A TERRIBLE MISTAKE

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10041, 11 May 1910, Page 2

A TERRIBLE MISTAKE

CHAPTEIt IV. Continued. 'Percy, you have vrijihtcnet] me. i wish that you wer,- p<n>r a a wo are. do not want a grand house. -I s!.on ; <! be happier with y<.-u in a cottage, am not fit for the i.■> iiiio'i of a g-.vA lady, and you wotA: .-'oo-! be ashamed of me Then there is «r;n.:H'nU>er!' Clifford's brow do*.der.i for a i: ment. Yes; was lU'jmdiViKa' countrified in mair-or and speech, would be impossible to introduce hi- : to Lord Manthorpe. Tin: idea was absurd! It was an unpleasant question, and he dismissed it, fur the moment 'Ashamed of you, Swc-etbrier' Le whispered tenderly, passionately. 'And why should we not have a preuy cottage, if it pleas.a my marling.' Sbe raised her tear-stained fa-:--: to hiI', 1 ', atid smiled up at hi™, truefully. 'I am a silly girl,' she said. 'I i<\'< miserable because I do not ! worthy of you.' 'You aie a queen amoiiß women.' 'But 1 have r.o aceompliehmem;-:, I Percy. lam shy and awkwasd. '1 i> " i lady of tbo manor spoke to mo once and I trembled so much that I eo;. only state at her stupidity. If y ever becaii.e asliamtd cf use I ahowlo die.'

'I have no fear,' he eaid. He spoke with ail the confidence of a fond lover. 'Now, I want you io be yu-rc old bright self again, swcetheaJt. This should be one of the happier.!; days in our lives. Our vows have been spoken, and Heaven has beard them; we are bound together until death! All nature seem;; to smiie approval; the birds are singing, the trees are murmuring mufiic in the fragrant breeze' There is iio cloud in the beautiful summer sky.' At that moment Clifford wondered why he was so favoured by Heaven. He had won the love of this peerless girl, and he was supremely happy. 'Our love has been like a summer idyl,'he went on. 'Do you ft member the April day when I saw you entering the old schcolhouKe? Do you remember that blessed cay. Sweetbriar?'

She lookeri into his lovelit eyes, and the sweet mouth quivere.i. 'Can I ever forget it?' she whispered.

chapter v. "A CLIFFORD NEVER BROKE A PKOMISE SOLEMNLY GIVEN."Clifford was a dutiful son and he loved hia .father with a great love. He had only one grievance. Lord Mantborpe continued to treat him as though he were still a boy in years. Upon no point was the young man consulted, and the question of his likea or dislikes never appeared to enter Lord Manthorpe's head. At the same time his lordship seemed to be only too ready to listen to the advice of his kinsman, Owen Daventry. If new carriages or hurses were wanted, Daventry had to be consulted; if it was considered advisable that some trees should be cut down, Daventry was called into solemn conclave; while Percy's opinion uf on any subject was deemed of no moment.

'You treat my cousin as though he were the heir,' he once said a little resentfully.

Upon that occasion a mangificent old oak had been cut down because Daventry had a great fear of lightning, and he had read somewhere that the oak had a mysterious attraction foi it. 'Your cousin is a man of the world, Percj,' his father indulgently replied; 'a man of sound judgment and keen discernment. We Cliffords were never remarkable for business aptitude, and I should be quite at a loss but for Daventry.' ' 'I don't see what thbt has to do with the demolition of the finest tree on the estate!' Percy grumbled. 'I loved every branch of it. I shall hate to use the south drive again. It will never be the same to me. It waß an act of vandalism, father.' The earl looked both aegry and distressed. 'I cannot argue the question with you!' he sharply said. 'You are only a boy 'I am cf less importance than a boy,' was the retort; '1 am a nonentity !' And there the matter ended. Upon another occasion, Percy walked into the library in search of a book. His father and Daventry were there, engaged in earnest talk, but the moment he entered the conversation ceased. He deeply resented such treatment, and his heart was filled «<i(h anger and mortification. His cousin's oily, persuasive tones became hateful to him. When he went abroad, it was Daventry who planneJ everything, and it was Daventry who kept up a regular correspondence with the earl. At last Clifford could no longer endure the espionage of his cousin, and did not scruple to call him a toady and a spy. Daventry bore the abuse with apparent fortitude and meekness.

'I have a duty to perform,' he said: 'a duty for which iam paid—and I cannot afford to quarrel with my bread and butter. I am an nnfor-

BY *. 1. .;>SCRE, Author vt —Tlio Doctor'-". A Caso for the Court, / '■Mr .IVisn's H . '■ V, -xMarriage, TiOis.hoA.uA; A" A:., Sic.

• offshoot without prospects. If -jr., happened to you, the earl • .»W nf«irgive me.' ■* tiling happened to me? I i"i tind'.TStand you.' aver, try shrugged his shoulders. Y- u arc young, high-spirited, ira- ■ ■ • . i-iio able- You might fight a duel, , i in !ove, or commie some other tquaiiy fooi.sh'! ' Aiirf. if 1 choose to do one of these vnngs,' IVrcy demanded, his eyes i'.K-vmsg wrath fully. 'My dear boy, don't even suggest s :c.: folly ! if either came to my ;:-.io\vieug", 1 should promptly interface. Wouid you break your father's heart? Would you destroy his dearest hopes? Your iutur« wife has :Tjen chosen for you, and she loves you devotedly. Miss Glinton is not only or.e of the loveliest girls in England, but an heiress; and ' The remainder of the speech w: s iost, for Pt;rcy turned away angrily. He was deiermined to part from Dav :isi.i\\ that very day,- and sat down t.i write a letter of explanation to Lord iVianthorpe, The letter was itt ver mailed, for news? wss received ..■£ a serious accident to the earl, which had resulted in partial paraljsi3. For Lord Manthorpe's sake, the cuusins agreed that an open rupture was impossible; and Daventry had the good sense to become less officious.

The earl had received a severe shock—an injury to the spine—and there vzaa no hope of complete recovery. His illness .aged him years in a few weeks, and thus it was that Percy realised how fondly, how passionately loved him. The noctors said that he might live for years, but it would be o?iiy by bis being spared all excitement, and the young man thanked Heaven that the letter has not been sent. 'My mental agony vsaa terrible,' Lord Manthorpe said to his son, 'lest 1 should die before you came home, Percy. 1 wanted to tell you that my dearest wish is for you tn make Constance Glinton your wife. I know that there is a sort of tacit understanding upon the pcint, but I want your promise my son. Constance is to me as if she were my own daughter; she has lived here sinca she was a little child, and no other woman must reign at Manthorpe Park."

Even then Percy felt that this was not a request but a command. He must marry Constance Glinton because his father wished him to do so. He had no voice in the matter. He looked from the window at the green terraces ana lawns below. The roses were nodding in the summer wind; the bees were humming in the golden sunshine. 'You heard me, Percy?' the sick man impatiently questioned. 'Yes, father.' 'And if I should die suddenly, you will remember my wish? A Clifford never broke a promise solemnly given.' Percy did not speak for a little while. He had not yet thought seriously of marriage, but he knew that it would be impossible to temporise with the earl. 'I love Constance dearly" he said at last. 'lndeed, it would be impossible not to love one so sweet, bo beautiful, so good! The Park loses all its brightness when Constance is away.' He hesitated, conscious that his affection waß that of a devoted brother. Well?' the earl queriously demanded. 'But father, surely Constance has some right to be consulted upon a matter which will affect her whole future life! I have never made love to her, or treated her as other than a dear si3ter.'

'Then you must speak to her today, Percy—bow ! I have no fear for the result. Do you think that I have not watched the child? At the mention of your name her eyes light up with happiness; at the sound of your footstep a heightened colour flies to her cheeks. You two are nearly of the same age; but she is a woman, while you are a boy. If you do not perceive how much she loves you, others are not so blind. Go to Constance at once, and then come back to me.'

Percy remerobeted the doctor's warning, and bowed his head. 'I will take a walk in the grounds,' he thought, 'and consider what I am to say to Constance. The business is not at all tojny liking.' But even this poor consolation was denied him. As he crossed the sunlit lawn the figure of a woman emerged from the shadow of a great mass of evergreen shrubs. In one of her delicate white har.ds was a bunch of crimson roses, and she was bending 'almost reverently over the beautiful flowers. She was moving slowly, but with indescribable grace. There was something regal in every line of the tall, supple form. 'A queenly woman!' thought Clifford. 1 TO BS CONTINUED