A TERRIBLE MISTAKE

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10063, 9 June 1910, Page 2

A TERRIBLE MISTAKE

5 BY i'.fL. DACEE, 5 1 1 i» Author of—l he Doctor's Secret, A Case for th 3 Court, I, V Sir John's Heiress, A Loveless Marriage, 3 / Trei holme's Trust, Etc. /

CHAPriSI! XXII. -Continued, j "I care for you, my idol, in the old way, and much more!" she cried. "I shall care for you as long as life lasts, though I am not now the simple girl whom you wooed by the sea." . "I am answered," he asid rapturously; "and I can now face a legion of foes. Your words have made me strong." "I want you to forget the foolish things that I have said, Perfy. Theie times when I have doubted the strength of your passion, and I have been terrified; but I have been thinking over; many things, and my duty to myj;hubsand is my chief concern." "Hush!" he gently whispered; "1 am satisfied, little woman, Your unselfisuess, your freedom from vanity, only make you a thousand times more lovable in my eyes. We are both young', both impulsive, and in the i years to come we shall smile at the phantom clouds that overshadowed our honeymoon!" CHAPTER XXttl. AN APPALLING BLOW. At that moment, as Lord Percy was reassuring his young wife with the words, "In the years to come we shall smi:e at the phantom cloud that overshadowed our honeymoon," Mr ; Dudley, in hia nervous, restless way, entered the room. "The fly has been waiting for a long time," be said. " I shall ride in the cart with the luggage." They went downstairs together, and, during the drive, Percy made many resolutions which wer« destined never to be fulfilled. The servants were waiting to bz introduced to their [new master ana mistress when they arrived at the Woodlands, and, with an ease that astonished and delighted her husband, Mildred spoke '_ a kindly, gracious word to each. He I saw by their nmilmg faces' that they were agreeably impressed, and he was highly gratified. "You have conquered fill hearts within our little domain," tie said later. ' "The servants will love you, darling!" A faint flush dyed the fair face. "I hope so!" she answered, with the sweetest smile that he had seen for many a long day. "I am determined to try to do my duty. Percy, i I want you to grant me a favour." "A thousand!", was his rapturous reply. She smiled halt sadly. "Y.ou have given so much to me already, Percy. I have no desire to test ynur prodigality further." "Prodigality means waste, darling, I and I can waste nothing upon you I am vaiting with burning impatience!" "I want a maid"—Hildred flushed warmly—"or rather a companion who is conversant with everything I ought to know. There are many reduced gentlewomen who make it their | business to school inexperienced girls." "I am simply delighted with the suggestion!" Clifford declared. "But I have no fault to find with you, dear. You presided at the table to-day with ; an unconscious grace and ease at which none could cavil." "Were you'pleased with me?" The child-like eye 3 were turned toward him. "But then there were no strangers present. I am nervous and foolish only in the presence of strangers." "We are not likely to be troubled with | visitors for some time to come," he thoughtfully replied; "unless I invite Mr Sparks to the Woodlands. I think that I ought to do so in justice to you, little wife. It would be so much easier to make the inevitable explanation, and he would help me with the people at Manthorpe." "I do rot wish to know J hose ' people for a long time yet, Percy; I I am afraid of them. I should suffei j « so much by comparison." He silenced her with a kiss; but ' she added immediately: "And there is my grandfather." 1 "We will not discuss your grand- j (father," he said, with an impatient I movement. "For your sake I tolerate j him , but he is nevertheless a constant I

thorn in my side. Every difference we have had is traceable to him; and 1 now he is quarrelling with John Pitt. > I have already had a complaint. For | ! j some reason he considers himself the aggrieved party. I shall leave him in your hands entirely, Hildred. Now, let us talk of pleasanter thing?." The girl's lips quivered for a mom- ! ent; and then she looked at him j ! through a flood of tears. | "We have decided about the companion Percy. Now I thiiak you will laugh at me. I want to study French and German." j j "We will study French and Ger- j i man together, dailing." j "But I want a master." j "am I not your master?" he laugh|ed. | "I told you that you wuuld laugh at me !" she said reproachfully. "No— i am not laughing in that sense, and'you-shall have a resident | master. I think my French and German need a little brushing up, | and we shall get on famously to- I gether!" An advertisement was sent to the \ papers tnat very evening, setting forth their requirements; and, within a week, both the "lady's compan ion" and the "thoroughly qualified master of French and German" were installed at the 1 Woodlands. Hildred soon became engrossed in her lessons. She had experienced a touch of jealousy, and it was a sharp spur. She was determined to meet Miss Constance Glinton upon an equality when the crucial moment arrived. She believeJ Miss Glinton to be her rival on. all things. Her womanly instinct warned her that Lord Man-" thorpe's beautiful and clever ward loved Lord Manthurpe's son. She showed at once a wonderful aptitude in acquiring the accent and intonation of her accomplished companion. Percy was more pleased than he cared to own. "I never dreamed that there was so much determination in that small I head," he remarked one day. "Then there is some hope that you will not be ashamed of your countrybred wife when she and Miss Glinton meet." There was something in the words and tone that savoured of malice, and he winced. "Hildred," he replied, a little sternly, "have I ever ledyou to believe that I am ashamed of you?" "Unce" she answered defiantly. "I will not admit it. The circumstances were peculiar. Mr Sparks is coming to the Woodlands on Friday." She blushed warmly. "But I have not yet been compared while side by side with one of your exalted friends," she said. "This is not my own gentle, loving Hildred!" Percy sadly exclaimed. "Miss Glinton is nothing to me, darling; she is the last person in the world of whom you should be jealous. She is one of the truest, noblest of women. When she knows' you, she will | love you for your own sake as well as for mine." "I have no desire to know her!" Hildred said sharply. "I am afraid that I shall bate her! If I am jealous, it ia you who have made me so. You receive letters from Miss Glinton—letters that I never see. Is that fair to me? I am jealous because you are my husband, and I want always to be first in your thoughts, as you are in mine!" ■ He bore the repioach patiently, because his wife had truth and reason on her side. He could not honestly say that Miss Glinton'a letters were purely Gf a business nature. TO BB CONTINUE!}