A LEAP IN THE DARK.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 96, 11 April 1908, Page 4

A LEAP IN THE DARK.

(By Tollman Cuuper.) "If only you were nearer her age,'' | Sire. I'iiiairet said, "aud a little more " iu -P"te of the intimate Mtiirc of tlu'ir di-cussiou. -she uot unnaturally hesitated. Lord Crayne came to the re-cue. "•Dashing'!" he suggested. "1 cordially agr<v. and then the fellow is so amloundedlv picturesque, too!" " Ve-, in the style of a third-rat? actor!"

"\ou're severe. Now, [ can be impartial, because I'm alive to my limitations. If 1 were built like an athlete, had fair hair, blue eyes, and all the rut of it, I might stand a chance, but as it is, 1 feel 1 haven't a look in. Look at me! ' Lord Crayne concluded, ■ what tautologically. Mrs. Palairet looked, and saw a man tlif wrong aide of forty, lean, with kindly eye- aud a huuiorou.- mouth, but Vilhal an uadenialdy plain man. whose head pleaded guilty to incipient baldness.

Shu -. 'i ik her bead dubiously. '"Don't '.epreciate yourself—that is the uiosk fatal mistake," she urged. " And if you could manage to insinuate a sort of deYil-may-carenevs into your manner, it might work wonders. What trouble ine -- aunt are your money and title." S "They are not usually considered ol>- £ ttacles," Lord Crayne observed ruefully, f, "Xo; but you don't understand what S. a romantic little fool Marjorie is! Love fc in a cottage with Jimmv Fairless is her | id**! at pieMnt; I can see it aa clearly | gr. is if she had told me. Oh, my dear R friend, if I had been consulted in the PL organising of things I should have vetoI ed the adolescent period! Of all misE takes, it's the greatest. A girl (alls in t love with the most undesirable man she it- can find, and a boy insists upon marry- | log a disreputable actress. In som* %, ways 1 think it's one of the worßt-man C »ged. world* one could be condemned to I C* live in!' | ■ Lord Crayne nodded with entire acquiI caeence. "Have you .aid anything to t-_- her about Fairless?" I "Certainly not. The slightest opposir tkra WjulJ send bet into his anna at , once. To get a girl suitably engaged is like driving a pig to market—you must pretend you have uo wi-hes of your own. No, I try to smile when she men- • tions him; it's taking years oil my life, but I manage to do it. I think you may aafely trust my diplomacy, and, above all things, don't let yourself get discouraged." Lord Crayne, anxiously hanging upon »- the words of his would-lie mother-in-law. felt himself Bred to emulation of her ; ' dauntless spirit. " Discouraged? Not J!" he ejaculated scornfully, although as | he left the room his countenauce was | not exactly eloquent of confidence, i Undoubtedly it was hard lines that he, who had never been a marrying man, r should fall in love for the first time at J forty-three; but. having committed this >' indiscretion, it was intolerable to find auch formidable obstacles placed in the way. Unfortunately, his lordship was too old-fashioned to act upon the prin- ' ciple of Wing fair ill love, otherwise he , might conveniently have revived certain ? episode- in the I>a-t career of his rival «• which even a romantic temperament ' Would hardlv liud admirable, r . 11 was natural enough that the Ij-s- - should have included Jimmy Fairi leas among their guests, for they were getting up an ambitious performance of p "As \ou Like It," and Jimmy was that r strange hybrid, the professional ama- [' teur. Nevertlieless, the aggrieved lover £ felt it was a piece of confounded illfc-, hick which had brought Marjorie Palairet and Fairless under the same roof. £ At present the majority of the houseI party were engaged in'rehearsijls, Lord t-'rayne being one of the lookers-on, who notes -o much more than the absorbed players imagine. Marjorie Palairet had been cast for V Phoebe, and lie bated to see her being coached iu tile stale, tlieatriral business, and lK'iug taught to make eyes at (JanyEi nietlc. tianymede henself required no 5,- coaching in such matters, being imper- % sonated by Miss liladvg Kestcr, a young J* Jady of uncertain age, who had" been r ipiasi-private theatricals for ■ the past ten years. Miss Kester was '"l'y anpiainted with the ropes of most S, ttnigs which arc |>opularly considered * * B*«ns to an end—the end in question if being the annexing of a husliand. Perha|» her lack of success hitherto was - owing to her poverty, for Cupid nowadays displays mercenary tendencies disK. concerting to tlie sentimentally inclined. ' Or perbajM slie showed her hand too plainly, which is an error common to tbt twentieth-century woman. Lord Crayne did not trouble his head j;_ about Miss Keater's affairs, hut lie was ' conscious of an acute desire to keep fcer ami Marjorie apart. In the present ttate of his affections, Marjorie Palairet, ; among the rest of the party, appeared t to him like a lily growing among the ~- weeds on a dust-heap. On her side, Miw Pabiret was experiencing the un- £ enviable feeling of a fish out of watc.% I* lor her daisy-Qke freshness was found he initiated. Only Fairless r aeemed to think it piquant, and went out of his way to pay her attention. i Since the rehearsals had begun Marseen verv little of her older J- friend, and naturally enough Fairless r bad become a sort of hero. He had whispered to her yesterday that she s was the dearest little girl in the world, . and his eyes had said far more. \ Marjorie's heart beat furiously at the g- recollection, while she mentally coin- - pared him with all the favourite charac- * t«* in fiction, to the great disadvantage ft rf the latter. h ~ On this particular evening Miss Pis' lairet went to the library after tea. pai t- > ly to ,-tudy a certain work on Shaker speariau characters, Imt chiefly with the ~ desire of being alone, for the librarv y was but slightly patronised by tbe btv ' lie's guests. i Sh « ied herself in a corner and h-- ; **n to read, but Fairless's eyes an.) '. *oiee kept coming between her and the 1 attenthin she -liould have given to the pinted page, and, moreover, the readg sliowed unmistakable signs of foing out. Finally Marjorie closed her f eyes and gave herself up to dreams. » " Vou know I love you (jladys, but !_ Jou must see how impossible it is for me to ask you to marry me yet. I've fcad the devil's own luck lately."

Mis* Palairet woke with a start. The ST room was only diuily lighted by tlxp. lfcfge lamp in the centre, but trom her p own shadowy corner she could see the irtwD figures -tanding bv the tireplac• BdMriy. K" Ita not the waiting I mind," Miss P Knter -aid quickly, "but t<> see you | filing with a chit like that;'' is. Oh, hang it all, the girl's only a ■c Ms: She doesn't dream of W! of that sort."

"Uoesiit she?'' replied Mi-- Ke-ter i iignificantly. -Don't lie a fool, lini: (Be may lie a baby, but she also ha]iL pens to be a woman, anil she was lookRing *t you yesterday with wur-hip in BSJereycs. 1 could have died of laughing, SFwt I'm uothing if not di-creei * fe" ftirless shrugged his shoulder, ituppsKently. "Oh, well, if it will sati-fy won't say another word to her I on business.'' Bruits Hester took a step nearer to gfkilß; the firelight struck sparks from Bimbu- of copper-coloured hair, her ELttne eyes were dilated. She U-nt forWlnl a little, looking into hi- face. £ But you needn't think I wor-hip feyM you. because I don't." -he said. J Fairies* took her in !»i- arm-, .tad Jrfued her in u way which cau-ed tieWH of the paralysed lookvr-on to opc.i W their widest extent, f "You're a little fool. 1.1a.1v,." lie a--MCrtel lightly. "You know quit,, w. II Hkat ehnrch miei' can't marry- il'jjracol hard lines, hut it Won't "make lUnga lietter your lurning jealous. |«lppOae we go back to the hall-thi-&M i» so beastly ploom.v!" » They had gone, but Mi— I'ahiirci did jtot stir, and her eyes looked -traiglit Pffore ier with an expressionless stare. jHe wa* in love with tiladys Hester! !®»»e was no room in her dazed brain fifar another thought. She sit on m >- "tfonle**. until the sound of the opening ade her start from her chair, f "Hullo! who's tliere in the dark?" Ednnaoded Lord C'rayne. r-' Marjorie came forward in tie- circle Eof Ujfht where those other- had rw-ently r. Palairet! I didn't know yon irere a frequenter of tin- library." C'rayne said in surprise. "I—l've been here sine tea: I came flh look at a book." Marjorie faltered, [japd held out a volume as though in Nrindieation of her presence, p. "I thought Miss Ke-ter and Fairle— [ ■"ere here. I had a me--age for her.' i I Mm iPalairet turned crimson. " They | m " she lie-ran. f'ravne saw tin-j IMb, and waited in silence. "Tliev I IDC in while 1 was asleep." Marjorie jgt on desperately, "and when 1 woke I and what fhey -aM I ttMo't (<'!? thrill I Wil* rluTf r -illlj'lv * »en*e of honour, hut I \w.uld liavo w if I coill.l. j ft had r»>nfidni in him. ml I.oM *vw*V nii'l<ilt i -T2ofl lir.irt K'-nf in a f >- rdly youWifvil fashion. *

■Uf cour-e V'mi av-iuUI; i know woil enough to I*! -lit.- ~! that." lie replied, with conviction. " 1 tlou t - n )tj(U.-r they vvere di-<u>-iii_: miitteift ui international ini|)OrTanee. Iml, anyhow. don't niakij a tragedy til it, for lituvcu'* sake.'' ('nhis voice had taken un a tender iiitli'ctiqii. \\liij-h ueiu >traiglii to Marjories lnjureu heart. Mie 'tried to i.nt the -oli ia her throat the 'Liv. and an alarming -oiind »a, the result. Ciaiiic took the Shakespeare out ..t her hand- and tlnng it on oue -ide with a woi'tul disregard tor the host's property. sit down, lie said abruptly, pnlliny fori aid one u i the -oitly-cusliioned ell.::!-,. "Now, look here, there's notliIt- for you to tret aUml. Tiling- wi'l b " ,en contrariai-e ill thi, e.\asperaii::v Id, but it does no manner of t . 'ar one's hair over the (act. \fh:it-..-r they Nlid you won't re|ieat. and they will neve,- know that \uu there."

ills- Palairet nodded her aci|itiesceiice and murmured something to the effect that he was very good. What prompted Crayne then lie never knew, but he floundered on: | wish you would give ine the right to help always when things go wrong. Do you think you could ever come to care for me—like that ;"

Like what?'' she a-ked, reasonable enough, for his question was eertainlv involved.

'"I mean," said U.rd Cravne. taking the final plunge, "that I've loved voS since ever 1 met you." "Oh!" said .Miss Palairet, which was not encouraging. "Do you think you would come to like me in time?" he jiersisted grimly. Marjorie looked at him as her mother had looked that morning, but wher.: Mrs. Palairet had observed all the obvious drawbacks, her daughter chanced to see nothing but a pair of kindle brown eyes fixed upon her in that process commonly known as " looking you through and through." * I don't know, but I think I might," she hesitated. '"You would never say such a thing when you didn't meau it, I'm sure you wouldn't."

" Well, no, I hope not,' [/ml Craviie replied, somewhat bewildered. He knelt down in old-fashioned style by the side of the slight figure in the big chair, and Uiok her hands. "If you'll tru-t yoiir-elf to me. you shall be the happiest girl iu the world, if it's in my power to make you so," lie ■•-aill, with due solemnity. Miss Palairet consented to trust her self to him, but the world shook its head o»cr the engagement. "No fool like an old fool!" it said. " Wait until she has found her feet as Lady Crayne, anu you'll see. Funnv thing that people must buy their experience first hand!"

44 Ronald, did you know that J was not the least little bit in love with vou when we married)"

It was after dinner on the anniversary of tlieir wedding day, and Lad;, Crane put the question deliberately, looking round the epergne and across tlie desert dishes at her husband. '• Yes, 1 knew it."

" There was someone else." Lady Crayne went on. "Had you giie^ii?' " Yes, but I couldn't think he was wotthy of you, and. a> you owned to liking roe, I made up my mind to speculate in the matrimonial >take>. [ had plenty of warnings, though: everyone told me I was making the biggest mistake of mv life.''

"How dared they say so?*' demanded Lady Crayne, with a deeper rose colour in her cheeks. Her hu-band held his wineglass !>etween his ev P and the light and answered earek'ssly: -oh, well, you might very easily have repented of your bargain, that was what they meant. \ou know—-so far as you were concerned—it was certainly a leap in the dark.'' Lady Crayne rose and walked round the table until she stood behind his chair.

"Ronald,'* she said slowly. " I wanted to tell you to-night that if i could have the time over again ' Lord CrayneV hand shook slightly as he put the wineglass down. he said, with admirable indifference.

Lady Crayn,. put her arms round his shoulders ami b<nt her pretty head, with its crown of curk to his ear.

"* I should take the leap iu the light, she whispered. Which *how- that even the world ma 1)0 mistaken sometime*.