Ted's Wife.

Free Lance, Volume II, Issue 77, 21 December 1901, Page 16 (Supplement)

Ted's Wife.

(lii Mjis. ]J L. HAwrHOUNt )

(Specially U nttcu loi the trie Lame C hi is/ma* Snpphinent )

WHAT a, surprise t'will be for Mab' The little girl doesn't expect me for a week or more. Won't she be delighted!" 80 mused Ted Osborne, commercial traveller a benedict of a year or so This last trip to Chiistchurch had been somewhat longer than usual, owing to the near approach of the festive season, and Ted was rejoiced to find himself once more in the City of the Four Winds. , , , "Those marriages are best w men are founded on mutual respect and tastes Bhared in common " The Osbornes either were ignorant of the above, or, knowing it, did not act up to their principles. c i Mrs Ted had a \unmng face, good figure, and what is known as 'a nice way" with her. Out of a host of suitors she had chosen Ted Osborne . not that there was anything particularly striking about Ted. He uas bricktopped, bnck-complexioned, and badtempered. But women are strange creatures, and while man loves through the eve, woman, poor soul, is deluded in like manner through the ear. led was possessed of a facile tongue whenever he wanted anythin- and he had wanted Mabel Bertinshaw very badly Meantime, Osborne reached home, only to find the house locked up He had not reckoned on that It seemed thoughtless of Mab to be out iust then, when he had been .0 eagerly looking forward to the meetme Osborne felt annoved. . , -, In this uncompromising moocl ne opened the hall-door with his latch-kes and walked straight through to his "den " consisting of half the sittingroom divided off by a heavy curtain and commanding a view of the level lawn through a French window. lne dav was calm— sultry oven for Wellington. He threw open the window, and nuns: himself into an easy chair. "Beastly hot"' he exclaimed "What a fool I was to hurrv so." He closed his erves, and, from thinking; about nothing in particular, soon thought about nothing at all, and fell fast asleep. Hours afterwards, it seemed he woke up with a start to the sound of a strange voice on the other side of the curtain. He ruhbed his pvps wonderinfdv. Where was he ° Wliit had he been doing? Oh — of course An unknown voice rich and deep, penetrated through the coarse texture of the dividing; curtain — So sweet a, kiss the golden sun give 1 * not To thoae fresh morning drops upon the ro=e, As thy eye beams when their fiesh ra\s ha\e smote The night of dew that on m\ cheek down flows Osborne stood spell-bound Tho\oicp went on — N01 shines the silvei moon one half so biiffhs Through the transparent bosom of the deer, As doth thy (ace thro' tears of mine gn p Iia-ht, Thou shin'st in every tear that I do weep, My Queen of Queens, how far ihou dost excel No thought can think or tongue of moital tell "What on earth — ?" But before he ' could frame his question a second voice began — Did not the heavenly rhetouc of thine e>e 'Gainst whom the world cannot hold aigument, Persuade my heart to this false perjuij > Vows for thee broke deserve not punishment, \ows are but breath, and breath a \apoui is , Then thou, fair sun, which on mj earth doth shine, Eihal'st this vapour \ow , in thee it is If broken, then, it is no fault of mine If bj me broke, what fool is not so wise To lose an oath to win a paiadise There was no mistaking the \ oice this tame, with its clear, feminine tieble. It was all too familiar to the audience of one who ground his teeth in mingled rage and jealousy. He drew back the curtain. The saght that met his eyes did not tend to reassure him On a couple of chairs, With their back* turned to him, sat his wife and a strange man. He migh' have been an artist, or some other disreputable professional, to judge by his dress Osborne sincerely despised the professional class With one hand the stranger held a book , the disengaged hand was dangerously close to Mrs. Ted's Thev were so absorbed in the book and each other, that they did not hear the slight noise occasioned by the moving of the curtain. O c borne almost choked in his anger. This then, was how she occupied herself in his absence. No wonder she wrote him such charming love-letters. Pshaw r < Practice makes perfect. With a supreme effort he pulled himself together, and strode moodily out through the open door, across the lawn, and out into the street. Whv ho had not throttled the fellow there and then, before her very eyes, he could not explain to himself. He wondered at his own self-restraint in letting the scoundrel go scot-free. At any rate

he should be called to account yet. Or, better still, lie would avenge himself by utter indifference to the whole affair — he did not oare, not he. Nevertheless, his pride rankled within him. He had been made a catspaw of by a clever, designing woman, who had married him presumably for a home He would let remorse eat its way into her heart — remorse foi what y Was it likely? Xot much. O&borne decided to leave Wellington by the nrst opportunity The Rotoiti was advertised to sail for Auckland that dav at 5 p.m. It was now 4.30 p.m Hastily telegraphing his address to the Chnstohureh^ postal authonties he crossed over to the wharf, and boarded tho steamer. The end of the journey found hm cynical and resigned, a confirmed woman-hater he told himself. How - ever, business is business, and in it Osborne found an effective narcotic as long as business hours lasted. His evenings he spent at his club, playing poker, which hitherto, being a poor player, he had patronised but rarely. Strange to say these nights he won incessantly, with the "devil's own luck," he said afterwards Some davs after his arrival in Auckland, among a pile of business notices, lie received a letter from Mabel "My dearest one," it ran. "Only a day after receiving tins you wil' be on your way to home and your wee wdfie. I was so glad to get your la^t letter saying when you would be likely to return." Ted Osborne bit his lip. "How I have been looking f orw ard to your home-coming" — here her husband's comment was un-translateable — "no one knows but myself." ("Hanged if I do," muttered Ted). "Send me a telegram

as to what boat you will be returning by." ("Don't want me to catoh. you at your little game of reading love poetry with your gentleman friend — Oh, lt'sal' right, my lady fair, I know.") "Whatever you have on hand," the letter went on, "be sure and come home in time for Christmas. I have a nice little surprise in storei for you." "Hanged if you have. Nothing would surprise me now," he hissed. "Au revoir" — always au revoir- — - Your Own Loving Little Wife." So the letter ended. Ted tore the offending article into shreds, and his face 1 became almost apoplectic with anger. "Like her confounded cheek to write." he further commented . That night he played poker till daybreak, and with a recklessness that excited the astonishment of his opponents. Yet try as he would, he could not lose. It annoyed him. To lose would give him something else to gneve about, and perh ans dismiss that other phantom from has mind. "Blest if Ted Osborne don't seem a bit queer," remarked one of the habitues of the olub to another. "I asked after Mrs. O. t'other dav, and he looked daggers at me. Sort of man ought to keep her locked up m an iron cage." The other man winked. "Jealous old beggar, Osborne' — had remarkable luck lately, hasn't he, though?" It now needed only two days to Christmas. The post again brought a reminder of his trouble for poor Osborne. "Why will she go on pestering me Jlike this?" However, he opened the letter. "You bad bov," she wrote, "so you didn't come after all. You can imagine how disappointed I am. Surely business is not so pressing a© all that. I have not been able to sleep of nights, wondering if anything is wronor, if, perhaps, you are ill away from home and me. Do send a wire to reassure." "Rats'" ejaculated Osborne "Miserable little hvpocrite'" The letter proceeded "I cannot keeo the secict any longer." "Confound your secret Curses on vour ceciet 1 " Osborne almost shouted A sohtarv passer-by looked suspiciousK at him, but Osborne glared so feroci-

ously in return that he thought it wise to beat a hasty retreat. .Nevertheless, he read an : — "The thought struck me some time ago how nice it would be if we gave a party this Christmas, so I have been arrainging some amateur theatricals—adaptations from every conceivable dramatist, from W. Shakespeare downwards. We have had several full-dress rehearsals. I think the full dress is a decided aid to the acting, and lends the air of reality that is needed to make you put your whole heart and soul into it. They have all got theor parts off splendidly by this. I was the most backward of all, but Marie Meadows — she's the leading gentleman, you know, on account of her deep contralto voice — lias been very good, and used to iome early before rehearsal, to help tie vith my part. There , I've gone and let it all out. Can you keep a secret? Can you—" But Osborne read no further. "What an awful idiot I've been," he sai(? ouit© aloud. "Oh, you mad fool! Ted Osborne, you jealous old humbug! You—" but at this stage adjectives failed him. "Go and paste a placard on vour hat — 'Champion jealous husband'' and do penanoa on split peas down he length and breadth of Queen - street. Poor, wee girhe' poor little Mab, you've been having a bad time of it." However, there was no extraordinary demand for split peas that day. or any following day. Instead, Ted Osborne hied him straightway back to the Chief Post Office. "Mv own dear little wife," he wired, "Hope you are well. I am fine. Business tip-top in Christchurch. Was unexpectedly called away to Auckland • have put up a record for biz. up here as well. Made quite a pile lately — so can afford a little extravagance. Hope you will like your present, dear. It is a diamond necklace Shall be with you Christmas Day Leave by Takapuna to-day. — Yours ever, Ted." But, diffuse as the telegram was, it omitted all mention of private theatricals.