A SECRET FOE

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10158, 3 January 1911, Page 2

A SECRET FOE

(OUR SERIAL. 1

iy uERTRUDE WARDEN.

Author of VSccSSI or Saint?" 'The Secret of a Letter," "A Bold iWDtion," "The Wooing of a Fairy." '-The Crime oi Monte Carlo," etc.

CHAPTER XXx—Continued. j The man obeyed the halt-command of the ton?. Clearly Lord Mallyon j was not actuated by any very passionate personal interest iri discovoi- j ing the assailant of his old friend, ( although he had sent almost .daily to j Caasilet Lodge for news of her. The , duty of spying on the beautiful Lady | Mallyon was not congenial altogether ! to Wheeler. In an instant he had divined that it was something more than a tramp which incited Lord Mallyon's fears, but lie was hardly propared for the result of his mission. In Richmond Park .011 .this ideal j early winter morning , the breeze blew fresh and invigorating, whistling in J the dry, brown bracken, and making < the dead leaves swirl and eddy. Scar- : ecly a touch of frost was in the air, ; and the sun shone strong and bright from a sky of cloudless blue, but for ihe long,. light, "mackerel" wind clouds. Iris simply revelled in tho great open space of the park, in the tall trees, and blue distances, and almost as soon as the Star and Garter gates were passed she ordered the carriage to stop, and descended from | it. ; I

She longed to be alone, to take in leep drafts of the fresh, clear air, tnd to think.. It seemed almost lier irst-'opportunity for thought since ler marriage. The honeymoon had i 3een a tiresome dream, during which she had been splendidly dressed, 'ed anddodged in various palatial and high-priced hotels, and liad been driv--2n through much fino scenery, always with a bewildered headache, and dominated by the constant presence of Lord Mallyon, whom she admired and respected, and to whom she was very grateful, but whom she could not love, and of whom she was secretly afraid. . , . Since that anonymous letter, top, she had regarded him in a new light, and had begun to wonder, ather.; for-" merSfolly'iiimakingagod' of Kim, and in supposing that because he was one of the wisest he must necessarily be one of the best of mankind. Little artful speeches slipped in here And there by Ddgmar in the course of what appeared to bo her. spontaneous chatter, had remained in Iris' mind. Allusions to her husband as a ' 'retired Lovelace,". a ' 'married rake," a "reformed Don <|uan," and similar titles, had struck unpleasantly upon Lady Mallyon's ears, and tears of humiliation rushed into her eyes ; and now, as she . sank upon a seat, in a quiet portion of the park overlooking Petersham Meadows and valley, she thought about her present position.. Hers, was essentially not a strong nature, or strong alone in purity and singleness of purpose, and not either in will or passion. She loved to idealise and look up to those whom she loved, and to discover that they fell'lamentably short of the standard she had raised for them hurt her terribly. "Why did I not stay in America ?'' she asked herself, as she press.ed "her. gloved fingers to her eyes in the vain endeavour to repress her tears. "Life was so easy there; it seems so difficult here. One lias to be always acting a part. Dagmar has every right to detest me, as I see now, if her nature were less generous and noble; Lord Mallyon has /looked at me once or twice this morning with a strange, hard coldness which frightens me, and Drogo Gordon despises me."

laid for her. "I liad a lonn talk with Miss' Mallyon, and I must'tell you ono thing, which, of course, you and I, too, ought to have guessed at once —Dagmar has been secretly married to Mr Fitzalan for more than a year." "Is it possible? She really loves him, then?" "She adores him in a wav that I do not understand at all. But then; as Dagmar says, 1 must be very cold——'' 'Are you cold, Lady Mallyon?" The next moment lie regretted his audacious question. But some voice within him seemed to speak the words without his volition. She glanced at him with troubled eyes, and flushed-deeply.-That is not what wo were talking about, is it?" she said gently. "I want to speak to you of Dagmar. It seems like betraying her secret to tell you, but I am certain that you will respect the confidence I place in you. You .see, I was obliged to tell you. I could not have you misjudge Dagmar a moment longer." "But, Lady Mallyon, do you not see that this, marriage supplies Mr Fitzalan with a motive for his attempt to compass Lord Mallyon's death on board the .ship ?" Iris became paler 1 .

Two tears rolled beneath her fingers. The man Wheeler was too far off to see that his mistress was crying. What he did .see, and the ,sight, almost drew from him, the stableman's, expressive whistle of comment, was the tall, athletic figure of a man, young, with curly dark hair, and brown eyes, under low, straight, bkck brows, crossing swiftly across the dead leaves' toward the bench on which Lady Mallyon was sitting. And the newcomer was Mr Drogo Gordon, Lord- Mallyon's godson and private secretary! Iris looked up in astonishment at the sound of Drogo' voice, and found him standing before-her, flushed with his walk from Richmond Station in the wind, strong, erect and handsome, as a man of his *age should be. "Why, what brings you here, all this way from London?" ,she asked simply, while she gave him her hand in greeting, and hoped that he would not notice" the traces of; tears on her face. "I had an appointment in Rich mond with a friend/' he answered, with some restraint, which she failed to notice. "Now', have you nothing further to say to me on the subject which we were discussing when we were Interrupted yesterday?" "Oh, a great deal. Pray sit down here, Mr Gordon," she said, falling i innocently into the trap Dagmar had

"I had not thought of it in that light," she said. "It seem too terrible ! What must we do! Ought Lord Mallyon to know?". " "He is safe,, at least now, from a similar attempt," Drogo observed thoughtfully. . "As far as I know lie has made no will since his marriage; and even when he doe", he has declared that Miss Mallyon will not benefit by Uie document." ■ -But to think that any-one should wish to kill him for the sake of his money!" she began in a shocked whisper. Drogo shrugged his shoulders. "People wiJKdo 'a great deal for' the sake of money," he remarked in caustic tones. ' :: ' . .' She turned in her seat and faced hini; - - . "Mr Gordon," she said simply, "do you think that I married for money?" The abrupt question caused him to grow red and embarrassed. "Lady Mallyon," he ssEid coldly, "you have already reminded me that we are here to discuss Miss Mallyon's, or rather Mrs Fitzalan's affairs." / "Is that the way the world thinks of me?" said Iris, half to herself. Then, turning to Drogo again, she said: "Mr Gordon, 1 know you to be truthful and honourable; being both, will you answer me?" "My opinion can be of no value to you, Lady Mallyon," he said, "but since you make me speak, I suppose that if Lord Mallyon had been as poor and undistinguished as, say, myself, you would certainly not "be his wife at tho present moment." • ' "You are quite wrong," she said gently. "I never for one moment imagined that Lord Mallyon would ask me to be his wife. At the moment when he did so I was penniless, homeless and friendless. Even, my good name had been cruelly assailed, and I found that earning my own.living in London exposed me to insult both from men and women. Lord Mallyon had lent me money, and found me a home. When I Avas turned out of that I sought him out, that I might justify myself in the eyes of my only friend, and show him that I was not quite so bad as others would paint me to him. In the middle of our interview Mrs Mavrogodato and her daughter called, and Lord Mallyon, who possesses a strange magnetic power over me, forced me to hide in the smokingroorii and hear what his sister-in-law had to say against, me. While my cheeks were still-burning under lier false and cruel accusations, Lord Mallyon drew me out, and asked me to be his wife, and it did. not seem possible to say no to him." V ' ' Drogo drew a long breath. "Is that how it happened," he asked. /"That is true, and all the truth,-oil my honour." . _ "Iris," broke suddenly from his lips —"why did you not come to me?" She looked into his eyes, startled bj the passion in his" tones and read there such a despairing, yearning, pent-uj: torrent of love and longing that the blood seemed to leave her heart, and the strangest answering throb to beal within it. ' Suddenly she rose, quivering a! over, and put out her hands as if tc thrust him from her. (To be Continued.)