"Pretty Penelope,"
By Bffie Adelaide Rowlands, Author <* "A Girl's Kingdom," -A Splendid Man," "The Interloper," "A Kinsman's Sin," "Brave Barbara," etc.
CHAPTER Vl.—Continued,
For the space of sixty seconds, perhaps, the blue eyes gaded into those cold, grey ones; then Penelope turned icy, and her face became very white, ana then rosy red. "Who would have thought of seeing you?" she oried weakly. But Denis was too angry to have much discrimination about him; all ho knew was he had come upon, a picture which would live with* him to the grave. Penelope in tho embrace of * man! and one whom, he had to acknowledge, was worthy to stand beside himself. His thoughts had been full of the girl as he rode slowly along; he had felt self-reproach, and something like remorse, mingled with the yearning with which her memory was entwined about; and in the midst of it all ho had come upon her alone in a solitary lane with Harold de Burgh, with his arms a/bout her, her head upon his shoulder. No wonder Denis was utterly deaf to the plaintive, eager longing for . self-vindication which ! rang out in Penelope's voice. "What aire you doing here, prowling round like a marauding chief? You were not expected for another three, days. You are a mysterious and unsatisfactory person I" she ■siaad, trying to keep her voice steady and to stand erect upon her trembling limbs. Denis had taken off his hat and greeted the rector courteously but coldly. "I am just on my way to see your mother," he said, in his most chilly voice. , •,
Penelope's courage revived at the sound.
"She will be delighted, and will give you some tea," she answered, and by sheer will she spoke just as usual. "Tell her. to keep us some hot; we shall be in directly. Come, Mr de Burgh, .shall we go on? Mr iAitimar looks impatient. T had no idea he was so fond of tea."
Denis rode on savagely, Penelope's laughter ringing in his ears, and her beautiful face full of smiles, brilliant as it had been •when he last it blinding his sight and miking the torture of his sudden jealousy still greater. , "She is a coquette, heartless, worthless," he said to himself. "I am well saved. I should have been a miserable man if I had given rein to my folly and made Penelope Desborough my wife!" And the while he said this he knew that he was perjuring himself, and that his "folly" was something that would never go; rather was it something which would last throughout Ms life. Marcia Rochdale, was not altogether a stranger to Latimar Court and its environments, but the.beauty of the place came on her again with convincing force as she drove up to the curious old entrance in the luxurious carriage that had been sent to meet her mother and herself at the little milway station.
She felt a thrill, of excitement ani ] eagerness pass through her as vh' .alighted ahd received a most fully worded welcome from "the 7<wjvr Of'Latimar Court, who stood banheaded to greet his guest s mVdi.'r tb stone archway as the carriage drev.«P- V There was a regal air about everything. It was not like ?. modern house. She had stayed in many a country mansion where luxury was found in every ■ corner, but she had never before been in such a hor.se as Latimar Court.
Marcia saw -herself mistress of this beautiful place, holding her hoad high and sweeping through the hall and up and down the bro;d, black oak staircase as undisputed sovereign of •all. She saw herself in a dozen different pictures, each full of satisfactory points. "You like my home, Miss Rochdale?" Denis s id involuntarily. Marcia looked at him. "Yes!" was all she said, but s3< managed to convey an intensity r/ meaning in the word. •The grave, almost taciturn manner she adopted was very successful, coming as it did with so much contrast after'her mother's exclamations tw r ejaculations. By much diplomacy and tact *!. managed to impress not. only Denis, but her mother and father and several of her intimate friends rith the idea that she was f;r above the average young woman of the day,-art! ♦!> she even might at some future period take high rank amonjr the womenthinkers and intellectual workers of the century. It had been reserved for Penelope to know her cousin as she really was. Clever as she was, Marcia was not proof "against the weaknesses common to all humanity, and jealousy of -her own sex wa s the one great danger she had to.guard against. Penelope's face, in the first instance, had roused this demon jealousy in Marcia's breast, and then the fact of Mr Latimer taking so much trouble about the girl who had been his mother's godchild, as to call several times on the' chaiice of seeing her, had annoyed Miss Rochdale into almost openly expressed dislike for her country cousin. The nasty little sneers and jarring remarks anent poor girls and their still poorer chance in the world of fash ion and rank, which were directed so frequently against Penelope, would have been a tremendous astonishment to Denis Latimar could he have overheard them. Most certainly Marcia had no intention of allowing the young man to know more about her than she chose to let him know, and she felt, with much inward elation, that the so-
journ on board the yacht had been an excellent preparation for the ir.nre serious results she hoped and anticipated fro-n her visit to Latimar Court. There were, however, one or two things which troubled Marcia at odd moments. First, and chief among them, was the near proximity of the Desboroughs to the Court. It was no use denying to herself that Penelope wag an absolute danger, - and could be a rival powerful even for herself, added to which was the uneasy remembrance that Penelope was gifted with a remarkably sharp tongue, which could, if "ib chose, reveal something of' the truth concern • ing the character of the handsome Misg .Rochdale. But the difficulty here was not so much a trouble to Marcia as the knowledge that there was .omething very wrong with Denis Latimar. Marcia had watched her host as carefully and stealthily as a cat watches a mouse, and though the fact was mortifying to her vanity, she was compelled to admit that it was more than evident that the cause of Latimar's changed manner and looks arose from some trouble of the heart —some disappointment and sorrow which was of recent date. She tried very hard to gather some •clue to the.matter, but, despite -all Iter efforts, up to the present she had not succeeded. His secret, whatever it was, belonged to Denis himself; and though •he was kindness itself, Marcia felt that hi s efforts to interest and amuse his guests were effort in truth anci in deed, and that though he houghed and talked and seemed as bright anc genial as usual, his re.ti self never mingled with these moods, and he lived apart, veiled about in his regrets. . Marcia's jealousy, which needed so little to be roused, was, of course, fired against the unknown woman who held so .much power over this man she desired. No thought of connecting Penelope with tlus ■mysterious and dangerous rival entered Misg Rochdale',s thoughts or calculations^
Denis had said nothing about his ] visit to Waveston; it was not necessary; it saved him from the discomfort of discussing a period .which was full of regretful memories to him. He had mentioned in the most cas-, ual way that he had seen Mrs Desborough and her daughters, and the mention had been made so naturally and easily that Marcia's keen cars could detect nothing, and her spirits revived at the apparent indifference to Penelope's undoubted attractions conveyed in his speech. "Did you see both my cousins?" she had asked, in a casual way, but '.raiting eagerly for the reply; and is Denis answered: "Yes, both," she felt immediately relieved. "Nevertheless, Marcia could no hide from herself that the task of winning this man for her husb"nc wmild ba r.o easy one. > •'!'» .be C«.r:tia. ifd.)
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Wairarapa Age, Volume XXV, Issue 10713, 2 July 1913, Page 2
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1,369"Pretty Penelope," Wairarapa Age, Volume XXV, Issue 10713, 2 July 1913, Page 2
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