VIOLET LISLE; OR, A PEARL BEYOND PRICE.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 464, 11 May 1912, Page 2

VIOLET LISLE; OR, A PEARL BEYOND PRICE.

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$- By the Author of "All or Nothing, ' "Two Keys," etc., etc. PART 30. Lord Granthorpe pondered a moment in silence ; then rose from his chair, and said : . " Ladv Westall, are you avoiding me because you dislike me for anj reason ?" " Oh, no ; far from it," she cried ; involuntarily. " Lady Westall, you must have known before I went away from here that my regard for you was not o! the ordinary sort —"

"Oh, please, don't," she cried wringing her hands, nervously. " I do not wish to have you say that—that—"

" I must," he answered. " I told you I had come for the purpose of inducing you to come to Granthorpe Castle. So I have. If you will come there as the Countess of Granthorpe I shail be the proudest and happiest man—old man, if you willin the United Kingdom. Will you, Lady Westall ?"

Instead of answering she sank back in her chair covering her iace with her hands. But he -waited in silence, an:l she presently let her hands fall, disclosing a haggard, pitiful face.

" You have done me a great honour my lord, hut it can never be." "Do you dislike me, then ?" he asked gently. " Oh, no." " Have I forfeited your respect or esteem in any way ?" " No —oh, no."

" I have not ventured to ask if you cannot love :ue ; for I am fully aware that such a sentiment mighi seem out of place in one of my age—let me frankly say, our age—but I do love you, Lady Westall ; so I will ask, do you not love me ?" " Yes, I do ; but yet it can never be," she said, brokenly. " Why ?" he asked, simply. " Yes, I will tell you, Lord Granthorpe, I do love you, and I respect you ; but I know your pride and 1 would not risk wounding it by accepting the offer which it is my misery to have had from you. You se€ me now, moderately rich, and bearing an honourable title ; hut I have not always been so situated. When you have heard my story you will feel as I do—that the past is an impassable barrier between as."

" Stop !" he said, gently. "Is there anything dishonourable in your past ?" " Nothing," she said, 'proudly, drawing herself up. " Then why should there be a harrier between us ?"

" Hear my story." "It is not necessary. I. say to you I love you, and would have you for my wife. I have the fullest confidence in you, and I do not care to hear your story. Tell it to me when you are mj wife." She shook her head sadly, though there was a sparkle of happiness in her eyes, brought there by his words. But she could not bring herself to think that he would condone her past. " I must tell you now," she said. " Suppose I say that I know the story of your life/' "It is not possible," she said ; but there was the eagerness of hope in her tone. " I know," he said, " that you were cnce a governess and lost your position because of the falsehood told by Lord Coldenham."

" That is only the beginning," she said in a low tone. " I know that with a ruined name you could find no other employment, and rather than starve went on the stage as a chorus girl." " And you do not find that insurmountable ?" she cried, looking up with a perfect flood of happiness surging to her heart. "You are the one woman I would have share my title. I say nry title, jccausc I hold that that is only a trust in my hands to be kept bright md untarnished as my honour. Now, will you be my wife ?" "If I deserve the honour, bfaving louhted you ?"

" Yo:i confer honour," he said, raising her hand to his lips arxl kissing it with a sort of reverence. Leave them for a little while to share those little follies "that cin lovers past the heyday of tr.eir yo ith will indulge in, and return to them when they have returned to the p mosaic world inhabitated by th sir feUotv mortals.

" How did you learn my .story ?" aeked Lady Westall. Lord Granthorpe told 'her. all be had overheard.

"What unparalleled- infamy!" exclaimed Lady Westall with hot indignation.

" Yes, but I am grateful to him. E will confess that it was a shock to me to hear what he said : but I am so far grateful to him that it has enabled me to be here. As for his further villainy, be sure, that I shall find some way of baulking- it ; but to thsat end, you must t/ill me all you know of Violet and Iter relations tc Lord Darlington', for I have lately begun to suspect that "Violet's unhappiness is due to something between them. <^, CHAPTER XXXVII.-' MAN'S PERFIDY. The Earl of Grantborpe was ' .better than his expectation in the w&t\ -er o returning home ; though, as he said to Lady Westall on leaving her, he was very much afraid that. Violet would read his happiness in his fa ce. and so learn his secret before he w a; ready to divulge it. He reactor

home late that night, and did not ecc Violet until the morning.

Th-n he avoided her, adjourning to his room immediately after breakfast and ordering a carriage soon after, without saying anything to her as to where he was going—a very unusual thing for him to do ; but she was so fill of her own miserable thoughts th-nt she gave it almost no consideration at all.

" Rather late in life to bo Cupid's messenger," said the Earl of Granthorpc to himself ; " hut in my present state of mind I feel that it is far better to be late than never in the service of the little god. Drive to Darlington Castle, Robert," he said aloud to his coachman.

When Lady Darlington, sitting in Irr boudoir, thinking sadly of the lives that had been marred by her interference, as she often did think in these dajs received word that the Earl of Granthorpe wished to see her, and was waiting in the reception room, she felt instinctively that the proud nobleman had come on some errand that would distress her. But it was not the first time that shin had subdued her pride of late days, and she went down, schooling herself tc be patient with the man whose haughtiness had conquered her own at a time when he was an obscure gentleman. She bowed as she entered the reception room, and he rose and rereturned it so courteously that she gained the hope that he might have :ome to accept the overtures of peace which she had virtually made when she called on Violet. "We have met before, Lady Darlington," said the earl, " when, I am afraid, I was not so courteous as I should have been. Let me first apologise for that." "My lord, my lord, not a word I beg of you. You could not have sommitted a single offence that my conduct had not urged you to. Let us at least but apology against apoogy, mine for yours, and leave them unuttered.:'

" Your ladyship," said the earl, bowing profoundly, " makes me regret more than ever the unfortunate misunderstanding that has arisen." "I do not comprehend."

" I refer to that which exists between my daughter and your son. It is that,'*' primarily, that has brought me here ; and I trust you will permit me to say that I rejoice to have come if only that it enables me to meet you." " You are too kind, my lord. As for the estrangement between Violet and Guy—ah, if it could be removed ! You must know, my lord, the deep obligation lam under to your daughter. Or, perhaps, you do not know ?"

"I do. She has not told me, but Lady Westall has. It was only yesterday that I learned what has been the life of my daughter since her expulsion by me from my home. I will simply say that I regret nothing more than my conduct at that unhappy time and I believe I value my daughter sufficiently now to compensate if it be possible, for my previous lack of appreciation." " I opposed the marriage of my son to jour daughter, my lord when I knew nothing of her, and when I obstinately refused to know anything. [ know her now, and I can assure you, my lord, that were she as low in the social scale as she is high, 1 should still feel that my son, was honoured, could he be fortunate enough to prevail upon her to hecome his wife. Alas ! can he prevail upon her ?" "It is precisely to ascertain that that I am here." " How can I assist you, my lord?" "By answering frankly any questions I may ask you." " You may rely on me to do that." " I would not have ventured thus much," said the earl, " had it not heen for the assurance of Lady Westall that you were profoundly attached to my daughter, and would wish [or her welfare as much a.s for that :f your son." " I am grateful to Lady Westall [or that assurance." " What reasons had your son, then, Lady Darlington, to suspect that Violet was in any way unworthy of iiis love ?" Lady Darlington changed colour. "It is something of which neither of us can understand," she said, "and I assure you, my lord, that nothing but the desire to exonerate my son would lead me to speak of it."

" Then there is something tangible" said the earl quickly. " Yes ; and yet I must add that at this moment neither Guy nor myself believe that it has any value whatever."

" You arouse my curiosity, Lady Darlington." " Permit me to leave you for a moment " ; and she left him, whib she went up to her boudoir and pre scntly returned With a casket evidently intended to hold jewels. She opened it, and after turning over some jewels in old-fashioned settings, drew out a paper enclosed in an envelope.

" Read that, Lord Granthorpe,' said, handing it to him.

It was the receipt with Violet's sig nature. The earl read it in silence Then he looked up. "Whose writing is the body of this in ?"

"Lord Coldenham's. But is nol the signature that of Violet's ?" "It would seem so. But is this paper without any sort of corroboration ?"

" Not entirely. Guy tells me thai on the morning after their elopcmcui he returned to her and found Lore Coldenham with Miss Lisle. Sh< told him that she could not marry him, because be would not hav wealth enough. At first he wouk not believe her, but she insisted am 'ie ran away frantic. But again it came over him with overwhelming

: oree that she could not "be so mcr;enary, and he hurried back to the hotel, only to find that she had goin He then went to Penarth Castle, ivhere I then was, and demanded oi , ;.he Marquis of Coldenbam when' she ,vas, and what he had done to rar.se | ler to break her faith with him. The narquis produced this paper, which .vas conclusive to me, but. which Guv scouted. He would not believe hei >vord or her signature, and sought her at your house. He lost her then j uid hurried to the station to follow I her to London, where he had no doubt j she had pine. There he met a farmer's, son who told him stories a)out Violet for which lie would have struck the man down at another Lime. but coming as they did, with ;.he p'oofs of his own ears, and his ■yes. and being nearly hesi<ie himself At the lime, lie accepted. After that lie went abroad, intending never if. •elurn to England ; but he did not ose sight of Violet ; for after a v'e he met one of his acquaintances in:l finally the Marquis of Coldenhnrn vho contrived to persuade Guy that he had been innocent of any evil design, and then proved that Violet aad never been worthy of him, by xlling him many things about her, ind (showing him paragraphs about Vlabel Marsden that had somehow .•rept into the Continental papers, as f copied from the London papers, ir.d all of which reflected on her m-ractcr, though without really acsnsins her of *ny overt wrongioing."

" It is enough," said the earl, " I ;h*nk I understand it all. Not this paper which seems genuine as to the signature, hut everything else. It .as heen the interest of Lord Coldenham to keep these two apart. His object at first, as I understand, must have teen to marry his own daughter to your son ; hut afterwards his only object could have been to prevent the iiscovery of some villainy which (vould have been inevitable had they •net. What villainy was that ? I think that we shall find that this paper is connected with it in some .vay. I knew that Violet was rescued by Lady Westall from extreme poverty and destitution." '* You give me hope," cried Lady Darlington. " Guy has had some such idea, and would have inquired through me, of Violet, about this paper ; but she has been so haughtily opposed to any consideration of the matter that I have not been able to io anything." " Has Lord Darlington himself made any effort to see Violet since the time they met in Nice ?"

"He has not dared. I have endeavoured to persuade her to listen to his excuses, but she haß been obdurate. And, alas ! I have not been able to blame her. She is right to be indignant ; but I believe it will kill Guy." " Where is he now ?"

"On the Continent. He is so firm in his belief that Lord Coldenham ha* in some way been concerned in the whole matter that he has devoted himself to searching for the truth. He is hunting up every paper that ever said a word about Mabel Marslen, and is demanding the evidence of the paragraph being a copy from an English paper. I have not heard how much he has accomplished ; but I snow he is devoting his whole energies to hunting down the maligner of your daughter." " And you may be sure," said the sari who had listened attentively " that the marquis is aware of what Lord Darlington is doing ; for he has just been with Violet, and has extorted a promise from her that she will not reveal a word of what passed between her and him. Fortunately I heard all that was said. I say he extorted a promise . That is misleading. He obtained a promise ; but never have I heard ia man so scorned and humiliated as he was —a ;crtain proof in itself of his rascality. Will you let me take that paper ? or, better yet, will you come .vith me to Violet, 60 that we may show her"this document? I believe It will unfold some new and precious piece of villainy. But stop ! did jou pay this money ?" " Certainly I paid it to him. I had given him authority to buy hei off for almost any sum. Alas, how [ misjudged that angel !"

"Ah, my lady, if you accuse yourself who did not know her, what shall be said of mc who was her father ?" " Lot us pray that we may make it right even now," was her onlj answer.

In such a case there was no hesitation in Lady Darlington's decision. She told her maid to bring her her wraps and would have ordered her carriage had not the earl begged her to do him the honour of going with him, and letting him send her home. " I think," he said, as they r.xU towards the castle, " that it wuld be wiser if we do no more rlv.m gam from Violet, the truth concernim: this paper. Let the knowledge of thi* fraud—for fraud I am certain it h--sink into her heart and carry its owr weight with her. Ah. that scoundnS that scoundrel !"

No one could very well have beermore surprised than Violet was to be summoned to the drawing room t> see her father and then to furl lnrr there with Lady Darlington, noil: showing by that indefinable somethim in their manner that they were on th< best terms with each other.

She greeted Lady Darlington with some restraint, for she feared that this conjunction boded an effort tc induce her to yield her will to theirs; and it seemed as if she clung to hei determination with an obstinacy proportioned to the suffering caused her by so doing. " You wonder no doubt." said hei father, " to sec Lady Darlington hen with me. It is, after all, not sc strange. But let us sit down and I will explain." (To be contiajw*!,);