Hugh Gretton's Secret.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXX, Issue 8473, 26 June 1907, Page 2

Hugh Gretton's Secret.

By EPFIE ADELAIDE ROWLANDS. Author of "Selina'ft r.ove titory f " "A Splendid J/" «'f,' "Brave Barbara," "The Temptation of Mam Bar," "Ihc Interloperetc., etc.

CHAPTER VI.-Continued. re remembered, as ho paced slowly m. und down, that by some curious •'•.■nx > lit! had never spoken the name i' iiis fnend —who was so willing to Ivcomc a pleasant help when London wu'H reached —to Ilrgh Gretton, and i;iv.it therefore the introduction of the countess into the stateroom, which ttynge quickly surmised must have i .tvai a sudden idea on Millieent s must have been a great surprise to the invalid. t If he could have been U'kl then that this surprise was one full of heart anguish, too, John T-sy.nge would have expressed no as- « lonishment, for his own heart was turned now to the belief that there Vv;i:i somejlink, mysterious and strong that had existed between the dead man and Lady Yelvertoun; nay. -v.rre, that some secret influence had sway for Hugh Gretton in connection with the lovely girl whom Bynge had he An forced by circumstance to call lady Yelvertoun's maid, but whom ho felt was in truth the equal in every way of that proud and beautiful woman. Yes, there was some mystery here indeed, but would it ever bo solved? That Gretton's name had conveyed .nothing to Lady Yelvertoun was, of course, only a proof that the name by which the dead man had been known was not his own name. Had he been able to tell his )ife s ■story before the end had come, possibly this strange associaton of thought with Lady Yelvertoun and Sigrid would have been disclosed. But unless papers had been .left, and would give the , story to others as to himself —a fact Sir | Juhn doubted—be must wait for the development of circumstances to lead him to solve this mystery. And there was always the contingency that it might never be solved. Sir John sighed restlessly. He almost began to wish he had never come in contact with Hugh Gretton, never been drawn into this coil. His home-coming was robbed of nearly all its pleasure. He would have endless business 10 see to before he could remember his own affairs, and his heart smote him a little as he thought of his mother's disappointment in connection with this. "She will learn to love Millicent quickly, and, if any one can, give comfort to the child, that person is my mother. The girls, too, are sure to be helpful," he mused. He recalled Lady Yelvertoun's words about his youthfulness for the cares of a guardianshin. Cfertainly he was not very old; he had entered his twenty- , eighth year, but his early experiences and his thoughtful character seemed to give him five or six years more 1 than he possessed. He only shirked his new responsibility when he remembered Millicent's wealth. Of course, he knew nothing defin-

itely about her money; until he came to discuss matters fully with the lawyers and bankers he could | merely hazard a guess as to the fortune his ward would possess. But he knew she was very rich; far, far ' richer than himself or any one belonging to him, and this was a matter that suggested much anxiety. "I shall not feel at ease until I have talked everything over with mother," he said finally to himself, as he turned in at last, and making his way below, flung himself down.on his berth to have a couple of hours' much needed sleep. He had a thought about Sigrid also as he jotted down mentally all he should discuss with his mother, "The girl is not happy," he said, with certainty, as he lay staring at the moving durtains.. and a sort of drowsiness crept over him by degrees. "She has a haunted look, as if she were cribbed and confined against her will. I have seen just such a look in the eyes of some animal that was shut in a cage. What is her proper position? 1 shall not be quite content till I know. She has haunted my thoughts too much these last few months over to be quite! forgotten. I shall come in contact a good deal with Lady Yelvertoun, I expect, now that she is going to stay in London; and, if I cannot find out by chance, I will take the bull by the horns, and ask her outright. The child looks to me as if she needed a friend, and I to give her my mother's friendship if it were possible." And then, to the accompaniment of the buzz and muffled clatter of the machinery, and with his brain a jumbled recollection of sorrow, disturbance, anxiety, and deep sympathy, thought became confused and disconnected, and John Bynge dropped off finally into a heavy sleep. Sigrid was fully prepared for a summons to Lady Yelevrtoun's cabin the next morning. There' were many little matters which Sigrid was wont to transact on occasions like this, and when she was useful she was not forgotten. The summons came early. Christine, who had not been in her berth all night, seemed to Sigrid's eyes to be utterly worn out when she tell the girl she was wanted. "What a night!" the French woman exclaimed, with a gesture that signified the whole gamut of emotions. "My Lord, what a night! I am utterly prostrated. My mistress is in a Dad way, She have a heart attack or something. She look quite ill. She ask for you, dear, at once." "Not till you have had some ■ coffee," Sigrid said decisively, but Christine would hear of no delay. Lady Yelvertoun had asked for Sigrid —had asked most peremptorily, and the girl must go. Sirgid went, but she went slowly. She was thinking, as she had thought much sincifjthe news of Mr Gretton's death had come to her, of the poor girl, her equal in years, if her su-

perior in no much else, who was left alone in this sad, strange way, and was weeping her* heart out i" her cabin. "I wish I had the right > l .u yo to her and tell her how sorry I am." Sigrid said to herself, as she knocked at Lady Yelvertoun's door. She had been prepared by Christine's words to find some change in her mistress, but Sigrid had been by no means prepared to see Lady Yelvertoun as she was this morning. There was no question about her being ill. The woman, lying propped up by her favourite cushions, looked sick, strangely worn, old and haggard; her lips were pale, her wonderful sap-phire-blue eyes were shaded and circled with heavy lines. Her appearance gave Sigrid a keen pang. Lady .Yelvertoun looked up as the girl came in. They did not speak for a moment, then Sigrid said what was really pressing on her heart: "I am sorry you have been ill. Can I do anything for you." Lady Yelvertoun signed to her to sit down. "There is nothing you can do for me," she said, "except to see that everything is arranged as it should be. I sent for you for another reason." \Her voice, like her face, had a tired, worn air. She was a changed woman in this moment, and as such she touched Sirgid in a way that was keenly pathetic. "The other day," Lady Yelvertoun went on, after a little pause, during which her eyes had gone away from Sigrid's fair beauty, "the other day you told me you wished to leave my service. I have sent for you to tell you you are free to do this as soon as you like. We shall arrive by noon at Southampton; our paths can separate there if this pleases you; or you can travel through to London with me, just as you will. I have been calculating and I find that about fifty pounds will cover roughly the money due to you on this year's service. Here it is." Lady Yelvertoun stretched out a bank-note. "With this money," she added, "you can start your independence, or return to your convent home, which you will." Sigrid took the money mechanically. Her heart, however, was eating like a wild thing in her breast. Was it true, this she heard? Could it be possible that at last—at last, she vfaa to be free—at last her life of hated servitude was at an end. She looked at Lady Yelvertoun suddenly. "You are not jesting with me?" she asked in a quick, agitated way. '"lt—it is true you mean that I may go?" she broke off suddenly. '"And Hannah Carleton?" she asked. Lady Yelvertoun's lips were contracted an instant.

"I shall take all responsibility," she said, in her cold voice. "I am not jesting with you. You are free to go. You are glad to leave me, so I will let you go. You have often called me unjust. You can now set yourself the task of unlearning that j lesson. I—am just. lam doing ! what you wish. I desire you to go. I think it is better we should never meet again." The words left her Jips most bitterly, so bitterly that, used as the girl was to harsh words, they stung Sigr ; id. The tears rushed blindingly to her eyes, without any reply she bent her head, turned, and in another moment, the door of her old life had closed uon her, and she was free. At such a time the joy or trouble of this new future had no lace in her heart. She was conscious only of a pain that seeWd to have its being in the sound of Lady Yeviertoun's voice, which, curiously enough, stirred the girl's heart in a way that was new and full of meaning.

CHAPTER VII. ' A YOUNG WOMAN FINDS A FRIEND. John Bynge had an agreeable surprise when Southampton was reached, one that would have been pleasant under any circumstances, but was doubly so under the exceedingly sad and anxious ones of the moment. This surprise took form in the unexpected presence of his mother and one of his sisters, who had come from their home to be ready to receive him on his arrival and welcome him with loving eagerness. The young man had confessed to poor Mr Gretton that he had a yearning to see his mother again, but ho had not known how strong this feeling had been till his eyes were gladdened by the sight of her loved face, and he felt her hands clinging to his. (To be Continued.)