A TERRIBLE MISTAKE

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10032, 5 July 1910, Page 2

A TERRIBLE MISTAKE

2* BY t. I. DACRE, 3 ? Author of— l he Doctor's Secret, A Case for the Court, U 2* Sir John's Heiress, A Loveless Marriage, * Trenholme's Trust, Etc. /

CHaPIER XXXIII. -Continued. 2 "You will take an interest in life as you grow stronger, and time dulls the edge of your mief," Ur Munro proceeded in even toces. "No matter what calamity befalls us, hope is never really dead, my lord " Lord Man+horpe moved a lht'.e impatiently, and' the doctor hastened on to what he felt W bej*» unpleasant task. CHAPTER XXXV. A REMORSELESS SINNEK. "Lord Mar.thorpe," Doctor Munro resumed, "you have declared that nothing I can say to you will give you offence, that no suggestion I may offer will be regarded by ycu as an impertinence. You are aware that I have been making certain inquiries solely for your information. Personally, I cared nothing about your affairs; but I could not help hearing much of the romantic relations which for a long time existed between yourself and the ward of the late earl, Miss Constance Glinton."

A little frown passed over Lord Mantborpe's bryw, but he encoutaaed the doctor to proceed. "Your father's eccentric will has been set forth in the newspapers; it has been talked about in every club in London, at every fashionable five o'clock tea in England. Society is disgusted, and everybody sympathises with you. . The reason is not far to seek. Ihe character of Mi' Daventry has been freely discussed in a trustworthy society journal, and much has been exposed which would never have seen the light of day but for your kinsman'd sudden leap from comparative obscurity. In a'spirit of reckleoß defiance he has started upon a caretr of bare-faced profligacy. He does not dream that the provisions of the eail's will may yet be fulfilled—that Here, is the ghost of a chance of their due performance. Now, as a man of the world, setting all sentiment aside, I lay your duty befote you—for the B&ke of your ancient name—for the sake of posteiity. Ycu married for love, but the wife vou wor&hipped is in heaven. Nothing can restore her to you—nothing can urn o the past; but the future is in your hands. There is no longer a bar to a m image between you aid Miss Glinton; there is no longer anj reason wh your father's will thoald i ot be obey ed and the schemes nf a scoundrel completely frustrated !" The doctor watched Lord Manthorpe's face with keen anxieiy. When be, finished speaking he sprang to his feet ana waited, "You have heard me, my lord?'" he asked at last.

"Yes, doctor, I have heard all that you have said," was the strain ed reply. The young man's eyes were foil of pain and reproach. "You do not understand how repugnant your suggestion is to me, or it would never have paßßtd your lips, i have loved once, and my heart is buried with my wife. Nothing on earth would induce me to marry again!" And the doctor knew that his words were true.

The same day Lord Manthorpc wrote to Constance Glinton. He felt ♦hat it was a duty he owed both to himself and to her. Here is what he wrote:

"My desr Constance: Ynu will be astonished to hear from me after a silence which must have been very puzzling to you, if you cared to think of me at all. I have been ill for weeks unto death nearly, and from the bottom of my heart I wish that I had died! Life has no pleasure, no brightness for me. Constance, my wife is dead—my poor little Hildred, whom I loved with a love that only angela could envy, has gone from me forever. I will not tell you in what manner she died—the effort would be too terrible. Let it suffice for the present that I am in good hands, and that I am recovering surely. When I realised, many long weeks since, that I was desolate, I was strickeD with brain fever. I was a stranger here, and could give no account of myself. Some one carried me to the house-of Doctor Munro, and this noble-heart-ed man has cared for me with almost a woman's tenderness and affection. I am convalescent, and ail danger is past. I know that it will relieve your natural anxiety to hear from me.—B.ncerely yours, PERCY." To this letter there was an immediate reply, accompanied by a xegistertd packet. Constance Glinton was greatly delighted to learn that Percy was ont of danger, and tendetly sympathetic regarding his bitter bereavement. "The document enclosed with this letter," she wroti, "will be of mournful interest to you. Percy. 1 received it only two aajs since; and you will find an account of Owen Daventry's tragic end in the newspapers. Nothing now stands between you and your rightful inheritance. If Doctor Munro cares to bo relieved of his patient, Lady Locksley would like to see you here at once^

upon a matter of urgent import ance."

Lord Manthorpe turned to'the enclosure with feveriah eagerness. It was jn Davemtry's handwriting, and addressed to Miss Glinton. It appeared to be a confession of somo kind, having been duly witnessed by John Stoner, the valet, and Mr Birch, the land steward. Having noticed so much, Lord Manthorpe proceeded to read what filled him with astonishment, loathing and pity. "I have" al#ay§ believed that. I had the lUck of Satan as well ws ray own; but. if I ever possessed it, I am deserted at last. lam dying at Man • thorpe Park, and I curse my unhappy fate! It hjis been said that there Is some good in the hearts even of the worst of men, and I suppose that i there is a little good in mine, or I \ should not trouble to make this confession in the interests of justice., and render my own memory still more ' infamous. I have ever been a plausible, lying schemer; but I swear that every word written down here is true. "I have had two serious misfortunes in my life The first was my being born of aristocratic parents who had nothing with which to support their dignity and pretensions; the second misfortune was that of falling passionately in love with a woman who spurned me. I determined, however, to conquer even fate itself. The first step was, at any cost, to obtain wealth and power: and lor a tmie fortune appeared to favour me at every turn. My uncle, Lord Manthorpe, became attached to me, and doubled my beggarly allowance. He confided his wayward son to my care, and, in my own potent way, I effected an estrangement between them. I need not dwell upon my methods. I next succeeded m making myself aimost mdijpensable to Lord Manthorpe. I knew that he was suffering from heart disease, and was liable at any time to die suddenly. He was weak, mentally and physically; a terrible accident in Scotland had completely broken him up, and my influence became paramount. Nothing was done until I had been consulted, and I began to regard myself as master of Manthorpe Park. At first it was a mere dream, then in my mind it became a fixed reality. I would be master of Manthorpe even if I could not bear the title; and there were times when that also seemed almost within my grasp. Two lives between that which I co\eted—a dying man and an impulsive, hotheaded youth! "I will not detail my schemes here; but from more than one imbroglio, in which I was the secret moving spirit, my. cousin Percy emerged only by the skin of his teeth. Though he apparently oore a charmed life, his escapades bacame notorious. Gradually the awful truth forced itself upon the earl—his only son was a mad-brained scamp and' a spendthrift. My power increased correspondingly, and my strong will carried all before me. All? No—l am wrong. That which I coveted most of all was denied me—the love of the woman who had bewitched me—the love that was my doom. "It has been said that, when the object of a man's passion is beautiful and good., his soul is ennobled. My love for the earl's ward, Miss Constance Glinton, burned within me like fire in a furnace. It wa3 the earl's proud hope that Miss Glinton would marry Lis son Percy, and 1 think that I hated them both for it as much as I loved her. Was my soul ennobled by my great love? No—a thousand times no! Bather was it filled with Satanic fires. I had peacD neither by day nor by night for Miss Glintun spurned me with cruel scorn; I had no peace until I found that my cousin did not care for her —that he loved another. My exultation v/as so great that for a while I permitted matters to slide easily. \ was the adviser and friend of both father and eon, and I had succeeded in alienating the affections of both. "Under the influence of my will, the earl made a new disposition of his property—one wholly in my favour. Clifford must marry Miss Glinton within a. year of his lordship's death, or he would forfeit all right to the estates. Jt was a remarkable will in every way; and, whe I had seen my cousin safely married to the country girl who had won his heart, [ was dazed by the golden splendour of my future. TO BE CONTINUED