Lady Marjorie's Love

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXV, Issue 10713, 15 April 1913, Page 2

Lady Marjorie's Love

By Car! Swerdna Author of "To the Uttermost Farth-ing," "A Mere Oeremonj," "A Fight f-vr Honour," Eto.

(OUR SERIAL

j (IHAPTKR XX.lll.—Continued. "I \va s obliged to come!'' Marjork faltered. Her hand fell to her .sick airnin ; she looked with large, wick eyes of bewilderment aud trouble ' her tongue and lips were sudden!} dry "I did not know what else to'do, Loftus. Fenella is going away from the castle, and the dowager is there. She says I 'must go with her tolreland. I* can't—l hate it! S<; I came away to voir!" "Came away? And they let you? Is the countess unad?" "The countess? She—they don't know. I came away without telling them. If they had known they would not have let me go.'' "Good heavens —what a tiring to do!" His voice, though carefully repressed, was harsh and angry. He wa,s striding about in violent perturbation; he looked well-nigh .stupefied with perplexity and dismay. "You came, away from your proper guardians, and came to me! Yen must he mad, child!" Marjorie did not answer; she weakly into her .seat again, unable to stand, turning colder and colder; a sort of terror and horror held her mute. He did not want her—he was angry with her for coming, and it seemed that it was a- dreadful thing that she had done. ' The room -whirled round with her; she was faint with fasting a.s well as excitement'and fatigue ; her confused eyes could not clearly follow his figure a.s it^moved. "What shall T do?" He made «, gesture of intense -irrigation and impatience, though still pitching his voice studiously low. "It i s frightfully awkward, worse than .awkward; it could hot pn-isihly have happened at a" worse time. I don't know what to do for the best. There are some men here dining. I wouldn't have theim see you for anything that oould be given me. I shall have to make some excuse and get rid -of them, I suppose. And then you must go back." "Go back?" Marjorie echoed stupidly. "Good heavens —yes! Of course you must go back! What could have induced you to take such a mad step I can't understand!" Perplexity, anger made him brutal. "Surely you must know," he said, "that a girl can't do this sort of thing without compromising herself? If those fellows in there were to se» you, if the tale got about — 'lt won't bear thinking of. You must get back without the delay of an hour, and I only hope that no one who matters iryiy be any tho wiser. Wait here a moment and I'll get rid of them in there!" He opened the folding doors and disappeared through them. Marjorie was isiunned, dazed; she found herself stupidly, confusedly counting the number of gas jets in the chan.relier 'tliat lighted the room. Four alight tand one not; five in all; four alight and one — She sprang suddenly to her feet, grasping her chair for suppfrt, her heart thumping, her eyes fixed upon the door by which she had entered the room. It was not close shut, and on the stairs beyond a voice was audible, plainly parleying with the man who had admitted her. It was 1 not loud, but resolutely quiet, a,;;d she could hear every Avord. "Engaged or not engaged, I'm going up!" it said determinedly. "You are making a mistake,- my "goal fellow, if you think you are going to keep mo hero. As for what my business is, I'll explain that to Mr Bligh when I. see hi in. Now are you going to let me by quietly or am I going to make you?" The sound_ s that followed wore a. sufficient answer. An -expcstulatory murmur in the servant's voice died away; heAcould bo heard retreating. ' Then footsteps came quickly up the remaining stairs and across the landing. Marjorie had not turned her eyes from the door when it opened, and Gerard Barrington conic in. CHAPTER XXIV.

Lady Marjorio stood still, grasping the chair, looking with wide, halfsoared eyes at Gerard' Barrington as ho came 'in and shut the door. 'She 'saw'in a<n instant that he vrm pale, perturbed, stern, as she had* never seen him befor9, and saw-also the look of intense relief with which he ■saw Her standing there. She realised- that .here was another who considered that she had done a dreadful thing, but that was not her first thought.. His rapid glance round, his change of expression as their eyes met told her why he was there without the.passing of a word, and she looked at him with wrath and defiance in her face. ''You follow me!" she exclaimed. "Yes," he answered instantly. "You did!" She gasped, half choking with rage and mortificatin, feeling that this was the crowning i misery and indignity of all this horrible affair. "You—you followed ' me?" she said. "You —you dogged me? You followed me from home — you followed me here?" "I d'd. f «nv you at the station, and had barely time to catch the train. But for some man T knowseeing me in the station here and keeping me I should have stopped you before you took the cnb. Coming along my idiot of a cabman got his wheels locked with somebody's brougham, or T should have been here as «oon as you were." He had spoken rapidly, and now be made his first movement in advancing to her. "You must come away with me," he .said quietly; "you /mist let me take you home, at once." "Take me!" Marjorio drew back, her eyes blazing defiantly at the face

.'she could barely see, for the room I was whirling round her, and his voice > 'sounded far away. "How— ho\v dare > jyou sav that to me? How dare you \ | follow'me? What right have you ! i to do it—what right have you to—to '. i follow me as if I were a thief?" 1 "A man has always a right to pro- '. tect a woman, Lady Marjorie, though it should be from herself." ', She was unable to answer; giddiness and sickiißs-s overcame her; she reeled. He caught her as she swayed and .seated her gently in the "You must come away with me," he takl again, in the same tone of quiet authority. "I don't ask any qim-t-ions—l heard -something of th« dispute t'r.MT was th:-; morning, and 1 think I pretty well understand." His tone grew tender a s he withdrew the arm whose support she had been too weak to repulse;- tshe was looking at 'him now with piteous, terrified eyes and a face snow-white. "You have done a very foolish thirg my poor little girl, but if you come back with me quietly and we manage well no one need know*. As for Mr 1 Bligh, T'll say for him that I don't think he was scoundrel enough to entice you here,, and that T don't sup- , post he will be cur enough to speak of it in the future." "He—he did not know 1 was coming!" Marjorie gasped faintly; resistance had sunk dead within her; only misery and helplessness were left. Loftus had been cruel, cold, brutal, almost coarse; he did not want her, and he wa s angry, but still this wild folly of hers—oh. what madness it seemed now! —had not ■been his fault. "I—l did not think. I wa,s so miserable, and they drove me mad! I came away—l—" Her voice sjank away in a moan. "Yes, yes—l scia —I understand! Don't speak of it now—don't think of it. Only trust me and let me take you away." He imacle a movement to ra're her. Mnrjoriq. dazed, bewildeircd, stupefird,' perhaps would have struggled against it, perhaps would have yielded; she was hardlv capable of knowing what she did. But in the action Barrington stopped, turning quickly toward the folding doors. They opened and Loftus came in. Half the. hngth of tho large room ' was between the two men. Marjorie, staggering weakly to her feet un- • assisted, holding 'by the chair back for support, saw nothing of the rage and ,:ontern.pt which flashed across the face at her side. But tha change in her cousin's she did ,tce, and looked with blank wonder at the startled, pale amazement which came upon it at the instant of the meeting of their eyes. For the astonisltanent there waisi reason, but not for the fear. Surely it was foar? Why should he draw baok like a coward, shrinking from this man whom he had never seen? The questions darted lightninglike through the girl's bead as her gaze went from the one to the other. Loftus let the door slip from his hand; it clashed behind him, but did not shut. He advanced a step; his raised hand might have been meant to ward off ' a menaced blow; Marjorie saw that he had forgotten her entirely. j "What brings you here?" ' The words were hoarsely jerked out; they would have been savage but for his tremor. Not choosing to observe if he saw it, which he did not seem to do, Barrington stepped back to Marjoi'ie's side. He had controlled himself; his tono was contemptuoufily stern. • (To be Continued A