CHAPTER XII.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 234, 24 December 1887, Page 6

CHAPTER XII.

FLIGHT. But it was a long time before the little woman could screw up her courage ; and evon at the last, moment she fairly jibbed and bolted. Late that night Sabina was in her own room, and leisurely getting ready for bed ; she wore a dressing gown of pale blue and white ; and the heavy masses of her golden-brown hair fell loose-flowing and free over her shoulders and down fco and below her waist. "Dear Sabie," said Mrs Wygram (though this was not in the least what she wanted to say) : " I would give a hundred pounds if I had it that Walter Lindsay could see yon as you are now." " Mrs Wygram !" Sabina exclaimed— but there was not much of ferocity in her virgin pride. " It would bo something for an artist to dream of all his life long," Mrs Wygram continued, recklessly. "Do you know, Sabie, you are the only woman I have over seen who reminds me of Rossebti's ' Blessed Damo/.el.' You remember?— 'Her hair that layalonghorbaclc, Was yellow like ripe corn.' " " I thought my hair was brown," Sabina said, quietly. " However, it is not much consequence. I have no wish to become an artist's model. Besides, you forget that Mr Lindsay is a landscape painter. " But surely you know how wonderful he is in catching likenesses !" the other said. " Why, the portraits he did of Mrs Seelcy's boys were quite marvellous. Oh, yes ; there's no reason in the world why he should not do a figure subject. And I know he was thinking of it. Yes, I know ; for I have the scrap of paper he gave Janie,

with the quotation for the picture. I believe I have it now." She pulled out her purse, and eventually found the little bit of writing 1 . Sabina read the lines aloud :—: — "See where she sits upon the grassy green (0 seemly sight !) Y clad in scarlet, like a maiden queen, And ermines white ; ; Upon her head a crimson coronet, With damask roses and dafib'lillies set." " Yes, it sounds picturesque," Sabina said, in her placid w ay. " And whom is he going to paint like that?" "You." " Dear Mra Wygram, are you out of your mind ? ' "But it's true. He wanted to know whether you would sit to him. Oh, he was so anxious about it ; but quite afraid to ask you. Yes ; and he said if only Janie could induce you to &it to him, he would do a pencil drawing of you, and give it to Janie and me, as a kind of bribe, I suppose." " I wonder, no\v," said Sabina, laughing, "how many portraits of me would you like to have in Kensington Square." " Don't you think we shall be glad to have them," Sabie, when you are no longer there yourself ?" And behold ! here was her chance, come quite unexpectedly ; and she was bound to face it. Hardly aware of what she was doing, she put her trembling fingers on the girl s arm ; and piteous indeed was her tone. "Dearest Sabie, don't be angry! No, you won't be angry— but I must speak to you — I can't stand by and not say a word you know I love you, and I am sure we shall always be friends " "Now, what ia this all about?" Sabina said, gently, for she could see how agitated the little woman was. " Don't you know, then, why Mr Foster has sent for his father and mother to come to Brighton ? Can't you guess ? Sabie, it is to introduce you to them as their future daughter-in-law 1" For the briefest moment the girl seemed to draw herself up to her full height ; and there was a proud look about her lips. But that instantly disappeared. She put her hand on the trembling hand of her companion, and patted it affectionately. " My dear Mend," she said, with a smile, "I see I must pub you back on your quinine, and insist on the port wine at lunch. Your nerves are all wrong — why you are fluttering at this moment like a caught rabbit— and you let all kinds of ridiculous fancies get into your brain.'' " They are not ridiculous fancies, Sabie ! Why will you be so blind? But it all comes from the same thing : you will go on imagining yourself to bo an elderly woman — whose business is to pet people and take care of them— whereas the truth is that you are a very dangerously attractive young woman ; and I tell you that men don't understand a young woman looking at them in that frank way. In the case of a young married woman it might be different " *' There again !" said Sabina, with an air of resignation, " you have told me all that before, dear Mrs Wygram ; and I don't forget that you accused me of flirtation merely because I gave that pretty, yellowhaired boy a roae— in exchange for two sovereigns." " yea ; and if that young man is heartwhole at this moment I am very much mistaken," Mra Wygram retorted. " Why, don't you see how he is always hanging about, just for the chance of saying a word to Mr Foster, and $o being allowed to raise his hat to you ?" "Poor, innocent, young thing ! " Sabie, if you choose to act like a flirt, don't talk like one !" said Mrs Wygram, sharply. Sabina looked at her. " No," ahe said, " you can't make me quarrel with you— l won't do it. For I w you are out of sorts ; and I know you

mean to be kind j so. I can only say thab you are quite mistaken. Why, the idea I Mr Foster and I have been excellent friends simply because I know that no nonsense of that kind would ever enter his head." " But hasn't it? I am very much mistaken if it has not," Mrs Wygram persisted. " Sabie, you don't know what an amount of encouragement you have given him. And encouragement from you ! I tell you you don't know your own value. Why should you defer to his opinions— you who have a hundred times as much brains as he has ? And why should a beautiful young woman like you wear tilings that you think will please him ? — oh, but you do, w hether you are conscious of it or not. And why should you be interested in stories of racecourses and regattas and cricket ; and be entertained with accounts of what happened to him when he was a schoolboy—as if his life, and every moment of it, had been of the utmost value ?" "Poor Mr Foster !" Sabina interposed. "There's no one to say a good word for him. If it's in London, it's Janie who keeps saying bitter things about him ; and it it's in Brighton, it's you. What has he done to deserve it all— except to bo unfortunate? And they used always to say that women had some sympnthy-for people who were unfortunate ;* but that was in the old days I f-uppose."' " You can't deceive me, Sabie, though you may be able to deceive yourself." " Can't I ? Well, at all events, I can put you to bed ; and that's what I am going to do now ; for I won't have any of my patients sitting up and talking past midnight." However, this warning and appeal were not without a. certain effect ; for naturally a young woman feels somewhat alarmed when she is told that her manner of regarding men is a trifle too audacious. Sabina brazened it out before Mrs Wygram ; but inwardly she was resolved to be a good deal more circumspect. And she wanted to know what it was in Mr Foster's relation with her that had promoted these wild surmises.

Accordingly, next day, she kept her eye observant. And what could she see ex cept that he was rather more respectful towards her than he used to be ? He did not laugh at her now ; nor tease her : nor hint that she was being imposed upon by the poor people she befriended. No ; he was rather sympathetic in that direction ; only he said he did not like the idea of her going about alone — or with such an insufficent protector as Janie. Indeed, he chose to insist upon this point ; though of course, it was not for a cripple in a bath-chair to offer to become her guard and champion and ally. She observed, also, that the stories he told her— and he had always an abundant stock of them, chiefly in connection with the history of the turf — were for the most part not humorous or sarcastic, as formerly, but rather tragic and romantic ; and that he seemed to have a warm admiration for Miss Dorothy Vernon and her gay enterprise. On the other hand, how could she suspect him of talking 1 with a purpose when such an incident a3 the following occurred ? They were on the Chain Pier together. He was relating to her the sad history of the fourth Marquis of Hastings, and the reckless struggles of that luckless lad to retrieve his fortunes. Suddenly there was a considerable commotion among the few idlers on the pier ; one of the anglers had hooked a large bass ; you could see the fish in tho clear green water below — tugging, and plunging, and shooting this way and that ; and there was a frantic calling for the landing nefc. From that instant the Marquis of Hastings, and Mi^s Dorothy Vernon, and Miss Sabina Zembra were alike forgotten. He took no more notice of his companion. And when, at last;, amid the general rejoicing the big fish had been hoisted up in the landing net, and carried off to the weighing machine, and found to scale just overeight pounds, and when the prevailing excitement had quieted down, Sabina had gently to remind him that he had broken, off in the midst of a 3tory, and then he could not in the least recollect at what point. Sabina said to herself that it was impossible she could wholly engross his attention when she was so easily dispossessed by an eight-pound fish. " Sabie," said Mrs Wyeram that evening, " do you know that you behaved yourself a little better to-day V " I am glad you approve," Sabina answered. " But it is none the pleasanter to have to be continually on the watch with one's friends." " Friendship between a young man and a pretty girl," observed Mrs Wygrram sententiously, " is all very well in its way, bufc ifc wants to have its limits pretty clearly defined. And I think he understands now. He noticed the change in your manner— l could see that he did. And perhaps he is beginning to think that he was a little premature in sending for his father and mother." " Whafc nonsense you talk t" said Sabina bluntly. " I tell you the coming of his father and mother to Brighton has no more to do with me than with tho man in the moon." " We will see." «* if I thought such folly were possible, I would co up to London this very evening, and send Janie down in my stead. I'm afraid I shall have to do that very soon in any case." " "But, Sabie, I shall have to go back home too." " You ? Not you ? You won't be allowed to come home until you are ever so much stronger. Janie will take my place here." • " And what will Mr Foster do when you are gone, Sabie ?" Sabina was too proud to reply. But this placid and equable and eventless life was far too pleaaanp to last. Mr Fred Foster's father and mother arrived in duo course, and were installed in the rooms he

member you have only refused me, you have not refused him. Perhaps it was my rude way of asking, and he may be more successful, and no one,' no one would be happier than I, should that time ever come, my dear." She kissed her again before she leffc. " Remember that, my dear, I shall be a proud woman if ever I have to call you my daughter." Sabina went hurriedly to Mrs Wygram. She was very pale, but apparently quite business-like and collected. "What you said has come true. I am going up to London, and I will send Janio down to-night. I could not bear to meet them again." " But, Sabie," Mr& Wygram protested, for she could guess what underlay this forced quietude of manner, " you are going away with a quite exaggerated notion of what has happened !" "I am nob. Well, perhaps I don't understand yet all that lias happened. But I wish I had taken your warning earlier. I did not know." Sabina arrived in Kensington Square between three and four, and bade Janio pack up and get away to Brighton as quickly as possible. Bub something in her look, and perhaps also in her coming to town so unexpectedly, awoke Janie's suspicion 5 ?. " What is the matter ? Sabie— Sabie, you have not promised to marry Mr Foster ? ' Thee was a cry of appeal in her voice. "I have refused him," was Sabina' s answer. " And I havo covered myself with shame. But 1 hardly understand all that has happened, and and— don't ask me any more, Janie." Janie's preparations for her departure were necessarily hurried, but still sho could think of her friend. Now Waltei Lindsay, not content with sending Sabina a sketch from the Shannon, had also painted a small replica of the landscape she had admired in his studie, and in her absence had forwarded it to Kensington Square. It was now lying in the parlour. Amid all her hurry Janie found time to go and get hold of that little picture, and carry it swiftly and stealthily up to Sabina's room, where she placed it in a prominent position on the mantel shelf. It would be the first thing that Sabina must see when she opened the door.

(To be C^ntinuul.)