A TERRIBLE MISTAKE

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10039, 9 May 1910, Page 2

A TERRIBLE MISTAKE

"'4 || CHAPTER 11.-Continued. | 'And left me at Brighton," inter-l Imposed Daventry, laughing sottly.l fyYou had discovered a quitit, restfull place, but yoa weren't particularlyi fi anxious forn tne to share in the de-| flights of Llanihcrpe. I have been p?amazingly blind!' II 'I came back to Lanthorne,' proifceeded Percy;'and, when a man is as fi much in love as I am. it does not | take long for him to give expression I; to it. At first I forgot all else; I forfegot my father, I forgot Constance I' Glintori. Then I brought myself to Efface the worst; I knew that I must Rencounter strong opposition—that my "j--?marriage with a nobody would create a. a sensation in society. But such p things as these were trifles compared fewith my love.' p ' I have been amazingly blind!' fe'Owen Daventry repeated. His black || eyes expressed a mingling of wunder|i;ment and gratification. 'Are you requite sure that no one here suspects that you are a Clifford of Manl^thorpe?' |l 'I am certain of it; otherwise I not dare to interest myself in Ifthis church fair. This masquerading If is distasteful to me, Daventry, for, |whatever my faults inay be, 1 hope jfthat I inherit the courage and truth |of my ancestors. Before we return to 4town I shall ask Hildred Dudley to fbe my wife; then the news must be fbroken to my father and to Constance |°Glinton. There was a time when I to conceal all from you. tfNow 1 regard you as my confidant and i He held out his right hand, and gOwen Daventry grasped it with apfparent warmth. | j| 'I shall be faithful to my trust,' he! Psaid. 'I realise that your case is a] I hopeless one, unless a miracle inter-j Evenes. The Cliffords of Mailhorpel &;have ever tfeen tenacious and hoi-| I'headed, even to the verge of stu-jj spidity. I cannot say that I view the' j|situation with a thrill of satisfacItion, because trouble is certain to. Ifollow. bociety will be outraged, audj fprobably some rival lover willj end by you out,' he added jestingly.] I'Surely such charms as those posjfsessed by Miss Dudley have not regmained unnoticed among the country : ||swains!' M Clifford flushed hotly, II 'For that very reason,' he said, lI'I svant the world to know that Hil-. Ifdred is mine! She has been arinoyedj ||by the attentions of some fellow—a Ityoung seaman, I believe. But—j Bpshaw! It is not worth thinking; llabout. lam going to turn m now,! MDaventry. I must n-jt forget that 1 Ifbavetomake my debut as a mandol-j ®inist on a public platform to-mor-II row!' || 'And to-morrow I shall see your Ifdivinity,' Daventry thoughtfully ob-j Jfserved., 'Ah, well—l suppose the diej Jliscast! Well—good night! I prefers gfto stay out in the moonlight a little I longer. I have many things to ponHe looked after the tall form of hip young kinsman, an ugly smile, on his dark face; then he turned hack to the silent shore, and stood within a few pacea of the glittering sea, hid arms folded, his head«bent forward. 'Has my opportunity come at~last,' he murmured; 'the opportunity which until now I have seen only in hopeless dreams? What is there between me and Manthjrpe Park—its title—its princely revenue? A weakly old man and that foolish boy. What is there between me and Constance Glinton? Nothing now—nothing save her insance worship of Clifford. I have loved her as only men of my years, as men of my intense nature, can love. But I am poor—poor —with only a dying man and a rash youth, between • me and' luxury. The Wards are in my hands,! and I play to win !\ 1 He laughed softly, and luokedj away over the glittering track made by the moon, tie heard no music in the singing waves, he saw no beauty j in the spangled sea. The shining! track seemed to turn blood-red, and he covered his eyes with his hands. CHAPTER 111. 'HEAVEN FORGIVE YOU IF YOU® HAVE BLIGTHED MY DAR- I LING'S LIFE!' | The church fair at Llanthorneg was a great success. Two hundred! 1 pounds had be<?n required for the re p stort tion of the old church, and the, vicar was delighted to find that the fair hhti realised within a few pounds of the amount. Immediately after the announcement an anonymous donor sent sufficient money to complete the restoration fund.

I Much of the success was attributed to the efforts of the young ladies of the congregation They labored in a hundred ways; but it was the happy inspiration of Miss Bildred Dudley, the school teacher, which resulted in a musical troupe, attired in the' picturesque dress of pierrots, or clowns, making their appearance. The singing was excellent, and the mandolin selections, by 'a Mr Percy Clifford,' were highly appreciated.

BY F. L. DACRE, Author of —"ho Doctor's Secret, A Case for the Court, Sir John's Heiress, A Loveless Marriage, Trenholme's Trust, Etc.

. 1 Mr Percy Clifford flushed hotly] Iwhen an acquaintance read his name! fin the local paper on the following! fSnturday morning. Next to his name! iwaa that of the grocer's young man,! |who called for orders. He had already imade advances to Clifford, and was |no dcubt a very excellent fellow—in |his place. Percy had not dared to| Isnub him.,_ because sauch a course! Mwould have tnade him highly u.npopu-j lar in the set to which Miss.Dudley and her grandfather belonged. 'lhis sort ot thing must end, and that quickly,' he mutterec. '1 will speak to Hildred to-day.'" i He was standing at. the window of| his sittingroom at the Beach Hotel. Daventry had already returned toj London. i 'Hildred!'he muttered. The pet fname lingered fondly on his lips, a |Boft light shone in his eyes. 'Hildred, Itc-day is your holiday. Never until! inow has Saturday be€n the most Sblessed of all days to me! Oh, my Sdarling, I must take you from among jgthese people, from your life of toil— Imy sweet, my honoured wife!' jf His thoughts were interrupted by lithe entrance of an attendant with Itwo letters. One was a registered llpacket, and he examined it eagerly : lithe other was from Daventry. He iopened the registered packet with Itrembling fingers. It contained a Bring, exquisitely chased, in which gflashed a solitaire diamond. It was; lan engagement ring for Hildred. j i After toying with it for awhile,! ibe carefuily replaced it in the box,! lard turned to Owen Daventry's let-. Iter. | 1 'My Dear Percy: You must show: Sup at the Park not lattr than 1 ues-! |day. Your father thinks that it is! itime you gave up your wandering bo- 1 |hemian sort of life. He was par-j fticularly huffy with me to-day, and' |l had to jreparicate disgracefully.! |Of course, he has no idea where you! f are or what you are doing; audi! I'profeased ignorauce of your present' I whereabouts, though I assured him ifthat you would be home in a day or |!two. In promising to pull you safely itbrough this business, I atu taking aa great deal upon my shoulders; but, Ksince I have seen Miss Hildred DudSley, I am quite reconciled to the itask. She is a lovely girl, and. as lyour wife, her charms will take sogciety by storm. I quite expected to Smeet with a buxom wench, with Ifruddy cheeks and hands —a sort of p'thank-you-kiridly-sir,' damsel. Judge gof my surprise Percy, when you preSsented Miss Dudley to me! After the ifirst brush with the enemy, I pre-Idict-that his lordship will be subfjugatcd even in . a shorter space oi II time that was I Yours affectionately, I • 'Owen Daventry.' I Daventry's letter pleased Clifford smore than he cared to own. He lered over the portion which referred |so kindly to Hildred, a happy, joyous Ilight in his blue eyes H An hour later He left the hotel. gHis heart was right, his handsome Iface was bright with the great love ithat animated his whole soul. He iwas going to meet Hildred, to tell Iher that she was the one woman in Sail the world for him, and make her jfpromise to be his wife. There was ibut one shadow—the parting that gmust take place, It would bo lor ionly a few days; but a few days were alike an eternity to hinu. He won■dered how he would be able to bear git—how he would be able to listen lin jatience to his father's cocciplaints, or to meet Constance Clinton iwith a falsehood in his heart, with Ifblsehood'upon his lips. It would ail idepend upon Daventry. He had pro* iraised to follow Daventry's counsel. | He walked through the village to |Mr Dudley's ftop. By this time his Stall figure had become familiar to the Itradesmen of Llanthorne. They gnndded. and shouted good morninig, land Clifford responded pleasantly.' |He smiled to himself as he pictured ILord Manthorpe's horror could he Ihave witnessed his heir fraternising iwith tradesfolk. 1 The florist's door was standing lopen. Saturday was his busy day in the season, and the old man was fussing behind the counter. 'Good morning, Mr Dudley!' Fsaid Clifford. 'Where is Sweetbrier?' The old florist did not replyjfor a moment; then he said: 'Close the door, if you please.' His manner was cold, his voice tremulous., 'Certainly!' Percy responded. 'I hope that nothing is wrong, Mr Dud-i ley—that Sweetbrier is well?' Thel •young man Hpoke eagery, anxiously.! I'My granddaughter is well, thankl you, and in the garden. Ah—how myl nonnie lass loves the flowers and thel sunshine! I think that she is waiting for you, Mr Clifford; but 1 want to satisfy myself that I am doing right in permitting you to make love to my Sweetbrier.* | TO BBS CONTIXIJED