Daughter of Mystery

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10231, 6 May 1911, Page 2

Daughter of Mystery

OUR SERIAL.

BY F. L. DACRE, Author of "Was He tha Man?" "A Phantom of the Past," Sir John's Heiress," "A Loveless Marriage," "The Doctor's Secret," etc.

CHAPTER I.—Continued. "Well, with God's help, all will bo made plain. My heart goes out to you, old chap. I am almost ashamed of my own happiness. I obtained a fellowship, as you know, at Oxford, and that entitled mo to an income for as i long as J remained unmarried. I settled down to confirmed bachelorhood, my great anibuio'.i being to live and work among the poor. For years I strove in London —the East End ; then at. my own request ,1 was sent here, i-.nd ( bclievo that I have done a little good; but it's uphill, disheartening work. The Northerners are a stubhorn people, but 1 ought to be satisfied." Ho smiled wistfully. "Then I married the best woman in the world, and wo work together. The living of Castle Claydon isn't a magnificent affair by any means, but money has always been a secondary consideration with me. I have no love for the flesh pots, though there are times when a little of the currency of the realm would be useful!". . _ Ho walked over to Heseltine, and linked an arm in his friend's. "Now you aro going to stay with us aa long as you are at Castle Claydon. What an odd.thing it would be for the vicar's son to have lodgings at a public house, when the vicar is' known to be a drink reform champion —and a fighting champion, too. We | have a spare room, and you won't be j in the way a little bit. It's my ser- i m-on day to-dny, but that doesn't matter. I couldn't write a line if I were offered a hundred guineas a thousand words, and my congregation must put up with second-hand' goods on Sunday?" Hfl fattgJS§B ifiGrrily, and i aid gripped his arm warmly. "Still the same old Basil, self-sacri-ficing, generous and good beyond the dreams of men." "Stuff! Now I'm off to tell Edith, and make arrangements; then you shall be introduced to my wife, and we'll have a cosy little tea in the parlour. They stick very much to oldfashioned names in . his part of the world." Speaking thus, and with a bright smile, Basil' Cooper moved swiftly from the room. j CHAPTER 11.

THE PENCIL SKETCH.

I Basil Ceoper lost no time in arranging for Heseltine's Jtay at the vicari age. There were iying feet all over the house, the sound of animated voi- | ces, little trills of laughter from a woman, and then the study door was flung open after the manner of a small whirlwind. "Here we are," cried Basil. "Ronald, this is my bou.ie wife. Edith, you have heard me talk of Ronald Heseltine until you have been tired of the name. Here he is." Ronald felt a soft hand in his huge fist, and saw before him a slim little woman, with flushed face and melting dark eyes. She was smiling up at him, she was' trembling with emotion, and those dark eyes were shining through tears. "I am so glad to meet you, Mr Heseltine, and you seem quite like an old friend." "Old friend I" repeated Basil, shamming scorn. "Why, Edith " f 'Yea—yes, I have heard all that before I Mr Heseltine, I was never 1 jealous but once in my life, and foolish though it may seem to be, you were the cause of. it. I almost believed that Basil was fonder of you than he was of me.. It w,as 'Ronald' for breakfast, dinner and tea. But we hadn't been j long married then, and I am older j and more sensible now." She finished with a gay little laugh, and Heseltine good naturedly followed suit. A clergyman's wife—this buoyant, fluttering little creature. He know in a, moment that she was as ingenuous and honest as a child. "Come" along, Ronald,"'Basil said", "and I will show you upstairs to your room. Edith, we .shall be ready for tea in ten minutes. What do you think of her, old'chap?" he asked, when they were, climbing the stairs. "You ought to be a happy man, Basil." "Happy! I should say I am. My , life at.home.is just a blissful dream. Edith and I haven't a thought apart, and she is simply worshipped by the poor of the panshJ You would hardly think her capable, of such work —fragile little thing that she seems to be — but goodness knows, what I should do •without her. Here is your room, old man. Helloj wefve forgotten your luggage. Half a minute." Bafeil slid down the stairs again, .and was back in a few seconds with his friend's knapsack. "I'm sorry," he continued, "that I can't offer you any clothes, but what would be the use! Look at your proportions compared with my attenuated frame of skin and bone. Why not telegraph home for a decent rigout. You must have a look in. at church on Sunday; you, have never heard mo

"Don't forget that you have promised sbcond hand goods for the consumption of your people," Ronald smiled. ' ' ■ "But it will be new to you, old fellow: ' And, l°ok here, I have something up my sleeve!" : His eyes twinkled for a moment, and then grew .wistfully serious. "I'm not going away until I Have heard you preach, Basil. You always wero a clever chap, and I know that I shall hear a good sermon. These

j clothes will do all right if I give them I a bit of extra brushing, and keep well in the shadow. It's only old-fash-ioned folk who dress severely for church going nowadays." "And more's the pity. Some of my leading people set my teeth on edge. The men prance into the house of God attired in howling Norfolk suits j and brilliant neckties, while the ladi ie-s " Ho held up his hands in 1 mock despair. "Hurry up with your washing and brushing; tea's ready.'' The vicarage parlour was a cosy little room at the back of the house. The French window opened upon a colonial looking verandah, and beyond was a perfect bit of lawn, surrounded by a tall hedge, wherein the song birds rejoiced to sing and twitter in the spring and (summer. With the help of a ruddy-cheeked, brawny maid of all work, Mrs Cooper f had spread the tea table in record time, and when Ronald Heseltine appeared she was fluttering about as lightly as a creature on wings. "This is a charming room in" the late spring, the summer, and early autumn," she told Ronald. "The verandah is festooned with clematis and honeysuckle, and the borders surrounding the lawn are filled with flowers. A stranger would little dream that there was anything unlovely or sordid on the other side of the hedge." "A brickbat sails over now and again," Basil said, 'and the flow of j language from quarrelsome neighbours J is eloquent if not refined." j "Oh, but they are not so bad as I they were when we first came here. I have talked to the poor things so nicely." "And given them that which we can ill afford," said Basil cheerfully. "The most potent argument," smiled Ronald. 'I expect the battles, vo.cal and otherwise, were conducted farther afield" "Oh, I don't think so—l hope not." Mrs Cooper spoke pitifully, and with trembling lips. But in a flash her mood had changed, and she was pouring out tea, and smiling seraphically. "Sorry we can't give you much of a show at Castle Claydon, Ronald," the vicar remarked. "We are only half a dozen miles from Birmingham j though." "My work lies here," said Heseltine quietly. He was about to continue, when he-met the inquiring, almost quizzical gaze of Mrs Cooper, and he half hesitated, for her simplicity and childishness, and swiftly changing moods hardly invited the confidence tyf a man of the world. ■ , "I must do something for my bread, you know," he said, quietly, and Basil laughed outright. "Heir to a rent roll of five thousand a year, and one of the loveliest little estates in Sussex!" "Nothing of the kind, Basil. As a matter of fact, I am up to my ears in debt. My mother has kept me in ignorance of the -true state of affairs, and Warden Hall will have to go satisfy the creditors, unless I marry money; and that, contingency, is very, remote since—-" he paused, and the colour mounted to his face—"since I went to St. Petersburg." "I am sorry, Ronald, more than sorry," Basil said feelingly. "And yet I care nothing for riches myself. But you have an old family name to uphold, and the traditions of a famous I lino. There was talk three or four [ years since—Lady Eva Lorington and I yourself. Her brother stroked the OxI ford boat to victory twice." "The Lorringtona are neighbours of ours," Ronald said, "and I drifted pasively into a scheme of my mother's. I dd not then know the meaning of love. Lady Eva is physically a splendid vrman, but I haven't much respect for the man or woman who marries for mere convenience." "Lady Eva may care for you, Ronald." Heseltine laughed aloud. "Love and Lady Eva! She is as passionless as a e J .atue. How often hvo we scoffed at the' folly of it—she and I. When I tell her that love is, after all, a splendid re ility, she will laugh at my imbecility, and give me my freedom. No, I have determined to work. lam fond of mechanics, and am seeking a partnership in some small engineering concern. That is why I am here, Basil." "Mrs Cooper's eye.* were shioing through a thick veil of'tears, and she clasped and unclasped her hands. "This is real romance, Mr Heseltine. "Oh, wha-5 a lovely story it w.Aild maket Basil has told mo about your troublo in St. Petersburg, and about the English lady." "Edith," interrupted the Hear warnmgly. "Oh, but I must speak. lam simply bubbling over with the delight of it all. Only a woman can understand an idyll from the pages of old romance. You fell in love with the helpless and suffering maiden, and would marry her if she were penniless?" "If she hadn't a farthing." (To be continued.)