HER MARTYRDOM

Auckland Star, Volume XXVIII, Issue 224, 27 September 1897, Page 6

HER MARTYRDOM

BY BERTHA M. CLAY.

Author of "Beyond Pardon," "The Duke's Secret," "A Trife MagdaI leu," "Dora Thome," etc., etc.

CHAPTER XLIII. Friday morning broke calm and beautiful. April was drawing to a close; there was a faint gleam of gold from the laburnum, a faint glimmer of purple from the lilac, and the hedges gave promise of a profusion of fragrant may. Captain Wynyard came down early, and seemed very impatient for the arrival of the letter-bag. His face was sullen, his eyes were troubled,and at times he was so engrossed in his own thoughts that he saw or heard nothing of what was passing round him. He looked miserable. It happened that no visitors were staying just then in the house, and the captain had to breakfast alone, which annoyed him, for he abhorred solitude, his thoughts when he was by himself being not at all pleasant ones. Lady Laura never came down to breakfast unless visitors required her presence. "Where is Miss Rooden?" the captain asked, angrily. "Miss Rooden is still in her room, was the answer. The captan seated himself at the table; dark thoughts darkened his face, even as they shadowed his soul. They were cruel, terrible thoughts that could not be put into words, and were all of Angela. When he had finished his breakfast he opened the post-bag, which had meanwhile arrived, and took out his letters and papers, and the reading* of them whiled away an hour. Just as he was going round to the stables to decide what horses should be taken out, he heard quick footsteps approaching. The next moment the door was opened hastily, and Lady Laura entered the room, pale, frightened, with tears in her eyes, and her hands trembling* so that she could hardly hold the letter she carried. "Now what is the matter?" he said to himself. "There is going to be a scene." . But Lady Laura was not hysterical. 'A great sorrow had fallen upon her, which in its very magnitude seemed to swallow up her own. She was hastening to him, when she paused suddenly and wrung her hands with a gesture of despair. "I was running to you in my trouble," she cried; "but why should I? You care for neither my troubles nor joys. You do not love me; I am less than nothing to you. Why have I come to you?" "Are you in trouble, Laura? he asked. "What is the matter? Keep clear of sentiment and reproach and tell me." "Angela has gone," she moaned. "Angela has what?" cried the captain. "She has gone! I know not why— I know not where. I only know that she has gone." . "Gone!" repeated the captain. It is impossible !" Had a thunderbolt fallen at his feet Captain Wynyard could not have been more astonished; and, had his wife been more shrewd and keen, she must have discovered guilt in his face and manner. His face grew livid, and the lines deepened on it. "Gone?" he questioned, in a low, hoarse voice. "This must be some stupid jest, Laura, What does it mean?" , , , . "Read that," said her ladyship, placing an open letter in his hands. The contents ran: "My Darling Mamma,— Only Heaven, knows how full my heart is of desperate, bitter pain as I write this to you. lam going away from home for a time. I cannot tell you why or whither. I have a very strong and urgent reason for the step I am taking, but it is one I cannot explain to you. Do not grieve for me. I shall be safe and well. I shall be happy in every respect, except in leaving you. It will seem to you that I am acting strangely, but I have no other rejßouree. "Beloved mamma, believe me, 1 shall be well taken care of; I shall be under safe shelter ; but all the time I am absent my thoughts, my heart and my love will be with you. Mamma, when you know why I left home you will understand and say that I acted wisely. .You must forgive me, darling, because I do not say more at present. You will trust me because I have never until now kept one thought from you, and E grieve with my whole heart that I cannot tell you the whole truth now. Good-bye, mamma, my darling! My heart will be with you until I see your dear face again. I said good-bye to you in my heart last night when I kissed you. I say it again, praying heaven that it may not be long before I return to you." The captain's face grew even more ghastly as he read the letter. He laid it down on the table and, looking at his wife, asked: "What does it mean?" "I do not know." she answered "That is what I have come to ask you. What does it mean? Where is my daughter gone? have you quarrelled with her ? Have you grieved or struck her? I hope heaven will pardon me if I misjudge you, Vance; but I feel sure that you have something to do with her going away." "You were never more mistaken in your life" he cried angrily. "I know no more about the cause of her departure than you do. I have heard nothing to lead me to suspect that she contemplated such a thing, and you cannot be more surprised than I am, or more astonished. What in the world has she done it for? What does it mean? Laura," he concluded, "you must know something about it." "I do -not indeed," she declared emphatically. "That is the reason I sought you. I thought you must know. I feared that there had been some words, some misunderstanding between you." "And I know less about it than yourself. It is incredible to me that a girl of her age, who has been all her life under guardianship, should dare to leave home alone. Whither can she have gone? She knows no one. I am completely puzzled." "The one great nrystery to me is why she went, what drove her away from home."

She looked at the captain as she uttered the words, "what drove her away from home." She noted his livid face, the great fear in his eyes, the trembling of his hands. "Vance," she cried suddenly, "you are in a state of fear!" " How ridiculous, Laura," he re- | turned quickly. "But I confess I am startled. I never dreamed of such a thing happening. She has surely not gone alone?" "She. has indeed," said her ladyship, the conviction growing upon her that her husband was in some way to blame for tbe occurrence. ! After a brief pause the captain began to rally. A faint show of colour crept into his lips and cheeks. Tbe deadly terror had passed. He had had time to ask himself whether Angela bad gone in consequence ot something she had discovered concerning him. lie decided that it could not be so, for in that case she would have left some written record against him. "There is one thing quite certain," he said at last. "She has acted foolishly, absurdly and ridiculously. If there was anything unpleasant why did she not complain to you or to me? Why has she gone amongst strangers? You have pleased yourself in the -matter of . training her, Laura. I can only say that if she were my daughter I would make her come back and confine her to ber room with bread and water for a sveek." "Please do not speak of Angela in that manner," said ber ladyship. "She is quite different from other girls. If she has lied deliberately and of her own free will she has had some very strong reason for it. That is quite clear to my mind. If she were wild, light of thought, given to flirtation, I might waver in my opinion. But she is not, frivolous. She is full of sweet wisdom and gravity. You know that."

"I should not have thought running away from home was a course that Miss Rooden would take," he admitted. "But there is no accounting for surprises of tin's description. lias she left, no address, no cine whatever? Is there no means by which she can be traced?"

" None whatever," replied Lady Laura. "Because if there is," he said, "I will soon find her." "There is no clue whatever." "You do not know why she left home, whither she has gone, how long she will remain away, or when she will return?" Lady Laura was quite within the bounds of truth when sheanswered "No." "Then I do not see how anything can be done," he declared. " For her own sake it will be advisable to keep this absurd freak of hers as quiet as possible. It. will never do for it to be known in society that this has happened. Do the servants know, Laura?" "Only the two maids, Doris and Jane. I told them to be silent until I had seen you." "You feel sure that they have said nothing?" he asked anxiously. "I am quite sure," replied Lady Laura. "They are both most trustworthy. They will never say one word about it. But," she added, looking- up helplessly at him, "what must I do?" "Leave the matter to me," he answered. "I will do the best 1 can. I shall say in an off-hand manner before the servants that .Miss Rooden has gone on a visit, and that she need not be expected back here, as she will meet ns in town. It is an extraordinary freak; but no one can account for a girl's actions." The captain was not very sympathetic, nor did Lady La urn expect sympathy; but he was not unkind; and she left him, wondering whether this great sorrow which was so terrible to her would soften his heart. "What can it mean?" she cried to herself in the seclusion of her own room. "It is all so mysterious to me." "What can it mean?" exclaimed the captain, as he paced up and down the Hbrary."Great heaven! what can it mean?" (To be continued.)