CHAPTER III. AFTER THE STRANGE MARRIAGE.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 305, 6 October 1888, Page 6

CHAPTER III. AFTER THE STRANGE MARRIAGE.

Fob a moment, which seemed to each like an gterniby, Lord Tresham and the Lady Kathleen regarded each other through the deep gloom of the lonely Scottish church in an appalled and awful silence. The priest crept down from his desk and stood in the background of the group, pale with sudden alarm. His sister and her ladyship's maid drew also silently nearer. But the figure of the strange and sinister intruder who had usurped Lord Tre3ham's place at the altar and tricked him of his bride, did not change in its attitude -of triumph. The pale, faint gleams of moonlight that stole through the dim and dusty ■windows showed through the thick shadows the evilly exultant smile that curved his lips, overspread his face, and gleamed mockingly from his eyes. Lord Tresham as yet paid no heed to this man. He had eyes only for the bride who had been .-stolen from him — for the white and trembling Kathleen, whose anguished, incredulous face was turned to him in desperate pleading and despair. ' What doe3 this mean ?' his lordship asked ab last, in a strange and husky voice, ■breaking the terrible silence. 'Speak, in Heaven's name, Kathleen !' ' I don't know !' answered the Lady Kathleen, in a wild, broken voice. 'I thought it was you, my lord. Until you came in I had not detected the cheat. The ! church was so dark, and I was so agitated, and I looked for no one but you ' His lordship set his teeth together, and diew his breath hard. He burned abruptly from the Lady Kathleen to the priest. 1 How is it, Mr Cowan ?' he asked, still in that husky voice. 'Is — is her ladyship married ?' Mr Cowan, a naturally timid man, who was overwhelmed with distress ab the ! strange turn affairs had taken, bowed his head in assent. There was a moment's pause. Then his lordship spoke again. 1 Is the marriage legal ?' he asked. The Lady Kathleen litted her droorjing head with a thrill of reviving hope. The priest hesitated, then replied in a distressed voice > ' This is a terrible situation, rny lord. I don't know what relief the laws of England wili^ yield her ladyship, but I am constrained to say that I believe this marriage to be legal.' A low mocking laugh came from the strange bridegroom. That laugh aroused the tiger in the breast of the cheated lord. He was tempted to spring upon his enemv in a deadly assaulb, out he controlled his passions with a powerful effort,, and addressed himself again to the clergyman. ' Does not the fact that this miscreant impersonated me invalidate the marriage ?' he asked, with supernatural calmness. ' The lady had no intention of marrying him, and even the Scottish law cannot hold her bound !' 'I have never known a case just like this/ said the clergyman, ' bub marriages are valid when one of the contracting parties conceals bis or her identity under an assumed name, the other party believing the name to be the true one. In this case we have a gross fraud, but I firmly believe her ladyship to be legally bound. ' 'I do not! 1 cried Lord Tresham. ' No law can uphold this fraud and deceit. The Lady Kathleen will never drag this experience linked with her name into a divorce court. She repudiates this fraudulent marriage. It shall be as if it had not been. We will take our places before the altar, and you shall marry us now — ' ' I cannot !' interrupted the priest, with agitation. ' I dare not, my lord ! The Lady Kathleen is already married. T >et her seek justice at the proper tribunal. To marry again, with this marriage unannulled, would be to commit bigamy.' Again the sinister bridegroom laughed mockingly. w Lord Tresham turned abruptly upon his enemy, and for the first time looked at him fully, keenly and squarely. Until this moment he had been so absorbed in the wreck of his happiness,' and in his own and the Lady Kathleen's despair, as to pay but little heed to him who had wrought all this misery. But now he seemed to arouse himself like a lion from a ti'ance. The light in the dim old church was so faint and gloomy that he could not make out the man's features distinctly. But he was tall and stoutly built, with a heavy, massive frame that seemed a perfect storehouse of strength. Like Lord Tresham, the man was attired in black. His face, seen indistinctly through the gloom, was not, unlike that of the man he had so foully personated. _\^Lord Tresham moved a step nearer to .him, a passionate fury whitening his face and glowing fierily in his eyes. ,- * This matter is to be settled between you and me, then V cried his lordship, fiercely. '• \¥e will not need to appeal to the law. I ! will undertake to rid the Lady Kathleen of your claims — ' " -----iNofc here !' interrupted the clergyman in *a panic,' 'Do not profane the house of God ? by unseemly violence. Come with me to /the maiise,* and we will discuss the matter

and see what can be done. Let) me conduct you, my poor Lady Kathleen.' He gave his . arni' to fehc Lady Kathleen, who clung to it, shrinking close to his side, and then led hoi" from the church. Lord Tresham walked at Kathleen's other side as one having the right. (Jlose behind him came Miss Cowan and the Lady Kathleen's maidj and the sinister man who had wrought so much evil. j But once outside the old church and beyond the church-yard, Lord Treshara hatted abruptly on the moonlit sward, and faced his enemy with a face so white and stern and savage that the Lady Kathleen also came to a halt, uttering a lqw cry of terror. Miss Cowan echoed the cry." ' This is no place for you,' said Mr Cowan, addressing his sister. * Go back to the manse, and take her ladyship's maid wick you.' Miss Cowan obeyed, and walked away, accompanied by the Lady Kathleen's maid. The chief actors in the little tragedy were thus left to themselves. c Now, sir,' cried Lord Tresham, fiercely, advancing a few steps nearer his enemy, • we will settle this matter. 'Bub first tell me who you are.' His eyes fairly blazed as they scrutinised the face of Kathleen's bridegroom. His lordship had been for three years her ladyship's constant suitor, and had known all her London friends. Yet he had never seen this man before. Her acquaintance with him, he rapidly thought, must have been very secret, or of a remote date. His fierce gaze photographed the man's face upon his soul for ever. It was an evilly handsome face, and aa different from Lord Tresham's now when plainly seen in the moonlight, as darkness is different; from light. Except in the dark old church, under circumstances of peculiar agitation and anxiety, he could never have passed himself off as Lord Tresham. He was dark-browed, with black hair, bold black eyes, a sallow complexion, and a sneering, sensual, wicked-looking mouth, half hidden in a forest of black beard which fell in shaggy lengths low on his breast. This beard he had carefully tucked under the lapel of his coat when he entered the church ; but it now made its escape, constituting one of his most prominent featur es. If you wish to know who I am, my lord, 1 he said.' ' I have already told you that I am the husband of Lady Kathleen Connor. If I had not been married to her to-night, but had simply appeared at your bridal, my veiy presence must have prevented your marriage with her. If you desire further information in regaid to me, permit me to refer you to my charming bride. Kathleen !" He spoke her name imperiously. Something in his tones seemed to touch some hidden chord in her ladyship's soul. She started from Mr Cowan's arm, and looked upon 1 one who had risen from the grave . ' Nicol !' she faltered, recoiling several paces, her face whitening with an awful horror. ' My God ! Nicol Bassantyne !' 'Nicol Bassantyne, at your service !' said her bridegroom, his evil face all aglow with exultation. ' You seem surprised to see me. Kathleen !' The Lady Kathleen uttered a wailing, anguished cry. ' Alive !' she whispered. ' I thought you were dead ! 0, Heaven ! pity me' !' She tottered back, clinging to the arm of the priest for support. Her lovely face was blanched to a deadly pallor. Her blue eyes were full of a wild horror. Lord Tresham forgot his own anguish and wrongs in her utter misery. ' Don't take it so hard, Kathleen !' said Bassantyne, with a triumphant smile. ' I might not have announced myself in this theatrical manner, but I called on you at Kildare Castle, &nd was told that you were in the garden. I followed you out on the rocks, and chanced to overhear Lord Tresham's declaration of love, and. proposition for an immediate marriage. I knew why you dared not marry him openly, with all the pomp and glory of a fashionable wedding. You feared, in that case, that some ghost of the past would arise to confront you. There are owo or three to whom your ' secret ' is known, and you feared that they would hasten to reveal that secret to Lord Tresham, and so cover you with shame and ignominy ! You were right. The private marriage was the only one suitable tor you ! I followed you over here, intending to reveal myself at the proper moment and stop your marriage. Lord Tresham's brief absence from the church suggested a better course. I took his place — wirh what effect you have seen.' He laughed softly to himself, gloating over his triumph and her anguish. There was a brief silence. Lord Tresham stood apart, strange suspicions struggling in his soul. He began to comprehend that this sinister intruder was connected with the Lady Kathleen's secret, and he vaguely felt hisf aith shaken. ' My little ruse was fair enough,' said Bassantyne, watching her ladyship furtively. ''All is fair in love and war,' says the old proverb. ' There is no use in fretting, Kathleen. If you haven't changed greatly in the last five years, you will soon compel your proud spirit to submit to circumstances. It is true that by my inopportune return I have cheated you of a brilliant title, but I am rich and honourable, . and I love you. Let these facts reconcile you to your fate.' He moved nearer to her, his eyes fixed gloatingly on her drooping head and despairing face. ' Stand back ! cried Lord Tresham, interposing. ' Do not insult the Lady Kathleen by your professions of love. Whoever you are, Mr Nicol Bassantyne, do not think that your vile fraud of this night has given you any authority over her. She has too many friends to be given -up to a cheating adventurer who "foully personates another man, at the altar. She shall be freed, if we have to go through the Divorce Court to effect her freedom. .Any publicity must be preferable to the chains you have placed upon her. The Lady Kathleen is still under my protection, sir, and you must answer to me for your cowardly crime.' ' Very well,' said Bassantyne, coolly. 'I am willing to fight you now, if that's what you want. But before we.proceed to blows, ! let us understand what we, are to fight for. You conceive the Lady "Kathleen to be grossly injured by my taking your place at the marriage altar. Now, if she is satisfied, you can have no reason to find fault. Is not that so ? ? ' But I am not satisfied !' cried the Lady Kathleen, passionately. 'Not satisfied, Kathleen?' and Bassantyne arched his black brows, in seemingly astonished inquiry. « You wish, then that J had permitted you to marry Lord Tresham — ' • No— no !' moaned the Lady Kathleen, shuddering. ' I thought you could not be so infatuated as that ! You hope for a divorce,. perhaps ?' 'I hope for nothing,' returned, the Lady Kathleen, wringing her hands despairingly. ' I must do as I have done for years — submit to my fate. Barry,' she added, turn mg tp Lord.Tresham, who still stood.a little apart, .dark,- gloomy, and stern, yet with* a great,>gony expressed in- his dark eyes,

' there must be no fighting for me T If you ever loved me spare me thatf great grief.' • If I ever loved youT O, Kathleen V:' His anguished j vokse aroused the Lady Kathleen' from che depths pf her despair. The sight of his suffering lent her a ficti-* tious strength, and she moved toward Lord Tresham, saying : ' 1 must have a few words with you alone, my lord — for the last time ! Come with me to the beach.' He gave her his arm, and they walked down towards the sands, on which the boats lay rocking in the moonlight. .The Lady Kathleen was the first to speak. ' * Barry,' she said, 'if I had adhered to my first resolves, this would never have happened. Would to heaven thab I had refused to come here to-night ! Would that 1 had refused you, as I had done so often before ! But do not let the events of tonight have any blighting influence on your life. You must go away and forget; me — ' ' And leave you to the persecutions of that scoundrel ? Never ! Never !' ' It will be best, Barry. For my sake you must go. It cannot be wrong for me to tell you, now that this great gulf has opened between us, that I love you more than I lovo my life. I have loved you for years '— und her passionate voice trembled — ' but for years I dared not acknowledge to you that love, because I have always had that fearful expectancy of something terrible in the future. For yeai's I have lived in a very terror of dread. Only a few months since that terror was dissipated by a report that he — this man— was dead. Yet, even then, when I read the notice of his death in a foreign paper, I dared not dream of marriage. I should never have dared marry you openly, with the pomp of a fashionable wedding, as he said. I should have been afraid that something might have come between us to prevent the marriage, even at the last minute. I have enemies who trade upon my secret, and who might have chosen to reveal it to you at any moment.' ' My poor Kathleen !' said Lord Tresham, in a yearning tenderness. ' And this man — this 'Bassantyne — knows your secret?' * Yes — yes !' 4 Tel] it to me, Kathleen. Yon need a true friend. Let me hear the whole story, and judge how much of terror therei s in it. Perhaps, these enemies of your? magnify the importance of the secret. I can help you — ' ' It is too late — too late ! No one can help me now. I cannot tell you the story, my lord, but I can say' — and she lifted her head proudly while a scarlet flush stained the whiteness of her cheeks — * that my worst crimes consisted in girlish folly and imprudence ! The name of Kathleen Connor is as unsullied as on the day I received it at my baptism !' ' Is it necessary to say that to me, Kathleen ?' demanded Lord Tresham. ' Do I not know your pure soul, 'your glorious, untainted nature? It is because I know them so well that I entreat to be takon into your confidence. Your enemies may be magnifying the importance of the secret — ' ' No — no ! I comprehend its importance only too well. ' ' You will have to tell the whole story, will you not, when you sue for a divorce?' ' I shall never sue for a divorce ! ' • Kathleen !' ' We are parted for ever, Barry. It was fortunate — even providential — that our marriage 'was interrupted to-night. So long as Nicol Bassantyne lives, I must not see you again. Oh, Barry ! this night holds our parting !' ' You mean to acknowledge this marriage, then ? To live with this scoundrel as his wife — ' The Lady Kathleen flushed again. 'No, I do not!' she said. 'I would die first ! He may proclaim our marriage, it he chooses. I shall not deny it. But I will never live with him — never ! I cannot tell you how much I loathe this man, my lord, and yet, strange as it may seem, this strange marriage of to-night is a relief to Tne V Lord Tresham uttered an exclamation of astonishment. ' It puts an end to all my terror and dread !' murmured the Lady Kathleen. ' It is well for you and me that it has happened. You must forget me, and find someone' more worthy of your proud old name than Kathleen Connor. You are a proud man, my lord, as you have the right to be, and it is better thab your mad marriage with me was interrupted. And now a last word, my lord. I beg you not to provoke a hostile meeting with Nicol Bassantyne. For my sake, do nothing to peril your life — that life which is dearer than all she world to me ! And though we are separated for ever, Barry, always remember that I loved you !' ' And a last word with you, Kathleen !' cried Lord Tresbam impatiently. ' You have denied me a knowledge of your secret, which it seems you share with two or three blackmailing wretches. Now hear me ! There is no obstacle between us which I cannot surmount ! I swear to break the bonds yonder wretch has fixed upon you ! I swear to dissipate all the shadows that envelop you ! I swear to discover your secret, to scatter its terrors, to relieve you from your hideous thraldom — to make you my wife ! Unless these things are accomplished, I will know no peace, no joy ! From this moment I set myself to the task of freeing you from the coils of your enemies !' He caught her to his bosom, kissing her with a yearning, passionate fervour. They were still lingering in that embrace, when steps were heard behind them, and Bassanty ne's, sneering voice broke in upon them. ' Humph !' he said. ' This is a pleasant sight for the eyes of a newly-made|»usband. Come, my Lady Kathleen Bassantyne. My boat is waiting, and yonder comes your maid. We must be oft, it you don'c want Kildare Castle in a terrible commotion !' The Lady Kathleen gently loosened herself from Lord Tresham's frenzied clasp. ' You will go back with me ?' his lordship asked. ' I dare not,' she whispered. ' But I fear nothing. My maid will be with me. And you will be near.' She turned from him with a breaking heart. Mr and Miss Cowan, with her ladyship's maid, were approaching the beach. The Lady Kathleen advanced to meet them, listening to their expressions of pity and sympathy, and then bade them farewell. Bassantyne then conducted his bride to his boat, the Lady Kathleen's maid following. The lady and her attendant took their seats : Bassantyne pushed off the little craft, and sprang in. Then he set his sail, and the boat <.went skimming over the moonlit channel to'ward Point Kildare. Lord Tresham followed closely in the wake, his anguished glances seldom wavering from the slender, girlish figure which drooped low in the stern- of Bassanbyne's boat. \ • . . The clergyman and his sister lingered long on, the sands, watching, the , receding sloops, and speculating upon^ the i'uture'of -tKe three; whose fortunes- had so strangely *- become entangled. , - > - , •Heaven guide them 1' sighed Mr.Cowan. ' There's a dark futures before f the bonny Lady Kathleenj-a defcr'k; dark future 1'