PRIMROSE DELORAINE

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10303, 3 August 1911, Page 2

PRIMROSE DELORAINE

OUR SERIAL.

THE MISER'S DAUGHTER.

By MAISIE PENDENNIS. Author of "Sir Reginald's Whim," "The Forgotten Heir," "Rival Beauties,' 'etc.

CHAPTER XVlll.—Continued

Be drew her to him, and his lips met her rosy, pouting lips, and closed them in fervent, adoring kisses that held m their desperate despair all the pent-up passion that had lived in his miserable tortured heart for long years. 1 Up till now lie had kept his hopeless love hidden away from her as much as his strength would let him. Now the sight of her tears had turned his strength to veriest weakness. The flood tide of passion had broken through its floodgates, and streamed through all his being in a fiery cascade that defied all human will, human power, to stem or stay it. "Heart of my heart," he said, his grave voice shaken by a forceful, uncontrollable ardor. "Oh, Valerie, Valerie, tell mo why you are crying, and tat me kiss your tears away. Surely it can't hurt to kiss you for once in a lifetime. Tell me all about it, my darling one." ; But that was what Mrs Vivian could not do. It was impossible for her to tell him that she was crying over her lost hopes and broken dreams of another man. That would bo to bring her, house" of cards tumbling about her ears with a dire swiftness appalling to think of. So She prevaricated, as women do. She put up her tiny hands, and pushed him away with a little, breathless gasp. How ho had changed all in a moment! she thought. She was not at all sure that she was not half afraid of this passion-inflamed man, who had hitherto been so quiet and self-contained, gentle with her. "How can I tell you?" she retorted, petulantly dabbing her eyes with a ridiculous lace-trimmed morsel of muslin that did duty for a handkerchief. "How many times must I explain to you that women never have any reasons for what they do, Gerard? I just felt inclined to cry, and so I—cried."

that thero was no living barried between them to hold them apart —that tho reason that had kept him silent by all the laws of chivalry and honour existed no longer? She dared not think. Nothing stood between him now and love and the woman he desired with all his heart, only he did not know it. The man who had been her husband was dead. She had known that for some time now —had heard it the day that Sir Gerald had first told her about Primrose. But she had kept the secret of her freedom closely. Only let Sir Gerald find out that secret, and all would be lost, sho thought—all her schemes, plots, intrigues, so carefully planned. Sho did not love Sir Gerard a.s he loved her, though, for reasons of her own, she had persuaded him that she did. The man she loved was the man who had scorned her love that never-to-be-forgotten night at Lesbie Manor—Lord Eversdene. If only she could have got Sir Gerard safely settled things would have been easier. Her pet scheme had been to marry him to Primrose, and fhe did not despair of doing so even now. If anything she could do would separate them she would not hesitate, be the means fair or foul. And if Sir Gerard was married, or even engaged, it would not matter if he did learn the truth that she had jkept from him so carefully—it would make no difference then. But if he were to learn it now — now

"But you never —inclined to cry before," persisted Sir Gerald, with tender anxiety. 'You must be awfully unhappy to feel inclined to now. What are you unhappy about, Valerie P". "Nothing in the world, of course," said Mrs Vivian, and dabbed her eyes more frantically still, catching her lip between her little, white teeth to stop its quivering. "Oh! Gerald, for goodness sake don't be so absurd, my dear boy. You mustn't. How dare you " For Sir Gerald had caught her back into his arms again, arid was onc a more raining impetuous kisses on her hair, and eyes, and lips—such kisse3 as "a man only gives jto the woman who he loves moro than anything in life, more than his hopes of heaven. "I can't help it," he returned, rather wildly, the fierce love hunger that flamed in his voice making her give a little, frightened quiver. "I love you so, Valerie. I shall love you to my last day on earth; through this world and the next. You are the only woman in life for me, and you are not for me; and I love- youwith a love that burns and scorches my soul, and makes my world a Hades without you; a love that holds ;my heart enchained by a torrent of fire. I love you as no man has ever loved you." "You don't know what it is to feel like that, do you, my darling one? Your nature is too light and happy; and thank the Lord you don't. It would make my own pain a thousand times harder to bear if I thought you suffered like that too. I know you love me, heart of my heart, but I hope your love will never make of you what your love has; made of me. Love can be as sweet as heaven or cruel as the grave; and it has been cruel to us, my poor Valerie, hasn't it 3" His face looked drawn and haggard in the light of the golden sunshine that streamed in through the flowerdecked windows. His haggard, miserable eyes devoured all the witching charm of her tiny, alluring face with desperate longing. \ Theh ho loosened his lingering hold and,,relapsed into,his. old, ; grvaye f hab* itual quietnessi again.;' ": .■-"■'"" "There 1" he said, with a half smile. "I-ve finished now. ~ Forgive me, Valerifr—l'll try, not again, .only,: 1 lost my senses I think! A man can't always be the same. The; even teijor of his way must break sometimes, however strong a restraint he puts upon himself, and love is a mighty taskmaster. He, will make us speak sometimes."

He paused then, and lowered his 'head, and touched with his lips the jewelled fingers that 'lay like snowflakes in his. ' ''Forgive me," he pleaded again; "I forgot myself." And then he paused again. "I know you're married, Vhlerie," he added. "The world thinks your husband is dead. I alone know that he is alive somewhere; a Jiving barrier between us. If he had not been the sort of man that he is 1 would never have breathed my feelings for you; but as it is Well, I never speak of it again, until you are free. But if thqt day ever comes when my waiting is over forever — then—'then- " i ,_ He raised his face again, and the light that softened it for an instant was .a thing to make a woman hold her breath. In that moment, Valerie Vivian, peeping at his j tentatively from beneath her lowered lids, saw straight into the depths of a man's unveiled human soul, and shivered at the sight. What would he say,, she, wondered in a transport of fear, if he knew the truth? What would he say if he knew

I She clenched her hands till the nails sank deep into the shell-like palms. Truth has an awkward knack of coming to light, and if it did She knew now that she could not win Lord Eversdene by fair means, but she would try foul means —anything to gain her way—and at all costs she must keep her secret from Gerard Les'bie. At all costs she must humour him; and blind him if possible. She leaned close to the man who adored her, and rubbed her velvet cheek up and down his arms. "Of course I forgive you," she said. "Only you must really promise never to behave like this again, Gerard. I You know I'm frightfully fond of you, dear boy; but I can never be anything to you while —while my husband lives, of course, and you mustn't think about it. We must just be { friends,as we always have been. Oh! I if you had only married Primrose as I wanted you to." "Primrose wouldn't marry me, objected Sir Gerard ruefully, "Besides, she is engaged, to Eversdene now, you know, and lam glad she is. I didn't want to marry her. Queer how those two fixed it up so quickly, wasn't it? It was a regular case of love at first sight, if you like." "Yes," agreed Mrs Vivian, with a strange, stiff little smile. "Perhaps it was,love at first sight, and if " The noiseless entrance of her discreet manservant cut short her words. "Some one wishes to see you, mav am," he remarked, with apologetic impassiveness. "Wouldn't give any; name, but !wants to see you very particularly." V v "I can't see anybody,"!'MrsVivian declared crossly, looking up sharply. "Tell them to— —"'' She stopped again, the words froze on her lips. The "some one who wanted to seo her very particularly" had followed unseen on the manservant's heels, and now stood framed in the open doorway. And as her eyes rested on the figure she screamed. - It was a man : s figure, heavy, slouching, powerfully built, with sullen face surmounting it. A figure and face that she had" known once only too well, to her cost, and had hoped she would never see again in this world. A figure and face that had .haunted her like a ghastly evil dream, bringing her a frantic terror with their mere remembrance. She rose from her chair and stood rigtd.'ohe hand outstretched, pointing, and gazed with distended eyes and shaking lips at the dread vision that JhacLrisen up i'rotn the past to confront her and hunt her to he undoing. And Sir' Gerard looked' on in dumfounded, amazement. Then she spoke in a-strange, chokingvoice ',: ' 'You!'' she said. ' 'You—you fiend! Come back from the grave to haunt and baffle me even now! I thought you were dead. They told me you were dead. And oh! how I thanked Heaven for the news. I thought you were dead." The man in the doorway only laughed as he lurched forward into 1 the room. "That's where you made the mistake," he said. "I'm alive you see. Very much alive,, thank you!" It was Poker Bill.

CHAPTER XX.

POKER BILL.

There was adead silence. The sort of silence that comes sometimes, when all the surface lightness of life has been swept away by a swiftly moving current thrown up from the depths of the ever-widening whirlpool of fate; and tragedy, grim, stark, unveiled, stalks nearer, ever nearer, with dark threatening eyes and grisly hands outstretched to grasp their victims. Then Sir Gerard Lesbie rose, and came forward rather uncertain, his face very white and strained. He looked at Mrs Vivian. (To be Continued).