A TERRIBLE MISTAKE

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10049, 23 May 1910, Page 2

A TERRIBLE MISTAKE

CHAFTEK Xlll.—Continued.

S 'I shall have to thank you for the sweetest treasure that ever fell to the lot of mas;, Ptrcy said, his blue eyes shining with passion; 'your peerleas granddaughter—my nailing little Sweetbrier!' The gardener smiled faintly. The fire-of youth had long since left his shrunken veins. He was thinking of his garden and the fierce, vindicative eyes of Robert Winters. '1 came to Llanthorne to-day,' Clifford continued," to u.ake a request which I hardly Knew how to put into suitable words— I came almost doubtful of complete success; but, in the face of recent events, I feel that my object is already secured. Mr Dudley, I want Hildred to marry me at once —I want to feel that nothing on earth can part us again. I am not a poor man, and my greatest delight will be to surround my beautiful wife with every comfort, if not every luxury, which helps to make life worth living.' He looked eagerly at his darling's downcast eyes and blushing face.

'You want to take my child away from me,' the gardener said, with quivering lips. 'I shall be a lonsly old man; and then there is Winters. He threatened to kill me for the hollow promises I have made him. He is a desperate man—there is mad blood in his veins. His father died in a fit of madness.'

Clifford regarded the old man's weak face thoughtfully.

'Mr Dudley, we will dismiss that blustering scoundrel from our calculations altogether,' he said. 'I am too happy even to feel angry with him. Hildred and I will talk matters over very calmly, and this evening our plans can be lully arranged.'

At that moment a customer entered the shop, and the gardener walked away, murmuring something about his garden and his beautiful flowers. 'Sweetbner, the sun is shining again,' Percy fondly whispered. 'A little while since its golden face was hidden by a great black cloud, and a sharp wind was sweeping up from the sea. Now there i<< not a oark spot in the whol<? of the sky. Do you know, darling, 1 felt a little of the impending trouble, and my blood grew chill within me when I glanced up the station platform and saw that you were not therr.'

She dung closely to him, and murmured soft woras of endearment.

'You love me, do jou no*, Perc,? You will ever love, int, ck-a, ? '

'Why need you aak uic' u<~ |jhtsi.(i.ately cried. 'Havel i.ot giv*-n you my whole heart I shall ever bless iue day when I first beheld my cmside the village schoolhouse." 'I am dissatisfied with myself,' she replied; 'and at times I think that lam not worthy of you, Percy; and the people here have said unkind things. I know that you are a gentleman, that your education is far superior to mine. I hear ic in every tone of your voice, I see it in every gesture of your hands, and it makes me miserable. Why should you make so many sacrifices for my sake?'

'lf I make any sacrifice at all, my darling, it is because I love you and honour you more than any other woman I have ever seen.'

There was passion in his eyes and in his voice.

'And you want to marry me at once, she dreamily murmured. 'lt seems so strange, Percy! I did not think of being married for a long, long time.' She blushed vividly. 'lf you lived to regret it, I should die!' 'Regret it?' he echoed. 'My dear love, what strange fancies you have! Our lives shall be like an idyllic dream. I will surround you with beautiful things. You shall never know an unhappy moment if I can shield you from it. ¥ou are a gem that would do justice to a splendid setting. You are the loveliest girl in all England!'

1 'You frighten me when you talk like that, You see me only through the eyes of a lover, while I am quite aware of my own shortcomings. My hope, my fondest wish is to work with you, to help you in your profession, to be to you a true helpmate. Tell me, Percy, what your profession is?' He flushed and hesitated. Dare he tell her the truth. Dare he say, '1 am Lord Percy Clifford and my father is one of the wealthiest jand most powerful peers in England?' He looked into the eager face, the questioning eyes. £ 'Would you like to be a very great lady, Hildred?' he inquired, half playfully, half earnestly. 'Mo!' she said decidedly. 'I am not fitted for it; I should be unhappy. I | belong to the workaday world—a world that I love.' 'lt is possible to find congenial employment in any sphere,' he thoughtfully remarked. 'I do not think so. But what nonsense we are talking, Percy! Are you aware, prevaricator, that you have not yet answered my question? One of the most important items to discuss before marriage is ways and i means, even when two people love J as we do!' I

f BY IF. L. DACEE, 5 1 1 l» Author of—The Doctor's Secret, A Case for the Court, |» j? Sir John's Heiress, A Loveless Marriage, *? I • Trenholme'sTrmt, Etc. /

He laughed constrainedly. 'I am a musician, Hildred.' '\ composer?' 'Yes, but not a very brilliant one. I have more than a thousand pounds saved, darling—enough to last us for a long time!' He impressed a rapturous kiss upon the cherry lips. 'I have visions of a lovely cottage, surrounded by pretty flower gardens, and my dear wife the sweetest flower of all.' 'You are too good to me. Percy,' she half tearfully whispered. 'You give so much for so little. And there is that debt of grandfather's, which terrified me so much! But I will work hard; I will Rive lessons in music and French'—she blushed a little—her French was not pure Parisian—'and repay you for all that you have done for paor grandfather. No, no! You ahgll not deny me that gratification, Percy! It is my duty, because we cannot leave him here. He must accompany us, or that man will kill him!' She yiiivered. Percy winced slightly. He had net taken that matter into consideration, and it was lucky that he had not proclaimed that he v>ss a wealthy aristocrat. For a time the plan might work, and then, when the whole truth was known, Mr Dudley could be left in possession of the cottage.

'My darling,' he said, 'I will agree to anything and everything you may suggest. I live only for your happiness, and your happiness ia mine.' 'A little while since,' Hildred murmured, 'I had no thought of leaving Llanthorne, no thought !of leaving th.s cottage and the dear old garden! You remember that I told you, so, dear?' The beautiful head dropped, and the sweet voice went on; 'My dreams were perhaps foolish ones, Percy. I believed that we should all live here together, and that my <vork «t the school would go on as usual. But now I want to go away—a. long way from away from the cruel people who have slandered you, and, most of all, away from Robert Winters. His revengeful eyes, his rage distorted lace, will haunt me for long years!' 'Your slightest wish is my law,' he said vehemently. 'There are many beautiful places in the country. We will choose one with gardens and greenhouses, one where your father will not miss one of his greatest pleasures. And now, my darling, I must speak to you about the immediate future, I have left my father at home, very ill, perhaps dying. At the best he cannot live many weeks, and I want to be married immediately, by special license!'

! She started violently, the fair face turned rosy red. 'I forgot to ask about your father, Percy,' the girl gently said. 'I thought only of my own troubles. Tell me all about him, dear!' 'There is not much to tell—only that his life hangs by a mere thread; and I want you to marry me before he dies. It is a fancy of mine—a fervent desire. I want to know that nothing on earth can part us, darling. I can apply for a special license this afternoon, through the rector of Llanthorne, and he can marry us npxt Tue&day. Then we will to this place, and settle down in some lovely spot, where life will pass like a summer dream.' He had a passing vision-of Manthorpe Park, of the grand old baronial hall, the woods,the hundreds of fertile acres, and he sighed..

"Let me think, Percy,' Hildred murmured. 'I cannot realise it yet. It is like a fairy story from a book!' The blue eyes sparkled, the fair, sweet face was upturned to his. 'And you will never regret loving me, dear? I am only a simple country maid.Let not the glamor of your love blind you!* 'I am not so boyish that I'do not know my own mind, darling!' There was reproach in his voice. 'How can you doubt me? 1 ' 'I do not doubt you, Percy. lam only afraid that you see me without my imperfections. I should die if you were disappointed concerning me. I have given my whole heart and soul —my fond, enduring, undivided love. I never thought of love until you taught me You are my first love and my last. I have made you my king.l have endowed you with all the , a* great and noble man—a hero without blot or blemish. If I lost faith in you I shouid lose faith in Heaven! ,1 think that I am jealous, too, after a strange fashion ; I could not bear ~to belivee that you ever whispered words of admirationjnto another woman's ear —that youfover touched another woman's face or lips. I want to be all in all to you, as you are to me." TO BE CONTINUED