"WHICH IS HEIRESS?"

Auckland Star, Volume XLIII, Issue 201, 22 August 1912, Page 10

"WHICH IS HEIRESS?"

BY RITA RICHMOND.

Author of "The Dead Man's Hand," "Handsome Xed's Daughter," "Beggar by Choice." (.••HATTER KIT. TIIC picxre IX THE WOODS. "Ti'";i. my Jmi , - if all is ready for the ir ,| -l-o.' siippn.-e wf do «°' ; " said Mr '.iiiip., ~Maxlnnn with a resigned air as ;.... jr-nl ;il the front door ill the hall 'onUi! , i';> r '< iU ,tlllarl . v oongrega'toa HnKhiifhini. It ms th» mcrniin.j!; a.ftor GooiVrcy Wiirgravp'a arrival, and the picnif which had been a subject of discueeion iho pn-vioiis day, hnd been aiTflSißwl. Tlio Nv'iiihcr wns propitious, a fair nml smilinp sky iind a warm balmy breMie nrad" ihp " prospects of a pi.-nic ralher ploasin?. Moreover, the <M>irntry round «I,oiil. '" Biuohester viae ,{a;vou.ra.ble to iik-niw in its pretty pictwresqueness oi <w-li>fcle swelling'slopes and -ferny hollows, besides vvhicJl shallow. meandering s( rcain.s run most- oonvt-nien-tHy. There wre certain old ruins, too, in the neightxmrhoml. as it ruined on purpose to mako objects -of interest for the picnicfrs». and n-ear one of 'these o>ld ivy-RTOwn : Tiriiifi Lady Marjorie had decided to take her party, «o Uiat. as Sir .Tun pioomily put it -lim dctpxted picnics), ai'ter l.hey had all taken -fodd in tlw most uncnpifartablo and disagreeable fashion Ihey miffM amusn -Uiemeelves trj'ing to i break •Uie.ir legs or n-eclcs on the broken down stivira of the .ruii*?.

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They stood ready to start oiT. Tho two girl Hobsons in their dark soitlyfallLTiS draperies of ?ome thin silken material, and '-their big shady black hats, looking pvpn c-onier and more restful to ■the eye than IHtln Lady Marjorie m her dainty cream colours and faint touches of pink in hat and idolise- Xhe nien of tho party had also array-ed themselves as coolly as, masculine costume and coirv-en-tion "allows oi. in light knickerbockers a.nd jackets Pstriama hits ami cape. •So we are apparently ready," Sir .lim continued, after a. careful glance through {his gloss at the patty, -'and as I f"t\ as becomingly attired and as miserably p:c--ni<«ißh as usual on these, occasions. 1 shall now lead th-? way w+Ui usual uncomplninraj; misery of mien. Come along. Vera! ' '-■Come "along. Vera}' , echoed his wife impatiently to herself as the party streamed out .into the. snushine, followed j by a youthful maneervant carrying a! small hamper. *CV)rae along. Vera, in- | deed, tea f, r one and spoiled all my neat libt-le arrangement."' , said 'the little lady aimovfdly. 'watching * ir J"™ c-heerfully marching Vera off. She herself had pounced Dick Burton as companion tor the mile an-d a half walk which was •to follow. resolved that hr should not have more of Aileen's company than she could heln. Lady Marjorie glanced at him as she rapidly devised her scheme. ""You h;iv« sot, too minih to enrry, Mr Burttm,' , she : said suddenly. "Not at all," began -the young man, startled out of an .abe-ent and rather (iAooniy eontempla-tion of one of the Jende'r black-robed figures on in front, which was evidently paying very inter-ett-eil a'dention to what Ooffrey Wargrave \rae saying. He could see the faint round of a cheek a little uplifted 'to the other grave, handsome face, the curve of chin rising from the lily throat, and already, poor Dick, -the sigh* of that face 'turned towards any man's save his own was bitter to him. "Oh, 'but I'm afraid .they are too ranch for vow,' , protested Lady Marjorie: then sh" raised her voice imperatively. "Jim!" '"Yes. my deaT," replied her husband, turning round slightly. He "wii3 busy exjilaining the beauties of a new golf etic? io Veia, "I want you to come and relieve Mr Burton of some of my things, they're rather too much for him."

Sir Jim paused, ■then. "11l be beck in a minute,' , he said cheerfully 'to Vera, but ■when he reached his wife's side that lady laid a chiich on his arm like that of the "Ancient mariner."

Dick had ait that moment dropped one of his magazines, and had fallen behind ■to .pick it up. "You will stay here," ■whispered Marjorie firmly, stall boWiiig Sir Jims ami. "I wont Vera to walk with Randolph Verisopht." "Eh?" said Sir Jim stupidly, staring vacuously at the pred/ty little annoyed face. Had not Dick been behind, Marjorie •would have shaken him for his denseness. "'Let these two alone, and walk with mc." she said briefly, i«3training herself with some difficulty. "Oh, I see. You rami mc 'to help Dick," said Sir .rhn nodding comprehensively. His wife shot a withering glance at ! itim, but merely replied briefly, "Yea." Now iQie young man with whom Vera •was left was a certain Randolph Veri-soph-t, who owned a rather handsome estate near Maxtotm's. By repute he •was.a ■wealthy yormg man; in reality he was not by any means so rich as he was supposed ito . be. But this nobody guessed, and Lady Marporic in her matchmaking fever had already designed him for Vera. ■ ( "'Whatever did you ask ithxut fellow for?" growled Sir Jim, presently waAching the vonng man, who 'had promptly taken up his position by Vera's side now. He •was a tall, well-built young man, wrt-h a da-rk, clean-shaven and a wide thin-lipped mouth, which had a trick of shutting up in a sudden fashion after its owner had ceased speaking, i/hat reminded one raither disagreeably of a trap snapping to, and a pair of deep-&et grey-green eyes, s?omewhat catlike in expression. Sir Jim did not liki? him. neither did Dick Burton: "a pool, cheeky chap," the latter dubbed him promptly. Verisopht ha<l attached himself from (bhe first to Vera., and had delighted the heart of iMa-rjoirie by the readiness with which ho hail faillcn in with her SichoillPS.

"What did vim ask that follow for said Sir .Tim. air.iin oyc"ing ithis gpn'tl"man disapproving!;.-. His wife g'.anoo! at him resignedly. Was it likely •.-the could 'tell him with Dick at her side? How dense men could be, to be sure! "Just because," she Teplied deliberately, and shuit her pretty lips tight. Sir Jim eyed her hopelessly, then turned t>l Dick for eojiversaition. in

w'licii he remained till the spot for the pir-iij" v.;;-. re:i,-!rd. v.'.wn Lady Marjori* ifniKiUiivi-U Ihe fact li ths party with ;i. ■vr.lnin proprietor! it air. ••Tiiis is our ti:.:. ■•■:" she cried *-j '.he L'iln;r.-i. waving h'.v )>.ii'S''.ul t'i urri"»; th'ir further ste)je. ' : . ii- w.en t.hev dr>v.,i wraps and sticks mi tin- g'-u.srt, and w : n.-.'. their perspiring br.-.-.v-. lor the walk !r.ui h-.-vii a hot. on;-.

!..;ui.v -\hirjr.r:.' ;<!;iiit<>il out with the same j:-:~>;ir;i''. ;vr:ilo lit- l*:rj.ty of 'the riißvn ; ;;c>;. with i' ' liitic sparkjing br.-iok, ii-i little (ijji;>iao of sheltering irot , .-. an its pk - .t4ire*qut' view of the rumbling old ruins in <t&e near ricinity. William, the ecrvaret, was already husy unpacking the hamper for lunch,

and as the men at least of the party were hungry, they also set to work with i alacrity to help in 'the preparations. Now ifick burton saw his opportunity, for Ijidy -Ma-rjurie had released him fo7 the time, being busy superintending William's efforts", and he hastened to make the be.it use of his freedom-

" I'm going to fe.icli wnt-er," he announced, promptly seizing a kettle. "Will you come with mc and see that I carry" it back steady?" he added in (i lower tone to Aileen. She looked up [at Kirn for an instant, becoming all too ready to accede to this young mane reI quests, to shut her eyes to t.he «nd of 1 the flowery road that both were treading, and yet, why bother about the end of the roadit was out of sight yet, meantime, and though to Dick there must, lie only disappointment and despair, ito Ailoen a wennded heart, at the end of it. yet the alliance was too sweet meantime to be denied. .

"Will you conic?" says Dick, swinging the kettle and eyeing 'the fringe of gilttipped laebee resting on the faint pink •round of cheek beneath.

" Yes," replied Aileen, in a half-Mght-J ened whisper, and gives one suirreptijtous glance behind her at the little c.reivm-cokiiired liprure bending over pots ■ami 'pins with William, then flees with ■Dick. Presently, when 'the little lady says to Williem, " WiiHani, I think you i had better fetch your -water now," she j received the respectful reply, with what amount of 'hidden amusement underneath it only William knowe, being quite aware, as servants always are, of tie "gomes" wSioh fro <m in their employers' (affivirs. "If you please, my lady," says ■William gravely. ""Mr Bivrton and Miss H-obeon iave gone off with the kettles some time ago." The lady f.rowns, but the fact cannot :be herped now, and presently Dick and ' AHeen a-rrive wihh tlie water, and then everybody 'begins to assist in laying ifche doth. wrt'h assiduity brining forth J fjand-wjehes, strawberries, and all sorts lof irefresh-me-n'te, Sir Jim and Dick Bur- ; ton indeed, in particuhir, making bhemj selves so useful that Williain'a post becomes a mere sinecure, and because of the st'hmilns provrided by this unvroir-ted energy the refreshment-s taste all the more grateful. I "After all."' say-* Siir .lira, in the [middle of a sandwich, which he is steadily disposing of. "the wild red man who has to seo<ure his dinner before partaking of it is not so much to be pitied. The I poor man in yon, lonely cot," pointing vaguely to the horizon, "-has compensations in having to prepare -his daily food —it adds a -wondevfTil zosit ia appetite— I another sandwich here, Wiil'tam!' ,

They all enjoy themselves certainly over this meal, and presently, when !uuobeon is a thing of the past, they begin to enjoy themselves in other ways. Geoffrey Wargrave, for instance, who ■has found fthnself by Vera's eide, is reclining on his elbow on ithe grasa, evidently finding a stirange joy in merely glancing tip now and then, into the face nbora him, and the eyes, whose grey the shadow of hex ip.xrasol 'has deepened into velvet darkness.

That young man has been almost recklessly gay to-day. In .tru*h Geoff has made a compact with himself this day— a compact to this effect that for oneshort 'half of the month he stays in Holm House, he will put behind him thai, dishonourable scheme which he has sworn himself to, ■will hold himself 'in regard to these two beautiful girls aa other men might. Will yield to his at•tractione for one short fortnight only, I after 'that the deluge—the dishonourable scheme shall huv-e sway over him, and he will redeem his word to his

fai her. Till then, forgetful ness, and this strange sweet joy that has taken possession of him shall be hi*. He has sealed his pact with Jrhnself, with one long look nt those sofi eyes above him, has grasped his happiness 'by force, und means to keep it for a time. "Why shouldn't we go and «iplAne .the iurinis.*' asked Vhrla wherj silence has fallen -between them for a little by reason oif these thougthts of his. "Why not, indeed?" replied Geoff eagerly, lifting himself from his elbow. He glances round quickly, the others have gradually wandered ofT, and left ■them alone in the sweet eirmmer silence. Even Lady Marjorie has thrown aside the cares of her chaperonage, and is following Sir Jim and Vorisphot up the stream, exploring its source. Only William is left busily "'washing up." Geoff springs to his feet, and holds out bis hand, an eager invitation in his brown eyes. "Will you come?" he says quickly. "Why not," replied Vera q-atekly, smiling tip at Win, and takes th« outstretched hind. (To be continued daily.)