THE DOUBLE SECRET.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9611, 4 October 1909, Page 2

THE DOUBLE SECRET.

CHAPTER IV.—Continued. Ted went off happy. "That boy has a perfect genius for arranging small bouquets," observed Lady Lina, slipping her arm in Pauline's and going with her into her room. "So you have the hyacinth rooms, next to my grandmama; I have haard say they were prime favourites with my mother, Lady Harcourt, and she occupied them while visiting here before she was married. I don't like them at all. My rooms are pink and silver, perfectly gorgeous. Is that your maid? How long since she put on long frockß? Can she do your hair? She ought to be an artist to do you justice, ior your hair is magnificent pure chestnut, with a line of gold. Lucy, did you call her? That smacks of hedgerows, and daisies and dandelions, and that sort of English nonsense. My maid 1 liked a'l but her name, which was Norah, and I called her Bor.ita, and j grandmamma interfered and made ine call her Rivers. Grandmamas are so inconve ■ nient! My! you dress in black don't you? I know I would, look well in black. We are the same height; I shall put on one of your dresses—that bombazine done up in crape. I never had a chance to put on mourning since I took any interest in my appearance. My mother died ; when I was so small. Here, Lucy take off this white thing, and dress me in Miss Percy's mourning. Pauline you stop looking cross; I will do it. Lucy, how dare you put a pin in your mouth? Kivers must give you a few lessons. Here, take that blue bow out of my hair and put in a black one; there now, shake out these folds; don't I look lovely? How it slets off my complexion! I shail run show my grandmama. Why can't I wear mourning?" "Stop!" said Pauline, taking her arm; "you must hot go to Lady Astraea in that dress Consider that a person of her age should not be startled; it might be dangerous."

"Consider! Horrors I never considered in my life." "Then I must consider for you. Please ta'-e oft' my dress." "I won't —not unless you will take lunch with me alone, in my darling pink room."

" "Oh, indeed, I ought to go down with Lady Astraea." "Ought! Ought! there is no ought in this house but what one pleases. If you won't lunch in my room I'll now go to grandmama." "Very well; I accept your invitation."

"Come, then Lucy, take off this dress. It's a deal too warm. My dear Pauline the infant is handy, leave her to her own devices in regard to your clothes and come to my room." After lunch, and a siesta. Lady Lina, who seemed to have taken complete possession of Pauline, led her f o the portrait-gallery. A sudden wave uf envy rolled over Pauline's heart as they entered the superb gothic hall. How little this guy girl beside her appreciated benefits of a known and long and honourable ancestry. What would not she, the namehss one. tiive to claim as her progenitors those chivalric knights, and barons, and goodly dames. In either end of the hall were grand coloured windows with flowing" racery; clear white light wap let in at intervals along the sides to illumine the pictured faces or. the walls; here and there down the centre of the room were pedestals of serpentine or jDorphry or travertine, upbearing marble busts of certain Harcourts, distinguished for valour or for learning; here were gothic arches darkly wrought in stone and oak, with quaint or curious faces learning from the pendant posts; tall caryatides stood gravely upholding the wrought chaptreis; the floor was skilfully inlaid. She saw the suits of armour filling niches here and there, the dusky silken folds of banners trailing over the picture of some dead General Harcourt; on cushions before one or two portaits a prayerbook and a ring relics of bishops of the line; and in the centre of the hall a bed of carven stone, wherein lay the fullsize effigy of a Harcourt who had died in the crusades, a stonewrought cross, and shield, and sword, and scallops at his feet. The place filled Pauline's mind with enthusiasm ; the Ormesbys had never boasted descent and history like this; she studied the faces of the portraits with interest and a reverence for long descent, a reverence intensified by the new fact, that she could not trace her own house one step beyond herself. To this proud girl so newly disgraced by namelessness, a pedigree seemed one of the grandest gifts of fortune. She could not understand the rattling absurdity and disrespect of Lady Lina, who flitted from portrait to portrait as a butterfly among dishonoured flowers, delaying long by none.

"Just see this Lord . Dillworth Harcuurt! The points of hie nose his chin, his shoes, and his sword are all equally fine; not to put too fine a point on it it pricks me to the heart to look on him. I know this Lady Gretchen Harcourt .was from Dutchland; behold her figure she looks like a pillow tied in the middle with a string! What a world of work it must have been to lace her properly. I am so glad I was aot born then to be her maid. I'm glad I don't look like any of these portraits. I'm much handaomtr than any

BY DUNCAN McGKEGOR Author of "Kennedy's Foe," 'Tshmaol Keforme "A Game of Three,'* "Edna's Peril," Etc, etc.

I of them. Wasn't this crusader an old | goose to be toddling off to Palestine | among the Saracens, when he might have been taking his ease in his inn? Don't you love Shakespeare? I dote on that story of Rosalind taking herself to the woods. I'll do that as soon as ever I get a friend to go with ma Take the subject into consideration, Pauline--wili you go with ma? Here's a Harcourt with a wretched wart right on the end of his nose. I'd rather have had six in some les3 conspicuous position. Here's a daughter of the house with a kink in her eye. I'd have worn green goggles if I'd have been m her place. I look lovely in green goggles; 1 have a pair that I put on to aggravate Aunt Vilthorpe. Here's another daughter of the house invisible her face being nailed to the wall, as she made a bad marriage—eloped, in fact, with a nobody. That ia what I mean to do some day if his lordship my father, will pledge himself to turn my portrait to the wall; don't want it here among all these ugly folks. It is up in my room now where I can see it; it is awfully nicelooking—better looking even than I am. There is my father. Why, how admiringly you look at it! Has Lord Thomas made a conquest in his old age? We came down iche wrong side of the room; the thirteenth and fourteenth and so on I ke an old sermon, hang on the other side. Yes; ah, that is rather nice—that is my mother."

Lady Lina had been motherless for sixteen,'years, and had no surplus sentiment to waste on the late Lady Pauline Harcourt. The picture hung in a strong lignt, and the two girls stood before it also in the full light.

"I don't look like her, do I?" said Lady Lina. "She has less colour than I have and I have not what grandmama calls 'the reserve power' of her face. What a terrible thing it must be to have in your countenance something with such a fine name as that! Do you think she is handsome? Her features were not

regular; I never noticed that so much as now with you standing here, for your features are quite perfectregular Percy features and figure—not so willow-wandish as 1 am. What think you?"

"It is a face to love and to trusr," said Pauline, standing before the portrait with clasped hands and upraised eyes, as one who worships at a shrine.

She looked up with earnest eyes of durk brown; the picture looked down with eyes of clear gray, bu'c the same expression was in both Birkiri remarked it entering the hall to request Pauline to go £o the Lady Astraea. Lord Thomas Harcourt remarked it, he having come into the gallery with a fatherly intent of seeirg that his daughter was not receiving surreptitious attentions from young Mrs VilUiorpe did not remark it; she, too, had come in a quest after her niece, and was indignant to find her in the .fanlistic garb of the early morning. She spoke out sharply. "Lina! still in that absurd gown! It is time to dress for dinner. Do go, pray destroy that thing." "Not I!" cried Lina. "I am going to dinner in it." "Impossible! Who ever heard f such an outrage? Are you not aware that my nephew, Vilthorpe is coming—ha«, by the way come already?"' "Oh, has he, indeed? Come, and the roof not fallen, nor the earth quaked nor my poodle barked? Neither shall I display emotion. J don't care for him '' "He is the scion of a very excellent family," said Mrs Vilthorpe. "Oh, you have not been introduced to our new friend—mine and my grandmama's—Mias Percy,'' interrupted Lady Lina. "Is this the young person who came with Lady Astraea'" said Mrs Vilthorpe, superciliously, turning a wizened face that no paint or powder could disguise toward Pauline. I TO BK CONTINC/ED.]