A SECRET FOE

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10130, 5 January 1911, Page 2

A SECRET FOE

(OUR SERIAL. 1 ).

O'„ i, mmrm I, IiERTRUDE WARDEN. Author of "Scoundrel or Saint P" "The-Secret of a Letter," 'A Bold lW.flDtion," "The Wooing, of a Fairy," "Tho Crime ok Monte Carlo," etc.

CHAPTER XXll.—Continued. As soon as lie found himself alone Drogo made his way to tho stables and sought or.l "Wheeler, whom he knew to be \Lo .r.rooni referred to by the detective. "Wheeler," he caid, taking the man aside, and fixing his bright dark eyes upon him, "I have just \ learned that you recognised the person who threw the vitriol at Lady Cazalet." "Recognised—sir," stammered the groom. "The person," pursued.-..Drogo, "was Miss Dagmar Mallyon." "Lord forgive her, sir, but you •are right!" . CHAPTER. XXni. LORD MALLYON'S PLOT. The testimony of Wheeler, the groom, was requisitioned from another quarter on the following morning, when,, as he fully, expected,., he was summoned to his master's study. U I hope you followed my instructions yesterday, Wheeler ?" Lord I Mallyon began, after a few remarks, ' concerning the horses. He was sitting by his. desk, affecting to be absorbed by" some letters he held in his hand, and speaking in a careless, absent-minded manner, which did not for a minute deceive his servant. "I mean," he added, after* a slight pause, "I trust that you looked after Lady Mallyon, and saw that she was not annoyed by tramps?" ' "Yes, my lord. I followed her ladyship at a distance, until .she was joined by Mr Gordon." 'The colour : died out of' Lord Mallybn's face,.but he w,ent on staring mechanically," at the papers before him. . ... 'What is that you'were saying, Wheeler?'' he said, pretending that :h,e\ftad : iiot heard;; ■ "fr*.v.;";.' ~.:'...:■. "Only that when Mr Drogo Gordon joined her ladyship, as she was sitting on a bench, waiting, I knew that she was all right, my lord." "Quite so. '., I had communicated to Mr Gordon my fears concerning Lady Mallyon, as I do not like, her to vratk' about alone. I suppose Mr Gordon came back in the carriage?". "No, my lord. Her ladyship sat and talked to him for some minutes, and then ju- - him by the seat and drove home." ' , ■ ''Abb That will do, Wheeler." ■ With a wave "of his hand, Lord Mallyon, dismissed the man, as if he were quite unconcerned by the 'news. As .soon as he was. alone, however, the papers dropped from his hands, and with a deep sigh he sank into an armchair before his . desk. Old age seemed to' have come Upon him suddenly. He felt ill, cold, helpless and miserable: , Of a keenly*' suspicious . nature, aud. inclined to lay the. smallest possible value upon ; woman's honor and woman's truth,' Lord Mallyon was the more easily convinced of his young wife's faithlessness. Had he been told of the marriage of a man of his age with a. lovely girl of nineteen, he would have mocked the foolish, doting husband, who had imagined that he could win the heart of so young a woman whenunder the same roof resided a former sweetheart of five and. twenty. He could have laughed aloud at Ih> .own fatuity, at one moment, and at the next his heart burned with anger against the woman who would .bring, dishonour upon the name he had striven so long to keep brilliant and untarnished in the eyes of the world. At least he would be no; easilydeceived, complaisant husband: , He was still attractive and distinguished enough in appearance to be loved as Iris could not, or would not, lovehim. He would watch her closely, spy upon her every movement, and, if his suspicions' proved correct, he would whistle .her off with little compunction, divorce her and make her. name a byrword as a bride who could not for one month keep her troth. Just as he arrived at this stage in his reflections a tap at the study door heralded the entrance of Dagmar. Iris' evil star was certainly .. in the ascendant, when, at this crii tical point in'ljer fortunes, her bitterest .enemy came upoir Lord Mallyon. " " < . ■;' ,'.. "You' look tired, Uncle Jasper,": Dagniar 'began, with an appearance of.. great concern, 'and worried. Are you ill, or is anything troubling you?". Laying her hand on his: shoulder where he sat, she gazed into his face with what ( looked like tender concern. Secretly she was full of triumph, divining that some of her j evil scheming was bearing fruit.

There is nothing the matter with me," ho answered, affectionately patting the hand which lay upon his shoulder. •"This will case is rather perplexing, that is all." Even while he spoke he remembered that on the following morning his lawyer was coming by appointment to draw up his own will, a ceremony he had omitted to perform since his marriage. But the events of the last twenty-four hours had,so altered the tenor of his disposition that he hardly knew what instructions he should give to tho man. In any case if Iris.; was unfaithful, to .him, ,Im.' must have certain proof as soon as possible. "' "By the way, Dagmar," ho said, still retaining her hand, "Drogo Gordon wants to leave my service. Now, you are an exceptionally clever, girl, and you have known him for a good while.' Can you assign any reason why he should wish to leave ?" "I think I can guess." "Tell me, then, I am curious to I know." I Dagmar lowered*her eyes, and afi focted to be confused. i "Well, uncle," she stammered at I last, "of course you know—well, you can suppose that meeting Iris as your wife mugt be -a little awkward to Mr Gordon." . "Indeed, why so." "Surely you know," she answered raising her eyes in what looked like innocent surprise, "that Mr Gordon used to be passionately in love i with Iris, and even,as I believe*, engaged to, her?"' .' ~ v.. ... . 'How could that be, knowing her so short a time, and meeting her so seldom?" " ; . "<■ "Oh, Uncle Jasper, love has nothing to 'do with' time! And they metfar oftener than you imagine. But I ought not to chatter about what is all over— —" :••".' "Is it all over, Dagmar ?"> s . •;; His face looked white and drawn and old, and he seemed to hang upon her answer with a helplessness quite unusual to .him. She looked back into his eyes with an anxious, troubled exher own, and then, covering her face with her hands, she broke into what, sounded like nervous, hysterical sobbing, piece of acting being easy enough to her in her excited state of mind. "Oh dear, dear uncle! I hope—l do hope it will come right," she murmured. "Think how young Iris is, j and how little she knows of the world, or of,the dreadful way in which some people talk. lam sure, quite surei she means no harm. He saved her life .' as you know, and she loved him so -'much for that——" : - "Did she ever tell you so?" "No—yes—oh, don't ask me!" "When did.she confide hi;you?" , "I used to arrange that they should' • meet when she was the children's governess. It was in the Flower Walk in Kensington Gardens that he asked her to marry him, and she accepted; and as soon as she went away to that hotel he went to visit her, and they made love, of all places in the world, in the cloisters of Westminster Abbey! But -you must not judge her too harshly. Wealth and.position are terrible temptations for a girl who has no money at all; and, of course, Mr Gordon is very poor. Then. Iris was very .grateful to you, and 'it .'seemed, no doubt, too good a chance to, be missed;: Most girls would have behaved as she did. I myself, as you know, would ! rather lie poor than marry for money; but that's because, if I loved a man; I could find it in my heaftto starve' for him. Indeed, lam very sorry for Mr Gordon, he must have felt your marriage terribly, poor fellow; ,and it is not \wohderful that he wants to leave the house. Dear uncle, if I might venture to advise you, let him go. Don't try to keep him. For the sake of your own happiness, f6r the sake of Iris' honour and good name, let him go." Tears were rolling down her cheeks, and she clasped her hands in a supplicating gesture as she stood befoi'e him. It was little wonder that Lord Mallyon was completely deceived by the artful blending of truth with false- - hood in her story,.every word of which told home and produced upon him exactly the effect she desired. He was under, the impression: that she knew more than she would say, and he listened, with his mouth set hard, and with drawn brows, as she continued speaking. (To be Continued.)