+she, Bella?"
+
+"No, Mamma, she only said she thought so. Don't ask such questions. It's
+not pleasant before us all," whispered Bella.
+
+A quick, grateful glance shone on her from the suddenly lifted eyes of
+Miss Muir, as she said quietly, "I wish I was thirty, but, as I am not,
+I do my best to look and seem old."
+
+Of course, every one looked at her then, and all felt a touch of pity at
+the sight of the pale-faced girl in her plain black dress, with no
+ornament but a little silver cross at her throat. Small, thin, and
+colorless she was, with yellow hair, gray eyes, and sharply cut,
+irregular, but very expressive features. Poverty seemed to have set its
+bond stamp upon her, and life to have had for her more frost than
+sunshine. But something in the lines of the mouth betrayed strength, and
+the clear, low voice had a curious mixture of command and entreaty in
+its varying tones. Not an attractive woman, yet not an ordinary one;
+and, as she sat there with her delicate hands lying in her lap, her head
+bent, and a bitter look on her thin face, she was more interesting than
+many a blithe and blooming girl. Bella's heart warmed to her at once,
+and she drew her seat nearer, while Edward went back to his dogs that
+his presence might not embarrass her.
+
+"You have been ill, I think," continued Mrs. Coventry, who considered
+this fact the most interesting of all she had heard concerning the
+governess.
+
+"Yes, madam, I left the hospital only a week ago."
+
+"Are you quite sure it is safe to begin teaching so soon?"
+
+"I have no time to lose, and shall soon gain strength here in the
+country, if you care to keep me."
+
+"And you are fitted to teach music, French, and drawing?"
+
+"I shall endeavor to prove that I am."
+
+"Be kind enough to go and play an air or two. I can judge by your touch;
+I used to play finely when a girl."
+
+Miss Muir rose, looked about her for the instrument, and seeing it at
+the other end of the room went toward it, passing Gerald and Lucia as if
+she did not see them. Bella followed, and in a moment forgot everything
+in admiration. Miss Muir played like one who loved music and was perfect
+mistress of her art. She charmed them all by the magic of this spell;
+even indolent Gerald sat up to listen, and Lucia put down her needle,
+while Ned watched the slender white fingers as they flew, and wondered
+at the strength and skill which they possessed.
+
+"Please sing," pleaded Bella, as a brilliant overture ended.
+
+With the same meek obedience Miss Muir complied, and began a little
+Scotch melody, so sweet, so sad, that the girl's eyes filled, and Mrs.
+Coventry looked for one of her many pocket-handkerchiefs. But suddenly
+the music ceased, for, with a vain attempt to support herself, the
+singer slid from her seat and lay before the startled listeners, as
+white and rigid as if struck with death. Edward caught her up, and,
+ordering his brother off the couch, laid her there, while Bella chafed
+her hands, and her mother rang for her maid. Lucia bathed the poor
+girl's temples, and Gerald, with unwonted energy, brought a glass of
+wine. Soon Miss Muir's lips trembled, she sighed, then murmured,
+tenderly, with a pretty Scotch accent, as if wandering in the past,
+"Bide wi' me, Mither, I'm sae sick an sad here all alone."
+
+"Take a sip of this, and it will do you good, my dear," said Mrs.
+Coventry, quite touched by the plaintive words.
+
+The strange voice seemed to recall her. She sat up, looked about her, a
+little wildly, for a moment, then collected herself and said, with a
+pathetic look and tone, "Pardon me. I have been on my feet all day, and,
+in my eagerness to keep my appointment, I forgot to eat since morning.
+I'm better now; shall I finish the song?"
+
+"By no means. Come and have some tea," said Bella, full of pity
+and remorse.
+
+"Scene first, very well done," whispered Gerald to his cousin.
+
+Miss Muir was just before them, apparently listening to Mrs. Coventry's
+remarks upon fainting fits; but she heard, and looked over her shoulders
+with a gesture like Rachel. Her eyes were gray, but at that instant they
+seemed black with some strong emotion of anger, pride, or defiance. A
+curious smile passed over her face as she bowed, and said in her
+penetrating voice, "Thanks. The last scene shall be still better."
+
+Young Coventry was a cool, indolent man, seldom conscious of any
+emotion, any passion, pleasurable or otherwise; but at the look, the
+tone of the governess, he experienced a new sensation, indefinable, yet
+strong. He colored and, for the first time in his life, looked abashed.
+Lucia saw it, and hated Miss Muir with a sudden hatred; for, in all the
+years she had passed with her cousin, no look or word of hers had
+possessed such power. Coventry was himself again in an instant, with no
+trace of that passing change, but a look of interest in his usually
+dreamy eyes, and a touch of anger in his sarcastic voice.
+
+"What a melodramatic young lady! I shall go tomorrow."
+
+Lucia laughed, and was well pleased when he sauntered away to bring her
+a cup of tea from the table where a little scene was just taking place.
+Mrs. Coventry had sunk into her chair again, exhausted by the flurry of
+the fainting fit. Bella was busied about her; and Edward, eager to feed
+the pale governess, was awkwardly trying to make the tea, after a
+beseeching glance at his cousin which she did not choose to answer. As
+he upset the caddy and uttered a despairing exclamation, Miss Muir
+quietly took her place behind the urn, saying with a smile, and a shy
+glance at the young man, "Allow me to assume my duty at once, and serve
+you all. I understand the art of making people comfortable in this way.
+The scoop, please. I can gather this up quite well alone, if you will
+tell me how your mother likes her tea."
+
+Edward pulled a chair to the table and made merry over his mishaps,
+while Miss Muir performed her little task with a skill and grace that
+made it pleasant to watch her. Coventry lingered a moment after she had
+given him a steaming cup, to observe her more nearly, while he asked a
+question or two of his brother. She took no more notice of him than if
+he had been a statue, and in the middle of the one remark he addressed
+to her, she rose to take the sugar basin to Mrs. Coventry, who was quite
+won by the modest, domestic graces of the new governess.
+
+"Really, my dear, you are a treasure; I haven't tasted such tea since my
+poor maid Ellis died. Bella never makes it good, and Miss Lucia always
+forgets the cream. Whatever you do you seem to do well, and that is
+_such_ a comfort."
+
+"Let me always do this for you, then. It will be a pleasure, madam." And
+Miss Muir came back to her seat with a faint color in her cheek which
+improved her much.
+
+"My brother asked if young Sydney was at home when you left," said
+Edward, for Gerald would not take the trouble to repeat the question.
+
+Miss Muir fixed her eyes on Coventry, and answered with a slight tremor
+of the lips, "No, he left home some weeks ago."
+
+The young man went back to his cousin, saying, as he threw himself
+down beside her, "I shall not go tomorrow, but wait till the three
+days are out."
+
+"Why?" demanded Lucia.
+
+Lowering his voice he said, with a significant nod toward the governess,
+"Because I have a fancy that she is at the bottom of Sydney's mystery.
+He's not been himself lately, and now he is gone without a word. I
+rather like romances in real life, if they are not too long, or
+difficult to read."
+
+"Do you think her pretty?"
+
+"Far from it, a most uncanny little specimen."
+
+"Then why fancy Sydney loves her?"
+
+"He is an oddity, and likes sensations and things of that sort."
+
+"What do you mean, Gerald?"
+
+"Get the Muir to look at you, as she did at me, and you will understand.
+Will you have another cup, Juno?"
+
+"Yes, please." She liked to have him wait upon her, for he did it to no
+other woman except his mother.
+
+Before he could slowly rise, Miss Muir glided to them with another cup
+on the salver; and, as Lucia took it with a cold nod, the girl said
+under her breath, "I think it honest to tell you that I possess a quick
+ear, and cannot help hearing what is said anywhere in the room. What you
+say of me is of no consequence, but you may speak of things which you
+prefer I should not hear; therefore, allow me to warn you." And she was
+gone again as noiselessly as she came.
+
+"How do you like that?" whispered Coventry, as his cousin sat looking
+after the girl, with a disturbed expression.
+
+"What an uncomfortable creature to have in the house! I am very sorry I
+urged her coming, for your mother has taken a fancy to her, and it will
+be hard to get rid of her," said Lucia, half angry, half amused.
+
+"Hush, she hears every word you say. I know it by the expression of her
+face, for Ned is talking about horses, and she looks as haughty as ever
+you did, and that is saying much. Faith, this is getting interesting."
+
+"Hark, she is speaking; I want to hear," and Lucia laid her hand on her
+cousin's lips. He kissed it, and then idly amused himself with turning
+the rings to and fro on the slender fingers.
+
+"I have been in France several years, madam, but my friend died and I
+came back to be with Lady Sydney, till--" Muir paused an instant, then
+added, slowly, "till I fell ill. It was a contagious fever, so I went of
+my own accord to the hospital, not wishing to endanger her."
+
+"Very right, but are you sure there is no danger of infection now?"
+asked Mrs. Coventry anxiously.
+
+"None, I assure you. I have been well for some time, but did not leave
+because I preferred to stay there, than to return to Lady Sydney."
+
+"No quarrel, I hope? No trouble of any kind?"
+
+"No quarrel, but--well, why not? You have a right to know, and I will
+not make a foolish mystery out of a very simple thing. As your family,
+only, is present, I may tell the truth. I did not go back on the young
+gentleman's account. Please ask no more."
+
+"Ah, I see. Quite prudent and proper, Miss Muir. I shall never allude to
+it again. Thank you for your frankness. Bella, you will be careful not
+to mention this to young friends; girls gossip sadly, and it would annoy
+Lady Sydney beyond everything to have this talked of."
+
+"Very neighborly of Lady S. to send the dangerous young lady here,
+where there are _two_ young gentlemen to be captivated. I wonder why
+she didn't keep Sydney after she had caught him," murmured Coventry to
+his cousin.
+
+"Because she had the utmost contempt for a titled fool." Miss Muir
+dropped the words almost into his ear, as she bent to take her shawl
+from the sofa corner.
+
+"How the deuce did she get there?" ejaculated Coventry, looking as if he
+had received another sensation. "She has spirit, though, and upon my
+word I pity Sydney, if he did try to dazzle her, for he must have got a
+splendid dismissal."
+
+"Come and play billiards. You promised, and I hold you to your word,"
+said Lucia, rising with decision, for Gerald was showing too much
+interest in another to suit Miss Beaufort.
+
+"I am, as ever, your most devoted. My mother is a charming woman, but I
+find our evening parties slightly dull, when only my own family are
+present. Good night, Mamma." He shook hands with his mother, whose pride
+and idol he was, and, with a comprehensive nod to the others, strolled
+after his cousin.
+
+"Now they are gone we can be quite cozy, and talk over things, for I
+don't mind Ned any more than I do his dogs," said Bella, settling
+herself on her mother's footstool.
+
+"I merely wish to say, Miss Muir, that my daughter has never had a
+governess and is sadly backward for a girl of sixteen. I want you to
+pass the mornings with her, and get her on as rapidly as possible. In
+the afternoon you will walk or drive with her, and in the evening sit
+with us here, if you like, or amuse yourself as you please. While in the
+country we are very quiet, for I cannot bear much company, and when my
+sons want gaiety, they go away for it. Miss Beaufort oversees the
+servants, and takes my place as far as possible. I am very delicate and
+keep my room till evening, except for an airing at noon. We will try
+each other for a month, and I hope we shall get on quite comfortably
+together."
+
+"I shall do my best, madam."
+
+One would not have believed that the meek, spiritless voice which
+uttered these words was the same that had startled Coventry a few
+minutes before, nor that the pale, patient face could ever have kindled
+with such sudden fire as that which looked over Miss Muir's shoulder
+when she answered her young host's speech.
+
+Edward thought within himself, Poor little woman! She has had a hard
+life. We will try and make it easier while she is here; and began his
+charitable work by suggesting that she might be tired. She acknowledged
+she was, and Bella led her away to a bright, cozy room, where with a
+pretty little speech and a good-night kiss she left her.
+
+When alone Miss Muir's conduct was decidedly peculiar. Her first act was
+to clench her hands and mutter between her teeth, with passionate force,
+"I'll not fail again if there is power in a woman's wit and will!" She
+stood a moment motionless, with an expression of almost fierce disdain
+on her face, then shook her clenched hand as if menacing some unseen
+enemy. Next she laughed, and shrugged her shoulders with a true French
+shrug, saying low to herself, "Yes, the last scene _shall_ be better
+than the first. _Mon dieu_, how tired and hungry I am!"
+
+Kneeling before the one small trunk which held her worldly possessions,
+she opened it, drew out a flask, and mixed a glass of some ardent
+cordial, which she seemed to enjoy extremely as she sat on the carpet,
+musing, while her quick eyes examined every corner of the room.
+
+"Not bad! It will be a good field for me to work in, and the harder the
+task the better I shall like it. _Merci_, old friend. You put heart and
+courage into me when nothing else will. Come, the curtain is down, so I
+may be myself for a few hours, if actresses ever are themselves."
+
+Still sitting on the floor she unbound and removed the long abundant
+braids from her head, wiped the pink from her face, took out several
+pearly teeth, and slipping off her dress appeared herself indeed, a
+haggard, worn, and moody woman of thirty at least. The metamorphosis was
+wonderful, but the disguise was more in the expression she assumed than
+in any art of costume or false adornment. Now she was alone, and her
+mobile features settled into their natural expression, weary, hard,
+bitter. She had been lovely once, happy, innocent, and tender; but
+nothing of all this remained to the gloomy woman who leaned there
+brooding over some wrong, or loss, or disappointment which had darkened
+all her life. For an hour she sat so, sometimes playing absently with
+the scanty locks that hung about her face, sometimes lifting the glass
+to her lips as if the fiery draught warmed her cold blood; and once she
+half uncovered her breast to eye with a terrible glance the scar of a
+newly healed wound. At last she rose and crept to bed, like one worn out
+with weariness and mental pain.
+
+
+
+
+_Chapter II_
+
+
+A GOOD BEGINNING
+
+Only the housemaids were astir when Miss Muir left her room next morning
+and quietly found her way into the garden. As she walked, apparently
+intent upon the flowers, her quick eye scrutinized the fine old house
+and its picturesque surroundings.
+
+"Not bad," she said to herself, adding, as she passed into the adjoining
+park, "but the other may be better, and I will have the best."
+
+Walking rapidly, she came out at length upon the wide green lawn which
+lay before the ancient hall where Sir John Coventry lived in solitary
+splendor. A stately old place, rich in oaks, well-kept shrubberies, gay
+gardens, sunny terraces, carved gables, spacious rooms, liveried
+servants, and every luxury befitting the ancestral home of a rich and
+honorable race. Miss Muir's eyes brightened as she looked, her step grew
+firmer, her carriage prouder, and a smile broke over her face; the smile
+of one well pleased at the prospect of the success of some cherished
+hope. Suddenly her whole air changed, she pushed back her hat, clasped
+her hands loosely before her, and seemed absorbed in girlish admiration
+of the fair scene that could not fail to charm any beauty-loving eye.
+The cause of this rapid change soon appeared. A hale, handsome man,
+between fifty and sixty, came through the little gate leading to the
+park, and, seeing the young stranger, paused to examine her. He had only
+time for a glance, however; she seemed conscious of his presence in a
+moment, turned with a startled look, uttered an exclamation of surprise,
+and looked as if hesitating whether to speak or run away. Gallant Sir
+John took off his hat and said, with the old-fashioned courtesy which
+became him well, "I beg your pardon for disturbing you, young lady.
+Allow me to atone for it by inviting you to walk where you will, and
+gather what flowers you like. I see you love them, so pray make free
+with those about you."
+
+With a charming air of maidenly timidity and artlessness, Miss Muir
+replied, "Oh, thank you, sir! But it is I who should ask pardon for
+trespassing. I never should have dared if I had not known that Sir John
+was absent. I always wanted to see this fine old place, and ran over the
+first thing, to satisfy myself."
+
+"And _are_ you satisfied?" he asked, with a smile.
+
+"More than satisfied--I'm charmed; for it is the most beautiful spot I
+ever saw, and I've seen many famous seats, both at home and abroad," she
+answered enthusiastically.
+
+"The Hall is much flattered, and so would its master be if he heard
+you," began the gentleman, with an odd expression.
+
+"I should not praise it to him--at least, not as freely as I have to
+you, sir," said the girl, with eyes still turned away.
+
+"Why not?" asked her companion, looking much amused.
+
+"I should be afraid. Not that I dread Sir John; but I've heard so many
+beautiful and noble things about him, and respect him so highly, that I
+should not dare to say much, lest he should see how I admire and--"
+
+"And what, young lady? Finish, if you please."
+
+"I was going to say, love him. I will say it, for he is an old man, and
+one cannot help loving virtue and bravery."
+
+Miss Muir looked very earnest and pretty as she spoke, standing there
+with the sunshine glinting on her yellow hair, delicate face, and
+downcast eyes. Sir John was not a vain man, but he found it pleasant to
+hear himself commended by this unknown girl, and felt redoubled
+curiosity to learn who she was. Too well-bred to ask, or to abash her by
+avowing what she seemed unconscious of, he left both discoveries to
+chance; and when she turned, as if to retrace her steps, he offered her
+the handful of hothouse flowers which he held, saying, with a gallant
+bow, "In Sir John's name let me give you my little nosegay, with thanks
+for your good opinion, which, I assure you, is not entirely deserved,
+for I know him well."
+
+Miss Muir looked up quickly, eyed him an instant, then dropped her eyes,
+and, coloring deeply, stammered out, "I did not know--I beg your
+pardon--you are too kind, Sir John."
+
+He laughed like a boy, asking, mischievously, "Why call me Sir John? How
+do you know that I am not the gardener or the butler?"
+
+"I did not see your face before, and no one but yourself would say that
+any praise was undeserved," murmured Miss Muir, still overcome with
+girlish confusion.
+
+"Well, well, we will let that pass, and the next time you come we will
+be properly introduced. Bella always brings her friends to the Hall, for
+I am fond of young people."
+
+"I am not a friend. I am only Miss Coventry's governess." And Miss Muir
+dropped a meek curtsy. A slight change passed over Sir John's manner.
+Few would have perceived it, but Miss Muir felt it at once, and bit her
+lips with an angry feeling at her heart. With a curious air of pride,
+mingled with respect, she accepted the still offered bouquet, returned
+Sir John's parting bow, and tripped away, leaving the old gentleman to
+wonder where Mrs. Coventry found such a piquant little governess.
+
+"That is done, and very well for a beginning," she said to herself as
+she approached the house.
+
+In a green paddock close by fed a fine horse, who lifted up his head and
+eyed her inquiringly, like one who expected a greeting. Following a
+sudden impulse, she entered the paddock and, pulling a handful of
+clover, invited the creature to come and eat. This was evidently a new
+proceeding on the part of a lady, and the horse careered about as if
+bent on frightening the newcomer away.
+
+"I see," she said aloud, laughing to herself. "I am not your master, and
+you rebel. Nevertheless, I'll conquer you, my fine brute."
+
+Seating herself in the grass, she began to pull daisies, singing idly
+the while, as if unconscious of the spirited prancings of the horse.
+Presently he drew nearer, sniffing curiously and eyeing her with
+surprise. She took no notice, but plaited the daisies and sang on as if
+he was not there. This seemed to pique the petted creature, for, slowly
+approaching, he came at length so close that he could smell her little
+foot and nibble at her dress. Then she offered the clover, uttering
+caressing words and making soothing sounds, till by degrees and with
+much coquetting, the horse permitted her to stroke his glossy neck and
+smooth his mane.
+
+It was a pretty sight--the slender figure in the grass, the
+high-spirited horse bending his proud head to her hand. Edward Coventry,
+who had watched the scene, found it impossible to restrain himself any
+longer and, leaping the wall, came to join the group, saying, with
+mingled admiration and wonder in countenance and voice, "Good morning,
+Miss Muir. If I had not seen your skill and courage proved before my
+eyes, I should be alarmed for your safety. Hector is a wild, wayward
+beast, and has damaged more than one groom who tried to conquer him."
+
+"Good morning, Mr. Coventry. Don't tell tales of this noble creature,
+who has not deceived my faith in him. Your grooms did not know how to
+win his heart, and so subdue his spirit without breaking it."
+
+Miss Muir rose as she spoke, and stood with her hand on Hector's neck
+while he ate the grass which she had gathered in the skirt of her dress.
+
+"You have the secret, and Hector is your subject now, though heretofore
+he has rejected all friends but his master. Will you give him his
+morning feast? I always bring him bread and play with him before
+breakfast."
+
+"Then you are not jealous?" And she looked up at him with eyes so bright
+and beautiful in expression that the young man wondered he had not
+observed them before.
+
+"Not I. Pet him as much as you will; it will do him good. He is a
+solitary fellow, for he scorns his own kind and lives alone, like his
+master," he added, half to himself.
+
+"Alone, with such a happy home, Mr. Coventry?" And a softly
+compassionate glance stole from the bright eyes.
+
+"That was an ungrateful speech, and I retract it for Bella's sake.
+Younger sons have no position but such as they can make for themselves,
+you know, and I've had no chance yet."
+
+"Younger sons! I thought--I beg pardon." And Miss Muir paused, as if
+remembering that she had no right to question.
+
+Edward smiled and answered frankly, "Nay, don't mind me. You thought I
+was the heir, perhaps. Whom did you take my brother for last night?"
+
+"For some guest who admired Miss Beaufort. I did not hear his name, nor
+observe him enough to discover who he was. I saw only your kind mother,
+your charming little sister, and--"
+
+She stopped there, with a half-shy, half-grateful look at the young man
+which finished the sentence better than any words. He was still a boy,
+in spite of his one-and-twenty years, and a little color came into his
+brown cheek as the eloquent eyes met his and fell before them.
+
+"Yes, Bella is a capital girl, and one can't help loving her. I know
+you'll get her on, for, really, she is the most delightful little dunce.
+My mother's ill health and Bella's devotion to her have prevented our
+attending to her education before. Next winter, when we go to town, she
+is to come out, and must be prepared for that great event, you know," he
+said, choosing a safe subject.
+
+"I shall do my best. And that reminds me that I should report myself to
+her, instead of enjoying myself here. When one has been ill and shut up
+a long time, the country is so lovely one is apt to forget duty for
+pleasure. Please remind me if I am negligent, Mr. Coventry."
+
+"That name belongs to Gerald. I'm only Mr. Ned here," he said as they
+walked toward the house, while Hector followed to the wall and sent a
+sonorous farewell after them.
+
+Bella came running to meet them, and greeted Miss Muir as if she had
+made up her mind to like her heartily. "What a lovely bouquet you have
+got! I never can arrange flowers prettily, which vexes me, for Mamma is
+so fond of them and cannot go out herself. You have charming taste," she
+said, examining the graceful posy which Miss Muir had much improved by
+adding feathery grasses, delicate ferns, and fragrant wild flowers to
+Sir John's exotics.
+
+Putting them into Bella's hand, she said, in a winning way, "Take them
+to your mother, then, and ask her if I may have the pleasure of making
+her a daily nosegay; for I should find real delight in doing it, if it
+would please her."
+
+"How kind you are! Of course it would please her. I'll take them to her
+while the dew is still on them." And away flew Bella, eager to give both
+the flowers and the pretty message to the poor invalid.
+
+Edward stopped to speak to the gardener, and Miss Muir went up the steps
+alone. The long hall was lined with portraits, and pacing slowly down it
+she examined them with interest. One caught her eye, and, pausing before
+it, she scrutinized it carefully. A young, beautiful, but very haughty
+female face. Miss Muir suspected at once who it was, and gave a decided
+nod, as if she saw and caught at some unexpected chance. A soft rustle
+behind her made her look around, and, seeing Lucia, she bowed, half
+turned, as if for another glance at the picture, and said, as if
+involuntarily, "How beautiful it is! May I ask if it is an ancestor,
+Miss Beaufort?"
+
+"It is the likeness of my mother" was the reply, given with a softened
+voice and eyes that looked up tenderly.
+
+"Ah, I might have known, from the resemblance, but I scarcely saw you
+last night. Excuse my freedom, but Lady Sydney treated me as a friend,
+and I forget my position. Allow me."
+
+As she spoke, Miss Muir stooped to return the handkerchief which had
+fallen from Lucia's hand, and did so with a humble mien which touched
+the other's heart; for, though a proud, it was also a very generous one.
+
+"Thank you. Are you better, this morning?" she said, graciously. And
+having received an affirmative reply, she added, as she walked on, "I
+will show you to the breakfast room, as Bella is not here. It is a very
+informal meal with us, for my aunt is never down and my cousins are very
+irregular in their hours. You can always have yours when you like,
+without waiting for us if you are an early riser."
+
+Bella and Edward appeared before the others were seated, and Miss Muir
+quietly ate her breakfast, feeling well satisfied with her hour's
+work. Ned recounted her exploit with Hector, Bella delivered her
+mother's thanks for the flowers, and Lucia more than once recalled,
+with pardonable vanity, that the governess had compared her to her
+lovely mother, expressing by a look as much admiration for the living
+likeness as for the painted one. All kindly did their best to make the
+pale girl feel at home, and their cordial manner seemed to warm and
+draw her out; for soon she put off her sad, meek air and entertained
+them with gay anecdotes of her life in Paris, her travels in Russia
+when governess in Prince Jermadoff's family, and all manner of witty
+stories that kept them interested and merry long after the meal was
+over. In the middle of an absorbing adventure, Coventry came in,
+nodded lazily, lifted his brows, as if surprised at seeing the
+governess there, and began his breakfast as if the ennui of another
+day had already taken possession of him. Miss Muir stopped short, and
+no entreaties could induce her to go on.
+
+"Another time I will finish it, if you like. Now Miss Bella and I should
+be at our books." And she left the room, followed by her pupil, taking
+no notice of the young master of the house, beyond a graceful bow in
+answer to his careless nod.
+
+"Merciful creature! she goes when I come, and does not make life
+unendurable by moping about before my eyes. Does she belong to the
+moral, the melancholy, the romantic, or the dashing class, Ned?" said
+Gerald, lounging over his coffee as he did over everything he attempted.
+
+"To none of them; she is a capital little woman. I wish you had seen her
+tame Hector this morning." And Edward repeated his story.
+
+"Not a bad move on her part," said Coventry in reply. "She must be an
+observing as well as an energetic young person, to discover your chief
+weakness and attack it so soon. First tame the horse, and then the
+master. It will be amusing to watch the game, only I shall be under the
+painful necessity of checkmating you both, if it gets serious."
+
+"You needn't exert yourself, old fellow, on my account. If I was not
+above thinking ill of an inoffensive girl, I should say you were the
+prize best worth winning, and advise you to take care of your own heart,
+if you've got one, which I rather doubt."
+
+"I often doubt it, myself; but I fancy the little Scotchwoman will not
+be able to satisfy either of us upon that point. How does your highness
+like her?" asked Coventry of his cousin, who sat near him.
+
+"Better than I thought I should. She is well-bred, unassuming, and very
+entertaining when she likes. She has told us some of the wittiest
+stories I've heard for a long time. Didn't our laughter wake you?"
+replied Lucia.
+
+"Yes. Now atone for it by amusing me with a repetition of these
+witty tales."
+
+"That is impossible; her accent and manner are half the charm," said
+Ned. "I wish you had kept away ten minutes longer, for your appearance
+spoilt the best story of all."
+
+"Why didn't she go on?" asked Coventry, with a ray of curiosity.
+
+"You forget that she overheard us last night, and must feel that you
+consider her a bore. She has pride, and no woman forgets speeches like
+those you made," answered Lucia.
+
+"Or forgives them, either, I believe. Well, I must be resigned to
+languish under her displeasure then. On Sydney's account I take a slight
+interest in her; not that I expect to learn anything from her, for a
+woman with a mouth like that never confides or confesses anything. But I
+have a fancy to see what captivated him; for captivated he was, beyond a
+doubt, and by no lady whom he met in society. Did you ever hear anything
+of it, Ned?" asked Gerald.
+
+"I'm not fond of scandal or gossip, and never listen to either." With
+which remark Edward left the room.
+
+Lucia was called out by the housekeeper a moment after, and Coventry
+left to the society most wearisome to him, namely his own. As he
+entered, he had caught a part of the story which Miss Muir had been
+telling, and it had excited his curiosity so much that he found himself
+wondering what the end could be and wishing that he might hear it.
+
+What the deuce did she run away for, when I came in? he thought. If she
+_is_ amusing, she must make herself useful; for it's intensely dull, I
+own, here, in spite of Lucia. Hey, what's that?
+
+It was a rich, sweet voice, singing a brilliant Italian air, and singing
+it with an expression that made the music doubly delicious. Stepping out
+of the French window, Coventry strolled along the sunny terrace,
+enjoying the song with the relish of a connoisseur. Others followed, and
+still he walked and listened, forgetful of weariness or tune. As one
+exquisite air ended, he involuntarily applauded. Miss Muir's face
+appeared for an instant, then vanished, and no more music followed,
+though Coventry lingered, hoping to hear the voice again. For music was
+the one thing of which he never wearied, and neither Lucia nor Bella
+possessed skill enough to charm him. For an hour he loitered on the
+terrace or the lawn, basking in the sunshine, too indolent to seek
+occupation or society. At length Bella came out, hat in hand, and nearly
+stumbled over her brother, who lay on the grass.
+
+"You lazy man, have you been dawdling here all this time?" she said,
+looking down at him.
+
+"No, I've been very busy. Come and tell me how you've got on with the
+little dragon."
+
+"Can't stop. She bade me take a run after my French, so that I might be
+ready for my drawing, and so I must."
+
+"It's too warm to run. Sit down and amuse your deserted brother, who has
+had no society but bees and lizards for an hour."
+
+He drew her down as he spoke, and Bella obeyed; for, in spite of his
+indolence, he was one to whom all submitted without dreaming of refusal.
+
+"What have you been doing? Muddling your poor little brains with all
+manner of elegant rubbish?"
+
+"No, I've been enjoying myself immensely. Jean is _so_ interesting, so
+kind and clever. She didn't bore me with stupid grammar, but just talked
+to me in such pretty French that I got on capitally, and like it as I
+never expected to, after Lucia's dull way of teaching it."
+
+"What did you talk about?"
+
+"Oh, all manner of things. She asked questions, and I answered, and she
+corrected me."
+
+"Questions about our affairs, I suppose?"
+
+"Not one. She don't care two sous for us or our affairs. I thought she
+might like to know what sort of people we were, so I told her about
+Papa's sudden death, Uncle John, and you, and Ned; but in the midst of
+it she said, in her quiet way, 'You are getting too confidential, my
+dear. It is not best to talk too freely of one's affairs to strangers.
+Let us speak of something else.'"
+
+"What were you talking of when she said that, Bell?"
+
+"You."
+
+"Ah, then no wonder she was bored."
+
+"She was tired of my chatter, and didn't hear half I said; for she was
+busy sketching something for me to copy, and thinking of something more
+interesting than the Coventrys."
+
+"How do you know?"
+
+"By the expression of her face. Did you like her music, Gerald?"
+
+"Yes. Was she angry when I clapped?"
+
+"She looked surprised, then rather proud, and shut the piano at once,
+though I begged her to go on. Isn't Jean a pretty name?"
+
+"Not bad; but why don't you call her Miss Muir?"
+
+"She begged me not. She hates it, and loves to be called Jean, alone.
+I've imagined such a nice little romance about her, and someday I shall
+tell her, for I'm sure she has had a love trouble."
+
+"Don't get such nonsense into your head, but follow Miss Muir's
+well-bred example and don't be curious about other people's affairs. Ask
+her to sing tonight; it amuses me."
+
+"She won't come down, I think. We've planned to read and work in my
+boudoir, which is to be our study now. Mamma will stay in her room, so
+you and Lucia can have the drawing room all to yourselves."
+
+"Thank you. What will Ned do?"
+
+"He will amuse Mamma, he says. Dear old Ned! I wish you'd stir about and
+get him his commission. He is so impatient to be doing something and yet
+so proud he won't ask again, after you have neglected it so many times
+and refused Uncle's help."
+
+"I'll attend to it very soon; don't worry me, child. He will do very
+well for a time, quietly here with us."
+
+"You always say that, yet you know he chafes and is unhappy at being
+dependent on you. Mamma and I don't mind; but he is a man, and it frets
+him. He said he'd take matters into his own hands soon, and then you may
+be sorry you were so slow in helping him."
+
+"Miss Muir is looking out of the window. You'd better go and take your
+run, else she will scold."
+
+"Not she. I'm not a bit afraid of her, she's so gentle and sweet. I'm
+fond of her already. You'll get as brown as Ned, lying here in the
+sun. By the way, Miss Muir agrees with me in thinking him handsomer
+than you."
+
+"I admire her taste and quite agree with her."
+
+"She said he was manly, and that was more attractive than beauty in a
+man. She does express things so nicely. Now I'm off." And away danced
+Bella, humming the burden of Miss Muir's sweetest song.
+
+"'Energy is more attractive than beauty in a man.' She is right, but how
+the deuce _can_ a man be energetic, with nothing to expend his energies
+upon?" mused Coventry, with his hat over his eyes.
+
+A few moments later, the sweep of a dress caught his ear. Without
+stirring, a sidelong glance showed him Miss Muir coming across the
+terrace, as if to join Bella. Two stone steps led down to the lawn. He
+lay near them, and Miss Muir did not see him till close upon him. She
+started and slipped on the last step, recovered herself, and glided on,
+with a glance of unmistakable contempt as she passed the recumbent
+figure of the apparent sleeper. Several things in Bella's report had
+nettled him, but this look made him angry, though he would not own it,
+even to himself.
+
+"Gerald, come here, quick!" presently called Bella, from the rustic seat
+where she stood beside her governess, who sat with her hand over her
+face as if in pain.
+
+Gathering himself up, Coventry slowly obeyed, but involuntarily
+quickened his pace as he heard Miss Muir say, "Don't call him; _he_ can
+do nothing"; for the emphasis on the word "he" was very significant.
+
+"What is it, Bella?" he asked, looking rather wider awake than usual.
+
+"You startled Miss Muir and made her turn her ankle. Now help her to the
+house, for she is in great pain; and don't lie there anymore to frighten
+people like a snake in the grass," said his sister petulantly.
+
+"I beg your pardon. Will you allow me?" And Coventry offered his arm.
+
+Miss Muir looked up with the expression which annoyed him and answered
+coldly, "Thank you, Miss Bella will do as well."
+
+"Permit me to doubt that." And with a gesture too decided to be
+resisted, Coventry drew her arm through his and led her into the house.
+She submitted quietly, said the pain would soon be over, and when
+settled on the couch in Bella's room dismissed him with the briefest
+thanks. Considering the unwonted exertion he had made, he thought she
+might have been a little more grateful, and went away to Lucia, who
+always brightened when he came.
+
+No more was seen of Miss Muir till teatime; for now, while the family
+were in retirement, they dined early and saw no company. The governess
+had excused herself at dinner, but came down in the evening a little
+paler than usual and with a slight limp in her gait. Sir John was there,
+talking with his nephew, and they merely acknowledged her presence by
+the sort of bow which gentlemen bestow on governesses. As she slowly
+made her way to her place behind the urn, Coventry said to his brother,
+"Take her a footstool, and ask her how she is, Ned." Then, as if
+necessary to account for his politeness to his uncle, he explained how
+he was the cause of the accident.
+
+"Yes, yes. I understand. Rather a nice little person, I fancy. Not
+exactly a beauty, but accomplished and well-bred, which is better for
+one of her class."
+
+"Some tea, Sir John?" said a soft voice at his elbow, and there was Miss
+Muir, offering cups to the gentlemen.
+
+"Thank you, thank you," said Sir John, sincerely hoping she had
+overheard him.
+
+As Coventry took his, he said graciously, "You are very forgiving, Miss
+Muir, to wait upon me, after I have caused you so much pain."
+
+"It is my duty, sir" was her reply, in a tone which plainly said, "but
+not my pleasure." And she returned to her place, to smile, and chat, and
+be charming, with Bella and her brother.
+
+Lucia, hovering near her uncle and Gerald, kept them to herself, but
+was disturbed to find that their eyes often wandered to the cheerful
+group about the table, and that their attention seemed distracted by
+the frequent bursts of laughter and fragments of animated conversation
+which reached them. In the midst of an account of a tragic affair which
+she endeavored to make as interesting and pathetic as possible, Sir
+John burst into a hearty laugh, which betrayed that he had been
+listening to a livelier story than her own. Much annoyed, she said
+hastily, "I knew it would be so! Bella has no idea of the proper manner
+in which to treat a governess. She and Ned will forget the difference
+of rank and spoil that person for her work. She is inclined to be
+presumptuous already, and if my aunt won't trouble herself to give Miss
+Muir a hint in time, I shall."
+
+"Wait until she has finished that story, I beg of you," said Coventry,
+for Sir John was already off.
+
+"If you find that nonsense so entertaining, why don't you follow Uncle's
+example? I don't need you."
+
+"Thank you. I will." And Lucia was deserted.
+
+But Miss Muir had ended and, beckoning to Bella, left the room, as if
+quite unconscious of the honor conferred upon her or the dullness she
+left behind her. Ned went up to his mother, Gerald returned to make his
+peace with Lucia, and, bidding them good-night, Sir John turned
+homeward. Strolling along the terrace, he came to the lighted window of
+Bella's study, and wishing to say a word to her, he half pushed aside
+the curtain and looked in. A pleasant little scene. Bella working
+busily, and near her in a low chair, with the light falling on her fair
+hair and delicate profile, sat Miss Muir reading aloud. "Novels!"
+thought Sir John, and smiled at them for a pair of romantic girls. But
+pausing to listen a moment before he spoke, he found it was no novel,
+but history, read with a fluency which made every fact interesting,
+every sketch of character memorable, by the dramatic effect given to it.
+Sir John was fond of history, and failing eyesight often curtailed his
+favorite amusement. He had tried readers, but none suited him, and he
+had given up the plan. Now as he listened, he thought how pleasantly the
+smoothly flowing voice would wile away his evenings, and he envied Bella
+her new acquisition.
+
+A bell rang, and Bella sprang up, saying, "Wait for me a minute. I must
+run to Mamma, and then we will go on with this charming prince."
+
+Away she went, and Sir John was about to retire as quietly as he came,
+when Miss Muir's peculiar behavior arrested him for an instant. Dropping
+the book, she threw her arms across the table, laid her head down upon
+them, and broke into a passion of tears, like one who could bear
+restraint no longer. Shocked and amazed, Sir John stole away; but all
+that night the kindhearted gentleman puzzled his brains with conjectures
+about his niece's interesting young governess, quite unconscious that
+she intended he should do so.
+
+
+
+
+_Chapter III_
+
+
+PASSION AND PIQUE
+
+For several weeks the most monotonous tranquillity seemed to reign at
+Coventry House, and yet, unseen, unsuspected, a storm was gathering.
+The arrival of Miss Muir seemed to produce a change in everyone, though
+no one could have explained how or why. Nothing could be more
+unobtrusive and retiring than her manners. She was devoted to Bella,
+who soon adored her, and was only happy when in her society. She
+ministered in many ways to Mrs. Coventry's comfort, and that lady
+declared there never was such a nurse. She amused, interested and won
+Edward with her wit and womanly sympathy. She made Lucia respect and
+envy her for her accomplishments, and piqued indolent Gerald by her
+persistent avoidance of him, while Sir John was charmed with her
+respectful deference and the graceful little attentions she paid him in
+a frank and artless way, very winning to the lonely old man. The very
+servants liked her; and instead of being, what most governesses are, a
+forlorn creature hovering between superiors and inferiors, Jean Muir
+was the life of the house, and the friend of all but two.
+
+Lucia disliked her, and Coventry distrusted her; neither could exactly
+say why, and neither owned the feeling, even to themselves. Both watched
+her covertly yet found no shortcoming anywhere. Meek, modest, faithful,
+and invariably sweet-tempered--they could complain of nothing and
+wondered at their own doubts, though they could not banish them.
+
+It soon came to pass that the family was divided, or rather that two
+members were left very much to themselves. Pleading timidity, Jean Muir
+kept much in Bella's study and soon made it such a pleasant little nook
+that Ned and his mother, and often Sir John, came in to enjoy the music,
+reading, or cheerful chat which made the evenings so gay. Lucia at first
+was only too glad to have her cousin to herself, and he too lazy to care
+what went on about him. But presently he wearied of her society, for she
+was not a brilliant girl, and possessed few of those winning arts which
+charm a man and steal into his heart. Rumors of the merry-makings that
+went on reached him and made him curious to share them; echoes of fine
+music went sounding through the house, as he lounged about the empty
+drawing room; and peals of laughter reached him while listening to
+Lucia's grave discourse.
+
+She soon discovered that her society had lost its charm, and the more
+eagerly she tried to please him, the more signally she failed. Before
+long Coventry fell into a habit of strolling out upon the terrace of an
+evening, and amusing himself by passing and repassing the window of
+Bella's room, catching glimpses of what was going on and reporting the
+result of his observations to Lucia, who was too proud to ask admission
+to the happy circle or to seem to desire it.
+
+"I shall go to London tomorrow, Lucia," Gerald said one evening, as he
+came back from what he called "a survey," looking very much annoyed.
+
+"To London?" exclaimed his cousin, surprised.
+
+"Yes, I must bestir myself and get Ned his commission, or it will be all
+over with him."
+
+"How do you mean?"
+
+"He is falling in love as fast as it is possible for a boy to do it.
+That girl has bewitched him, and he will make a fool of himself very
+soon, unless I put a stop to it."
+
+"I was afraid she would attempt a flirtation. These persons always do,
+they are such a mischief-making race."
+
+"Ah, but there you are wrong, as far as little Muir is concerned. She
+does not flirt, and Ned has too much sense and spirit to be caught by a
+silly coquette. She treats him like an elder sister, and mingles the
+most attractive friendliness with a quiet dignity that captivates the
+boy. I've been watching them, and there he is, devouring her with his
+eyes, while she reads a fascinating novel in the most fascinating
+style. Bella and Mamma are absorbed in the tale, and see nothing; but
+Ned makes himself the hero, Miss Muir the heroine, and lives the love
+scene with all the ardor of a man whose heart has just waked up. Poor
+lad! Poor lad!"
+
+Lucia looked at her cousin, amazed by the energy with which he spoke,
+the anxiety in his usually listless face. The change became him, for it
+showed what he might be, making one regret still more what he was.
+Before she could speak, he was gone again, to return presently,
+laughing, yet looking a little angry.
+
+"What now?" she asked.
+
+"'Listeners never hear any good of themselves' is the truest of
+proverbs. I stopped a moment to look at Ned, and heard the following
+flattering remarks. Mamma is gone, and Ned was asking little Muir to
+sing that delicious barcarole she gave us the other evening.
+
+"'Not now, not here,' she said.
+
+"'Why not? You sang it in the drawing room readily enough,' said Ned,
+imploringly.
+
+"'That is a very different thing,' and she looked at him with a little
+shake of the head, for he was folding his hands and doing the
+passionate pathetic.
+
+"'Come and sing it there then,' said innocent Bella. 'Gerald likes your
+voice so much, and complains that you will never sing to him.'
+
+"'He never asks me,' said Muir, with an odd smile.
+
+"'He is too lazy, but he wants to hear you.'
+
+"'When he asks me, I will sing--if I feel like it.' And she shrugged her
+shoulders with a provoking gesture of indifference.
+
+"'But it amuses him, and he gets so bored down here,' began stupid
+little Bella. 'Don't be shy or proud, Jean, but come and entertain the
+poor old fellow.'
+
+"'No, thank you. I engaged to teach Miss Coventry, not to amuse Mr.
+Coventry' was all the answer she got.
+
+"'You amuse Ned, why not Gerald? Are you afraid of him?' asked Bella.
+
+"Miss Muir laughed, such a scornful laugh, and said, in that
+peculiar tone of hers, 'I cannot fancy anyone being _afraid_ of your
+elder brother.'
+
+"'I am, very often, and so would you be, if you ever saw him angry,' And
+Bella looked as if I'd beaten her.
+
+"'Does he ever wake up enough to be angry?' asked that girl, with an air
+of surprise. Here Ned broke into a fit of laughter, and they are at it
+now, I fancy, by the sound."
+
+"Their foolish gossip is not worth getting excited about, but I
+certainly would send Ned away. It's no use trying to get rid of 'that
+girl,' as you say, for my aunt is as deluded about her as Ned and Bella,
+and she really does get the child along splendidly. Dispatch Ned, and
+then she can do no harm," said Lucia, watching Coventry's altered face
+as he stood in the moonlight, just outside the window where she sat.
+
+"Have you no fears for me?" he asked smiling, as if ashamed of his
+momentary petulance.
+
+"No, have you for yourself?" And a shade of anxiety passed over her
+face.
+
+"I defy the Scotch witch to enchant me, except with her music," he
+added, moving down the terrace again, for Jean was singing like a
+nightingale.
+
+As the song ended, he put aside the curtain, and said, abruptly, "Has
+anyone any commands for London? I am going there tomorrow."
+
+"A pleasant trip to you," said Ned carelessly, though usually his
+brother's movements interested him extremely.
+
+"I want quantities of things, but I must ask Mamma first." And Bella
+began to make a list.
+
+"May I trouble you with a letter, Mr. Coventry?"
+
+Jean Muir turned around on the music stool and looked at him with the
+cold keen glance which always puzzled him.
+
+He bowed, saying, as if to them all, "I shall be off by the early train,
+so you must give me your orders tonight."
+
+"Then come away, Ned, and leave Jean to write her letter."
+
+And Bella took her reluctant brother from the room.
+
+"I will give you the letter in the morning," said Miss Muir, with a
+curious quiver in her voice, and the look of one who forcibly suppressed
+some strong emotion.
+
+"As you please." And Coventry went back to Lucia, wondering who Miss
+Muir was going to write to. He said nothing to his brother of the
+purpose which took him to town, lest a word should produce the
+catastrophe which he hoped to prevent; and Ned, who now lived in a sort
+of dream, seemed to forget Gerald's existence altogether.
+
+With unwonted energy Coventry was astir seven next morning. Lucia gave
+him his breakfast, and as he left the room to order the carriage, Miss
+Muir came gliding downstairs, very pale and heavy-eyed (with a
+sleepless, tearful night, he thought) and, putting a delicate little
+letter into his hand, said hurriedly, "Please leave this at Lady
+Sydney's, and if you see her, say 'I have remembered.'"
+
+Her peculiar manner and peculiar message struck him. His eye
+involuntarily glanced at the address of the letter and read young
+Sydney's name. Then, conscious of his mistake, he thrust it into his
+pocket with a hasty "Good morning," and left Miss Muir standing with
+one hand pressed on her heart, the other half extended as if to recall
+the letter.
+
+All the way to London, Coventry found it impossible to forget the
+almost tragical expression of the girl's face, and it haunted him
+through the bustle of two busy days. Ned's affair was put in the way of
+being speedily accomplished, Bella's commissions were executed, his
+mother's pet delicacies provided for her, and a gift for Lucia, whom
+the family had given him for his future mate, as he was too lazy to
+choose for himself.
+
+Jean Muir's letter he had not delivered, for Lady Sydney was in the
+country and her townhouse closed. Curious to see how she would receive
+his tidings, he went quietly in on his arrival at home. Everyone had
+dispersed to dress for dinner except Miss Muir, who was in the garden,
+the servant said.
+
+"Very well, I have a message for her"; and, turning, the "young master,"
+as they called him, went to seek her. In a remote corner he saw her
+sitting alone, buried in thought. As his step roused her, a look of
+surprise, followed by one of satisfaction, passed over her face, and,
+rising, she beckoned to him with an almost eager gesture. Much amazed,
+he went to her and offered the letter, saying kindly, "I regret that I
+could not deliver it. Lady Sydney is in the country, and I did not like
+to post it without your leave. Did I do right?"
+
+"Quite right, thank you very much--it is better so." And with an air of
+relief, she tore the letter to atoms, and scattered them to the wind.
+
+More amazed than ever, the young man was about to leave her when she
+said, with a mixture of entreaty and command, "Please stay a moment. I
+want to speak to you."
+
+He paused, eyeing her with visible surprise, for a sudden color dyed her
+cheeks, and her lips trembled. Only for a moment, then she was quite
+self-possessed again. Motioning him to the seat she had left, she
+remained standing while she said, in a low, rapid tone full of pain and
+of decision:
+
+"Mr. Coventry, as the head of the house I want to speak to you, rather
+than to your mother, of a most unhappy affair which has occurred during
+your absence. My month of probation ends today; your mother wishes me to
+remain; I, too, wish it sincerely, for I am happy here, but I ought not.
+Read this, and you will see why."
+
+She put a hastily written note into his hand and watched him intently
+while he read it. She saw him flush with anger, bite his lips, and knit
+his brows, then assume his haughtiest look, as he lifted his eyes and
+said in his most sarcastic tone, "Very well for a beginning. The boy has
+eloquence. Pity that it should be wasted. May I ask if you have replied
+to this rhapsody?"
+
+"I have."
+
+"And what follows? He begs you 'to fly with him, to share his fortunes,
+and be the good angel of his life.' Of course you consent?"
+
+There was no answer, for, standing erect before him, Miss Muir regarded
+him with an expression of proud patience, like one who expected
+reproaches, yet was too generous to resent them. Her manner had its
+effect. Dropping his bitter tone, Coventry asked briefly, "Why do you
+show me this? What can I do?"
+
+"I show it that you may see how much in earnest 'the boy' is, and how
+open I desire to be. You can control, advise, and comfort your brother,
+and help me to see what is my duty."
+
+"You love him?" demanded Coventry bluntly.
+
+"No!" was the quick, decided answer.
+
+"Then why make him love you?"
+
+"I never tried to do it. Your sister will testify that I have endeavored
+to avoid him as I--" And he finished the sentence with an unconscious
+tone of pique, "As you have avoided me."
+
+She bowed silently, and he went on:
+
+"I will do you the justice to say that nothing can be more blameless
+than your conduct toward myself; but why allow Ned to haunt you evening
+after evening? What could you expect of a romantic boy who had nothing
+to do but lose his heart to the first attractive woman he met?"
+
+A momentary glisten shone in Jean Muir's steel-blue eyes as the last
+words left the young man's lips; but it was gone instantly, and her
+voice was full of reproach, as she said, steadily, impulsively, "If the
+'romantic boy' had been allowed to lead the life of a man, as he longed
+to do, he would have had no time to lose his heart to the first
+sorrowful girl whom he pitied. Mr. Coventry, the fault is yours. Do not
+blame your brother, but generously own your mistake and retrieve it in
+the speediest, kindest manner."
+
+For an instant Gerald sat dumb. Never since his father died had anyone
+reproved him; seldom in his life had he been blamed. It was a new
+experience, and the very novelty added to the effect. He saw his fault,
+regretted it, and admired the brave sincerity of the girl in telling him
+of it. But he did not know how to deal with the case, and was forced to
+confess not only past negligence but present incapacity. He was as
+honorable as he was proud, and with an effort he said frankly, "You are
+right, Miss Muir. I _am_ to blame, yet as soon as I saw the danger, I
+tried to avert it. My visit to town was on Ned's account; he will have
+his commission very soon, and then he will be sent out of harm's way.
+Can I do more?"
+
+"No, it is too late to send him away with a free and happy heart. He
+must bear his pain as he can, and it may help to make a man of him," she
+said sadly.
+
+"He'll soon forget," began Coventry, who found the thought of gay Ned
+suffering an uncomfortable one.
+
+"Yes, thank heaven, that is possible, for men."
+
+Miss Muir pressed her hands together, with a dark expression on her
+half-averted face. Something in her tone, her manner, touched Coventry;
+he fancied that some old wound bled, some bitter memory awoke at the
+approach of a new lover. He was young, heart-whole, and romantic, under
+all his cool nonchalance of manner. This girl, who he fancied loved his
+friend and who was beloved by his brother, became an object of interest
+to him. He pitied her, desired to help her, and regretted his past
+distrust, as a chivalrous man always regrets injustice to a woman. She
+was happy here, poor, homeless soul, and she should stay. Bella loved
+her, his mother took comfort in her, and when Ned was gone, no one's
+peace would be endangered by her winning ways, her rich accomplishments.
+These thoughts swept through his mind during a brief pause, and when he
+spoke, it was to say gently:
+
+"Miss Muir, I thank you for the frankness which must have been painful
+to you, and I will do my best to be worthy of the confidence which you
+repose in me. You were both discreet and kind to speak only to me. This
+thing would have troubled my mother extremely, and have done no good. I
+shall see Ned, and try and repair my long neglect as promptly as
+possible. I know you will help me, and in return let me beg of you to
+remain, for he will soon be gone."
+
+She looked at him with eyes full of tears, and there was no coolness in
+the voice that answered softly, "You are too kind, but I had better go;
+it is not wise to stay."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+She colored beautifully, hesitated, then spoke out in the clear, steady
+voice which was her greatest charm, "If I had known there were sons in
+this family, I never should have come. Lady Sydney spoke only of your
+sister, and when I found two gentlemen, I was troubled, because--I am so
+unfortunate--or rather, people are so kind as to like me more than I
+deserve. I thought I could stay a month, at least, as your brother spoke
+of going away, and you were already affianced, but--"
+
+"I am not affianced."
+
+Why he said that, Coventry could not tell, but the words passed his lips
+hastily and could not be recalled. Jean Muir took the announcement oddly
+enough. She shrugged her shoulders with an air of extreme annoyance, and
+said almost rudely, "Then you should be; you will be soon. But that is
+nothing to me. Miss Beaufort wishes me gone, and I am too proud to
+remain and become the cause of disunion in a happy family. No, I will
+go, and go at once."
+
+She turned away impetuously, but Edward's arm detained her, and Edward's
+voice demanded, tenderly, "Where will you go, my Jean?"
+
+The tender touch and name seemed to rob her of her courage and calmness,
+for, leaning on her lover, she hid her face and sobbed audibly.
+
+"Now don't make a scene, for heaven's sake," began Coventry impatiently,
+as his brother eyed him fiercely, divining at once what had passed, for
+his letter was still in Gerald's hand and Jean's last words had reached
+her lover's ear.
+
+"Who gave you the right to read that, and to interfere in my affairs?"
+demanded Edward hotly.
+
+"Miss Muir" was the reply, as Coventry threw away the paper.
+
+"And you add to the insult by ordering her out of the house," cried Ned
+with increasing wrath.
+
+"On the contrary, I beg her to remain."
+
+"The deuce you do! And why?"
+
+"Because she is useful and happy here, and I am unwilling that your
+folly should rob her of a home which she likes."
+
+"You are very thoughtful and devoted all at once, but I beg you will not
+trouble yourself. Jean's happiness and home will be my care now."
+
+"My dear boy, do be reasonable. The thing is impossible. Miss Muir sees
+it herself; she came to tell me, to ask how best to arrange matters
+without troubling my mother. I've been to town to attend to your
+affairs, and you may be off now very soon."
+
+"I have no desire to go. Last month it was the wish of my heart. Now
+I'll accept nothing from you." And Edward turned moodily away from
+his brother.
+
+"What folly! Ned, you _must_ leave home. It is all arranged and cannot
+be given up now. A change is what you need, and it will make a man of
+you. We shall miss you, of course, but you will be where you'll see
+something of life, and that is better for you than getting into
+mischief here."
+
+"Are you going away, Jean?" asked Edward, ignoring his brother entirely
+and bending over the girl, who still hid her face and wept. She did not
+speak, and Gerald answered for her.
+
+"No, why should she if you are gone?"
+
+"Do you mean to stay?" asked the lover eagerly of Jean.
+
+"I wish to remain, but--" She paused and looked up. Her eyes went from
+one face to the other, and she added, decidedly, "Yes, I must go, it is
+not wise to stay even when you are gone."
+
+Neither of the young men could have explained why that hurried glance
+affected them as it did, but each felt conscious of a willful desire to
+oppose the other. Edward suddenly felt that his brother loved Miss Muir,
+and was bent on removing her from his way. Gerald had a vague idea that
+Miss Muir feared to remain on his account, and he longed to show her
+that he was quite safe. Each felt angry, and each showed it in a
+different way, one being violent, the other satirical.
+
+"You are right, Jean, this is not the place for you; and you must let me
+see you in a safer home before I go," said Ned, significantly.
+
+"It strikes me that this will be a particularly safe home when your
+dangerous self is removed," began Coventry, with an aggravating smile of
+calm superiority.
+
+"And _I_ think that I leave a more dangerous person than myself behind
+me, as poor Lucia can testify."
+
+"Be careful what you say, Ned, or I shall be forced to remind you that I
+am master here. Leave Lucia's name out of this disagreeable affair, if
+you please."
+
+"You _are_ master here, but not of me, or my actions, and you have no
+right to expect obedience or respect, for you inspire neither. Jean, I
+asked you to go with me secretly; now I ask you openly to share my
+fortune. In my brother's presence I ask, and _will_ have an answer."
+
+He caught her hand impetuously, with a defiant look at Coventry, who
+still smiled, as if at boy's play, though his eyes were kindling and his
+face changing with the still, white wrath which is more terrible than
+any sudden outburst. Miss Muir looked frightened; she shrank away from
+her passionate young lover, cast an appealing glance at Gerald, and
+seemed as if she longed to claim his protection yet dared not.
+
+"Speak!" cried Edward, desperately. "Don't look to him, tell me truly,
+with your own lips, do you, can you love me, Jean?"
+
+"I have told you once. Why pain me by forcing another hard reply," she
+said pitifully, still shrinking from his grasp and seeming to appeal to
+his brother.
+
+"You wrote a few lines, but I'll not be satisfied with that. You shall
+answer; I've seen love in your eyes, heard it in your voice, and I know
+it is hidden in your heart. You fear to own it; do not hesitate, no one
+can part us--speak, Jean, and satisfy me."
+
+Drawing her hand decidedly away, she went a step nearer Coventry, and
+answered, slowly, distinctly, though her lips trembled, and she
+evidently dreaded the effect of her words, "I will speak, and speak
+truly. You have seen love in my face; it is in my heart, and I do not
+hesitate to own it, cruel as it is to force the truth from me, but this
+love is not for you. Are you satisfied?"
+
+He looked at her with a despairing glance and stretched his hand toward
+her beseechingly. She seemed to fear a blow, for suddenly she clung to
+Gerald with a faint cry. The act, the look of fear, the protecting
+gesture Coventry involuntarily made were too much for Edward, already
+excited by conflicting passions. In a paroxysm of blind wrath, he caught
+up a large pruning knife left there by the gardener, and would have
+dealt his brother a fatal blow had he not warded it off with his arm.
+The stroke fell, and another might have followed had not Miss Muir with
+unexpected courage and strength wrested the knife from Edward and flung
+it into the little pond near by. Coventry dropped down upon the seat,
+for the blood poured from a deep wound in his arm, showing by its rapid
+flow that an artery had been severed. Edward stood aghast, for with the
+blow his fury passed, leaving him overwhelmed with remorse and shame.
+
+Gerald looked up at him, smiled faintly, and said, with no sign of
+reproach or anger, "Never mind, Ned. Forgive and forget. Lend me a hand
+to the house, and don't disturb anyone. It's not much, I dare say." But
+his lips whitened as he spoke, and his strength failed him. Edward
+sprang to support him, and Miss Muir, forgetting her terrors, proved
+herself a girl of uncommon skill and courage.
+
+"Quick! Lay him down. Give me your handkerchief, and bring some water,"
+she said, in a tone of quiet command. Poor Ned obeyed and watched her
+with breathless suspense while she tied the handkerchief tightly around
+the arm, thrust the handle of his riding whip underneath, and pressed it
+firmly above the severed artery to stop the dangerous flow of blood.
+
+"Dr. Scott is with your mother, I think. Go and bring him here" was
+the next order; and Edward darted away, thankful to do anything to
+ease the terror which possessed him. He was gone some minutes, and
+while they waited Coventry watched the girl as she knelt beside him,
+bathing his face with one hand while with the other she held the
+bandage firmly in its place. She was pale, but quite steady and
+self-possessed, and her eyes shone with a strange brilliancy as she
+looked down at him. Once, meeting his look of grateful wonder, she
+smiled a reassuring smile that made her lovely, and said, in a soft,
+sweet tone never used to him before, "Be quiet. There is no danger. I
+will stay by you till help comes."
+
+Help did come speedily, and the doctor's first words were "Who
+improvised that tourniquet?"
+
+"She did," murmured Coventry.
+
+"Then you may thank her for saving your life. By Jove! It was capitally
+done"; and the old doctor looked at the girl with as much admiration as
+curiosity in his face.
+
+"Never mind that. See to the wound, please, while I ran for bandages,
+and salts, and wine."
+
+Miss Muir was gone as she spoke, so fleetly that it was in vain to call
+her back or catch her. During her brief absence, the story was told by
+repentant Ned and the wound examined.
+
+"Fortunately I have my case of instruments with me," said the doctor,
+spreading on the bench a long array of tiny, glittering implements of
+torture. "Now, Mr. Ned, come here, and hold the arm in that way, while I
+tie the artery. Hey! That will never do. Don't tremble so, man, look
+away and hold it steadily."
+
+"I can't!" And poor Ned turned faint and white, not at the sight but
+with the bitter thought that he had longed to kill his brother.
+
+"I will hold it," and a slender white hand lifted the bare and bloody
+arm so firmly, steadily, that Coventry sighed a sigh of relief, and Dr.
+Scott fell to work with an emphatic nod of approval.
+
+It was soon over, and while Edward ran in to bid the servants beware of
+alarming their mistress, Dr. Scott put up his instruments and Miss Muir
+used salts, water, and wine so skillfully that Gerald was able to walk
+to his room, leaning on the old man, while the girl supported the
+wounded arm, as no sling could be made on the spot. As he entered the
+chamber, Coventry turned, put out his left hand, and with much feeling
+in his fine eyes said simply, "Miss Muir, I thank you."
+
+The color came up beautifully in her pale cheeks as she pressed the hand
+and without a word vanished from the room. Lucia and the housekeeper
+came bustling in, and there was no lack of attendance on the invalid. He
+soon wearied of it, and sent them all away but Ned, who remorsefully
+haunted the chamber, looking like a comely young Cain and feeling like
+an outcast.
+
+"Come here, lad, and tell me all about it. I was wrong to be
+domineering. Forgive me, and believe that I care for your happiness more
+sincerely than for my own."
+
+These frank and friendly words healed the breach between the two
+brothers and completely conquered Ned. Gladly did he relate his love
+passages, for no young lover ever tires of that amusement if he has a
+sympathizing auditor, and Gerald _was_ sympathetic now. For an hour did
+he lie listening patiently to the history of the growth of his brother's
+passion. Emotion gave the narrator eloquence, and Jean Muir's character
+was painted in glowing colors. All her unsuspected kindness to those
+about her was dwelt upon; all her faithful care, her sisterly interest
+in Bella, her gentle attentions to their mother, her sweet forbearance
+with Lucia, who plainly showed her dislike, and most of all, her
+friendly counsel, sympathy, and regard for Ned himself.
+
+"She would make a man of me. She puts strength and courage into me as no
+one else can. She is unlike any girl I ever saw; there's no
+sentimentality about her; she is wise, and kind, and sweet. She says
+what she means, looks you straight in the eye, and is as true as steel.
+I've tried her, I know her, and--ah, Gerald, I love her so!"
+
+Here the poor lad leaned his face into his hands and sighed a sigh that
+made his brother's heart ache.
+
+"Upon my soul, Ned, I feel for you; and if there was no obstacle on her
+part, I'd do my best for you. She loves Sydney, and so there is nothing
+for it but to bear your fate like a man."
+
+"Are you sure about Sydney? May it not be some one else?" and Ned eyed
+his brother with a suspicious look.
+
+Coventry told him all he knew and surmised concerning his friend, not
+forgetting the letter. Edward mused a moment, then seemed relieved, and
+said frankly, "I'm glad it's Sydney and not you. I can bear it better."
+
+"Me!" ejaculated Gerald, with a laugh.
+
+"Yes, you; I've been tormented lately with a fear that you cared for
+her, or rather, she for you."
+
+"You jealous young fool! We never see or speak to one another scarcely,
+so how could we get up a tender interest?"
+
+"What do you lounge about on that terrace for every evening? And why
+does she get fluttered when your shadow begins to come and go?"
+demanded Edward.
+
+"I like the music and don't care for the society of the singer, that's
+why I walk there. The fluttering is all your imagination; Miss Muir
+isn't a woman to be fluttered by a man's shadow." And Coventry glanced
+at his useless arm.
+
+"Thank you for that, and for not saying 'little Muir,' as you generally
+do. Perhaps it was my imagination. But she never makes fun of you now,
+and so I fancied she might have lost her heart to the 'young master.'
+Women often do, you know."
+
+"She used to ridicule me, did she?" asked Coventry, taking no notice of
+the latter part of his brother's speech, which was quite true
+nevertheless.
+
+"Not exactly, she was too well-bred for that. But sometimes when Bella
+and I joked about you, she'd say something so odd or witty that it was
+irresistible. You're used to being laughed at, so you don't mind, I
+know, just among ourselves."
+
+"Not I. Laugh away as much as you like," said Gerald. But he did mind,
+and wanted exceedingly to know what Miss Muir had said, yet was too
+proud to ask. He turned restlessly and uttered a sigh of pain.
+
+"I'm talking too much; it's bad for you. Dr. Scott said you must be
+quiet. Now go to sleep, if you can."
+
+Edward left the bedside but not the room, for he would let no one take
+his place. Coventry tried to sleep, found it impossible, and after a
+restless hour called his brother back.
+
+"If the bandage was loosened a bit, it would ease my arm and then I
+could sleep. Can you do it, Ned?"
+
+"I dare not touch it. The doctor gave orders to leave it till he came in
+the morning, and I shall only do harm if I try."
+
+"But I tell you it's too tight. My arm is swelling and the pain is
+intense. It can't be right to leave it so. Dr. Scott dressed it in a
+hurry and did it too tight. Common sense will tell you that," said
+Coventry impatiently.
+
+"I'll call Mrs. Morris; she will understand what's best to be done." And
+Edward moved toward the door, looking anxious.
+
+"Not she, she'll only make a stir and torment me with her chatter. I'll
+bear it as long as I can, and perhaps Dr. Scott will come tonight. He
+said he would if possible. Go to your dinner, Ned. I can ring for Neal
+if I need anything. I shall sleep if I'm alone, perhaps."
+
+Edward reluctantly obeyed, and his brother was left to himself. Little
+rest did he find, however, for the pain of the wounded arm grew
+unbearable, and, taking a sudden resolution, he rang for his servant.
+
+"Neal, go to Miss Coventry's study, and if Miss Muir is there, ask her
+to be kind enough to come to me. I'm in great pain, and she understand
+wounds better than anyone else in the house."
+
+With much surprise in his face, the man departed and a few moments after
+the door noiselessly opened and Miss Muir came in. It had been a very
+warm day, and for the first time she had left off her plain black dress.
+All in white, with no ornament but her fair hair, and a fragrant posy of
+violets in her belt, she looked a different woman from the meek, nunlike
+creature one usually saw about the house. Her face was as altered as her
+dress, for now a soft color glowed in her cheeks, her eyes smiled shyly,
+and her lips no longer wore the firm look of one who forcibly repressed
+every emotion. A fresh, gentle, and charming woman she seemed, and
+Coventry found the dull room suddenly brightened by her presence. Going
+straight to him, she said simply, and with a happy, helpful look very
+comforting to see, "I'm glad you sent for me. What can I do for you?"
+
+He told her, and before the complaint was ended, she began loosening the
+bandages with the decision of one who understood what was to be done and
+had faith in herself.
+
+"Ah, that's relief, that's comfort!" ejaculated Coventry, as the last
+tight fold fell away. "Ned was afraid I should bleed to death if he
+touched me. What will the doctor say to us?"
+
+"I neither know nor care. I shall say to him that he is a bad surgeon to
+bind it so closely, and not leave orders to have it untied if necessary.
+Now I shall make it easy and put you to sleep, for that is what you
+need. Shall I? May I?"
+
+"I wish you would, if you can."
+
+And while she deftly rearranged the bandages, the young man watched her
+curiously. Presently he asked, "How came you to know so much about
+these things?"
+
+"In the hospital where I was ill, I saw much that interested me, and
+when I got better, I used to sing to the patients sometimes."
+
+"Do you mean to sing to me?" he asked, in the submissive tone men
+unconsciously adopt when ill and in a woman's care.
+
+"If you like it better than reading aloud in a dreamy tone," she
+answered, as she tied the last knot.
+
+"I do, much better," he said decidedly.
+
+"You are feverish. I shall wet your forehead, and then you will be quite
+comfortable." She moved about the room in the quiet way which made it a
+pleasure to watch her, and, having mingled a little cologne with water,
+bathed his face as unconcernedly as if he had been a child. Her
+proceedings not only comforted but amused Coventry, who mentally
+contrasted her with the stout, beer-drinking matron who had ruled over
+him in his last illness.
+
+"A clever, kindly little woman," he thought, and felt quite at his ease,
+she was so perfectly easy herself.
+
+"There, now you look more like yourself," she said with an approving nod
+as she finished, and smoothed the dark locks off his forehead with a
+cool, soft hand. Then seating herself in a large chair near by, she
+began to sing, while tidily rolling up the fresh bandages which had been
+left for the morning. Coventry lay watching her by the dim light that
+burned in the room, and she sang on as easily as a bird, a dreamy,
+low-toned lullaby, which soothed the listener like a spell. Presently,
+looking up to see the effect of her song, she found the young man wide
+awake, and regarding her with a curious mixture of pleasure, interest,
+and admiration.
+
+"Shut your eyes, Mr. Coventry," she said, with a reproving shake of the
+head, and an odd little smile.
+
+He laughed and obeyed, but could not resist an occasional covert glance
+from under his lashes at the slender white figure in the great velvet
+chair. She saw him and frowned.
+
+"You are very disobedient; why won't you sleep?"
+
+"I can't, I want to listen. I'm fond of nightingales."
+
+"Then I shall sing no more, but try something that has never failed yet.
+Give me your hand, please."
+
+Much amazed, he gave it, and, taking it in both her small ones, she sat
+down behind the curtain and remained as mute and motionless as a statue.
+Coventry smiled to himself at first, and wondered which would tire
+first. But soon a subtle warmth seemed to steal from the soft palms that
+enclosed his own, his heart beat quicker, his breath grew unequal, and a
+thousand fancies danced through his brain. He sighed, and said dreamily,
+as he turned his face toward her, "I like this." And in the act of
+speaking, seemed to sink into a soft cloud which encompassed him about
+with an atmosphere of perfect repose. More than this he could not
+remember, for sleep, deep and dreamless, fell upon him, and when he
+woke, daylight was shining in between the curtains, his hand lay alone
+on the coverlet, and his fair-haired enchantress was gone.
+
+
+
+
+_Chapter IV_
+
+
+A DISCOVERY
+
+For several days Coventry was confined to his room, much against his
+will, though everyone did their best to lighten his irksome captivity.
+His mother petted him, Bella sang, Lucia read, Edward was devoted, and
+all the household, with one exception, were eager to serve the young
+master. Jean Muir never came near him, and Jean Muir alone seemed to
+possess the power of amusing him. He soon tired of the others, wanted
+something new; recalled the piquant character of the girl and took a
+fancy into his head that she would lighten his ennui. After some
+hesitation, he carelessly spoke of her to Bella, but nothing came of
+it, for Bella only said Jean was well, and very busy doing something
+lovely to surprise Mamma with. Edward complained that he never saw
+her, and Lucia ignored her existence altogether. The only intelligence
+the invalid received was from the gossip of two housemaids over their
+work in the next room. From them he learned that the governess had
+been "scolded" by Miss Beaufort for going to Mr. Coventry's room; that
+she had taken it very sweetly and kept herself carefully out of the
+way of both young gentlemen, though it was plain to see that Mr. Ned
+was dying for her.
+
+Mr. Gerald amused himself by thinking over this gossip, and quite
+annoyed his sister by his absence of mind.
+
+"Gerald, do you know Ned's commission has come?"
+
+"Very interesting. Read on, Bella."
+
+"You stupid boy! You don't know a word I say," and she put down the book
+to repeat her news.
+
+"I'm glad of it; now we must get him off as soon as possible--that is, I
+suppose he will want to be off as soon as possible." And Coventry woke
+up from his reverie.
+
+"You needn't check yourself, I know all about it. I think Ned was very
+foolish, and that Miss Muir has behaved beautifully. It's quite
+impossible, of course, but I wish it wasn't, I do so like to watch
+lovers. You and Lucia are so cold you are not a bit interesting."
+
+"You'll do me a favor if you'll stop all that nonsense about Lucia and
+me. We are not lovers, and never shall be, I fancy. At all events, I'm
+tired of the thing, and wish you and Mamma would let it drop, for the
+present at least."
+
+"Oh Gerald, you know Mamma has set her heart upon it, that Papa desired
+it, and poor Lucia loves you so much. How can you speak of dropping what
+will make us all so happy?"
+
+"It won't make me happy, and I take the liberty of thinking that this is
+of some importance. I'm not bound in any way, and don't intend to be
+till I am ready. Now we'll talk about Ned."
+
+Much grieved and surprised, Bella obeyed, and devoted herself to Edward,
+who very wisely submitted to his fate and prepared to leave home for
+some months. For a week the house was in a state of excitement about his
+departure, and everyone but Jean was busied for him. She was scarcely
+seen; every morning she gave Bella her lessons, every afternoon drove
+out with Mrs. Coventry, and nearly every evening went up to the Hall to
+read to Sir John, who found his wish granted without exactly knowing how
+it had been done.
+
+The day Edward left, he came down from bidding his mother good-bye,
+looking very pale, for he had lingered in his sister's little room with
+Miss Muir as long as he dared.
+
+"Good-bye, dear. Be kind to Jean," he whispered as he kissed his sister.
+
+"I will, I will," returned Bella, with tearful eyes.
+
+"Take care of Mamma, and remember Lucia," he said again, as he touched
+his cousin's beautiful cheek.
+
+"Fear nothing. I will keep them apart," she whispered back, and
+Coventry heard it.
+
+Edward offered his hand to his brother, saying, significantly, as he
+looked him in the eye, "I trust you, Gerald."
+
+"You may, Ned."
+
+Then he went, and Coventry tired himself with wondering what Lucia
+meant. A few days later he understood.
+
+Now Ned is gone, little Muir will appear, I fancy, he said to himself;
+but "little Muir" did not appear, and seemed to shun him more carefully
+than she had done her lover. If he went to the drawing room in the
+evening hoping for music, Lucia alone was there. If he tapped at Bella's
+door, there was always a pause before she opened it, and no sign of Jean
+appeared though her voice had been audible when he knocked. If he went
+to the library, a hasty rustle and the sound of flying feet betrayed
+that the room was deserted at his approach. In the garden Miss Muir
+never failed to avoid him, and if by chance they met in hall or
+breakfast room, she passed him with downcast eyes and the briefest,
+coldest greeting. All this annoyed him intensely, and the more she
+eluded him, the more he desired to see her--from a spirit of opposition,
+he said, nothing more. It fretted and yet it entertained him, and he
+found a lazy sort of pleasure in thwarting the girl's little maneuvers.
+His patience gave out at last, and he resolved to know what was the
+meaning of this peculiar conduct. Having locked and taken away the key
+of one door in the library, he waited till Miss Muir went in to get a
+book for his uncle. He had heard her speak to Bella of it, knew that she
+believed him with his mother, and smiled to himself as he stole after
+her. She was standing in a chair, reaching up, and he had time to see a
+slender waist, a pretty foot, before he spoke.
+
+"Can I help you, Miss Muir?"
+
+She started, dropped several books, and turned scarlet, as she said
+hurriedly, "Thank you, no; I can get the steps."
+
+"My long arm will be less trouble. I've got but one, and that is tired
+of being idle, so it is very much at your service. What will you have?"
+
+"I--I--you startled me so I've forgotten." And Jean laughed, nervously,
+as she looked about her as if planning to escape.
+
+"I beg your pardon, wait till you remember, and let me thank you for the
+enchanted sleep you gave me ten days ago. I've had no chance yet, you've
+shunned me so pertinaciously."
+
+"Indeed I try not to be rude, but--" She checked herself, and turned her
+face away, adding, with an accent of pain in her voice, "It is not my
+fault, Mr. Coventry. I only obey orders."
+
+"Whose orders?" he demanded, still standing so that she could not
+escape.
+
+"Don't ask; it is one who has a right to command where you are
+concerned. Be sure that it is kindly meant, though it may seem folly
+to us. Nay, don't be angry, laugh at it, as I do, and let me run
+away, please."
+
+She turned, and looked down at him with tears in her eyes, a smile on
+her lips, and an expression half sad, half arch, which was altogether
+charming. The frown passed from his face, but he still looked grave and
+said decidedly, "No one has a right to command in this house but my
+mother or myself. Was it she who bade you avoid me as if I was a madman
+or a pest?"
+
+"Ah, don't ask. I promised not to tell, and you would not have me break
+my word, I know." And still smiling, she regarded him with a look of
+merry malice which made any other reply unnecessary. It was Lucia, he
+thought, and disliked his cousin intensely just then. Miss Muir moved as
+if to step down; he detained her, saying earnestly, yet with a smile,
+"Do you consider me the master here?"
+
+"Yes," and to the word she gave a sweet, submissive intonation which
+made it expressive of the respect, regard, and confidence which men find
+pleasantest when women feel and show it. Unconsciously his face
+softened, and he looked up at her with a different glance from any he
+had ever given her before.
+
+"Well, then, will you consent to obey me if I am not tyrannical or
+unreasonable in my demands?"
+
+"I'll try."
+
+"Good! Now frankly, I want to say that all this sort of thing is very
+disagreeable to me. It annoys me to be a restraint upon anyone's liberty
+or comfort, and I beg you will go and come as freely as you like, and
+not mind Lucia's absurdities. She means well, but hasn't a particle of
+penetration or tact. Will you promise this?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"It is better as it is, perhaps."
+
+"But you called it folly just now."
+
+"Yes, it seems so, and yet--" She paused, looking both confused and
+distressed.
+
+Coventry lost patience, and said hastily, "You women are such enigmas I
+never expect to understand you! Well, I've done my best to make you
+comfortable, but if you prefer to lead this sort of life, I beg you
+will do so."
+
+"I _don't_ prefer it; it is hateful to me. I like to be myself, to have
+my liberty, and the confidence of those about me. But I cannot think it
+kind to disturb the peace of anyone, and so I try to obey. I've promised
+Bella to remain, but I will go rather than have another scene with Miss
+Beaufort or with you."
+
+Miss Muir had burst out impetuously, and stood there with a sudden fire
+in her eyes, sudden warmth and spirit in her face and voice that amazed
+Coventry. She was angry, hurt, and haughty, and the change only made her
+more attractive, for not a trace of her former meek self remained.
+Coventry was electrified, and still more surprised when she added,
+imperiously, with a gesture as if to put him aside, "Hand me that book
+and move away. I wish to go."
+
+He obeyed, even offered his hand, but she refused it, stepped lightly
+down, and went to the door. There she turned, and with the same
+indignant voice, the same kindling eyes and glowing cheeks, she said
+rapidly, "I know I have no right to speak in this way. I restrain myself
+as long as I can, but when I can bear no more, my true self breaks
+loose, and I defy everything. I am tired of being a cold, calm machine;
+it is impossible with an ardent nature like mine, and I shall try no
+longer. I cannot help it if people love me. I don't want their love. I
+only ask to be left in peace, and why I am tormented so I cannot see.
+I've neither beauty, money, nor rank, yet every foolish boy mistakes my
+frank interest for something warmer, and makes me miserable. It is my
+misfortune. Think of me what you will, but beware of me in time, for
+against my will I may do you harm."
+
+Almost fiercely she had spoken, and with a warning gesture she hurried
+from the room, leaving the young man feeling as if a sudden thunder-gust
+had swept through the house. For several minutes he sat in the chair she
+left, thinking deeply. Suddenly he rose, went to his sister, and said,
+in his usual tone of indolent good nature, "Bella, didn't I hear Ned ask
+you to be kind to Miss Muir?"
+
+"Yes, and I try to be, but she is so odd lately."
+
+"Odd! How do you mean?"
+
+"Why, she is either as calm and cold as a statue, or restless and queer;
+she cries at night, I know, and sighs sadly when she thinks I don't
+hear. Something is the matter."
+
+"She frets for Ned perhaps," began Coventry.
+
+"Oh dear, no; it's a great relief to her that he is gone. I'm afraid
+that she likes someone very much, and someone don't like her. Can it be
+Mr. Sydney?"
+
+"She called him a 'titled fool' once, but perhaps that didn't mean
+anything. Did you ever ask her about him?" said Coventry, feeling rather
+ashamed of his curiosity, yet unable to resist the temptation of
+questioning unsuspecting Bella.
+
+"Yes, but she only looked at me in her tragical way, and said, so
+pitifully, 'My little friend, I hope you will never have to pass through
+the scenes I've passed through, but keep your peace unbroken all your
+life.' After that I dared say no more. I'm very fond of her, I want to
+make her happy, but I don't know how. Can you propose anything?"
+
+"I was going to propose that you make her come among us more, now Ned is
+gone. It must be dull for her, moping about alone. I'm sure it is for
+me. She is an entertaining little person, and I enjoy her music very
+much. It's good for Mamma to have gay evenings; so you bestir yourself,
+and see what you can do for the general good of the family."
+
+"That's all very charming, and I've proposed it more than once, but
+Lucia spoils all my plans. She is afraid you'll follow Ned's example,
+and that is so silly."
+
+"Lucia is a--no, I won't say fool, because she has sense enough when she
+chooses; but I wish you'd just settle things with Mamma, and then Lucia
+can do nothing but submit," said Gerald angrily.
+
+"I'll try, but she goes up to read to Uncle, you know, and since he has
+had the gout, she stays later, so I see little of her in the evening.
+There she goes now. I think she will captivate the old one as well as
+the young one, she is so devoted."
+
+Coventry looked after her slender black figure, just vanishing through
+the great gate, and an uncomfortable fancy took possession of him, born
+of Bella's careless words. He sauntered away, and after eluding his
+cousin, who seemed looking for him, he turned toward the Hall, saying to
+himself, I will see what is going on up here. Such things have happened.
+Uncle is the simplest soul alive, and if the girl is ambitious, she can
+do what she will with him.
+
+Here a servant came running after him and gave him a letter, which he
+thrust into his pocket without examining it. When he reached the Hall,
+he went quietly to his uncle's study. The door was ajar, and looking in,
+he saw a scene of tranquil comfort, very pleasant to watch. Sir John
+leaned in his easy chair with one foot on a cushion. He was dressed with
+his usual care and, in spite of the gout, looked like a handsome,
+well-preserved old gentleman. He was smiling as he listened, and his
+eyes rested complacently on Jean Muir, who sat near him reading in her
+musical voice, while the sunshine glittered on her hair and the soft
+rose of her cheek. She read well, yet Coventry thought her heart was not
+in her task, for once when she paused, while Sir John spoke, her eyes
+had an absent expression, and she leaned her head upon her hand, with an
+air of patient weariness.
+
+Poor girl! I did her great injustice; she has no thought of captivating
+the old man, but amuses him from simple kindness. She is tired. I'll put
+an end to her task; and Coventry entered without knocking.
+
+Sir John received him with an air of polite resignation, Miss Muir with
+a perfectly expressionless face.
+
+"Mother's love, and how are you today, sir?"
+
+"Comfortable, but dull, so I want you to bring the girls over this
+evening, to amuse the old gentleman. Mrs. King has got out the
+antique costumes and trumpery, as I promised Bella she should have
+them, and tonight we are to have a merrymaking, as we used to do when
+Ned was here."
+
+"Very well, sir, I'll bring them. We've all been out of sorts since the
+lad left, and a little jollity will do us good. Are you going back, Miss
+Muir?" asked Coventry.
+
+"No, I shall keep her to give me my tea and get things ready. Don't read
+anymore, my dear, but go and amuse yourself with the pictures, or
+whatever you like," said Sir John; and like a dutiful daughter she
+obeyed, as if glad to get away.
+
+"That's a very charming girl, Gerald," began Sir John as she left the
+room. "I'm much interested in her, both on her own account and on her
+mother's."
+
+"Her mother's! What do you know of her mother?" asked Coventry, much
+surprised.
+
+"Her mother was Lady Grace Howard, who ran away with a poor Scotch
+minister twenty years ago. The family cast her off, and she lived and
+died so obscurely that very little is known of her except that she left
+an orphan girl at some small French pension. This is the girl, and a
+fine girl, too. I'm surprised that you did not know this."
+
+"So am I, but it is like her not to tell. She is a strange, proud
+creature. Lady Howard's daughter! Upon my word, that is a discovery,"
+and Coventry felt his interest in his sister's governess much increased
+by this fact; for, like all wellborn Englishmen, he valued rank and
+gentle blood even more than he cared to own.
+
+"She has had a hard life of it, this poor little girl, but she has a
+brave spirit, and will make her way anywhere," said Sir John admiringly.
+
+"Did Ned know this?" asked Gerald suddenly.
+
+"No, she only told me yesterday. I was looking in the _Peerage_ and
+chanced to speak of the Howards. She forgot herself and called Lady
+Grace her mother. Then I got the whole story, for the lonely little
+thing was glad to make a confidant of someone."
+
+"That accounts for her rejection of Sydney and Ned: she knows she is
+their equal and will not snatch at the rank which is hers by right. No,
+she's not mercenary or ambitious."
+
+"What do you say?" asked Sir John, for Coventry had spoken more to
+himself than to his uncle.
+
+"I wonder if Lady Sydney was aware of this?" was all Gerald's answer.
+
+"No, Jean said she did not wish to be pitied, and so told nothing to the
+mother. I think the son knew, but that was a delicate point, and I asked
+no questions."
+
+"I shall write to him as soon as I discover his address. We have been so
+intimate I can venture to make a few inquiries about Miss Muir, and
+prove the truth of her story."
+
+"Do you mean to say that you doubt it?" demanded Sir John angrily.
+
+"I beg your pardon, Uncle, but I must confess I have an instinctive
+distrust of that young person. It is unjust, I dare say, yet I cannot
+banish it."
+
+"Don't annoy me by expressing it, if you please. I have some penetration
+and experience, and I respect and pity Miss Muir heartily. This dislike
+of yours may be the cause of her late melancholy, hey, Gerald?" And Sir
+John looked suspiciously at his nephew.
+
+Anxious to avert the rising storm, Coventry said hastily as he turned
+away, "I've neither time nor inclination to discuss the matter now, sir,
+but will be careful not to offend again. I'll take your message to
+Bella, so good-bye for an hour, Uncle."
+
+And Coventry went his way through the park, thinking within himself, The
+dear old gentleman is getting fascinated, like poor Ned. How the deuce
+does the girl do it? Lady Howard's daughter, yet never told us; I don't
+understand that.
+
+
+
+
+_Chapter V_
+
+
+HOW THE GIRL DID IT
+
+At home he found a party of young friends, who hailed with delight the
+prospect of a revel at the Hall. An hour later, the blithe company
+trooped into the great saloon, where preparations had already been made
+for a dramatic evening.
+
+Good Sir John was in his element, for he was never so happy as when his
+house was full of young people. Several persons were chosen, and in a
+few moments the curtains were withdrawn from the first of these
+impromptu tableaux. A swarthy, darkly bearded man lay asleep on a tiger
+skin, in the shadow of a tent. Oriental arms and drapery surrounded him;
+an antique silver lamp burned dimly on a table where fruit lay heaped in
+costly dishes, and wine shone redly in half-emptied goblets. Bending
+over the sleeper was a woman robed with barbaric splendor. One hand
+turned back the embroidered sleeve from the arm which held a scimitar;
+one slender foot in a scarlet sandal was visible under the white tunic;
+her purple mantle swept down from snowy shoulders; fillets of gold bound
+her hair, and jewels shone on neck and arms. She was looking over her
+shoulder toward the entrance of the tent, with a steady yet stealthy
+look, so effective that for a moment the spectators held their breath,
+as if they also heard a passing footstep.
+
+"Who is it?" whispered Lucia, for the face was new to her.
+
+"Jean Muir," answered Coventry, with an absorbed look.
+
+"Impossible! She is small and fair," began Lucia, but a hasty "Hush, let
+me look!" from her cousin silenced her.
+
+Impossible as it seemed, he was right nevertheless; for Jean Muir it
+was. She had darkened her skin, painted her eyebrows, disposed some wild
+black locks over her fair hair, and thrown such an intensity of
+expression into her eyes that they darkened and dilated till they were
+as fierce as any southern eyes that ever flashed. Hatred, the deepest
+and bitterest, was written on her sternly beautiful face, courage glowed
+in her glance, power spoke in the nervous grip of the slender hand that
+held the weapon, and the indomitable will of the woman was
+expressed--even the firm pressure of the little foot half hidden in the
+tiger skin.
+
+"Oh, isn't she splendid?" cried Bella under her breath.
+
+"She looks as if she'd use her sword well when the time comes," said
+someone admiringly.
+
+"Good night to Holofernes; his fate is certain," added another.
+
+"He is the image of Sydney, with that beard on."
+
+"Doesn't she look as if she really hated him?"
+
+"Perhaps she does."
+
+Coventry uttered the last exclamation, for the two which preceded it
+suggested an explanation of the marvelous change in Jean. It was not all
+art: the intense detestation mingled with a savage joy that the object
+of her hatred was in her power was too perfect to be feigned; and having
+the key to a part of her story, Coventry felt as if he caught a glimpse
+of the truth. It was but a glimpse, however, for the curtain dropped
+before he had half analyzed the significance of that strange face.
+
+"Horrible! I'm glad it's over," said Lucia coldly.
+
+"Magnificent! Encore! Encore!" cried Gerald enthusiastically.
+
+But the scene was over, and no applause could recall the actress. Two or
+three graceful or gay pictures followed, but Jean was in none, and each
+lacked the charm which real talent lends to the simplest part.
+
+"Coventry, you are wanted," called a voice. And to everyone's surprise,
+Coventry went, though heretofore he had always refused to exert himself
+when handsome actors were in demand.
+
+"What part am I to spoil?" he asked, as he entered the green room, where
+several excited young gentlemen were costuming and attitudinizing.
+
+"A fugitive cavalier. Put yourself into this suit, and lose no time
+asking questions. Miss Muir will tell you what to do. She is in the
+tableau, so no one will mind you," said the manager pro tem, throwing a
+rich old suit toward Coventry and resuming the painting of a moustache
+on his own boyish face.
+
+A gallant cavalier was the result of Gerald's hasty toilet, and when
+he appeared before the ladies a general glance of admiration was
+bestowed upon him.
+
+"Come along and be placed; Jean is ready on the stage." And Bella ran
+before him, exclaiming to her governess, "Here he is, quite splendid.
+Wasn't he good to do it?"
+
+Miss Muir, in the charmingly prim and puritanical dress of a Roundhead
+damsel, was arranging some shrubs, but turned suddenly and dropped the
+green branch she held, as her eye met the glittering figure advancing
+toward her.
+
+"You!" she said with a troubled look, adding low to Bella, "Why did you
+ask _him?_ I begged you not."
+
+"He is the only handsome man here, and the best actor if he likes. He
+won't play usually, so make the most of him." And Bella was off to
+finish powdering her hair for "The Marriage a la Mode."
+
+"I was sent for and I came. Do you prefer some other person?" asked
+Coventry, at a loss to understand the half-anxious, half-eager
+expression of the face under the little cap.
+
+It changed to one of mingled annoyance and resignation as she said, "It
+is too late. Please kneel here, half behind the shrubs; put down your
+hat, and--allow me--you are too elegant for a fugitive."
+
+As he knelt before her, she disheveled his hair, pulled his lace collar
+awry, threw away his gloves and sword, and half untied the cloak that
+hung about his shoulders.
+
+"That is better; your paleness is excellent--nay, don't spoil it. We are
+to represent the picture which hangs in the Hall. I need tell you no
+more. Now, Roundheads, place yourselves, and then ring up the curtain."
+
+With a smile, Coventry obeyed her; for the picture was of two lovers,
+the young cavalier kneeling, with his arm around the waist of the girl,
+who tries to hide him with her little mantle, and presses his head to
+her bosom in an ecstasy of fear, as she glances back at the approaching
+pursuers. Jean hesitated an instant and shrank a little as his hand
+touched her; she blushed deeply, and her eyes fell before his. Then, as
+the bell rang, she threw herself into her part with sudden spirit. One
+arm half covered him with her cloak, the other pillowed his head on the
+muslin kerchief folded over her bosom, and she looked backward with such
+terror in her eyes that more than one chivalrous young spectator longed
+to hurry to the rescue. It lasted but a moment; yet in that moment
+Coventry experienced another new sensation. Many women had smiled on
+him, but he had remained heart-whole, cool, and careless, quite
+unconscious of the power which a woman possesses and knows how to use,
+for the weal or woe of man. Now, as he knelt there with a soft arm about
+him, a slender waist yielding to his touch, and a maiden heart throbbing
+against his cheek, for the first time in his life he felt the
+indescribable spell of womanhood, and looked the ardent lover to
+perfection. Just as his face assumed this new and most becoming aspect,
+the curtain dropped, and clamorous encores recalled him to the fact that
+Miss Muir was trying to escape from his hold, which had grown painful in
+its unconscious pressure. He sprang up, half bewildered, and looking as
+he had never looked before.
+
+"Again! Again!" called Sir John. And the young men who played the
+Roundheads, eager to share in the applause begged for a repetition in
+new attitudes.
+
+"A rustle has betrayed you, we have fired and shot the brave girl, and
+she lies dying, you know. That will be effective; try it, Miss Muir,"
+said one. And with a long breath, Jean complied.
+
+The curtain went up, showing the lover still on his knees, unmindful of
+the captors who clutched him by the shoulder, for at his feet the girl
+lay dying. Her head was on his breast, now, her eyes looked full into
+his, no longer wild with fear, but eloquent with the love which even
+death could not conquer. The power of those tender eyes thrilled
+Coventry with a strange delight, and set his heart beating as rapidly as
+hers had done. She felt his hands tremble, saw the color flash into his
+cheek, knew that she had touched him at last, and when she rose it was
+with a sense of triumph which she found it hard to conceal. Others
+thought it fine acting; Coventry tried to believe so; but Lucia set her
+teeth, and, as the curtain fell on that second picture, she left her
+place to hurry behind the scenes, bent on putting an end to such
+dangerous play. Several actors were complimenting the mimic lovers. Jean
+took it merrily, but Coventry, in spite of himself, betrayed that he was
+excited by something deeper than mere gratified vanity.
+
+As Lucia appeared, his manner changed to its usual indifference; but he
+could not quench the unwonted fire of his eyes, or keep all trace of
+emotion out of his face, and she saw this with a sharp pang.
+
+"I have come to offer my help. You must be tired, Miss Muir. Can I
+relieve you?" said Lucia hastily.
+
+"Yes, thank you. I shall be very glad to leave the rest to you, and
+enjoy them from the front."
+
+So with a sweet smile Jean tripped away, and to Lucia's dismay
+Coventry followed.
+
+"I want you, Gerald; please stay," she cried.
+
+"I've done my part--no more tragedy for me tonight." And he was gone
+before she could entreat or command.
+
+There was no help for it; she must stay and do her duty, or expose her
+jealousy to the quick eyes about her. For a time she bore it; but the
+sight of her cousin leaning over the chair she had left and chatting
+with the governess, who now filled it, grew unbearable, and she
+dispatched a little girl with a message to Miss Muir.
+
+"Please, Miss Beaufort wants you for Queen Bess, as you are the only
+lady with red hair. Will you come?" whispered the child, quite
+unconscious of any hidden sting in her words.
+
+"Yes, dear, willingly though I'm not stately enough for Her Majesty, nor
+handsome enough," said Jean, rising with an untroubled face, though she
+resented the feminine insult.
+
+"Do you want an Essex? I'm all dressed for it," said Coventry, following
+to the door with a wistful look.
+
+"No, Miss Beaufort said _you_ were not to come. She doesn't want you
+both together," said the child decidedly.
+
+Jean gave him a significant look, shrugged her shoulders, and went away
+smiling her odd smile, while Coventry paced up and down the hall in a
+curious state of unrest, which made him forgetful of everything till the
+young people came gaily out to supper.
+
+"Come, bonny Prince Charlie, take me down, and play the lover as
+charmingly as you did an hour ago. I never thought you had so much
+warmth in you," said Bella, taking his arm and drawing him on
+against his will.
+
+"Don't be foolish, child. Where is--Lucia?"
+
+Why he checked Jean's name on his lips and substituted another's, he
+could not tell; but a sudden shyness in speaking of her possessed him,
+and though he saw her nowhere, he would not ask for her. His cousin came
+down looking lovely in a classical costume; but Gerald scarcely saw her,
+and, when the merriment was at its height, he slipped away to discover
+what had become of Miss Muir.
+
+Alone in the deserted drawing room he found her, and paused to watch her
+a moment before he spoke; for something in her attitude and face struck
+him. She was leaning wearily back in the great chair which had served
+for a throne. Her royal robes were still unchanged, though the crown was
+off and all her fair hair hung about her shoulders. Excitement and
+exertion made her brilliant, the rich dress became her wonderfully, and
+an air of luxurious indolence changed the meek governess into a charming
+woman. She leaned on the velvet cushions as if she were used to such
+support; she played with the jewels which had crowned her as carelessly
+as if she were born to wear them; her attitude was full of negligent
+grace, and the expression of her face half proud, half pensive, as if
+her thoughts were bittersweet.
+
+One would know she was wellborn to see her now. Poor girl, what a
+burden a life of dependence must be to a spirit like hers! I wonder
+what she is thinking of so intently. And Coventry indulged in another
+look before he spoke.
+
+"Shall I bring you some supper, Miss Muir?"
+
+"Supper!" she ejaculated, with a start. "Who thinks of one's body when
+one's soul is--" She stopped there, knit her brows, and laughed faintly
+as she added, "No, thank you. I want nothing but advice, and that I dare
+not ask of anyone."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Because I have no right."
+
+"Everyone has a right to ask help, especially the weak of the strong.
+Can I help you? Believe me, I most heartily offer my poor services."
+
+"Ah, you forget! This dress, the borrowed splendor of these jewels, the
+freedom of this gay evening, the romance of the part you played, all
+blind you to the reality. For a moment I cease to be a servant, and for
+a moment you treat me as an equal."
+
+It was true; he _had_ forgotten. That soft, reproachful glance touched
+him, his distrust melted under the new charm, and he answered with real
+feeling in voice and face, "I treat you as an equal because you _are_
+one; and when I offered help, it is not to my sister's governess alone,
+but to Lady Howard's daughter."
+
+"Who told you that?" she demanded, sitting erect.
+
+"My uncle. Do not reproach him. It shall go no further, if you forbid
+it. Are you sorry that I know it?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Why?"
+
+"Because I will not be pitied!" And her eyes flashed as she made a
+half-defiant gesture.
+
+"Then, if I may not pity the hard fate which has befallen an innocent
+life, may I admire the courage which meets adverse fortune so bravely,
+and conquers the world by winning the respect and regard of all who see
+and honor it?"
+
+Miss Muir averted her face, put up her hand, and answered hastily, "No,
+no, not that! Do not be kind; it destroys the only barrier now left
+between us. Be cold to me as before, forget what I am, and let me go on
+my way, unknown, unpitied, and unloved!"
+
+Her voice faltered and failed as the last word was uttered, and she bent
+her face upon her hand. Something jarred upon Coventry in this speech,
+and moved him to say, almost rudely, "You need have no fears for me.
+Lucia will tell you what an iceberg I am."
+
+"Then Lucia would tell me wrong. I have the fatal power of reading
+character; I know you better than she does, and I see--" There she
+stopped abruptly.
+
+"What? Tell me and prove your skill," he said eagerly.
+
+Turning, she fixed her eyes on him with a penetrating power that made
+him shrink as she said slowly, "Under the ice I see fire, and warn you
+to beware lest it prove a volcano."
+
+For a moment he sat dumb, wondering at the insight of the girl; for she
+was the first to discover the hidden warmth of a nature too proud to
+confess its tender impulses, or the ambitions that slept till some
+potent voice awoke them. The blunt, almost stern manner in which she
+warned him away from her only made her more attractive; for there was no
+conceit or arrogance in it, only a foreboding fear emboldened by past
+suffering to be frank. Suddenly he spoke impetuously:
+
+"You are right! I am not what I seem, and my indolent indifference is
+but the mask under which I conceal my real self. I could be as
+passionate, as energetic and aspiring as Ned, if I had any aim in
+life. I have none, and so I am what you once called me, a thing to
+pity and despise."
+
+"I never said that!" cried Jean indignantly.
+
+"Not in those words, perhaps; but you looked it and thought it, though
+you phrased it more mildly. I deserved it, but I shall deserve it no
+longer. I am beginning to wake from my disgraceful idleness, and long
+for some work that shall make a man of me. Why do you go? I annoy you
+with my confessions. Pardon me. They are the first I ever made; they
+shall be the last."
+
+"No, oh no! I am too much honored by your confidence; but is it wise, is
+it loyal to tell _me_ your hopes and aims? Has not Miss Beaufort the
+first right to be your confidante?"
+
+Coventry drew back, looking intensely annoyed, for the name recalled
+much that he would gladly have forgotten in the novel excitement of the
+hour. Lucia's love, Edward's parting words, his own reserve so strangely
+thrown aside, so difficult to resume. What he would have said was
+checked by the sight of a half-open letter which fell from Jean's dress
+as she moved away. Mechanically he took it up to return it, and, as he
+did so, he recognized Sydney's handwriting. Jean snatched it from him,
+turning pale to the lips as she cried, "Did you read it? What did you
+see? Tell me, tell me, on your honor!"
+
+"On my honor, I saw nothing but this single sentence, 'By the love I
+bear you, believe what I say.' No more, as I am a gentleman. I know the
+hand, I guess the purport of the letter, and as a friend of Sydney, I
+earnestly desire to help you, if I can. Is this the matter upon which
+you want advice?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Then let me give it?"
+
+"You cannot, without knowing all, and it is so hard to tell!"
+
+"Let me guess it, and spare you the pain of telling. May I?" And
+Coventry waited eagerly for her reply, for the spell was still upon him.
+
+Holding the letter fast, she beckoned him to follow, and glided before
+him to a secluded little nook, half boudoir, half conservatory. There
+she paused, stood an instant as if in doubt, then looked up at him with
+confiding eyes and said decidedly, "I will do it; for, strange as it may
+seem, you are the only person to whom I _can_ speak. You know Sydney,
+you have discovered that I am an equal, you have offered your help. I
+accept it; but oh, do not think me unwomanly! Remember how alone I am,
+how young, and how much I rely upon your sincerity, your sympathy!"
+
+"Speak freely. I am indeed your friend." And Coventry sat down beside
+her, forgetful of everything but the soft-eyed girl who confided in him
+so entirely.
+
+Speaking rapidly, Jean went on, "You know that Sydney loved me, that I
+refused him and went away. But you do not know that his importunities
+nearly drove me wild, that he threatened to rob me of my only treasure,
+my good name, and that, in desperation, I tried to kill myself. Yes,
+mad, wicked as it was, I did long to end the life which was, at best, a
+burden, and under his persecution had become a torment. You are shocked,
+yet what I say is the living truth. Lady Sydney will confirm it, the
+nurses at the hospital will confess that it was not a fever which
+brought me there; and here, though the external wound is healed, my
+heart still aches and burns with the shame and indignation which only a
+proud woman can feel."
+
+She paused and sat with kindling eyes, glowing cheeks, and both hands
+pressed to her heaving bosom, as if the old insult roused her spirit
+anew. Coventry said not a word, for surprise, anger, incredulity, and
+admiration mingled so confusedly in his mind that he forgot to speak,
+and Jean went on, "That wild act of mine convinced him of my indomitable
+dislike. He went away, and I believed that this stormy love of his would
+be cured by absence. It is not, and I live in daily fear of fresh
+entreaties, renewed persecution. His mother promised not to betray where
+I had gone, but he found me out and wrote to me. The letter I asked you
+to take to Lady Sydney was a reply to his, imploring him to leave me in
+peace. You failed to deliver it, and I was glad, for I thought silence
+might quench hope. All in vain; this is a more passionate appeal than
+ever, and he vows he will never desist from his endeavors till I give
+another man the right to protect me. I _can_ do this--I am sorely
+tempted to do it, but I rebel against the cruelty. I love my freedom, I
+have no wish to marry at this man's bidding. What can I do? How can I
+free myself? Be my friend, and help me!"
+
+Tears streamed down her cheeks, sobs choked her words, and she clasped
+her hands imploringly as she turned toward the young man in all the
+abandonment of sorrow, fear, and supplication. Coventry found it hard to
+meet those eloquent eyes and answer calmly, for he had no experience in
+such scenes and knew not how to play his part. It is this absurd dress
+and that romantic nonsense which makes me feel so unlike myself, he
+thought, quite unconscious of the dangerous power which the dusky room,
+the midsummer warmth and fragrance, the memory of the "romantic
+nonsense," and, most of all, the presence of a beautiful, afflicted
+woman had over him. His usual self-possession deserted him, and he could
+only echo the words which had made the strongest impression upon him:
+
+"You _can_ do this, you are tempted to do it. Is Ned the man who can
+protect you?"
+
+"No" was the soft reply.
+
+"Who then?"
+
+"Do not ask me. A good and honorable man; one who loves me well, and
+would devote his life to me; one whom once it would have been happiness
+to marry, but now--"
+
+There her voice ended in a sigh, and all her fair hair fell down about
+her face, hiding it in a shining veil.
+
+"Why not now? This is a sure and speedy way of ending your distress. Is
+it impossible?"
+
+In spite of himself, Gerald leaned nearer, took one of the little hands
+in his, and pressed it as he spoke, urgently, compassionately, nay,
+almost tenderly. From behind the veil came a heavy sigh, and the brief
+answer, "It is impossible."
+
+"Why, Jean?"
+
+She flung her hair back with a sudden gesture, drew away her hand, and
+answered, almost fiercely, "Because I do not love him! Why do you
+torment me with such questions? I tell you I am in a sore strait and
+cannot see my way. Shall I deceive the good man, and secure peace at the
+price of liberty and truth? Or shall I defy Sydney and lead a life of
+dread? If he menaced my life, I should not fear; but he menaces that
+which is dearer than life--my good name. A look, a word can tarnish it;
+a scornful smile, a significant shrug can do me more harm than any blow;
+for I am a woman--friendless, poor, and at the mercy of his tongue. Ah,
+better to have died, and so have been saved the bitter pain that has
+come now!"
+
+She sprang up, clasped her hands over her head, and paced despairingly
+through the little room, not weeping, but wearing an expression more
+tragical than tears. Still feeling as if he had suddenly stepped into a
+romance, yet finding a keen pleasure in the part assigned him, Coventry
+threw himself into it with spirit, and heartily did his best to console
+the poor girl who needed help so much. Going to her, he said as
+impetuously as Ned ever did, "Miss Muir--nay, I will say Jean, if that
+will comfort you--listen, and rest assured that no harm shall touch you
+if I can ward it off. You are needlessly alarmed. Indignant you may well
+be, but, upon my life, I think you wrong Sydney. He is violent, I know,
+but he is too honorable a man to injure you by a light word, an unjust
+act. He did but threaten, hoping to soften you. Let me see him, or write
+to him. He is my friend; he will listen to me. Of that I am sure."
+
+"Be sure of nothing. When a man like Sydney loves and is thwarted in his
+love, nothing can control his headstrong will. Promise me you will not
+see or write to him. Much as I fear and despise him, I will submit,
+rather than any harm should befall you--or your brother. You promise me,
+Mr. Coventry?"
+
+He hesitated. She clung to his arm with unfeigned solicitude in her
+eager, pleading face, and he could not resist it.
+
+"I promise; but in return you must promise to let me give what help I
+can; and, Jean, never say again that you are friendless."
+
+"You are so kind! God bless you for it. But I dare not accept
+your friendship; she will not permit it, and I have no right to
+mar her peace."
+
+"Who will not permit it?" he demanded hotly.
+
+"Miss Beaufort."
+
+"Hang Miss Beaufort!" exclaimed Coventry, with such energy that Jean
+broke into a musical laugh, despite her trouble. He joined in it, and,
+for an instant they stood looking at one another as if the last barrier
+were down, and they were friends indeed. Jean paused suddenly, with the
+smile on her lips, the tears still on her cheek, and made a warning
+gesture. He listened: the sound of feet mingled with calls and laughter
+proved that they were missed and sought.
+
+"That laugh betrayed us. Stay and meet them. I cannot." And Jean darted
+out upon the lawn. Coventry followed; for the thought of confronting so
+many eyes, so many questions, daunted him, and he fled like a coward.
+The sound of Jean's flying footsteps guided him, and he overtook her
+just as she paused behind a rose thicket to take breath.
+
+"Fainthearted knight! You should have stayed and covered my retreat.
+Hark! they are coming! Hide! Hide!" she panted, half in fear, half in
+merriment, as the gay pursuers rapidly drew nearer.
+
+"Kneel down; the moon is coming out and the glitter of your embroidery
+will betray you," whispered Jean, as they cowered behind the roses.
+
+"Your arms and hair will betray you. 'Come under my plaiddie,' as the
+song says." And Coventry tried to make his velvet cloak cover the white
+shoulders and fair locks.
+
+"We are acting our parts in reality now. How Bella will enjoy the thing
+when I tell her!" said Jean as the noises died away.
+
+"Do not tell her," whispered Coventry.
+
+"And why not?" she asked, looking up into the face so near her own, with
+an artless glance.
+
+"Can you not guess why?"
+
+"Ah, you are so proud you cannot bear to be laughed at."
+
+"It is not that. It is because I do not want you to be annoyed by silly
+tongues; you have enough to pain you without that. I am your friend,
+now, and I do my best to prove it."
+
+"So kind, so kind! How can I thank you?" murmured Jean. And she
+involuntarily nestled closer under the cloak that sheltered both.
+
+Neither spoke for a moment, and in the silence the rapid beating of two
+hearts was heard. To drown the sound, Coventry said softly, "Are you
+frightened?"
+
+"No, I like it," she answered, as softly, then added abruptly, "But why
+do we hide? There is nothing to fear. It is late. I must go. You are
+kneeling on my train. Please rise."
+
+"Why in such haste? This flight and search only adds to the charm of the
+evening. I'll not get up yet. Will you have a rose, Jean?"
+
+"No, I will not. Let me go, Mr. Coventry, I insist. There has been
+enough of this folly. You forget yourself."
+
+She spoke imperiously, flung off the cloak, and put him from her. He
+rose at once, saying, like one waking suddenly from a pleasant dream, "I
+do indeed forget myself."
+
+Here the sound of voices broke on them, nearer than before. Pointing to
+a covered walk that led to the house, he said, in his usually cool, calm
+tone, "Go in that way; I will cover your retreat." And turning, he went
+to meet the merry hunters.
+
+Half an hour later, when the party broke up, Miss Muir joined them in
+her usual quiet dress, looking paler, meeker, and sadder than usual.
+Coventry saw this, though he neither looked at her nor addressed her.
+Lucia saw it also, and was glad that the dangerous girl had fallen back
+into her proper place again, for she had suffered much that night. She
+appropriated her cousin's arm as they went through the park, but he was
+in one of his taciturn moods, and all her attempts at conversation were
+in vain. Miss Muir walked alone, singing softly to herself as she
+followed in the dusk. Was Gerald so silent because he listened to that
+fitful song? Lucia thought so, and felt her dislike rapidly deepening
+to hatred.
+
+When the young friends were gone, and the family were exchanging
+good-nights among themselves, Jean was surprised by Coventry's offering
+his hand, for he had never done it before, and whispering, as he held
+it, though Lucia watched him all the while, "I have not given my
+advice, yet."
+
+"Thanks, I no longer need it. I have decided for myself."
+
+"May I ask how?"
+
+"To brave my enemy."
+
+"Good! But what decided you so suddenly?"
+
+"The finding of a friend." And with a grateful glance she was gone.
+
+
+
+
+_Chapter VI_
+
+
+ON THE WATCH
+
+"If you please, Mr. Coventry, did you get the letter last night?" were
+the first words that greeted the "young master" as he left his room
+next morning.
+
+"What letter, Dean? I don't remember any," he answered, pausing, for
+something in the maid's manner struck him as peculiar.
+
+"It came just as you left for the Hall, sir. Benson ran after you with
+it, as it was marked 'Haste.' Didn't you get it, sir?" asked the woman,
+anxiously.
+
+"Yes, but upon my life, I forgot all about it till this minute. It's in
+my other coat, I suppose, if I've not lost it. That absurd masquerading
+put everything else out of my head." And speaking more to himself than
+to the maid, Coventry turned back to look for the missing letter.
+
+Dean remained where she was, apparently busy about the arrangement of
+the curtains at the hall window, but furtively watching meanwhile with a
+most unwonted air of curiosity.
+
+"Not there, I thought so!" she muttered, as Coventry impatiently thrust
+his hand into one pocket after another. But as she spoke, an expression
+of amazement appeared in her face, for suddenly the letter was
+discovered.
+
+"I'd have sworn it wasn't there! I don't understand it, but she's a deep
+one, or I'm much deceived." And Dean shook her head like one perplexed,
+but not convinced.
+
+Coventry uttered an exclamation of satisfaction on glancing at the
+address and, standing where he was, tore open the letter.
+
+    Dear C:
+
+    I'm off to Baden. Come and join me, then you'll be out of harm's way;
+    for if you fall in love with J.M. (and you can't escape if you stay
+    where she is), you will incur the trifling inconvenience of having
+    your brains blown out by
+
+    Yours truly, F.R. Sydney
+
+"The man is mad!" ejaculated Coventry, staring at the letter while an
+angry flush rose to his face. "What the deuce does he mean by writing to
+me in that style? Join him--not I! And as for the threat, I laugh at it.
+Poor Jean! This headstrong fool seems bent on tormenting her. Well,
+Dean, what are you waiting for?" he demanded, as if suddenly conscious
+of her presence.
+
+"Nothing, sir; I only stopped to see if you found the letter. Beg
+pardon, sir."
+
+And she was moving on when Coventry asked, with a suspicious look, "What
+made you think it was lost? You seem to take an uncommon interest in my
+affairs today."
+
+"Oh dear, no, sir. I felt a bit anxious, Benson is so forgetful, and it
+was me who sent him after you, for I happened to see you go out, so I
+felt responsible. Being marked that way, I thought it might be important
+so I asked about it."
+
+"Very well, you can go, Dean. It's all right, you see."
+
+"I'm not so sure of that," muttered the woman, as she curtsied
+respectfully and went away, looking as if the letter had _not_
+been found.
+
+Dean was Miss Beaufort's maid, a grave, middle-aged woman with keen eyes
+and a somewhat grim air. Having been long in the family, she enjoyed all
+the privileges of a faithful and favorite servant. She loved her young
+mistress with an almost jealous affection. She watched over her with the
+vigilant care of a mother and resented any attempt at interference on
+the part of others. At first she had pitied and liked Jean Muir, then
+distrusted her, and now heartily hated her, as the cause of the
+increased indifference of Coventry toward his cousin. Dean knew the
+depth of Lucia's love, and though no man, in her eyes, was worthy of her
+mistress, still, having honored him with her regard, Dean felt bound to
+like him, and the late change in his manner disturbed the maid almost as
+much as it did the mistress. She watched Jean narrowly, causing that
+amiable creature much amusement but little annoyance, as yet, for Dean's
+slow English wit was no match for the subtle mind of the governess. On
+the preceding night, Dean had been sent up to the Hall with costumes and
+had there seen something which much disturbed her. She began to speak of
+it while undressing her mistress, but Lucia, being in an unhappy mood,
+had so sternly ordered her not to gossip that the tale remained untold,
+and she was forced to bide her tune.
+
+Now I'll see how _she_ looks after it; though there's not much to be got
+out of _her_ face, the deceitful hussy, thought Dean, marching down the
+corridor and knitting her black brows as she went.
+
+"Good morning, Mrs. Dean. I hope you are none the worse for last night's
+frolic. You had the work and we the play," said a blithe voice behind
+her; and turning sharply, she confronted Miss Muir. Fresh and smiling,
+the governess nodded with an air of cordiality which would have been
+irresistible with anyone but Dean.
+
+"I'm quite well, thank you, miss," she returned coldly, as her keen eye
+fastened on the girl as if to watch the effect of her words. "I had a
+good rest when the young ladies and gentlemen were at supper, for while
+the maids cleared up, I sat in the 'little anteroom.'"
+
+"Yes, I saw you, and feared you'd take cold. Very glad you didn't. How
+is Miss Beaufort? She seemed rather poorly last night" was the tranquil
+reply, as Jean settled the little frills about her delicate wrists. The
+cool question was a return shot for Dean's hint that she had been where
+she could oversee the interview between Coventry and Miss Muir.
+
+"She is a bit tired, as any _lady_ would be after such an evening.
+People who are _used_ to _play-acting_ wouldn't mind it, perhaps, but
+Miss Beaufort don't enjoy _romps_ as much as _some_ do."
+
+The emphasis upon certain words made Dean's speech as impertinent as she
+desired. But Jean only laughed, and as Coventry's step was heard behind
+them, she ran downstairs, saying blandly, but with a wicked look, "I
+won't stop to thank you now, lest Mr. Coventry should bid me
+good-morning, and so increase Miss Beaufort's indisposition."
+
+Dean's eyes flashed as she looked after the girl with a wrathful face,
+and went her way, saying grimly, "I'll bide my time, but I'll get the
+better of her yet."
+
+Fancying himself quite removed from "last night's absurdity," yet
+curious to see how Jean would meet him, Coventry lounged into the
+breakfast room with his usual air of listless indifference. A languid
+nod and murmur was all the reply he vouchsafed to the greetings of
+cousin, sister, and governess as he sat down and took up his paper.
+
+"Have you had a letter from Ned?" asked Bella, looking at the note which
+her brother still held.
+
+"No" was the brief answer.
+
+"Who then? You look as if you had received bad news."
+
+There was no reply, and, peeping over his arm, Bella caught sight of the
+seal and exclaimed, in a disappointed tone, "It is the Sydney crest. I
+don't care about the note now. Men's letters to each other are not
+interesting."
+
+Miss Muir had been quietly feeding one of Edward's dogs, but at the name
+she looked up and met Coventry's eyes, coloring so distressfully that he
+pitied her. Why he should take the trouble to cover her confusion, he
+did not stop to ask himself, but seeing the curl of Lucia's lip, he
+suddenly addressed her with an air of displeasure, "Do you know that
+Dean is getting impertinent? She presumes too much on her age and your
+indulgence, and forgets her place."
+
+"What has she done?" asked Lucia coldly.
+
+"She troubles herself about my affairs and takes it upon herself to keep
+Benson in order."
+
+Here Coventry told about the letter and the woman's evident curiosity.
+
+"Poor Dean, she gets no thanks for reminding you of what you had
+forgotten. Next time she will leave your letters to their fate, and
+perhaps it will be as well, if they have such a bad effect upon your
+temper, Gerald."
+
+Lucia spoke calmly, but there was an angry color in her cheek as she
+rose and left the room. Coventry looked much annoyed, for on Jean's face
+he detected a faint smile, half pitiful, half satirical, which disturbed
+him more than his cousin's insinuation. Bella broke the awkward silence
+by saying, with a sigh, "Poor Ned! I do so long to hear again from him.
+I thought a letter had come for some of us. Dean said she saw one
+bearing his writing on the hall table yesterday."
+
+"She seems to have a mania for inspecting letters. I won't allow it. Who
+was the letter for, Bella?" said Coventry, putting down his paper.
+
+"She wouldn't or couldn't tell, but looked very cross and told me
+to ask you."
+
+"Very odd! I've had none," began Coventry.
+
+"But I had one several days ago. Will you please read it, and my reply?"
+And as she spoke, Jean laid two letters before him.
+
+"Certainly not. It would be dishonorable to read what Ned intended for
+no eyes but your own. You are too scrupulous in one way, and not enough
+so in another, Miss Muir." And Coventry offered both the letters with
+an air of grave decision, which could not conceal the interest and
+surprise he felt.
+
+"You are right. Mr. Edward's note _should_ be kept sacred, for in it the
+poor boy has laid bare his heart to me. But mine I beg you will read,
+that you may see how well I try to keep my word to you. Oblige me in
+this, Mr. Coventry; I have a right to ask it of you."
+
+So urgently she spoke, so wistfully she looked, that he could not refuse
+and, going to the window, read the letter. It was evidently an answer to
+a passionate appeal from the young lover, and was written with
+consummate skill. As he read, Gerald could not help thinking, If this
+girl writes in this way to a man whom she does _not_ love, with what a
+world of power and passion would she write to one whom she _did_ love.
+And this thought kept returning to him as his eye went over line after
+line of wise argument, gentle reproof, good counsel, and friendly
+regard. Here and there a word, a phrase, betrayed what she had already
+confessed, and Coventry forgot to return the letter, as he stood
+wondering who was the man whom Jean loved.
+
+The sound of Bella's voice recalled him, for she was saying, half
+kindly, half petulantly, "Don't look so sad, Jean. Ned will outlive it,
+I dare say. You remember you said once men never died of love, though
+women might. In his one note to me, he spoke so beautifully of you, and
+begged me to be kind to you for his sake, that I try to be with all my
+heart, though if it was anyone but you, I really think I should hate
+them for making my dear boy so unhappy."
+
+"You are too kind, Bella, and I often think I'll go away to relieve you
+of my presence; but unwise and dangerous as it is to stay, I haven't the
+courage to go. I've been so happy here." And as she spoke, Jean's head
+dropped lower over the dog as it nestled to her affectionately.
+
+Before Bella could utter half the loving words that sprang to her lips,
+Coventry came to them with all languor gone from face and mien, and
+laying Jean's letter before her, he said, with an undertone of deep
+feeling in his usually emotionless voice, "A right womanly and eloquent
+letter, but I fear it will only increase the fire it was meant to
+quench. I pity my brother more than ever now."
+
+"Shall I send it?" asked Jean, looking straight up at him, like one who
+had entire reliance on his judgment.
+
+"Yes, I have not the heart to rob him of such a sweet sermon upon
+self-sacrifice. Shall I post it for you?"
+
+"Thank you; in a moment." And with a grateful look, Jean dropped her
+eyes. Producing her little purse, she selected a penny, folded it in a
+bit of paper, and then offered both letter and coin to Coventry, with
+such a pretty air of business, that he could not control a laugh.
+
+"So you won't be indebted to me for a penny? What a proud woman you are,
+Miss Muir."
+
+"I am; it's a family failing." And she gave him a significant glance,
+which recalled to him the memory of who she was. He understood her
+feeling, and liked her the better for it, knowing that he would have
+done the same had he been in her place. It was a little thing, but if
+done for effect, it answered admirably, for it showed a quick insight
+into his character on her part, and betrayed to him the existence of a
+pride in which he sympathized heartily. He stood by Jean a moment,
+watching her as she burnt Edward's letter in the blaze of the spirit
+lamp under the urn.
+
+"Why do you do that?" he asked involuntarily.
+
+"Because it is my duty to forget" was all her answer.
+
+"Can you always forget when it becomes a duty?"
+
+"I wish I could! I wish I could!"
+
+She spoke passionately, as if the words broke from her against her will,
+and, rising hastily, she went into the garden, as if afraid to stay.
+
+"Poor, dear Jean is very unhappy about something, but I can't discover
+what it is. Last night I found her crying over a rose, and now she runs
+away, looking as if her heart was broken. I'm glad I've got no lessons."
+
+"What kind of a rose?" asked Coventry from behind his paper as
+Bella paused.
+
+"A lovely white one. It must have come from the Hall; we have none like
+it. I wonder if Jean was ever going to be married, and lost her lover,
+and felt sad because the flower reminded her of bridal roses."
+
+Coventry made no reply, but felt himself change countenance as he
+recalled the little scene behind the rose hedge, where he gave Jean the
+flower which she had refused yet taken. Presently, to Bella's surprise,
+he flung down the paper, tore Sydney's note to atoms, and rang for his
+horse with an energy which amazed her.
+
+"Why, Gerald, what has come over you? One would think Ned's restless
+spirit had suddenly taken possession of you. What are you going to do?"
+
+"I'm going to work" was the unexpected answer, as Coventry turned toward
+her with an expression so rarely seen on his fine face.
+
+"What has waked you up all at once?" asked Bella, looking more and
+more amazed.
+
+"You did," he said, drawing her toward him.
+
+"I! When? How?"
+
+"Do you remember saying once that energy was better than beauty in a
+man, and that no one could respect an idler?"
+
+"I never said anything half so sensible as that. Jean said something
+like it once, I believe, but I forgot. Are you tired of doing nothing,
+at last, Gerald?"
+
+"Yes, I neglected my duty to Ned, till he got into trouble, and now I
+reproach myself for it. It's not too late to do other neglected tasks,
+so I'm going at them with a will. Don't say anything about it to anyone,
+and don't laugh at me, for I'm in earnest, Bell."
+
+"I know you are, and I admire and love you for it, my dear old boy,"
+cried Bella enthusiastically, as she threw her arms about his neck and
+kissed him heartily. "What will you do first?" she asked, as he stood
+thoughtfully smoothing the bright head that leaned upon his shoulder,
+with that new expression still clear and steady in his face.
+
+"I'm going to ride over the whole estate, and attend to things as a
+master should; not leave it all to Bent, of whom I've heard many
+complaints, but have been too idle to inquire about them. I shall
+consult Uncle, and endeavor to be all that my father was in his time. Is
+that a worthy ambition, dear?"
+
+"Oh, Gerald, let me tell Mamma. It will make her so happy. You are her
+idol, and to hear you say these things, to see you look so like dear
+Papa, would do more for her spirits than all the doctors in England."
+
+"Wait till I prove what my resolution is worth. When I have really done
+something, then I'll surprise Mamma with a sample of my work."
+
+"Of course you'll tell Lucia?"
+
+"Not on any account. It is a little secret between us, so keep it till I
+give you leave to tell it."
+
+"But Jean will see it at once; she knows everything that happens, she is
+so quick and wise. Do you mind her knowing?"
+
+"I don't see that I can help it if she is so wonderfully gifted. Let her
+see what she can, I don't mind her. Now I'm off." And with a kiss to his
+sister, a sudden smile on his face, Coventry sprang upon his horse and
+rode away at a pace which caused the groom to stare after him in blank
+amazement.
+
+Nothing more was seen of him till dinnertime, when he came in so
+exhilarated by his brisk ride and busy morning that he found some
+difficulty in assuming his customary manner, and more than once
+astonished the family by talking animatedly on various subjects which
+till now had always seemed utterly uninteresting to him. Lucia was
+amazed, his mother delighted, and Bella could hardly control her desire
+to explain the mystery; but Jean took it very calmly and regarded him
+with the air of one who said, "I understand, but you will soon tire of
+it." This nettled him more than he would confess, and he exerted himself
+to silently contradict that prophecy.
+
+"Have you answered Mr. Sydney's letter?" asked Bella, when they were all
+scattered about the drawing room after dinner.
+
+"No," answered her brother, who was pacing up and down with restless
+steps, instead of lounging near his beautiful cousin.
+
+"I ask because I remembered that Ned sent a message for him in my last
+note, as he thought you would know Sydney's address. Here it is,
+something about a horse. Please put it in when you write," and Bella
+laid the note on the writing table nearby.
+
+"I'll send it at once and have done with it," muttered Coventry and,
+seating himself, he dashed off a few lines, sealed and sent the letter,
+and then resumed his march, eyeing the three young ladies with three
+different expressions, as he passed and repassed. Lucia sat apart,
+feigning to be intent upon a book, and her handsome face looked almost
+stern in its haughty composure, for though her heart ached, she was too
+proud to own it. Bella now lay on the sofa, half asleep, a rosy little
+creature, as unconsciously pretty as a child. Miss Muir sat in the
+recess of a deep window, in a low lounging chair, working at an
+embroidery frame with a graceful industry pleasant to see. Of late she
+had worn colors, for Bella had been generous in gifts, and the pale blue
+muslin which flowed in soft waves about her was very becoming to her
+fair skin and golden hair. The close braids were gone, and loose curls
+dropped here and there from the heavy coil wound around her well-shaped
+head. The tip of one dainty foot was visible, and a petulant little
+gesture which now and then shook back the falling sleeve gave glimpses
+of a round white arm. Ned's great hound lay nearby, the sunshine
+flickered on her through the leaves, and as she sat smiling to herself,
+while the dexterous hands shaped leaf and flower, she made a charming
+picture of all that is most womanly and winning; a picture which few
+men's eyes would not have liked to rest upon.
+
+Another chair stood near her, and as Coventry went up and down, a strong
+desire to take it possessed him. He was tired of his thoughts and wished
+to be amused by watching the changes of the girl's expressive face,
+listening to the varying tones of her voice, and trying to discover the
+spell which so strongly attracted him in spite of himself. More than
+once he swerved from his course to gratify his whim, but Lucia's
+presence always restrained him, and with a word to the dog, or a glance
+from the window, as pretext for a pause, he resumed his walk again.
+Something in his cousin's face reproached him, but her manner of late
+was so repellent that he felt no desire to resume their former
+familiarity, and, wishing to show that he did not consider himself
+bound, he kept aloof. It was a quiet test of the power of each woman
+over this man; they instinctively felt it, and both tried to conquer.
+Lucia spoke several times, and tried to speak frankly and affably; but
+her manner was constrained, and Coventry, having answered politely,
+relapsed into silence. Jean said nothing, but silently appealed to eye
+and ear by the pretty picture she made of herself, the snatches of song
+she softly sang, as if forgetting that she was not alone, and a shy
+glance now and then, half wistful, half merry, which was more alluring
+than graceful figure or sweet voice. When she had tormented Lucia and
+tempted Coventry long enough, she quietly asserted her supremacy in a
+way which astonished her rival, who knew nothing of the secret of her
+birth, which knowledge did much to attract and charm the young man.
+Letting a ball of silk escape from her lap, she watched it roll toward
+the promenader, who caught and returned it with an alacrity which added
+grace to the trifling service. As she took it, she said, in the frank
+way that never failed to win him, "I think you must be tired; but if
+exercise is necessary, employ your energies to some purpose and put your
+mother's basket of silks in order. They are in a tangle, and it will
+please her to know that you did it, as your brother used to do."
+
+"Hercules at the distaff," said Coventry gaily, and down he sat in the
+long-desired seat. Jean put the basket on his knee, and as he surveyed
+it, as if daunted at his task, she leaned back, and indulged in a
+musical little peal of laughter charming to hear. Lucia sat dumb with
+surprise, to see her proud, indolent cousin obeying the commands of a
+governess, and looking as if he heartily enjoyed it. In ten minutes she
+was as entirely forgotten as if she had been miles away; for Jean seemed
+in her wittiest, gayest mood, and as she now treated the "young master"
+like an equal, there was none of the former meek timidity. Yet often her
+eyes fell, her color changed, and the piquant sallies faltered on her
+tongue, as Coventry involuntarily looked deep into the fine eyes which
+had once shone on him so tenderly in that mimic tragedy. He could not
+forget it, and though neither alluded to it, the memory of the previous
+evening seemed to haunt both and lend a secret charm to the present
+moment. Lucia bore this as long as she could, and then left the room
+with the air of an insulted princess; but Coventry did not, and Jean
+feigned not to see her go. Bella was fast asleep, and before he knew how
+it came to pass, the young man was listening to the story of his
+companion's life. A sad tale, told with wonderful skill, for soon he was
+absorbed in it. The basket slid unobserved from his knee, the dog was
+pushed away, and, leaning forward, he listened eagerly as the girl's low
+voice recounted all the hardships, loneliness, and grief of her short
+life. In the midst of a touching episode she started, stopped, and
+looked straight before her, with an intent expression which changed to
+one of intense contempt, and her eye turned to Coventry's, as she said,
+pointing to the window behind him, "We are watched."
+
+"By whom?" he demanded, starting up angrily.
+
+"Hush, say nothing, let it pass. I am used to it."
+
+"But _I_ am not, and I'll not submit to it. Who was it, Jean?" he
+answered hotly.
+
+She smiled significantly at a knot of rose-colored ribbon, which a
+little gust was blowing toward them along the terrace. A black frown
+darkened the young man's face as he sprang out of the long window and
+went rapidly out of sight, scrutinizing each green nook as he passed.
+Jean laughed quietly as she watched him, and said softly to herself,
+with her eyes on the fluttering ribbon, "That was a fortunate accident,
+and a happy inspiration. Yes, my dear Mrs. Dean, you will find that
+playing the spy will only get your mistress as well as yourself into
+trouble. You would not be warned, and you must take the consequences,
+reluctant as I am to injure a worthy creature like yourself."
+
+Soon Coventry was heard returning. Jean listened with suspended breath
+to catch his first words, for he was not alone.
+
+"Since you insist that it was you and not your mistress, I let it pass,
+although I still have my suspicions. Tell Miss Beaufort I desire to see
+her for a few moments in the library. Now go, Dean, and be careful for
+the future, if you wish to stay in my house."
+
+The maid retired, and the young man came in looking both ireful
+and stern.
+
+"I wish I had said nothing, but I was startled, and spoke involuntarily.
+Now you are angry, and I have made fresh trouble for poor Miss Lucia.
+Forgive me as I forgive her, and let it pass. I have learned to bear
+this surveillance, and pity her causeless jealousy," said Jean, with a
+self-reproachful air.
+
+"I will forgive the dishonorable act, but I cannot forget it, and I
+intend to put a stop to it. I am not betrothed to my cousin, as I told
+you once, but you, like all the rest, seem bent on believing that I am.
+Hitherto I have cared too little about the matter to settle it, but now
+I shall prove beyond all doubt that I am free."
+
+As he uttered the last word, Coventry cast on Jean a look that affected
+her strangely. She grew pale, her work dropped on her lap, and her eyes
+rose to his, with an eager, questioning expression, which slowly changed
+to one of mingled pain and pity, as she turned her face away, murmuring
+in a tone of tender sorrow, "Poor Lucia, who will comfort her?"
+
+For a moment Coventry stood silent, as if weighing some fateful purpose
+in his mind. As Jean's rapt sigh of compassion reached his ear, he had
+echoed it within himself, and half repented of his resolution; then his
+eye rested on the girl before him looking so lonely in her sweet
+sympathy for another that his heart yearned toward her. Sudden fire shot
+into his eye, sudden warmth replaced the cold sternness of his face, and
+his steady voice faltered suddenly, as he said, very low, yet very
+earnestly, "Jean, I have tried to love her, but I cannot. Ought I to
+deceive her, and make myself miserable to please my family?"
+
+"She is beautiful and good, and loves you tenderly; is there no hope for
+her?" asked Jean, still pale, but very quiet, though she held one hand
+against her heart, as if to still or hide its rapid beating.
+
+"None," answered Coventry.
+
+"But can you not learn to love her? Your will is strong, and most men
+would not find it a hard task."
+
+"I cannot, for something stronger than my own will controls me."
+
+"What is that?" And Jean's dark eyes were fixed upon him, full of
+innocent wonder.
+
+His fell, and he said hastily, "I dare not tell you yet."
+
+"Pardon! I should not have asked. Do not consult me in this matter; I am
+not the person to advise you. I can only say that it seems to me as if
+any man with an empty heart would be glad to have so beautiful a woman
+as your cousin."
+
+"My heart is not empty," began Coventry, drawing a step nearer, and
+speaking in a passionate voice. "Jean, I _must_ speak; hear me. I cannot
+love my cousin, because I love you."
+
+"Stop!" And Jean sprang up with a commanding gesture. "I will not hear
+you while any promise binds you to another. Remember your mother's
+wishes, Lucia's hopes, Edward's last words, your own pride, my humble
+lot. You forget yourself, Mr. Coventry. Think well before you speak,
+weigh the cost of this act, and recollect who I am before you insult me
+by any transient passion, any false vows."
+
+"I have thought, I do weigh the cost, and I swear that I desire to woo
+you as humbly, honestly as I would any lady in the land. You speak of my
+pride. Do I stoop in loving my equal in rank? You speak of your lowly
+lot, but poverty is no disgrace, and the courage with which you bear it
+makes it beautiful. I should have broken with Lucia before I spoke, but
+I could not control myself. My mother loves you, and will be happy in my
+happiness. Edward must forgive me, for I have tried to do my best, but
+love is irresistible. Tell me, Jean, is there any hope for me?"
+
+He had seized her hand and was speaking impetuously, with ardent face
+and tender tone, but no answer came, for as Jean turned her eloquent
+countenance toward him, full of maiden shame and timid love, Dean's prim
+figure appeared at the door, and her harsh voice broke the momentary
+silence, saying, sternly, "Miss Beaufort is waiting for you, sir."
+
+"Go, go at once, and be kind, for my sake, Gerald," whispered Jean, for
+he stood as if deaf and blind to everything but her voice, her face.
+
+As she drew his head down to whisper, her cheek touched his, and
+regardless of Dean, he kissed it, passionately, whispering back, "My
+little Jean! For your sake I can be anything."
+
+"Miss Beaufort is waiting. Shall I say you will come, sir?" demanded
+Dean, pale and grim with indignation.
+
+"Yes, yes, I'll come. Wait for me in the garden, Jean." And Coventry
+hurried away, in no mood for the interview but anxious to have it over.
+
+As the door closed behind him, Dean walked up to Miss Muir, trembling
+with anger, and laying a heavy hand on her arm, she said below her
+breath, "I've been expecting this, you artful creature. I saw your game
+and did my best to spoil it, but you are too quick for me. You think
+you've got him. There you are mistaken; for as sure as my name is Hester
+Dean, I'll prevent it, or Sir John shall."
+
+"Take your hand away and treat me with proper respect, or you will be
+dismissed from this house. Do you know who I am?" And Jean drew herself
+up with a haughty air, which impressed the woman more deeply than her
+words. "I am the daughter of Lady Howard and, if I choose it, can be the
+wife of Mr. Coventry."
+
+Dean drew back amazed, yet not convinced. Being a well-trained servant,
+as well as a prudent woman, she feared to overstep the bounds of
+respect, to go too far, and get her mistress as well as herself into
+trouble. So, though she still doubted Jean, and hated her more than
+ever, she controlled herself. Dropping a curtsy, she assumed her usual
+air of deference, and said, meekly, "I beg pardon, miss. If I'd known, I
+should have conducted myself differently, of course, but ordinary
+governesses make so much mischief in a house, one can't help mistrusting
+them. I don't wish to meddle or be overbold, but being fond of my dear
+young lady, I naturally take her part, and must say that Mr. Coventry
+has not acted like a gentleman."
+
+"Think what you please, Dean, but I advise you to say as little as
+possible if you wish to remain. I have not accepted Mr. Coventry yet,
+and if he chooses to set aside the engagement his family made for him, I
+think he has a right to do so. Miss Beaufort would hardly care to marry
+him against his will, because he pities her for her unhappy love," and
+with a tranquil smile, Miss Muir walked away.
+
+
+
+
+_Chapter VII_
+
+
+THE LAST CHANCE
+
+"She will tell Sir John, will she? Then I must be before her, and hasten
+events. It will be as well to have all sure before there can be any
+danger. My poor Dean, you are no match for me, but you may prove
+annoying, nevertheless."
+
+These thoughts passed through Miss Muir's mind as she went down the
+hall, pausing an instant at the library door, for the murmur of voices
+was heard. She caught no word, and had only time for an instant's
+pause as Dean's heavy step followed her. Turning, Jean drew a chair
+before the door, and, beckoning to the woman, she said, smiling still,
+"Sit here and play watchdog. I am going to Miss Bella, so you can nod
+if you will."
+
+"Thank you, miss. I will wait for my young lady. She may need me when
+this hard time is over." And Dean seated herself with a resolute face.
+
+Jean laughed and went on; but her eyes gleamed with sudden malice, and
+she glanced over her shoulder with an expression which boded ill for the
+faithful old servant.
+
+"I've got a letter from Ned, and here is a tiny note for you," cried
+Bella as Jean entered the boudoir. "Mine is a very odd, hasty letter,
+with no news in it, but his meeting with Sydney. I hope yours is better,
+or it won't be very satisfactory."
+
+As Sydney's name passed Bella's lips, all the color died out of Miss
+Muir's face, and the note shook with the tremor of her hand. Her very
+lips were white, but she said calmly, "Thank you. As you are busy,
+I'll go and read my letter on the lawn." And before Bella could speak,
+she was gone.
+
+Hurrying to a quiet nook, Jean tore open the note and read the few
+blotted lines it contained.
+
+_I have seen Sydney; he has told me all; and, hard as I found it to
+believe, it was impossible to doubt, for he has discovered proofs which
+cannot be denied. I make no reproaches, shall demand no confession or
+atonement, for I cannot forget that I once loved you. I give you three
+days to find another home, before I return to tell the family who you
+are. Go at once, I beseech you, and spare me the pain of seeing your
+disgrace._
+
+Slowly, steadily she read it twice over, then sat motionless, knitting
+her brows in deep thought. Presently she drew a long breath, tore up the
+note, and rising, went slowly toward the Hall, saying to herself, "Three
+days, only three days! Can it be accomplished in so short a time? It
+shall be, if wit and will can do it, for it is my last chance. If this
+fails, I'll not go back to my old life, but end all at once."
+
+Setting her teeth and clenching her hands, as if some memory stung her,
+she went on through the twilight, to find Sir John waiting to give her a
+hearty welcome.
+
+"You look tired, my dear. Never mind the reading tonight; rest yourself,
+and let the book go," he said kindly, observing her worn look.
+
+"Thank you, sir. I am tired, but I'd rather read, else the book will not
+be finished before I go."
+
+"Go, child! Where are you going?" demanded Sir John, looking anxiously
+at her as she sat down.
+
+"I will tell you by-and-by, sir." And opening the book, Jean read for a
+little while.
+
+But the usual charm was gone; there was no spirit in the voice of the
+reader, no interest in the face of the listener, and soon he said,
+abruptly, "My dear, pray stop! I cannot listen with a divided mind. What
+troubles you? Tell your friend, and let him comfort you."
+
+As if the kind words overcame her, Jean dropped the book, covered up her
+face, and wept so bitterly that Sir John was much alarmed; for such a
+demonstration was doubly touching in one who usually was all gaiety and
+smiles. As he tried to soothe her, his words grew tender, his solicitude
+full of a more than paternal anxiety, and his kind heart overflowed with
+pity and affection for the weeping girl. As she grew calmer, he urged
+her to be frank, promising to help and counsel her, whatever the
+affliction or fault might be.
+
+"Ah, you are too kind, too generous! How can I go away and leave my one
+friend?" sighed Jean, wiping the tears away and looking up at him with
+grateful eyes.
+
+"Then you do care a little for the old man?" said Sir John with an eager
+look, an involuntary pressure of the hand he held.
+
+Jean turned her face away, and answered, very low, "No one ever was
+so kind to me as you have been. Can I help caring for you more than I
+can express?"
+
+Sir John was a little deaf at times, but he heard that, and looked well
+pleased. He had been rather thoughtful of late, had dressed with unusual
+care, been particularly gallant and gay when the young ladies visited
+him, and more than once, when Jean paused in the reading to ask a
+question, he had been forced to confess that he had not been listening;
+though, as she well knew, his eyes had been fixed upon her. Since the
+discovery of her birth, his manner had been peculiarly benignant, and
+many little acts had proved his interest and goodwill. Now, when Jean
+spoke of going, a panic seized him, and desolation seemed about to fall
+upon the old Hall. Something in her unusual agitation struck him as
+peculiar and excited his curiosity. Never had she seemed so interesting
+as now, when she sat beside him with tearful eyes, and some soft trouble
+in her heart which she dared not confess.
+
+"Tell me everything, child, and let your friend help you if he can."
+Formerly he said "father" or "the old man," but lately he always spoke
+of himself as her "friend."
+
+"I will tell you, for I have no one else to turn to. I must go away
+because Mr. Coventry has been weak enough to love me."
+
+"What, Gerald?" cried Sir John, amazed.
+
+"Yes; today he told me this, and left me to break with Lucia; so I ran
+to you to help me prevent him from disappointing his mother's hopes
+and plans."
+
+Sir John had started up and paced down the room, but as Jean paused he
+turned toward her, saying, with an altered face, "Then you do not love
+him? Is it possible?"
+
+"No, I do not love him," she answered promptly.
+
+"Yet he is all that women usually find attractive. How is it that you
+have escaped, Jean?"
+
+"I love someone else" was the scarcely audible reply.
+
+Sir John resumed his seat with the air of a man bent on getting at a
+mystery, if possible.
+
+"It will be unjust to let you suffer for the folly of these boys, my
+little girl. Ned is gone, and I was sure that Gerald was safe; but now
+that his turn has come, I am perplexed, for he cannot be sent away."
+
+"No, it is I who must go; but it seems so hard to leave this safe and
+happy home, and wander away into the wide, cold world again. You have
+all been too kind to me, and now separation breaks my heart."
+
+A sob ended the speech, and Jean's head went down upon her hands again.
+Sir John looked at her a moment, and his fine old face was full of
+genuine emotion, as he said slowly, "Jean, will you stay and be a
+daughter to the solitary old man?"
+
+"No, sir" was the unexpected answer.
+
+"And why not?" asked Sir John, looking surprised, but rather pleased
+than angry.
+
+"Because I could not be a daughter to you; and even if I could, it would
+not be wise, for the gossips would say you were not old enough to be the
+adopted father of a girl like me. Sir John, young as I am, I know much
+of the world, and am sure that this kind plan is impractical; but I
+thank you from the bottom of my heart."
+
+"Where will you go, Jean?" asked Sir John, after a pause.
+
+"To London, and try to find another situation where I can do no harm."
+
+"Will it be difficult to find another home?"
+
+"Yes. I cannot ask Mrs. Coventry to recommend me, when I have innocently
+brought so much trouble into her family; and Lady Sydney is gone, so I
+have no friend."
+
+"Except John Coventry. I will arrange all that. When will you go, Jean?"
+
+"Tomorrow."
+
+"So soon!" And the old man's voice betrayed the trouble he was trying
+to conceal.
+
+Jean had grown very calm, but it was the calmness of desperation. She
+had hoped that the first tears would produce the avowal for which she
+waited. It had not, and she began to fear that her last chance was
+slipping from her. Did the old man love her? If so, why did he not
+speak? Eager to profit by each moment, she was on the alert for any
+hopeful hint, any propitious word, look, or act, and every nerve was
+strung to the utmost.
+
+"Jean, may I ask one question?" said Sir John.
+
+"Anything of me, sir."
+
+"This man whom you love--can he not help you?"
+
+"He could if he knew, but he must not."
+
+"If he knew what? Your present trouble?"
+
+"No. My love."
+
+"He does not know this, then?"
+
+"No, thank heaven! And he never will."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Because I am too proud to own it."
+
+"He loves you, my child?"
+
+"I do not know--I dare not hope it," murmured Jean.
+
+"Can I not help you here? Believe me, I desire to see you safe and
+happy. Is there nothing I can do?"
+
+"Nothing, nothing."
+
+"May I know the name?"
+
+"No! No! Let me go; I cannot bear this questioning!" And Jean's
+distressful face warned him to ask no more.
+
+"Forgive me, and let me do what I may. Rest here quietly. I'll write a
+letter to a good friend of mine, who will find you a home, if you
+leave us."
+
+As Sir John passed into his inner study, Jean watched him with
+despairing eyes and wrung her hands, saying to herself, Has all my
+skill deserted me when I need it most? How can I make him understand,
+yet not overstep the bounds of maiden modesty? He is so blind, so
+timid, or so dull he will not see, and time is going fast. What shall I
+do to open his eyes?
+
+Her own eyes roved about the room, seeking for some aid from inanimate
+things, and soon she found it. Close behind the couch where she sat hung
+a fine miniature of Sir John. At first her eye rested on it as she
+contrasted its placid comeliness with the unusual pallor and disquiet of
+the living face seen through the open door, as the old man sat at his
+desk trying to write and casting covert glances at the girlish figure he
+had left behind him. Affecting unconsciousness of this, Jean gazed on as
+if forgetful of everything but the picture, and suddenly, as if obeying
+an irresistible impulse, she took it down, looked long and fondly at it,
+then, shaking her curls about her face, as if to hide the act, pressed
+it to her lips and seemed to weep over it in an uncontrollable paroxysm
+of tender grief. A sound startled her, and like a guilty thing, she
+turned to replace the picture; but it dropped from her hand as she
+uttered a faint cry and hid her face, for Sir John stood before her,
+with an expression which she could not mistake.
+
+"Jean, why did you do that?" he asked, in an eager, agitated voice.
+
+No answer, as the girl sank lower, like one overwhelmed with shame.
+Laying his hand on the bent head, and bending his own, he whispered,
+"Tell me, is the name John Coventry?"
+
+Still no answer, but a stifled sound betrayed that his words had
+gone home.
+
+"Jean, shall I go back and write the letter, or may I stay and tell you
+that the old man loves you better than a daughter?"
+
+She did not speak, but a little hand stole out from under the falling
+hair, as if to keep him. With a broken exclamation he seized it, drew
+her up into his arms, and laid his gray head on her fair one, too happy
+for words. For a moment Jean Muir enjoyed her success; then, fearing
+lest some sudden mishap should destroy it, she hastened to make all
+secure. Looking up with well-feigned timidity and half-confessed
+affection, she said softly, "Forgive me that I could not hide this
+better. I meant to go away and never tell it, but you were so kind it
+made the parting doubly hard. Why did you ask such dangerous questions?
+Why did you look, when you should have been writing my dismissal?"
+
+"How could I dream that you loved me, Jean, when you refused the only
+offer I dared make? Could I be presumptuous enough to fancy you would
+reject young lovers for an old man like me?" asked Sir John,
+caressing her.
+
+"You are not old, to me, but everything I love and honor!" interrupted
+Jean, with a touch of genuine remorse, as this generous, honorable
+gentleman gave her both heart and home, unconscious of deceit. "It is I
+who am presumptuous, to dare to love one so far above me. But I did not
+know how dear you were to me till I felt that I must go. I ought not to
+accept this happiness. I am not worthy of it; and you will regret your
+kindness when the world blames you for giving a home to one so poor, and
+plain, and humble as I."
+
+"Hush, my darling. I care nothing for the idle gossip of the world. If
+you are happy here, let tongues wag as they will. I shall be too busy
+enjoying the sunshine of your presence to heed anything that goes on
+about me. But, Jean, you are sure you love me? It seems incredible
+that I should win the heart that has been so cold to younger, better
+men than I."
+
+"Dear Sir John, be sure of this, I love you truly. I will do my best to
+be a good wife to you, and prove that, in spite of my many faults, I
+possess the virtue of gratitude."
+
+If he had known the strait she was in, he would have understood the
+cause of the sudden fervor of her words, the intense thankfulness that
+shone in her face, the real humility that made her stoop and kiss the
+generous hand that gave so much. For a few moments she enjoyed and let
+him enjoy the happy present, undisturbed. But the anxiety which devoured
+her, the danger which menaced her, soon recalled her, and forced her to
+wring yet more from the unsuspicious heart she had conquered.
+
+"No need of letters now," said Sir John, as they sat side by side, with
+the summer moonlight glorifying all the room. "You have found a home for
+life; may it prove a happy one."
+
+"It is not mine yet, and I have a strange foreboding that it never will
+be," she answered sadly.
+
+"Why, my child?"
+
+"Because I have an enemy who will try to destroy my peace, to poison
+your mind against me, and to drive me out from my paradise, to suffer
+again all I have suffered this last year."
+
+"You mean that mad Sydney of whom you told me?"
+
+"Yes. As soon as he hears of this good fortune to poor little Jean, he
+will hasten to mar it. He is my fate; I cannot escape him, and wherever
+he goes my friends desert me; for he has the power and uses it for my
+destruction. Let me go away and hide before he comes, for, having shared
+your confidence, it will break my heart to see you distrust and turn
+from me, instead of loving and protecting."
+
+"My poor child, you are superstitious. Be easy. No one can harm you now,
+no one would dare attempt it. And as for my deserting you, that will
+soon be out of my power, if I have my way."
+
+"How, dear Sir John?" asked Jean, with a flutter of intense relief at
+her heart, for the way seemed smoothing before her.
+
+"I will make you my wife at once, if I may. This will free you from
+Gerald's love, protect you from Sydney's persecution, give you a safe
+home, and me the right to cherish and defend with heart and hand. Shall
+it be so, my child?"
+
+"Yes; but oh, remember that I have no friend but you! Promise me to be
+faithful to the last--to believe in me, to trust me, protect and love
+me, in spite of all misfortunes, faults, and follies. I will be true as
+steel to you, and make your life as happy as it deserves to be. Let us
+promise these things now, and keep the promises unbroken to the end."
+
+Her solemn air touched Sir John. Too honorable and upright himself to
+suspect falsehood in others, he saw only the natural impulse of a lovely
+girl in Jean's words, and, taking the hand she gave him in both of his,
+he promised all she asked, and kept that promise to the end. She paused
+an instant, with a pale, absent expression, as if she searched herself,
+then looked up clearly in the confiding face above her, and promised
+what she faithfully performed in afteryears.
+
+"When shall it be, little sweetheart? I leave all to you, only let it be
+soon, else some gay young lover will appear, and take you from me," said
+Sir John, playfully, anxious to chase away the dark expression which had
+stolen over Jean's face.
+
+"Can you keep a secret?" asked the girl, smiling up at him, all her
+charming self again.
+
+"Try me."
+
+"I will. Edward is coming home in three days. I must be gone before he
+comes. Tell no one of this; he wishes to surprise them. And if you love
+me, tell nobody of your approaching marriage. Do not betray that you
+care for me until I am really yours. There will be such a stir, such
+remonstrances, explanations, and reproaches that I shall be worn out,
+and run away from you all to escape the trial. If I could have my wish,
+I would go to some quiet place tomorrow and wait till you come for me. I
+know so little of such things, I cannot tell how soon we may be married;
+not for some weeks, I think."
+
+"Tomorrow, if we like. A special license permits people to marry when
+and where they please. My plan is better than yours. Listen, and tell me
+if it can be carried out. I will go to town tomorrow, get the license,
+invite my friend, the Reverend Paul Fairfax, to return with me, and
+tomorrow evening you come at your usual time, and, in the presence of my
+discreet old servants, make me the happiest man in England. How does
+this suit you, my little Lady Coventry?"
+
+The plan which seemed made to meet her ends, the name which was the
+height of her ambition, and the blessed sense of safety which came to
+her filled Jean Muir with such intense satisfaction that tears of real
+feeling stood in her eyes, and the glad assent she gave was the truest
+word that had passed her lips for months.
+
+"We will go abroad or to Scotland for our honeymoon, till the storm
+blows over," said Sir John, well knowing that this hasty marriage would
+surprise or offend all his relations, and feeling as glad as Jean to
+escape the first excitement.
+
+"To Scotland, please. I long to see my father's home," said Jean, who
+dreaded to meet Sydney on the continent.
+
+They talked a little longer, arranging all things, Sir John so intent on
+hurrying the event that Jean had nothing to do but give a ready assent
+to all his suggestions. One fear alone disturbed her. If Sir John went
+to town, he might meet Edward, might hear and believe his statements.
+Then all would be lost. Yet this risk must be incurred, if the marriage
+was to be speedily and safely accomplished; and to guard against the
+meeting was Jean's sole care. As they went through the park--for Sir
+John insisted upon taking her home--she said, clinging to his arm:
+
+"Dear friend, bear one thing in mind, else we shall be much annoyed, and
+all our plans disarranged. Avoid your nephews; you are so frank your
+face will betray you. They both love me, are both hot-tempered, and in
+the first excitement of the discovery might be violent. You must incur
+no danger, no disrespect for my sake; so shun them both till we are
+safe--particularly Edward. He will feel that his brother has wronged
+him, and that you have succeeded where he failed. This will irritate
+him, and I fear a stormy scene. Promise to avoid both for a day or two;
+do not listen to them, do not see them, do not write to or receive
+letters from them. It is foolish, I know; but you are all I have, and I
+am haunted by a strange foreboding that I am to lose you."
+
+Touched and flattered by her tender solicitude, Sir John promised
+everything, even while he laughed at her fears. Love blinded the good
+gentleman to the peculiarity of the request; the novelty, romance, and
+secrecy of the affair rather bewildered though it charmed him; and the
+knowledge that he had outrivaled three young and ardent lovers
+gratified his vanity more than he would confess. Parting from the girl
+at the garden gate, he turned homeward, feeling like a boy again, and
+loitered back, humming a love lay, quite forgetful of evening damps,
+gout, and the five-and-fifty years which lay so lightly on his
+shoulders since Jean's arms had rested there. She hurried toward the
+house, anxious to escape Coventry; but he was waiting for her, and she
+was forced to meet him.
+
+"How could you linger so long, and keep me in suspense?" he said
+reproachfully, as he took her hand and tried to catch a glimpse of her
+face in the shadow of her hat brim. "Come and rest in the grotto. I have
+so much to say, to hear and enjoy."
+
+"Not now; I am too tired. Let me go in and sleep. Tomorrow we will talk.
+It is damp and chilly, and my head aches with all this worry." Jean
+spoke wearily, yet with a touch of petulance, and Coventry, fancying
+that she was piqued at his not coming for her, hastened to explain with
+eager tenderness.
+
+"My poor little Jean, you do need rest. We wear you out, among us, and
+you never complain. I should have come to bring you home, but Lucia
+detained me, and when I got away I saw my uncle had forestalled me. I
+shall be jealous of the old gentleman, if he is so devoted. Jean, tell
+me one thing before we part; I am free as air, now, and have a right to
+speak. Do you love me? Am I the happy man who has won your heart? I
+dare to think so, to believe that this telltale face of yours has
+betrayed you, and to hope that I have gained what poor Ned and wild
+Sydney have lost."
+
+"Before I answer, tell me of your interview with Lucia. I have a right
+to know," said Jean.
+
+Coventry hesitated, for pity and remorse were busy at his heart when he
+recalled poor Lucia's grief. Jean was bent on hearing the humiliation of
+her rival. As the young man paused, she frowned, then lifted up her face
+wreathed in softest smiles, and laying her hand on his arm, she said,
+with most effective emphasis, half shy, half fond, upon his name,
+"Please tell me, Gerald!"
+
+He could not resist the look, the touch, the tone, and taking the little
+hand in his, he said rapidly, as if the task was distasteful to him, "I
+told her that I did not, could not love her; that I had submitted to my
+mother's wish, and, for a time, had felt tacitly bound to her, though no
+words had passed between us. But now I demanded my liberty, regretting
+that the separation was not mutually desired."
+
+"And she--what did she say? How did she bear it?" asked Jean, feeling
+in her own woman's heart how deeply Lucia's must have been wounded by
+that avowal.
+
+"Poor girl! It was hard to bear, but her pride sustained her to the end.
+She owned that no pledge tied me, fully relinquished any claim my past
+behavior had seemed to have given her, and prayed that I might find
+another woman to love me as truly, tenderly as she had done. Jean, I
+felt like a villain; and yet I never plighted my word to her, never
+really loved her, and had a perfect right to leave her, if I would."
+
+"Did she speak of me?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"What did she say?"
+
+"Must I tell you?"
+
+"Yes, tell me everything. I know she hates me and I forgive her, knowing
+that I should hate any woman whom _you_ loved."
+
+"Are you jealous, dear?"
+
+"Of you, Gerald?" And the fine eyes glanced up at him, full of a
+brilliancy that looked like the light of love.
+
+"You make a slave of me already. How do you do it? I never obeyed a
+woman before. Jean, I think you are a witch. Scotland is the home of
+weird, uncanny creatures, who take lovely shapes for the bedevilment of
+poor weak souls. Are you one of those fair deceivers?"
+
+"You are complimentary," laughed the girl. "I _am_ a witch, and one
+day my disguise will drop away and you will see me as I am, old, ugly,
+bad and lost. Beware of me in time. I've warned you. Now love me at
+your peril."
+
+Coventry had paused as he spoke, and eyed her with an unquiet look,
+conscious of some fascination which conquered yet brought no happiness.
+A feverish yet pleasurable excitement possessed him; a reckless mood,
+making him eager to obliterate the past by any rash act, any new
+experience which his passion brought. Jean regarded him with a wistful,
+almost woeful face, for one short moment; then a strange smile broke
+over it, as she spoke in a tone of malicious mockery, under which lurked
+the bitterness of a sad truth. Coventry looked half bewildered, and his
+eye went from the girl's mysterious face to a dimly lighted window,
+behind whose curtains poor Lucia hid her aching heart, praying for him
+the tender prayers that loving women give to those whose sins are all
+forgiven for love's sake. His heart smote him, and a momentary feeling
+of repulsion came over him, as he looked at Jean. She saw it, felt
+angry, yet conscious of a sense of relief; for now that her own safety
+was so nearly secured, she felt no wish to do mischief, but rather a
+desire to undo what was already done, and be at peace with all the
+world. To recall him to his allegiance, she sighed and walked on, saying
+gently yet coldly, "Will you tell me what I ask before I answer your
+question, Mr. Coventry?"
+
+"What Lucia said of you? Well, it was this. 'Beware of Miss Muir. We
+instinctively distrusted her when we had no cause. I believe in
+instincts, and mine have never changed, for she has not tried to delude
+me. Her art is wonderful; I feel yet cannot explain or detect it, except
+in the working of events which her hand seems to guide. She has brought
+sorrow and dissension into this hitherto happy family. We are all
+changed, and this girl has done it. Me she can harm no further; you she
+will ruin, if she can. Beware of her in time, or you win bitterly repent
+your blind infatuation!'"
+
+"And what answer did you make?" asked Jean, as the last words came
+reluctantly from Coventry's lips.
+
+"I told her that I loved you in spite of myself, and would make you my
+wife in the face of all opposition. Now, Jean, your answer."
+
+"Give me three days to think of it. Good night." And gliding from him,
+she vanished into the house, leaving him to roam about half the night,
+tormented with remorse, suspense, and the old distrust which would
+return when Jean was not there to banish it by her art.
+
+
+
+
+_Chapter VIII_
+
+
+SUSPENSE
+
+All the next day, Jean was in a state of the most intense anxiety, as
+every hour brought the crisis nearer, and every hour might bring defeat,
+for the subtlest human skill is often thwarted by some unforeseen
+accident. She longed to assure herself that Sir John was gone, but no
+servants came or went that day, and she could devise no pretext for
+sending to glean intelligence. She dared not go herself, lest the
+unusual act should excite suspicion, for she never went till evening.
+Even had she determined to venture, there was no time, for Mrs. Coventry
+was in one of her nervous states, and no one but Miss Muir could amuse
+her; Lucia was ill, and Miss Muir must give orders; Bella had a studious
+fit, and Jean must help her. Coventry lingered about the house for
+several hours, but Jean dared not send him, lest some hint of the truth
+might reach him. He had ridden away to his new duties when Jean did not
+appear, and the day dragged on wearisomely. Night came at last, and as
+Jean dressed for the late dinner, she hardly knew herself when she stood
+before her mirror, excitement lent such color and brilliancy to her
+countenance. Remembering the wedding which was to take place that
+evening, she put on a simple white dress and added a cluster of white
+roses in bosom and hair. She often wore flowers, but in spite of her
+desire to look and seem as usual, Bella's first words as she entered the
+drawing room were "Why, Jean, how like a bride you look; a veil and
+gloves would make you quite complete!"
+
+"You forget one other trifle, Bell," said Gerald, with eyes that
+brightened as they rested on Miss Muir.
+
+"What is that?" asked his sister.
+
+"A bridegroom."
+
+Bella looked to see how Jean received this, but she seemed quite
+composed as she smiled one of her sudden smiles, and merely said, "That
+trifle will doubtless be found when the time comes. Is Miss Beaufort too
+ill for dinner?"
+
+"She begs to be excused, and said you would be willing to take her
+place, she thought."
+
+As innocent Bella delivered this message, Jean glanced at Coventry, who
+evaded her eye and looked ill at ease.
+
+A little remorse will do him good, and prepare him for repentance after
+the grand _coup_, she said to herself, and was particularly gay at
+dinnertime, though Coventry looked often at Lucia's empty seat, as if he
+missed her. As soon as they left the table, Miss Muir sent Bella to her
+mother; and, knowing that Coventry would not linger long at his wine,
+she hurried away to the Hall. A servant was lounging at the door, and of
+him she asked, in a tone which was eager in spite of all efforts to be
+calm, "Is Sir John at home?"
+
+"No, miss, he's just gone to town."
+
+"Just gone! When do you mean?" cried Jean, forgetting the relief she
+felt in hearing of his absence in surprise at his late departure.
+
+"He went half an hour ago, in the last train, miss."
+
+"I thought he was going early this morning; he told me he should be back
+this evening."
+
+"I believe he did mean to go, but was delayed by company. The steward
+came up on business, and a load of gentlemen called, so Sir John could
+not get off till night, when he wasn't fit to go, being worn out, and
+far from well."
+
+"Do you think he will be ill? Did he look so?" And as Jean spoke, a
+thrill of fear passed over her, lest death should rob her of her prize.
+
+"Well, you know, miss, hurry of any kind is bad for elderly gentlemen
+inclined to apoplexy. Sir John was in a worry all day, and not like
+himself. I wanted him to take his man, but he wouldn't; and drove off
+looking flushed and excited like. I'm anxious about him, for I know
+something is amiss to hurry him off in this way."
+
+"When will he be back, Ralph?"
+
+"Tomorrow noon, if possible; at night, certainly, he bid me tell anyone
+that called."
+
+"Did he leave no note or message for Miss Coventry, or someone of
+the family?"
+
+"No, miss, nothing."
+
+"Thank you." And Jean walked back to spend a restless night and rise to
+meet renewed suspense.
+
+The morning seemed endless, but noon came at last, and under the
+pretense of seeking coolness in the grotto, Jean stole away to a slope
+whence the gate to the Hall park was visible. For two long hours she
+watched, and no one came. She was just turning away when a horseman
+dashed through the gate and came galloping toward the Hall. Heedless of
+everything but the uncontrollable longing to gain some tidings, she ran
+to meet him, feeling assured that he brought ill news. It was a young
+man from the station, and as he caught sight of her, he drew bridle,
+looking agitated and undecided.
+
+"Has anything happened?" she cried breathlessly.
+
+"A dreadful accident on the railroad, just the other side of
+Croydon. News telegraphed half an hour ago," answered the man,
+wiping his hot face.
+
+"The noon train? Was Sir John in it? Quick, tell me all!"
+
+"It was that train, miss, but whether Sir John was in it or not, we
+don't know; for the guard is killed, and everything is in such confusion
+that nothing can be certain. They are at work getting out the dead and
+wounded. We heard that Sir John was expected, and I came up to tell Mr.
+Coventry, thinking he would wish to go down. A train leaves in fifteen
+minutes; where shall I find him? I was told he was at the Hall."
+
+"Ride on, ride on! And find him if he is there. I'll run home and look
+for him. Lose no time. Ride! Ride!" And turning, Jean sped back like a
+deer, while the man tore up the avenue to rouse the Hall.
+
+Coventry was there, and went off at once, leaving both Hall and house in
+dismay. Fearing to betray the horrible anxiety that possessed her, Jean
+shut herself up in her room and suffered untold agonies as the day wore
+on and no news came. At dark a sudden cry rang through the house, and
+Jean rushed down to learn the cause. Bella was standing in the hall,
+holding a letter, while a group of excited servants hovered near her.
+
+"What is it?" demanded Miss Muir, pale and steady, though her heart
+died within her as she recognized Gerald's handwriting. Bella gave
+her the note, and hushed her sobbing to hear again the heavy tidings
+that had come.
+
+    Dear Bella:
+
+    Uncle is safe; he did not go in the noon train. But several persons
+    are sure that Ned was there. No trace of him as yet, but many bodies
+    are in the river, under the ruins of the bridge, and I am doing my
+    best to find the poor lad, if he is there. I have sent to all his
+    haunts in town, and as he has not been seen, I hope it is a false
+    report and he is safe with his regiment. Keep this from my mother
+    till we are sure. I write you, because Lucia is ill. Miss Muir will
+    comfort and sustain you. Hope for the best, dear.
+
+    Yours, G.C.
+
+Those who watched Miss Muir as she read these words wondered at the
+strange expressions which passed over her face, for the joy which
+appeared there as Sir John's safety was made known did not change to
+grief or horror at poor Edward's possible fate. The smile died on her
+lips, but her voice did not falter, and in her downcast eyes shone an
+inexplicable look of something like triumph. No wonder, for if this
+was true, the danger which menaced her was averted for a time, and the
+marriage might be consummated without such desperate haste. This sad
+and sudden event seemed to her the mysterious fulfilment of a secret
+wish; and though startled she was not daunted but inspirited, for fate
+seemed to favor her designs. She did comfort Bella, control the
+excited household, and keep the rumors from Mrs. Coventry all that
+dreadful night.
+
+At dawn Gerald came home exhausted, and bringing no tiding of the
+missing man. He had telegraphed to the headquarters of the regiment and
+received a reply, stating that Edward had left for London the previous
+day, meaning to go home before returning. The fact of his having been at
+the London station was also established, but whether he left by the
+train or not was still uncertain. The ruins were still being searched,
+and the body might yet appear.
+
+"Is Sir John coming at noon?" asked Jean, as the three sat together in
+the rosy hush of dawn, trying to hope against hope.
+
+"No, he had been ill, I learned from young Gower, who is just from town,
+and so had not completed his business. I sent him word to wait till
+night, for the bridge won't be passable till then. Now I must try and
+rest an hour; I've worked all night and have no strength left. Call me
+the instant any messenger arrives."
+
+With that Coventry went to his room, Bella followed to wait on him, and
+Jean roamed through house and grounds, unable to rest. The morning was
+far spent when the messenger arrived. Jean went to receive his tidings,
+with the wicked hope still lurking at her heart.
+
+"Is he found?" she asked calmly, as the man hesitated to speak.
+
+"Yes, ma'am."
+
+"You are sure?"
+
+"I am certain, ma'am, though some won't say till Mr. Coventry
+comes to look."
+
+"Is he alive?" And Jean's white lips trembled as she put the question.
+
+"Oh no, ma'am, that warn't possible, under all them stones and water.
+The poor young gentleman is so wet, and crushed, and torn, no one
+would know him, except for the uniform, and the white hand with the
+ring on it."
+
+Jean sat down, very pale, and the man described the finding of the poor
+shattered body. As he finished, Coventry appeared, and with one look of
+mingled remorse, shame, and sorrow, the elder brother went away, to find
+and bring the younger home. Jean crept into the garden like a guilty
+thing, trying to hide the satisfaction which struggled with a woman's
+natural pity, for so sad an end for this brave young life.
+
+"Why waste tears or feign sorrow when I must be glad?" she muttered, as
+she paced to and fro along the terrace. "The poor boy is out of pain,
+and I am out of danger."
+
+She got no further, for, turning as she spoke, she stood face to face
+with Edward! Bearing no mark of peril on dress or person, but stalwart
+and strong as ever, he stood there looking at her, with contempt and
+compassion struggling in his face. As if turned to stone, she remained
+motionless, with dilated eyes, arrested breath, and paling cheek. He did
+not speak but watched her silently till she put out a trembling hand, as
+if to assure herself by touch that it was really he. Then he drew back,
+and as if the act convinced as fully as words, she said slowly, "They
+told me you were dead."
+
+"And you were glad to believe it. No, it was my comrade, young Courtney,
+who unconsciously deceived you all, and lost his life, as I should have
+done, if I had not gone to Ascot after seeing him off yesterday."
+
+"To Ascot?" echoed Jean, shrinking back, for Edward's eye was on her,
+and his voice was stern and cold.
+
+"Yes; you know the place. I went there to make inquiries concerning you
+and was well satisfied. Why are you still here?"
+
+"The three days are not over yet. I hold you to your promise. Before
+night I shall be gone; till then you will be silent, if you have honor
+enough to keep your word."
+
+"I have." Edward took out his watch and, as he put it back, said with
+cool precision, "It is now two, the train leaves for London at half-past
+six; a carriage will wait for you at the side door. Allow me to advise
+you to go then, for the instant dinner is over I shall speak." And with
+a bow he went into the house, leaving Jean nearly suffocated with a
+throng of contending emotions.
+
+For a few minutes she seemed paralyzed; but the native energy of the
+woman forbade utter despair, till the last hope was gone. Frail as that
+now was, she still clung to it tenaciously, resolving to win the game in
+defiance of everything. Springing up, she went to her room, packed her
+few valuables, dressed herself with care, and then sat down to wait. She
+heard a joyful stir below, saw Coventry come hurrying back, and from a
+garrulous maid learned that the body was that of young Courtney. The
+uniform being the same as Edward's and the ring, a gift from him, had
+caused the men to believe the disfigured corpse to be that of the
+younger Coventry. No one but the maid came near her; once Bella's voice
+called her, but some one checked the girl, and the call was not
+repeated. At five an envelope was brought her, directed in Edward's
+hand, and containing a check which more than paid a year's salary. No
+word accompanied the gift, yet the generosity of it touched her, for
+Jean Muir had the relics of a once honest nature, and despite her
+falsehood could still admire nobleness and respect virtue. A tear of
+genuine shame dropped on the paper, and real gratitude filled her heart,
+as she thought that even if all else failed, she was not thrust out
+penniless into the world, which had no pity for poverty.
+
+As the clock struck six, she heard a carriage drive around and went down
+to meet it. A servant put on her trunk, gave the order, "To the station,
+James," and she drove away without meeting anyone, speaking to anyone,
+or apparently being seen by anyone. A sense of utter weariness came over
+her, and she longed to lie down and forget. But the last chance still
+remained, and till that failed, she would not give up. Dismissing the
+carriage, she seated herself to watch for the quarter-past-six train
+from London, for in that Sir John would come if he came at all that
+night. She was haunted by the fear that Edward had met and told him. The
+first glimpse of Sir John's frank face would betray the truth. If he
+knew all, there was no hope, and she would go her way alone. If he knew
+nothing, there was yet time for the marriage; and once his wife, she
+knew she was safe, because for the honor of his name he would screen and
+protect her.
+
+Up rushed the train, out stepped Sir John, and Jean's heart died within
+her. Grave, and pale, and worn he looked, and leaned heavily on the arm
+of a portly gentleman in black. The Reverend Mr. Fairfax, why has he
+come, if the secret is out? thought Jean, slowly advancing to meet them
+and fearing to read her fate in Sir John's face. He saw her, dropped his
+friend's arm, and hurried forward with the ardor of a young man,
+exclaiming, as he seized her hand with a beaming face, a glad voice, "My
+little girl! Did you think I would never come?"
+
+She could not answer, the reaction was too strong, but she clung to him,
+regardless of time or place, and felt that her last hope had not failed.
+Mr. Fairfax proved himself equal to the occasion. Asking no questions,
+he hurried Sir John and Jean into a carriage and stepped in after them
+with a bland apology. Jean was soon herself again, and, having told her
+fears at his delay, listened eagerly while he related the various
+mishaps which had detained him.
+
+"Have you seen Edward?" was her first question.
+
+"Not yet, but I know he has come, and have heard of his narrow escape. I
+should have been in that train, if I had not been delayed by the
+indisposition which I then cursed, but now bless. Are you ready, Jean?
+Do you repent your choice, my child?"
+
+"No, no! I am ready, I am only too happy to become your wife, dear,
+generous Sir John," cried Jean, with a glad alacrity, which touched the
+old man to the heart, and charmed the Reverend Mr. Fairfax, who
+concealed the romance of a boy under his clerical suit.
+
+They reached the Hall. Sir John gave orders to admit no one and after a
+hasty dinner sent for his old housekeeper and his steward, told them of
+his purpose, and desired them to witness his marriage. Obedience had
+been the law of their lives, and Master could do nothing wrong in their
+eyes, so they played their parts willingly, for Jean was a favorite at
+the Hall. Pale as her gown, but calm and steady, she stood beside Sir
+John, uttering her vows in a clear tone and taking upon herself the vows
+of a wife with more than a bride's usual docility. When the ring was
+fairly on, a smile broke over her face. When Sir John kissed and called
+her his "little wife," she shed a tear or two of sincere happiness; and
+when Mr. Fairfax addressed her as "my lady," she laughed her musical
+laugh, and glanced up at a picture of Gerald with eyes full of
+exultation. As the servants left the room, a message was brought from
+Mrs. Coventry, begging Sir John to come to her at once.
+
+"You will not go and leave me so soon?" pleaded Jean, well knowing why
+he was sent for.
+
+"My darling, I must." And in spite of its tenderness, Sir John's manner
+was too decided to be withstood.
+
+"Then I shall go with you," cried Jean, resolving that no earthly power
+should part them.
+
+
+
+
+_Chapter IX_
+
+
+LADY COVENTRY
+
+When the first excitement of Edward's return had subsided, and before
+they could question him as to the cause of this unexpected visit, he
+told them that after dinner their curiosity should be gratified, and
+meantime he begged them to leave Miss Muir alone, for she had received
+bad news and must not be disturbed. The family with difficulty
+restrained their tongues and waited impatiently. Gerald confessed his
+love for Jean and asked his brother's pardon for betraying his trust. He
+had expected an outbreak, but Edward only looked at him with pitying
+eyes, and said sadly, "You too! I have no reproaches to make, for I know
+what you will suffer when the truth is known."
+
+"What do you mean?" demanded Coventry.
+
+"You will soon know, my poor Gerald, and we will comfort one another."
+
+Nothing more could be drawn from Edward till dinner was over, the
+servants gone, and all the family alone together. Then pale and grave,
+but very self-possessed, for trouble had made a man of him, he produced
+a packet of letters, and said, addressing himself to his brother, "Jean
+Muir has deceived us all. I know her story; let me tell it before I read
+her letters."
+
+"Stop! I'll not listen to any false tales against her. The poor girl has
+enemies who belie her!" cried Gerald, starting up.
+
+"For the honor of the family, you must listen, and learn what fools she
+has made of us. I can prove what I say, and convince you that she has
+the art of a devil. Sit still ten minutes, then go, if you will."
+
+Edward spoke with authority, and his brother obeyed him with a
+foreboding heart.
+
+"I met Sydney, and he begged me to beware of her. Nay, listen, Gerald! I
+know she has told her story, and that you believe it; but her own
+letters convict her. She tried to charm Sydney as she did us, and nearly
+succeeded in inducing him to marry her. Rash and wild as he is, he is
+still a gentleman, and when an incautious word of hers roused his
+suspicions, he refused to make her his wife. A stormy scene ensued, and,
+hoping to intimidate him, she feigned to stab herself as if in despair.
+She did wound herself, but failed to gain her point and insisted upon
+going to a hospital to die. Lady Sydney, good, simple soul, believed the
+girl's version of the story, thought her son was in the wrong, and when
+he was gone, tried to atone for his fault by finding Jean Muir another
+home. She thought Gerald was soon to marry Lucia, and that I was away,
+so sent her here as a safe and comfortable retreat."
+
+"But, Ned, are you sure of all this? Is Sydney to be believed?" began
+Coventry, still incredulous.
+
+"To convince you, I'll read Jean's letters before I say more. They
+were written to an accomplice and were purchased by Sydney. There was
+a compact between the two women, that each should keep the other
+informed of all adventures, plots and plans, and share whatever good
+fortune fell to the lot of either. Thus Jean wrote freely, as you
+shall judge. The letters concern us alone. The first was written a few
+days after she came.
+
+    "Dear Hortense:
+
+    "Another failure. Sydney was more wily than I thought. All was going
+    well, when one day my old fault beset me, I took too much wine, and
+    I carelessly owned that I had been an actress. He was shocked, and
+    retreated. I got up a scene, and gave myself a safe little wound, to
+    frighten him. The brute was not frightened, but coolly left me to my
+    fate. I'd have died to spite him, if I dared, but as I didn't, I
+    lived to torment him. As yet, I have had no chance, but I will not
+    forget him. His mother is a poor, weak creature, whom I could use as
+    I would, and through her I found an excellent place. A sick mother,
+    silly daughter, and two eligible sons. One is engaged to a handsome
+    iceberg, but that only renders him more interesting in my eyes,
+    rivalry adds so much to the charm of one's conquests. Well, my dear,
+    I went, got up in the meek style, intending to do the pathetic; but
+    before I saw the family, I was so angry I could hardly control
+    myself. Through the indolence of Monsieur the young master, no
+    carriage was sent for me, and I intend he shall atone for that
+    rudeness by-and-by. The younger son, the mother, and the girl
+    received me patronizingly, and I understood the simple souls at
+    once. Monsieur (as I shall call him, as names are unsafe) was
+    unapproachable, and took no pains to conceal his dislike of
+    governesses. The cousin was lovely, but detestable with her pride,
+    her coldness, and her very visible adoration of Monsieur, who let
+    her worship him, like an inanimate idol as he is. I hated them both,
+    of course, and in return for their insolence shall torment her with
+    jealousy, and teach him how to woo a woman by making his heart ache.
+    They are an intensely proud family, but I can humble them all, I
+    think, by captivating the sons, and when they have committed
+    themselves, cast them off, and marry the old uncle, whose title
+    takes my fancy."
+
+"She never wrote that! It is impossible. A woman could not do it," cried
+Lucia indignantly, while Bella sat bewildered and Mrs. Coventry
+supported herself with salts and fan. Coventry went to his brother,
+examined the writing, and returned to his seat, saying, in a tone of
+suppressed wrath, "She did write it. I posted some of those letters
+myself. Go on, Ned."
+
+    "I made myself useful and agreeable to the amiable ones, and
+    overheard the chat of the lovers. It did not suit me, so I fainted
+    away to stop it, and excite interest in the provoking pair. I
+    thought I had succeeded, but Monsieur suspected me and showed me
+    that he did. I forgot my meek role and gave him a stage look. It had
+    a good effect, and I shall try it again. The man is well worth
+    winning, but I prefer the title, and as the uncle is a hale,
+    handsome gentleman, I can't wait for him to die, though Monsieur is
+    very charming, with his elegant languor, and his heart so fast
+    asleep no woman has had power to wake it yet. I told my story, and
+    they believed it, though I had the audacity to say I was but
+    nineteen, to talk Scotch, and bashfully confess that Sydney wished
+    to marry me. Monsieur knows S. and evidently suspects something. I
+    must watch him and keep the truth from him, if possible.
+
+    "I was very miserable that night when I got alone. Something in the
+    atmosphere of this happy home made me wish I was anything but what I
+    am. As I sat there trying to pluck up my spirits, I thought of the
+    days when I was lovely and young, good and gay. My glass showed me
+    an old woman of thirty, for my false locks were off, my paint gone,
+    and my face was without its mask. Bah! how I hate sentiment! I drank
+    your health from your own little flask, and went to bed to dream
+    that I was playing Lady Tartuffe--as I am. Adieu, more soon."
+
+No one spoke as Edward paused, and taking up another letter, he read on:
+
+    "My Dear Creature:
+
+    "All goes well. Next day I began my task, and having caught a hint
+    of the character of each, tried my power over them. Early in the
+    morning I ran over to see the Hall. Approved of it highly, and took
+    the first step toward becoming its mistress, by piquing the
+    curiosity and flattering the pride of its master. His estate is his
+    idol; I praised it with a few artless compliments to himself, and he
+    was charmed. The cadet of the family adores horses. I risked my neck
+    to pet his beast, and_ he _was charmed. The little girl is romantic
+    about flowers; I made a posy and was sentimental, and_ she _was
+    charmed. The fair icicle loves her departed mamma, I had raptures
+    over an old picture, and she thawed. Monsieur is used to being
+    worshipped. I took no notice of him, and by the natural perversity
+    of human nature, he began to take notice of me. He likes music; I
+    sang, and stopped when he'd listened long enough to want more. He is
+    lazily fond of being amused; I showed him my skill, but refused to
+    exert it in his behalf. In short, I gave him no peace till he began
+    to wake up. In order to get rid of the boy, I fascinated him, and he
+    was sent away. Poor lad, I rather liked him, and if the title had
+    been nearer would have married him.
+
+"Many thanks for the honor." And Edward's lip curled with intense scorn.
+But Gerald sat like a statue, his teeth set, his eyes fiery, his brows
+bent, waiting for the end.
+
+    "The passionate boy nearly killed his brother, but I turned the
+    affair to good account, and bewitched Monsieur by playing nurse,
+    till Vashti (the icicle) interfered. Then I enacted injured virtue,
+    and kept out of his way, knowing that he would miss me, I mystified
+    him about S. by sending a letter where S. would not get it, and got
+    up all manner of soft scenes to win this proud creature. I get on
+    well and meanwhile privately fascinate Sir J. by being daughterly
+    and devoted. He is a worthy old man, simple as a child, honest as
+    the day, and generous as a prince. I shall be a happy woman if I win
+    him, and you shall share my good fortune; so wish me success.
+
+"This is the third, and contains something which will surprise you,"
+Edward said, as he lifted another paper.
+
+    "Hortense:
+
+    "I've done what I once planned to do on another occasion. You know
+    my handsome, dissipated father married a lady of rank for his second
+    wife. I never saw Lady H----d but once, for I was kept out of the
+    way. Finding that this good Sir J. knew something of her when a
+    girl, and being sure that he did not know of the death of her little
+    daughter, I boldly said I was the child, and told a pitiful tale of
+    my early life. It worked like a charm; he told Monsieur, and both
+    felt the most chivalrous compassion for Lady Howard's daughter,
+    though before they had secretly looked down on me, and my real
+    poverty and my lowliness. That boy pitied me with an honest warmth
+    and never waited to learn my birth. I don't forget that and shall
+    repay it if I can. Wishing to bring Monsieur's affair to a
+    successful crisis, I got up a theatrical evening and was in my
+    element. One little event I must tell you, because I committed an
+    actionable offense and was nearly discovered. I did not go down to
+    supper, knowing that the moth would return to flutter about the
+    candle, and preferring that the fluttering should be done in
+    private, as Vashti's jealousy is getting uncontrollable. Passing
+    throught the gentlemen's dressing room, my quick eye caught sight of
+    a letter lying among the costumes. It was no stage affair, and an
+    odd sensation of fear ran through me as I recognized the hand of S.
+    I had feared this, but I believe in chance; and having found the
+    letter, I examined it. You know I can imitate almost any hand. When
+    I read in this paper the whole story of my affair with S., truly
+    told, and also that he had made inquiries into my past life and
+    discovered the truth, I was in a fury. To be so near success and
+    fail was terrible, and I resolved to risk everything. I opened the
+    letter by means of a heated knife blade under the seal, therefore
+    the envelope was perfect; imitating S.'s hand, I penned a few lines
+    in his hasty style, saying he was at Baden, so that if Monsieur
+    answered, the reply would not reach him, for he is in London, it
+    seems. This letter I put into the pocket whence the other must have
+    fallen, and was just congratulating myself on this narrow escape,
+    when Dean, the maid of Vashti, appeared as if watching me. She had
+    evidently seen the letter in my hand, and suspected something. I
+    took no notice of her, but must be careful, for she is on the watch.
+    After this the evening closed with strictly private theatricals, in
+    which Monsieur and myself were the only actors. To make sure that he
+    received my version of the story first, I told him a romantic story
+    of S.'s persecution, and he believed it. This I followed up by a
+    moonlight episode behind a rose hedge, and sent the young gentleman
+    home in a half-dazed condition. What fools men are!"
+
+"She is right!" muttered Coventry, who had flushed scarlet with
+shame and anger, as his folly became known and Lucia listened in
+astonished silence.
+
+"Only one more, and my distasteful task will be nearly over," said
+Edward, unfolding the last of the papers. "This is not a letter, but a
+copy of one written three nights ago. Dean boldly ransacked Jean Muir's
+desk while she was at the Hall, and, fearing to betray the deed by
+keeping the letter, she made a hasty copy which she gave me today,
+begging me to save the family from disgrace. This makes the chain
+complete. Go now, if you will, Gerald. I would gladly spare you the pain
+of hearing this."
+
+"I will not spare myself; I deserve it. Read on," replied Coventry,
+guessing what was to follow and nerving himself to hear it. Reluctantly
+his brother read these lines:
+
+    "The enemy has surrendered! Give me joy, Hortense; I can be the
+    wife of this proud monsieur, if I will. Think what an honor for the
+    divorced wife of a disreputable actor. I laugh at the farce and
+    enjoy it, for I only wait till the prize I desire is fairly mine, to
+    turn and reject this lover who has proved himself false to brother,
+    mistress, and his own conscience. I resolved to be revenged on both,
+    and I have kept my word. For my sake he cast off the beautiful woman
+    who truly loved him; he forgot his promise to his brother, and put
+    by his pride to beg of me the worn-out heart that is not worth a
+    good man's love. Ah well, I am satisfied, for Vashti has suffered
+    the sharpest pain a proud woman can endure, and will feel another
+    pang when I tell her that I scorn her recreant lover, and give him
+    back to her, to deal with as she will."
+
+Coventry started from his seat with a fierce exclamation, but Lucia
+bowed her face upon her hands, weeping, as if the pang had been sharper
+than even Jean foresaw.
+
+"Send for Sir John! I am mortally afraid of this creature. Take her
+away; do something to her. My poor Bella, what a companion for you! Send
+for Sir John at once!" cried Mrs. Coventry incoherently, and clasped her
+daughter in her arms, as if Jean Muir would burst in to annihilate the
+whole family. Edward alone was calm.
+
+"I have already sent, and while we wait, let me finish this story. It is
+true that Jean is the daughter of Lady Howard's husband, the pretended
+clergyman, but really a worthless man who married her for her money. Her
+own child died, but this girl, having beauty, wit and a bold spirit,
+took her fate into her own hands, and became an actress. She married an
+actor, led a reckless life for some years; quarreled with her husband,
+was divorced, and went to Paris; left the stage, and tried to support
+herself as governess and companion. You know how she fared with the
+Sydneys, how she has duped us, and but for this discovery would have
+duped Sir John. I was in time to prevent this, thank heaven. She is
+gone; no one knows the truth but Sydney and ourselves; he will be
+silent, for his own sake; we will be for ours, and leave this dangerous
+woman to the fate which will surely overtake her."
+
+"Thank you, it has overtaken her, and a very happy one she finds it."
+
+A soft voice uttered the words, and an apparition appeared at the door,
+which made all start and recoil with amazement--Jean Muir leaning on the
+arm of Sir John.
+
+"How dare you return?" began Edward, losing the self-control so long
+preserved. "How dare you insult us by coming back to enjoy the mischief
+you have done? Uncle, you do not know that woman!"
+
+"Hush, boy, I will not listen to a word, unless you remember where you
+are," said Sir John with a commanding gesture.
+
+"Remember your promise: love me, forgive me, protect me, and do not
+listen to their accusations," whispered Jean, whose quick eye had
+discovered the letters.
+
+"I will; have no fears, my child," he answered, drawing her nearer as he
+took his accustomed place before the fire, always lighted when Mrs.
+Coventry was down.
+
+Gerald, who had been pacing the room excitedly, paused behind Lucia's
+chair as if to shield her from insult; Bella clung to her mother; and
+Edward, calming himself by a strong effort, handed his uncle the
+letters, saying briefly, "Look at those, sir, and let them speak."
+
+"I will look at nothing, hear nothing, believe nothing which can in any
+way lessen my respect and affection for this young lady. She has
+prepared me for this. I know the enemy who is unmanly enough to belie
+and threaten her. I know that you both are unsuccessful lovers, and this
+explains your unjust, uncourteous treatment now. We all have committed
+faults and follies. I freely forgive Jean hers, and desire to know
+nothing of them from your lips. If she has innocently offended, pardon
+it for my sake, and forget the past."
+
+"But, Uncle, we have proofs that this woman is not what she seems. Her
+own letters convict her. Read them, and do not blindly deceive
+yourself," cried Edward, indignant at his uncle's words.
+
+A low laugh startled them all, and in an instant they saw the cause of
+it. While Sir John spoke, Jean had taken the letters from the hand which
+he had put behind him, a favorite gesture of his, and, unobserved, had
+dropped them on the fire. The mocking laugh, the sudden blaze, showed
+what had been done. Both young men sprang forward, but it was too late;
+the proofs were ashes, and Jean Muir's bold, bright eyes defied them, as
+she said, with a disdainful little gesture. "Hands off, gentlemen! You
+may degrade yourselves to the work of detectives, but I am not a
+prisoner yet. Poor Jean Muir you might harm, but Lady Coventry is beyond
+your reach."
+
+"Lady Coventry!" echoed the dismayed family, in varying tones of
+incredulity, indignation, and amazement.
+
+"Aye, my dear and honored wife," said Sir John, with a protecting arm
+about the slender figure at his side; and in the act, the words, there
+was a tender dignity that touched the listeners with pity and respect
+for the deceived man. "Receive her as such, and for my sake, forbear all
+further accusation," he continued steadily. "I know what I have done. I
+have no fear that I shall repent it. If I am blind, let me remain so
+till time opens my eyes. We are going away for a little while, and when
+we return, let the old life return again, unchanged, except that Jean
+makes sunshine for me as well as for you."
+
+No one spoke, for no one knew what to say. Jean broke the silence,
+saying coolly, "May I ask how those letters came into your possession?"
+
+"In tracing out your past life, Sydney found your friend Hortense. She
+was poor, money bribed her, and your letters were given up to him as
+soon as received. Traitors are always betrayed in the end," replied
+Edward sternly.
+
+Jean shrugged her shoulders, and shot a glance at Gerald, saying with
+her significant smile, "Remember that, monsieur, and allow me to hope
+that in wedding you will be happier than in wooing. Receive my
+congratulations, Miss Beaufort, and let me beg of you to follow my
+example, if you would keep your lovers."
+
+Here all the sarcasm passed from her voice, the defiance from her eye,
+and the one unspoiled attribute which still lingered in this woman's
+artful nature shone in her face, as she turned toward Edward and Bella
+at their mother's side.
+
+"You have been kind to me," she said, with grateful warmth. "I thank you
+for it, and will repay it if I can. To you I will acknowledge that I am
+not worthy to be this good man's wife, and to you I will solemnly
+promise to devote my life to his happiness. For his sake forgive me, and
+let there be peace between us."
+
+There was no reply, but Edward's indignant eyes fell before hers. Bella
+half put out her hand, and Mrs. Coventry sobbed as if some regret
+mingled with her resentment. Jean seemed to expect no friendly
+demonstration, and to understand that they forbore for Sir John's sake,
+not for hers, and to accept their contempt as her just punishment.
+
+"Come home, love, and forget all this," said her husband, ringing the
+bell, and eager to be gone. "Lady Coventry's carriage."
+
+And as he gave the order, a smile broke over her face, for the sound
+assured her that the game was won. Pausing an instant on the threshold
+before she vanished from their sight, she looked backward, and fixing on
+Gerald the strange glance he remembered well, she said in her
+penetrating voice, "Is not the last scene better than the first?"
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Behind A Mask, Or A Woman's Power, by A. M. Barnard
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