The Courage of Love

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 925, 19 March 1930, Page 5

The Courage of Love

G ? p .\ Rl - r,f — PUBLISHED BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

CHAPTER L There had been such a crowd of people in Porter's stores, the principal shop in Middleston, that Diana Ladbroke had had to wait a long time to be served. She glanced every now and then at the big clock on the wall of the stores, and tapped her foot impatiently on the floor as the minutes ticked away. If she were not served directly, she would miss the bus. And Diana gave a little sigh as she realised that if she missed the bus, this would not only entail a tiresome and weary walk weighted with parcels that she would have to carry, but it would mean also that she would have to go through a cross-examination when she reached her home as to where she had been? Why she was late? What she had done? And why she had wasted so much time? At last she saw a chance to get through the marketing people, and giving a smile to a young man who was serving, arid who hastened to come forward, she got through her Purchases far more quickly than she had imagined possible. Nevertheless, after Diana had chatted just.a minute with the manager of the stores, and •had given another smile to the young man who had waited on her and then had hastened out to go to the market square where the bus started on its journey through the neighbouring villages to the next town, she found to her dismay and vexation that the old-fashioned vehicle had already started and was out of sight. Diana gave another great big sigh now. She was carrying a string bag, and it weighed heavily on her slender arm. Close by there was a confectioner's shop, and through the open doorway one saw little tables spread with snowy white cloths, and holding tea cups and plates. She was well known in the shop, as indeed she was well known by sight in Middleston. and most people had remarked of late how pretty Diana Ladbroke was growing. Only the other day it seemed she had been a lanky, rather awkward looking sort of Sill, with dark reddish hair, and a pale face, and very beautiful blue eyes. But she had filled out rather rapidly recently, and although she was still very young, and looked scarcely more than a schoolgirl, she was undoubtedly extraordinarily Pretty, having a subtle attraction which was even more than mere pret tineas. The proprietress of the shop came out from an inner room as Diana was enjoying a cup of tea, and she greeted the girl warmly, almost affectionately. "The bus gone, my dear? Oh, that’s too bad. Well now we must see what we can do. There must be someone going along in that dtrection pretty soon. Why, yes,” she added, “there’s the very person, Mr. Waverley His car ia standing right out there and he 11 be delighted to take you home.

Author ol "Lot.’. Harvest.“ "The Road *o Love.“ "The Way to Win," etc., etc.

You know Mr. Waverley, don’t you Miss Diana?”

“Oh, yes—we have met,” the gir answered, but she blushed, and i little thrill went through her heart.

“Well, I’m going to ask him myself,” said Mrs. Slater, and shading her eyes with her hand hailed a man who was lounging about. As he came swiftly toward her she said: “Will you be so good, Jim, as to tell Mr. Waverley that Mrs. Slater wants to speak to him?”

The man touched his forehead, and went across the square quickly. *

Diana, with the colour coming and going in her cheeks, seemed a little bit uncertain.

“Oh. Mrs. Slater, perhaps I ought not to bother Mr. Waverley! It may be taking him out of his way. And—and he may not want to go just yet and oh! well, you know what Aunt Agatha is! She would be sure to make ail awful fuss about my driving with Mr. Waverley,” the girl added in a troubled way.

“Yes, I know what your Aunt Agatha is,” said Mrs. Slater, and there was a note in her voice which spoke plainly that she had no very strong affection for Mrs. Agatha* Thorp. “And 1 wouldn’t mind telling her as she didn’t ought to let you come here, and have to hang about, and more still have to carry all those things. Surely to goodness she's got someone she could send. She puts on you too much, my dear, that's what she does.” But Diana hastened to correct this. “Oh, please don’t judge Aunt Agatha harshly, Mrs. Slater.” she said. “After all. you must remember she’s been awfully good to me. She’s had to take care of me, you know, and bring me up, and educate ra£, and clothe me and feed me, and all that counts, doesn’t it?” “Well, and were not you her only brother’s child? My goodness, I should imagine she’d ought to be jolly glad to do things for you. I only wish I could look after you.” Mrs. Slater finished by turning round and giving Diana a good kiss. “Ever since you have been a wee bit of a thing, my dear,” she said, “my heart’s gone out to you. No father, and no mother, brougtht up in that dull old house with that starchy old woman. Mustn’t do this! Mustn’t do that. Mustn’t go there! and mustn’t speak to this person, or that person—why, it ain’t life.” Diana returned the kiss, and pressed up a little closer to the comely woman. “Well, it is a bit trying, and I do get a bit miserable at times,” she said. “You know I have never got over my daddy’s death, although it happened so many years ago. We were so fond of one another. I can’t make out, Mrs. Slater, what did happen. I mean, why he should have left me like a charity child, dependent on Aunt Agatha. But there, I must not think about this. All I have to remember Is that in her way she is good to me, and I must make the best of things.” She drew back a little as the young man who had been summoned came quickly across the square. “Hello, Mrs. Slater!” lie said. “I hear you want me. Is there something I can do for you?” “Yes. my dear, there is something you can do.” said Mrs. Slater, as he held her hand in his and shook it warmly. “I’ve got a young lady here what wants to get heme as quick as she can. She has missed the bus, and I am going to ask you to do me the favour of driving her back to Rexbury.” „ “Delighted!” said Hugh T\ averley.

“As a matter of fact, I was just on the point of starting.” “Well, here she is,” said Mrs. Slater. “It’s Miss Diana Ladbroke. You know one another, don't you, my dears?” The colour flashed again in-to Diana’s cheeks, and there was a light in the young man’s eyes as he looked at her, and took off his cap, which was very eloquent to the quick mind of the woman who was looking at them both. “And how’s the work getting on, Mr. Waverley?” she said. “And are you going to make a good business of that wonderful old place that you’ve got to build again?” “I hope so, Mrs. Slater. You are right—it is a wonderful old place, and 1 simply love my work. You must come over one day and let me take you round the part I have not yet begun work on. . It’s full of history. Perhaps you and Miss Slater will do me the honour of coming out to have tea with me one day? That will be a change for you, because I have so often had your cups of tea, you know.” As he spoke, he very calmly annexed the bag which Diana had hung over her arm. “My goodness,” he said, “this is a weight! Well, now, just*stand there — I’ll bring the car along.” Diana was thrilling from head to foot. It would be her first journey in any motor, and to sit in that little car which she had looked at so often, and beside the tall, sunburnt, goodlooking, delightful young man whom unconsciously she had always watched for (even though they had only spoken to one another a few times) suggested a touch of extraordinary pleasure—in fact, it brought to her a happiness which was" quite new to the girl. As the car came up to the door of the little, confectioner’s shop, Mrs. Slater went inside and brought out a box of chocolates. “That’s for you, my dear,” she said. “Now you’ll drive her carefully, won’t you, Mr. Waverley?” she said. “Remember, she isn’t accustomed to go tearing along! And I recollect the first time I went in my boy’s car, well it fair turned me up, that it did!” As she was driven carefully away through the market square, and out of the town on to the high road, she sat in complete silence, yet she was conscious all the time of that thrill in her heart, and that feeling of exquisite delight which she could not possibly analyse or even understand. On Hugh Waverley’s side something of the same thrill was in his heart. He had grown to look for this girl in his various walks and drives round and about the old ruined house and abbey, and on the renovation of which he was engaged, and many a time lie had felt the urge on him to stop his car and ask this girl if he could drive her anywhere? He knew a good deal about her, and he knew that she lived in a very narrow world. Mrs. Thorp was also i well known. She was not popular, yet he had heard her described as being a very just woman, though not a lovable one. And he also had been told the story j of how, when her only brother, James | Ladbroke (who had gone out to ! 'Western America in connection with ! some property which had come to him I through his wife’s family), had left) his only child in Agatha Thorp’s c-are. | had not been heard of for several | years, and then had come the tragic ! intelligence that he was dead. And from that point, the story had 1 gone on very clearly. Time had re-! vealed that instead of being the child ■ of a rich man, little Diana had been j left entirely dependent on her aunt. I There had been something about I this story which had appealed to ! Hugh Waverley. His own home life j had been so happy. His father and i his mother were still alive, and on every possible occasion lie went back 1 to stay with them at their farm in j Kent. He was tlieir only child, and I his father had lavished money on his ! education. It was a great joy to

Hugh Waverley to realise that all that had been done for him in his schoolboy days promised now to bring more than moral satisfaction to his parents. For he was very successful. When he had come out of his apprenticeship in the office of a wellestablished firm of architects, it was with the knowledge that he had in himself qualities which would lead not but to prosperity. In fact the head of this office had seen in young Waverley a man of something more than promise, ..nd at once began to put jobs in his way. One thing led to another, and now this last piece of work (which would be a very remunerative one) was the means of carrying his name, and his reputation, as a very clever and enterprising young man, through those channels where his gifts were likely to be fully understood and recognised. “Am I going too quickly?” he asked Diana after a little while. She looked at him and blushed, and laughed. “Oh, no. Isn't it lovely? I have

oft„en seen you driving through the village; I have always wanted to go in a motor. It's awfully good of you, Mr. Waverley, to bring me home.” Then Diana stopped abruptly. “Why, there’s the bus!” she exclaimed. “You see. . . . I shall be in lots of time. In fact, I shall get home long before I should have done if I had come back with old Mr. Johns.” “WelJ, I’ll tell you what we will do,” Waverley answered. “We will drive round a bit, because you don't want to be too soon, do you?” “But aren’t you busy? Have—have you the time?” “Oh, yes, I have all the evening to myself. My men knock off at five o'clock, and so I can quite easily take 3'ou for a drive. Miss Ladbroke, if you care about this?” “Oh, I should love it,” said Diana. She glanced down at the string bag at her feet. “Just fancy coming along this road so easily and smoothly; it’s like a dream!” “But you were not going to walk all the way back, surely?”

There was almost a sharp note in Waverley's voice as he turned round toward her. She nodded her head. “Oh, yes. You see, there is nothing after the omnibus leaves. And I have done it many times,” the girl added simply. “But why should you walk? And why should 3*oll have to carry such a lot of things? There's that boy cousin of yours, Bill Thorp. It seems to me it would have been far better if your j aunt sent him to the stores.” At this Diana laughed outright. j “Can you see Bill going to do any ; marketing? 1 can’t! Besides, Bill is j home on holiday now, you see, and he wants to be out enjoying himself a 3 j much as possible.” “Well, then, there’s his sister. She is older than you, and stronger, I should think; a great big strapping girl. I saw her on the golf course early this afternoon as I drove past.” “Susie never interferes in anything in the house,” Diana said, and she

spoke rather coldly. So Hugh Waverley took the hint and passed no more remarks. But he drove her round and took her through roads and paths which she had never seen before, although she had been in Rexbury ever since she could remember. And then just as they were drawing near to the village, he pulled up. “Perhaps you would like to get out here? It has been so nice to have you with me, Miss Ladbroke,” he said. “You know I am very lonely when I’m not working. In fact, sometimes I don’t know what to do with myself in the evenings. I go out for drives, but one wants a companion. Do you suppose your aunt would ever let you come out with me?” The vigorous way in which Diana shook her head and said “No!” was eloquent. “I generally have to read to Aunt Agatha in the evenings. I don’t knowwhy she wants me to do it, because

she says I read so badly. And then the things she wants to read are so dull. Well, now, I really think I mu~get out and walk the rest. I can T begin to thank you, Mr. Waverley; you have been too kind for words.” (To be Continued Tomorrow.)