QUEER STORY.

Te Aroha News, Volume XIV, Issue 2078, 12 February 1898, Page 3

QUEER STORY.

CECILIA MAYNARD’S ROMANCE

‘I always thought that fate had reserved me fur better things, sighed, Cecilia Maynard, as she set. on the at Seamoor uid watClui the fa liion- ! able crowd drift Idly to and fro, land now—and now- • • ‘ And now/; said her friend, Mrs Melville-Graham, putting,the obvious a finish to thflihroken sentence, ‘ you snow itAO •" • ' - Cecil v Maynard was the beauty of .the fThat is not saying much for her/but she: thought it .-was, and so did the family. People are apt to set a fancy value on themselves. a matter of fact, she was a.pretty girl f family thought her a beauty,., and never tired of impressing the faction her and on W friends. This pleased them and amused their friends, and hurt nobody but Cecilia. It is not a wise thing to persuade a girl that she _js^altogether superior to -the., state of which she has been ca l led; but people are at times very unwise in theiri generation. • It'-was a sacred and jealously: cberisbed belief in' 'the Maynard family that Geclia would make a brilliant match. They looked upon it as a certainty. They always said, ‘ When Cecilia makes her grand marriage, we shall do so and so;’ not ‘lf Cecilia makes her grand marriage, etc., etc.’ Cecilia, shared their belief, and wasted hours and hours in idle dreaming of the life she would lead when the fairy ..prince had rescued her, like Cinderella of old, from her present surroundings. Now at last the fairy prince had arrived on the scene, and this is the history of his coming. Every year the Maynards were in the habit of spending a month at some fashionable seaside place, *and J . this year, they had chosen Seamoor, and established themselves at Hotel, which is, as everyone knows, the m st select in townis Cecilia had six large dress baskets with her, and arrayed in their contents/she dazzled the Seamoor world-—or imagined that she did so, which, after all, was just ,as gratifying tcrher vanity. Imagination ,is : ti fearful and wonderful thing. She imagined herself the cynosure- of all eyeß and t the admired of all beholders, wherrias,.in reality, she was neither the one nor the other. ‘ If she had known that, she would have been / miserable ; but she did not know it, and so she was happy. This is a strange world! When the Maynards bad been at Seamoor a week, a fresh

arrival threw the Regal into a state 4--ti/f%reat excitement.%-As ariyulej fresh arrivals were not, much thought of there, for people were always coming arid going ; but this particular fresh •4 ! arrival was something quite out of the common run. He—for, of course, it was a he —really deserves a 1 descripparagraph all to himself. To began with he was a very re-markable-looking man, six-foot-four, and broad in proportion ; a ceritly built specimen of the human race. |Then he had a most insinuating manner. He did not say so very much, but he looked volumes, aril he bad a trick of dropping his voice and murmuring confidently into hisrneighbor’s ear, and wrought great havoc in the ranks of the opposite sex. Ad led to ■ that,;, he had a certain amount of •: swagger on and threw his money about right and left: with a lordly disregard for the principles of economy His name was so fascinating too, Auriel de Vismes. What woman could withstand such a name ? :It was all very well for Shakespeare to write: ‘What’sin a name,? That which we call . a rose . r - . By any other name would smell as sweet/ But either Shakespeare left women out of his calculations, or times have changed since his day. , Auriel de Vismes would riot have been half so interesting,a personage if he had been called John Jones. Auriel de Yismes ! It was so poetical, so refined, and so mysterious. Who were tho De Yismes, everybody asked. But nobody knew. Everybody felt sure that they were somebodies, butn body had ever heard of them. De Yismes himself gave no *■' clue to bis,ideality, though he made it'clear that he was - accustomed to what the penny-a-liners call ‘the highest grades of society.’ He casually of people whom he knew, ~ Jif mentioning well-known- names in an manner that deeply impressed .the Maynards and their set, but that was all.

■jgy-. Cecilia had a theory of her own. She was convinced that the distinguished stranger was a duke, or at the very least, the heir to a dukedom. The great point of women’s theories is that they are seldom affected by such trivial details as facts and probability. The growth of mutual love is, according to the poets and novelists, a beautiful thing; but it is not everyone who has the privilege of beholding it. Tiie inmates of the Regal Hotel were’ thus privileged, and itis to bo hoped that they were duly appreciative .i Auriel de Vismes and Cecilia Mayj io love with one and the affair progressed rapidly up to a certain point. They walked together, talked together, and drove together in a small phseton, with a pair of stepping cobs that De Yismes hired from the most expensive livery stables in the town. They were always accompanied by a discreet. chaperone, for, Seamoor, as we all know, J ig a place given torgoßsip: and scandal. The discreet chaperone, however, was an adept in the art "effacing

herself on occasion, and De Yismes had plenty of chances of asking a certain tender question —if he had chosen to avail himself of them. But he did not choose to avail himself of them. That was’?the perp'exlig part of the whole matter. He made love to>Cecilia - that is to say, he murmured confidentially in her ear, anil looked unu ter., bio things ; but/there it ended. He did not pi-ogress beyond that point.,’ Cecilia did her best to lead him in the way that-she thought he ought to go/but all to no purpose. He looked love, but he did riot speak of' marriage., ” ■ &,

And this unsatisfactory state of affairs lasted up to the end. De Yismes left the Regal one.day as suddenly as he had come, and without committing himself in any way?' True, he held Cecilia’s hand for quite two minutes at parting, while he gazed eloquently ‘into her eyes and murmured a hope that she would not forget him ; but what of- that ? Poor Cecilia ! The blow. > was a hard one. Ilbrlthree weeks she had thought of herself as un embryo duchess, and/how she had to begin all arid think of herself once more as the third Miss Maynard, with no prospects worth mentioning. Mrs Graham, who really felt sorry for her, was very kind. •"* It’s a pity you’re' so romantic; Cis/ she said "practically, but you’re not altogether/to blame for that. It’s your, family’s fault, I’m afraid. They wouldn’t let you be sensible. However/it’s no good thinking about that now, we have other fish to fry. Things fhave gone against you, and you’ve got ■to face them r ; and make .the best of them. I’ll trill you what you shall do. You shall come and/, spend the winter, with rue’in to tvn, arid ten to one you’ll irieet somebody who will put Auriel de Yismes’ image out of your silly . little Ihead. Chber up/and buy some new frocks. You shall make your grand match yet.’’ But Cecilia shook her head, arid'put her handkerchief to her eyes. V * I Snail never marry now/ she sobbed. ‘I have lived nry life and had my romance, and—and—it’s very kind of you, Norah, but I would rather ■stay quietly at home.’ ‘Nonsense/ Mrs Melville-Graham returned, imperturbably, ‘ you haven’t lived your life, and you are not going to stay quietly at home. You’re going to spend the winter with me in town, and —who knows ?—you may meet Auriel de Vismes again, and it may all come right in the end. The world is very small, you know, and the course of true love never runs smooth.’ Mrs Melville-Graham was a clever woman, and generally managed to gain hei point. She gained it on this occasion.

Cecilia looked up and mopped her eyes ■ . ‘ I’ll eome/she said meekly. ‘Thank you, Norah, it’s very kind of you to trouble about me.’

October saw her comfortably established in Melyille-Graham’s luxurious house in Park-lane, and then began the round of winter gaities. Mrs Melville Graham’s set hardly consisted of the creme de la creme, but it was, a very festive one. Entertainments aad amusements of every kind followed one another in bewilderingly quick succession/and Mrs Melville-Graham hoped that iri the whirl Cecilia would soon learn to forget; but she did not. Auriel de Vismes was too striking and attractive a man to be easily forgotton by a romantic, impulsive, sentimontal girl. Cecilia watched and waited,/ 1 as many .woman will do again, hoping for a sight of.the man she loved ; but she watched arid waited |n vain. . At last there came a day when she into Mrs Melville-Graham’s room in a state of uncontrollable excitement. - / •' 4

‘Norah/ she exclaimed, breathlessly, ‘ Norah/ have you ever had a presentiment?’

Mrs Melville-Graham looked tip from the novel on her knee, and smiled her most practical smile. Never, my dear, she answered, and if I had I ehouldn t know what to do with; it. S?:. -j : A, . W ;> Woll, I have one now, Cecilia announced, in the same breathless tone, and then she,struck quite a dramatic attitude, I have one now/she repeated. I hay 9 a presentiment -that I shall meet Auriel de. Yismes tcniiglit.: X feol it—l know it! I shall meet hinci !

Mrs Melville-Graham smiled again. I’m sure I'm very glad to hear it, she replied, turning once more to her book ; I hope he will be able to give some satisfactory explanation of his conduct at Seamoor, and,l think you had better put on your new frock. *. | ; i The Melville-Graham’s engagements for that particular evening numbered four, and included a dinner/ two receptions, and a dance. Cecilia’s presentiment did not specify at which entertainment she was to meet her recalcitrant lover, but that was a detail. i: ' ‘ |

The dinner,, of course, came first on the list. It was given by Lord and Lady Clayburn, new acquaintances 'of the Melville-Graham’s, and Cecilia arrived at their house in a state of nervous excitement -that it took ' all her strength to control. The presentiment was growing stronger every minute.- " , - ** ; The Melville-Grahams were the last to arrive, and Cecilia looked anxiously at the,, large party assembled in the drawing room, but he for whom she looked was not among them. It was a; great relief to her overstrung nerves when the solemn butler announced dinner, and they all filed into-the joining room. , Cecilia’s cavalier was elderly, and

i his conversational powers were somewhat limited. He sounded his companion on one or two subjects; with very little result, and then took refuge in silence and the elaborate menu. Left to her own devices, Cecilia be pan Inking stock of the guests as sembled at table. She was getting quite amused and interested in this occupation, when all at once a startling sound fell on her ears —a sound that thrilled her like an electric shock, and made her heart beat wildly. * ' It was Aurel de Yismes' confidential murmur. There was no mistaking it. She would have known it anywhere. De Yismes must be in the room, that was plain. But whore.,?' He was not at the table, and yet she could hear that* never forgotten murmur so plainly. It was coming nearer, too. What did it mean ? What could it mean ? Nearer or nearer. Now it was at her elbow. ‘ Turbot, ma’am ?’ % ■' P With a start of horror Cecilia turned her head. There by her side stood Si gigantic. , fooiman, ~ ,fw...g<>l-goous,: powdered flunkey, repleridorit iri the Clayburn full-dress livery of crimson and gold, with plush knee breeches and white silk stockings. He held a plate in his hand, and his voice dropped to its most insinuating key as he beganAo repeat his question. At that point his eyes met Cecilia's The noxt moment Lady Clayburn's pet footman, in a state closely bordering on apoplexy, was picking up frag -j mente of the oldest Crown Derby iri England. A/' *{