Lady Marjorie's Love

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXV, Issue 10713, 14 February 1913, Page 2

Lady Marjorie's Love

(OUR SERIAL

By Car! Swerdna Author ol "To the Dttormost Farther,." "A Jta. Ommm}," "A W for Honour, M Lto.

CHAPTER Vll. (Continued.) J •No," .said Mr Cliiidlmm—' "no, nothing that can bo called. particular exv-t'v Noi'iiing that can x, wail. Se-in» that vou are only bark from the -North vi'sverday, I thought >ou anight have an engagement or two, mavbe." . "Nothing ill present, sir, aluio-.ifj.li, as to t!iat, here's what <". in bo vc.-tatl i;:to throe or tour." '! ' lo young man iightlv took up the !itt-> ' pile of letters that lay beside Ins plat- and lot thorn fall again. \oihtlmi matter-; a straw, though—at any ratiV not for to-day. So theios a.nyUnng you want- me lor 1 ul cji.iti . at •■(Mir service." , I "ah;" -Mr Cluuiburn's exclama- | tio;i was ULLi'i'i'il ni ;t umo ol good . iiuuior atui sauMuutiou. He limslied | iii.i i'o.i.'o ami drew ins ciiair a iac.-o away irotn tlio table. "io toll you j vm- triiin, .inn, 1 want u) .send \uu i packing out oi London again as soon ' its you-'ro hack in it. l.'vo boon thinking' cnat 1 should like you to take a run clown to Cattle Marling!"

.!, of cour-se ?" ••(.)ii, ves, she accepted! I a • tter from her." -Mr Chadhinn glar.c----1 at a writing table near one ol liie indov.s, seeming to imply the •Lter was olio of the many that lay [>on it. "Her plans were onurri.v nformed at 'present, she sa:d. and )r a lime at least she would yxait'll |y avail lie-self of what she .■alifd iv kindness, and so on. altogether nice letter enough." "All!'' young Chadbnrn ei-mmo'it-d, rather dryly. ho thought iat Ladv Marlingford in the . :rcumLances might well write what his itiier simply called a. "nice letter." •Will she he very poor!-" lie asked. "The countess? Xot personally; I:, no! 1 gathered from the family ami ol business there, one t'Owie.'... .c -whom you'll find very useful when on go down, hy the way— limt ta,s a good fortune of her own--no! ervmu eh, you know, but coi;.i'i.i!,lo. It was all .settled on her :u lie; tiarriago, it appears, and so !uck:..\ wasn't swamped with the rest. Aii he more luckily because if the carl lad lived it is all they wo-.dd have uul to depend upon. Indeed, he himself said as much to nie, and added ,hat lie thought of going abroad as ;oon as lie gave up possession of the rtastle, for he was sick of England. Poor fellow, he little knew that he wouldn't live to do it; c\s, Lady Marlingford will he alright, 1 should think; it is the daughter that I'm *o sorry for, por child! She won't have a sixpence, Jim —absolutely rot a sixpence!" "Poor girl!" said the young man pityingly. "Pretty rough lines for licr certainly, especially Lifter being used to consider herself heiress of I don't know how many thousands besides the futuro mistress of a jilr.ee such as Castle Marling must be. Tsut still it might he worse, sir. As Iter mother ha. s the incomo you speak of " "Her mother!" Mr Chadbnrn cned, interrupting. "That's the verv point unfortunately, my hoy. 1 thought you understood. Tier mother. yon say? Hless my heart, no! The countess is her stenmother." ' "Whew!" Young Chadbnrn whistled with all involuntarily blank look, "no, I hadn't heard that. PI or stcp- | mothers' but still —poor little this'ff | He could not have spoken more gently and eompasisonately if he had had. Lady Marjorie's slim girl's figure, . pale little face, and big, soft brown ! eves before him at the moment, but ■ thenhe was naturally kind-hearted, : and capable of pitying even a rnwj boned and green eyed damsel had any ' such como denlorahly hi his way. Mr Chadbnrn sighed again, and again .shook his head. j "Just what T. say, my boy—just : what T said the day T went down there and saw. her. poor little thing! And it was an abominable shame to keep her in total ignorance of there being anything wrong, as T gathered that •she had been kent. Tt must have been a. frightful blow in her. And she was as proud as Lucifer, too, to make it worse. T could see that. Proud as Lucifer. !"

"Castle Marling?" The change in j young Cluuiburn's expression showed i plainly enough that the proposal was | not altogether welcome. "\\hy, what is the idea of that,- may .1 ask!'" I "To take a look at it, my dear hoy • —that's one reason, to take a look j at it! It v.ill be yours one of theae ; days—shouldn't have bought it, nor j should I have looked after it as soon I as 1 knew it was for sale by piivato ! contract as 1 did ii it hadn't been ( for you. A line old place---a sp!en- j did old place—you'll say so when you «see it!" Mr Chadbnrn sighed and | •shook his white head sadly. "Ah, j tut, tut—dear me! Really, it's surprising! What men will do r.ml the lengths they'll go to once that wretched mania for speculating has got a hold of the in! Really, it's .surprising! If ! had only known when 1 went j down there to settle the bargain how near that unfortunate man was to his death —dying and ruined, poor feliow! —if I'd only known it, Jim, 1 think | 1 should have tried to give him a hand out of his troubles —I do, indeed!" "Like you to say it and to feel it, sir. lint impossible to do of course!" the son said kindly. "Yes, of course —of course!" Mr Chadburu echoed with a. sigh. "I'm not saying that 1 could have set hint on his feet again my boy—in point of fact, I know I couldn't. It was ruin—utter ruin ; in the end he hadn't, as they say, a shilling between his head unci the sky. If he'd pulled up in time, well and good, but that confounded speculating poison lias got into his blood, and I supposo he could M not get rid of it. At any tate i he didn't. When ,he lost iie .impiy plunged, it seems. Just as so many do —just as so many do! His liabilities must be something frightful, and, in spito of the sale of Castle Marling, I doubt if his creditors will get a .shilling in the pound. If T hadn't made my iirst hid for it a good high one it would have been put on the market. But I had set my mind on getting the place—for many reasons, I may say, that one "

He stopped. His son looked inquiring and curious. "Moro reasons, sir?" I "Well, ves!" Mr Chadbnrn emphasised his words by beating a finger of 'his right hand 011 the palm of his left. "Tt was this way, you see, Jim! I liked the place, and T wanted you to have it, hut what t didn't want was to see two helpless women turned out of house and home before, as ono may say, thov had well got their unfortunate black gowns on, poor things! And I take it that that's what would have been pretty sure to happen if. Castlo Marling Jiad once got into the clutches of a. set of hungry creditors." "What a splendid fellow you are. dad!" exclaimed the young man. as he rose and approached his father, whose shoulders lie clapped enthusiastically. "Just like you to think of Lady Marlingford and her daughter when any other man would have been thinking how little he could prnb the place for —just like you!" He looked down, smiling at the handsome old face beaming affectionately up at him. —the face that his own was so like, and clapped bis hand on the mnssiv o shoulder again. "T don't think there, is your equal to be found anywhere!" ho said. "Upon my life, T don't !" "Pooli. my boy—nonsense!" Makink a movement of good-humored repudiation a-s his ison withdrew ins hand, Mr Chadburu comfortably settled himself back into bis chair again. "You'd have felt just the- same in Imy place, Jim. just the same. It i.sn t only your father's fancy that voir re as good inside as you arc out, my lad. I never knew you v do a false thing, or a. mean thing, »r a cruel thing, and so long as I can say that oi you, why, you're protty right. Let's see again. What was I talking about? The countess, wasn't it? Yes, to be -sure, tho countess. Well, I was gom<] to toll you that as soon as I board oi the earl's death 1 wrote to rier making the same kind oifer that I'd mad* previously to him —telling her, yoi know, that I begged her to considc the castle her home for six a. vear —in short:, until it .should (put suit her to turn out of it." "Quito right!" said tho young ma; cordially. "And,, as .1 said, like yo* dad, and liko nobody else. She- accept