REAPING A WILD OAT.

Patea Mail, Volume IX, Issue 1128, 21 December 1883, Page 4

REAPING A WILD OAT.

““mTEiriTiiKE:

_ (.Continued.) r Gorney dpesr not look: defiant/ said the lady, ‘but more like crawling’at my feet and whining for mercy.,. So. I.am not to have a share of Ids plunder? Well, I shall.try a of law; T,shall .g0... to the Divorce Court, not for a divorce from >my] beloved, Ccrney, but for the restitution of conjugal rights.* - ‘Madam,’, said. Mr Quambnsh, ‘as regards my friend, yon. haye no conjugal rights, for you were a married woman when you went through -the ceremony of marriage with him. Mr Crambone committed an indecorum, and you were guilty of bigamy.’ ‘As I have eyes and a mirror I do not wonder that men think me handsome, but l am surprised that a smart person of your sort should take me for a fool.’ ‘On the contrary, madam, I do full justice, to,your cunning.’ * Then why do you .suppose I should commit bigamy since the man’s money was mine, whether I did so or not? I have only married once, and Gorney was a bigamist when he married Miss Yoxall. I invented the plot of by being married to Lucius Lennox Lomax to get Gorney, because ho fibbed about his futurer fortune, and I believed him.’ Mr Crambone . was horror-stricken, and the eminent maker of men of fashion could not altogether conceal his alarm. Mrs Lomax :took a paper from her writing-desk and handed to Mr Quatnbush. ‘ This is a certificate of the recent marriage of Lucius Lennox Lomax, bachelor, to' Ann Mhns, spinster, at n church in the parish of St Pancras.’

. For two or three minutes there was silence.

‘ Madam, if your statement is true, ■ all I can say-— ’

‘ Will be a waste of words,’ snid Mrs Lomax, interrupting Mr Quambush; ‘these are my terms. If Corney settles on me £365 per annum, that is only a pound a day, I shall not turn my dear husband out of clover and into penal. I give yon two days to decide.’ * You shall hear from my friend. Mr Crarabone, we need not prolong this painful interview. ‘ Besides,’ said Mrs Lomax, wills a light laugh, ‘ I am peckish, and my meal is ready. Nighty, nighty, Corney, dear I lam not in the least jealous of Miss Yoxall. Settle on me the pound a day, and I will quite forgive your unlawful and loving wife.’ Said Mr Quambush —‘I have slept on the matter, Crambone, and my conclusion is that yon must yield The painful operation of hush-money may not save you, for I never heard of a case in which it did finally succeed. But without the operation it is all over with you, and, anyhow, it will keep yon socially alive fora time.’ *lt is very cruel, Qnambnsh, I swear to you that if I had known I was lawfully wedded to that fiend, I would not have married my unfortunate Amy to save my life. ‘Don’t be sentimental, Crambone.

How will the yielding leave yon ? This is the present point. I take £4OO a year lor five years ont of the £BOO per annum toothpick money. The lawful

Mrs C. wants £365. Balance for yon not much more than a private soldier’s spree money. Still, yon will have fine lodging, splendid board, and also perquisites if yon please the unlawful one. Further, yon will escape prosecution lor bigamy. Yielding is unpleasant, but

defiance would be worse.’ Mrs Lomax received £9l ss, being one-qnarter of her annual allowance, paid in advance, and she might have had her ponnd a day as long as she and Mr Crambone lived, but for ah attempt to extort some more money from her victim.

The grandeur of the Yoxali-Crambone wedding was almost surpassed by the magnificence of the christening ot the infant : son and heir, Harold Yoxall Crambone. The uncle of the delighted mother; in proposing the baby’s health, announced that he should bequeath his estate to the son of his beloved neice. The affair was reported in the fashionable papers, and the cousins who had hoped for at least a share of the Yoxall estate did not bless the baby. ... Mrs Lomax, who was resident in Paris, read the news, came to London, and wrote to Mr Crambone for an extra £SOO. The letter was subscribed, ‘Your lawful wife, Dotlie Crambone.’ Mr Quambush was vexed, but not surprised. ‘A hnsb-money bargain is never kept

by the party who receives the plunder. What is the use of trying to stop the appetite of a wolf by dosing the creature with champagne and bitters ? I will see her and do what I can for you. Mr Quambush, who had a pecuniary interest in saving his favourite and trusted block from ruin, persuaded Mrs Lomax to return to Paris for the consideration of £IOO. The argument that prevailed with her was, that if she wailed for a few years, perhaps only for a year or two, Mr Crambone would be in a better position to comply with her demands. When Uncle Yoxall died, and his recent attacks of gout had been very bad Mr Crambone would have some thousands at bis immediate disposal. The letter from Mrs Lomax, dertmndipg the £SOO, was addressed to Mr Crambone* at Lis- club. Such a letter ought to have. been burnt, but Mr Crambone was so agitated that he ! omitted the precaution, and as he undressed it fell out of his pocket, and he did not observe what had happened. Next morning Amy picked up the letter and read it. She- manifested the same Yoxall courage that she had done when the crust of the hot roll broke her tpoth. , She drove to Bedford Row, and had an interview wi hj Mr Mowem, the family solicitor. That gentleman was shocked, but he hoped that the affair wl s hot quite so black as the picked-up letter indicated. , .

Mr Mowem had objected to Miss yoxall mnfrying a person who did not possess any real estate, and therefore }

in his opinion, of no assured locus standi. He had also protested against the terms of the marriage settlement. He was -prepared for the 'marriage turn - ing orit bndlyj hut not for bigamy. What! a Yoxall associated with bigamy ! A Mowemclient allied to a bigamist! , .J No, no, it cannot be quite so bad as you suppose.’ ’ .‘-'Never mind about my ? supposition. I must find 'out the truth. ; Will you make inquiries ?’■ ■ • T‘ I will put the matter into the hands, of ■ a firm who . are accnstomed to' that sort of business. - There shall be no delay.” ' , : The result of the inquiry was to confirm the worst construction that could be put upon the picked-up letter. Deep was the distress Of Amy, and she almost lost her self-control when she thought of her b«hy boy. But with true Yoxall courage she soon regained mental calmness, and resolved to face the fearful calamity and scandal. She was a blameless victim, and though her boy would not inherit Uncle Yoxall’s estate, she had fortune enough to make him fully independent of the frowns and favours of the world. She received a letter from Mrs Lomax to the effect that if Mr Crambono continued to pay her the small annuity she/.would never divulge the secret.