HELD IN BONDAGE.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10513, 30 December 1911, Page 2

HELD IN BONDAGE.

PUR SERIAL.

BY L. F. DACRE. Author of "Sitthad'* Valtey," A Phantom of the Past," "The Shadow of Sham©," "Sir John'B HeineM," "A Daughter of Mystery,"- etc.

CHAPTER XV—Continued

"You will please yourselves, of course! My offer was made in all kindness, Miss Janson." "Oh, I know that I "she answered Shortly. . The lunch was a very quiet meal. There was a certain constraint in che air, and all three were glad when it was ended. Patrick Ward was the first to lea m the table, and with a few words of exouse went off to his study. A horrible suspicion had taken possession of Edith's mind, and, pleading a headache she went to the bedroom that iia l been prepared for her short stay, and She dlid not emerge from it until teatime. Patrick Ward did not put in • ■ appearance. The housekeeper said ae was closeted wiiih one of the engineers. "Your rest does not seem, to have dione you .much-good," Margaret remarked to her friend, rather uug:v(ciously. "You left me to my own.ii\ sources and I have iVacreci through ;a novel." ; ■• ; ;.;:--:■ /••>.■ "I don't feel comfortable in tnis house, Meg, and that's candid. It gives me the creeps. Why should the mistress hide away in this fashion ?" "Oh, we rarely catch a glimpse of (heir " Margaret said carelessly. "She is wholly mad. It must be dreadful for a man to be tied to such a <voman." ~ ~ "I don't like to hear you talk Hiv that, Meg," said Edith sternly. "She is Patrick Ward's wife and there s an end to it." - ~,-*» "I suppose so, but it's a bit startling to hear tliat you take sides w^th her " "I don't think tblat Mr Ward treats her properly. lam vastly disappointed in him. I hiave often heard and read that these men of genius are I ad husbands. They are undomestioitod —fickle-minded. They clothe the objects of their brief passions with to attributes of angels and such rubbish won't stand the wear and tear of e-/-ery-day life. I would get away from here, if I were in your shoes, Meg. "I must earn my living somewhere. Whatever has come over you, Edith i I have been longing to see you, «m«J now lam sorry you are here. She sighed wearily and her tones were tremulous. ~,-,,■,. -i "It's nearly six o'clock," Edith said chjokinglv. "I shall soon be gone I iam going to go and put on my things. I hope that Mr Ward does not forget rfjhat the last train for loaves at five minutes to seven. Mr Word had not forgotten, -<nd 'very soon after six o'clock he brougat -the car humming up to the front door. .Edith was waiting in the hall—batr m "- "We are in good time," said Pftt'rick Ward, bobbing his head round the door. "Where is Miss Thornton r 1 ' "She prefers not to come. I gather that Mrs Ward objects to to ner growing importance in your household."- ■ ■-..■',' ; "Indeed!" His eyes bedame iiafd and cold. "And pray,; what taml to infer from Uliat, Misr*-.Tanson?, _ (f ) "If you—a man of the world-—-She broke off angrily.', "Miss Thornibon's friends must take her away from here. Are you so dense—so devoid ot imagination—l will not suggest anything worse—that you can't see that she is irlahing a sort of tan god of you J She -, doesn't understand—she doesn t i With fierce impetuosity she turued i and bounced into the car.

: "Take me to the station —doi - : "Miss Janson, what justification---r-oli, d tihe women!" ■He banged the door fast, and jumped up to the driver's seat. Li a moment the motor was grinding down rtihe drive, and the oloud on Patriae Sard's flace was black as the night. His thoughts revolved in one tiny circle, and over and over again he mut- ' "I am fond of Margaret Thornton, and there is only one way out of the tangle—only one way!" •--Arrived at Deal station he opened tihe door of the tonneau for JSdHh 'o a!Usht, regarding her the while. wiMt studied-coolness. "Thank you," she smd, her >.ips quivering. "Don't bother any more. I can look after myself." ■'"' He made no answer, he did not even raise his cap, but climbed back to bis seat anddrove away.

CHAPTER XVI

THE FACE AT THE WINDOW. The next morning Patrick Ward w« absent from the breakfast table, and the hoxisekeeper told Margaret that le (had driven off in his motor oar hours Bince." Margaret was in a strange mood inexplicable to hersel. She appeared to be alone in the house. Mrs Ward never left her apartments upstairs,,and Dolly was kept strietlv under the surveillance of the ayah. Once or twice she heard the child call her name, then break off with a sob, os though Wng severely admonished. If she met the Indian woman abo'il tihe house, it was only to fie jibed at land threatened. So two days passed and she felt that the end was near. The life was quite unendurable, but she was at an utter loss to know what to do. If she followed the wishes of her aunt Ellen she would only be a burden upon her. Her fear of George Aston had now dwindled to almost vanishing point; alio hardily thought of him at all. He w«.s doing his worst; let him do it. On Saturday night Patrick Ward came home. He spoke to Margaret very gently, very kindly. "I've been to Birmingham—to as

j ton's place—but I am under the 'mpression that he avoided me. I waited ! about all day yesterday. I suppo« I this means an early fight between us, J I left a note for you on the librarj I table, Miss Thornton; did you get '■ it?" "No!" "Did you look for anything ?" Le asked sharply. "Yes—in the usual place. I wanted something to do} I've been simply wretched. I have had no one to speaij to but the housekeeper, and you must let me go awtay." \ Her face was white and quivering; she clasped and unclasped her hands "I left the key in the study door, never dreaming that anyone would dare to touch At but you." He turned swiftly (rhoy had met re the tell) and strode to' the study doov. He opened it and walked, to the big liable in the middle of the room, and thrust a hand, into one of the drawers, from the drawer he look a bundle of documents, then '■Ming- them';, on the table; •; Margaret haU-followed him air most timorously. '■' ■-■- ■ "I wanted- three * accurate copies oi each of these, and I asked you to catalogue the books at your leisure. The see what a. higgledy-piggfledy state tlhe •books are in. That was all. But I w, very angry about my note to you. ] will not have my papers tampered with. If Louke is guilty of this, I- ik not care by whose instruction®, she shall go. It is simply monstrous. ] shall be master in my own house, oi nothing!" He scarcely raised his voice from the ordinlary, but the expression in his eyes was not good to see. Motioning to Margaret to sit down, he went upstairs. She heard tho sharp bang oi a door, then all was silent. The min utes and she could keer still no longer. Her nerves throbbed — hei very brain seemed to be twanging, tihere was a mist before her eyes. ' "I believe lam going to be ill," she thought, "and I must not be ill at this house. I felt exactly as I feel now f .11 days before J had the brain fever . when I was a girl of fourteen at school, J and they said I talked all the nonsense II bad ever known. lam sorry that 1 ! quarrelled with Edith, but was she not 'horrid tome?" • She started and gave a little ga*p. The door upstairs had banged like the savage bark of an angry dog, and t;t -,was coming back. "It was the ayah who stole my letter of instructions to you, Miss Thornton, and she leaves hero as soon as 1 can make arrangements to send her back to her friends in India. lam responsible for the woman in a way, or she should pack up and go, within 'he hour. I never liked her, and now that Dolly is growing big she is worse vhin useless. I have been made a tool of to humour the whims of others too long, and the breaking point- is here. Sit down, my dear girl. You are trembling—you will be ill." .'./,• "I am afraid v I. fMll be. ; I am sorry to make .trouble; here.|' It semeed to her that he. was casting some subtle scorn upon his wife. Edith -ms right; it. was mat an unnatural thing to do • Sis wife should be first and best in '©;.*-. erytihiing. "Make trouble here?" he repeated. i "I never knew the meaning of pleas--1 ure or comfort till you came. I meau,"' he stammered, "the comfort of horns. Look at the dirt- and disorder of my study till you took it in/hand. I nesr. er could find anything witfliout a tiresome search." And we have always worked in sympathy together." "I would rather go, Mr Ward, i am sorry, but I am the discordant note in your household." "Rubbish! You get this insane notion into your Eead because Mrs Ward has played the fool. Did I not warn you at the beginning *hlat Mrs Ward was not responsible for her actions? We live as miuch apart as though oceans divided us, and this self-sacri-ficing life of mine is becoming unbearable. If you insist upon leaving mo,-

wfomt am I to do with all of this new work on my mind? I simply dare not rihlare my secrets, witn anyone else. You have seen.papers ttoat "my rivals would pay tlhousands of pounds.to be in possession of. You hold me in tfe 'hollow of your (hand. I dare not "et ypu go." "Mr Ward I" Margaret's face had flamed with anger. "Don't—don't you misjudge mo," Ihe said gently. "Don \ jump at.conclusions dishonourable to yourself dtfd to me. There are people wSjsb". piaad burglars to steal my plans f there are people who •would drug you, irpp notdse you, take "your very life, if by so doing Uhey'Wnired the secret of my inventions. I need mention only one of these, my partner—George Astoa. Sometimes I am lialf afraid of the man myself. His guilty eyes Dore into m-i and into one's very soul." Margaret drew back into her oliair and shivered. She felt cold from lied' 1 to foot, as rtlliouglh exposed to an icy drtaught. "I am selfish," he went on, "unreasonably so, perhaps; but you do not realise how necessary j T ou are to me, until this last invention of mine b-v oomes public property, at least. 1 was careful to tell you how dull the life was here. No one here of .your own age and tastes, no .amusement only books, and walks, and the sea." "I \ras quite satisncl at first." (To bo Continued.)