The Two Miss Carrs

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 78, 23 June 1927, Page 3

The Two Miss Carrs

'o* * By

Thomas Cobb,

CHAPTER XIX. Dick Warrender had been in one or two tight places before to-day, but never in such a hole as this. Having seen the name of Mary Carr in the directory, and been ignorant of the circumstances that there were two of them, lie had not unnaturally assumed that the woman whom he wanted to marry wp.s Sir Timothy’s daughter. I-Te had counted on that, but now saw he had been too credulous. He had heard that there were two Mary Carrs, and the implication was that the cousin of his fiancee owned the house at Quinton Gardens. Dick axain and again had cautioned himself asainst betraying the slightest sign of Mtisfaction at the expected good news, but he was caught entirely unprepared lor bad. Taken at a disadvantage, he took a step backwards. “Good God!’’ he muttered, and stood Razing with a kind of horror into Mary’s face, telling himself that he had been cruelly misled. “Do you wean." he demanded, "that this cousin of yours —this other Mary .Carr —is Sir Timothy's daughter?” Her hand was resting on the rou-nd table in the middle of the room, her n ng%rs incessantly tapping it in her profound agitation. 'Dick.' she said, quietly, ‘ does it matter?” Did it matter! It mattered more than anything else in the world. "For heaven’s sake, tell me,” he insisted. And now they stood confronting each other as though they were enemies. “And for heaven’s sake tell me.” she Ported. "Tell me the truth—for once. You knew I was connected with ktr Timothy. Oh, don’t attempt to prevaricate. Your face gave you away "y- once. You believed I was his tjughter, that I was a rich woman. time you were pretending to nelp me find a situation, you assumed was the last thing in the world I Ranted. You thought I had ever so

Author of “ Joanna Seta to W orl“The Late Mr. Beverly t 6rc., &c

many thousands a year. That was all you cared for.” She had never looked so vividly beautiful. Tie had never wanted her more. But he knew when he was beaten, though it: seemed difficult to realise that the climax had come so suddenly. He felt like a tyro playing at chess with a champion, who could checkmate him at will, and his inclination was to sweep the pieces violently off the board in his disappointment. “You’re out of it there,” lie exclaimed. “It wasn’t all I cared for, by a long shot. I cared for you—for you, yourself.” “Yet you could deceive me from first to last.” she answered. “As long as you believed I had money, you lied and protested. The moment you heard of my cousin’s existence, what a difference ! ” “Mary, you’re pretty rough on me,” said Dick. “I love you as no man ever loved a woman before ” “Well enough to take me as I am?" she demanded, flinging out her arms. "Far too well.” he returned. She broke into an hysterical laugh. “We were to the struggle together, to live quietly in the country, to be satisfied with dinners of herbs, the wind on the heath, the sun, the moon, the stars. What did anything matter so long as we were together—you and I? And without a moment’s ceasing you were reckoning on my mpney. The instant you were convinced I had none, you made no further pretence. You were too completely surprised to keep your end , up.” ‘‘My dear,” said Dick, “I know the world too well. We should be sick of each other in a month. You’ll think I’m the most horrible rotter, but I’m not going to take advantage of you “Take advantage of me!” “I’m not going to spoil your life.” he added. (To be Continued.)