Page 10 Advertisements Column 2

Auckland Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 239, 6 October 1916, Page 10

LADY BAKER'S SECRET ■ ~ ■ ♦_'■ .. '■. By BERTHA M. GLAY 'Authbr of "Put Asunder," "The Sine of the Father," "Redeemed by Love," "A Secret Sorrow." "The Shadow of a Bin," etc

CHAPTER XXI. ] VISITING AT AVONWOLD. « A delicious June evening—so full of "• bloom and fragrance and beauty; there 5 is no resting- indoors. Rose Darner has • tried to be proper. She knows that * visitors are coming, and in their honour she wears a pretty, pale-pink silk dress, with a brooch and bracelets of pearl, f In their honour the waving, golden- ' brown diair is (wreathed with tiny, rose- t buds, and Rose-has tried to sit in state ' in the drawing-room. What can she do—the song of the birds is distracting!; s "Are they all in love with each other 8 that they sing so sweetly?" she thinks to herself. * * Then Rose, who has a most artistic * love of colours, sees' a butterfly with purple wingß enter a white lily cup; slic « sees the busy bees working hard at the * clove carnations —drawing richest honey * from the odorous leaves. How can she sit there, and not long to be out in the 1 sunshine? So she steals quietly away. *t "I shall hear when the dinner bell • rings," she says to herself, and then, so s thankful to be out in the midst of the fragrance and bloom,, she went down ' where the roses grew sweetest- and best. < Meanwhile Lady Darner makes - her 1 toilet,' almost wondering why she should 1 be so pleased to see that young stranger again. In honour of her guest she wears s one of the magnificent dresses that suit 1 her so well—a gleaming peach-coloured satin, and with it some of the far-famed. ' "Darner" diamonds. < She looks at herself, and sees reflected 1 in the large mirror a royally beautiful woman crowned with diamonds. i "Shall I ever grow old?" she 6ays to •' herself, with a smile. "My face has not 1 altered in the least, that I.can see, for the last, twenty years." 1 She s-vveeps down into the drawing- 1 room, .as imperially beautiful as any woman in England. The two gentlemen ' from Hatton Court have' promised to I be at Avon wold in time' for. dinner, and she wonders where Rose is—Rose, who ought to be also seated in state. Then the . sunshine and flowers attracted ber, and she went to the window; as she stands there, the white lace window drapery falling, around her, she looks beautiful enough to be one of those sirens whom men worship. Mrs. Curzon and her two pretty daughters had arrived some time before, and had not yet left their dressingrooms. Miss Chatteris, after the fashion of elder sisters "who"have long been accustomed to the responsibility of everything, was busily occupied in looking round to see that all Lord Darner's wishes had been carried out. "Roses, roses, blooming roses, if you could speak, what would you say?" sang Alias Darner, in a low voice, to herself. She was bending over a moss rosebusih, and held a lovely little bud between her fingers. "I should imagine that bud would say, 'Don't gather mc, I pray,'" laughed a strange voice, quite close to her, and, turning, Rose saw two young men, bowing and looking at her with the greatest admiration. - t "Miss Darner, you have not, surely forgotten mc I remember you as well as though wo iad parted only yesterday." -t The frank, sweet eyes were raised to his. "You are, Lord St. Albans," she said. "How greatly you are altered." "I was a mischievous boy -when I saw you last, and you called mc 'Archie'; now I am a man." There was the lightest possible trace of confusion in his face as he said the [words; perhaps he felt that he was in some degree - boasting of the drooping moustache, that had really given him great' trouble. "Miss Darner, let roc introduce you to my dearest friend, and more than brother, Mr. Elster, who saved my life." ' And looking up again, Rose saw a face more beautiful than any seen 'in poet's dream. I "You saved Lord St. Albans' life at the risk of your own." she, said, holding out her little, white hand. "I was very anxious to see you." Then she blushed, thinking she had spoken too freely, and Verner thought this lovely, gracious young girl, in the midst of her bowers, the fairest of all pictures. He' said something to ber about the size, and'odour of the roses. She answered him, and the three talked together without remembering the impending dinner hour. "With the conversing, I forget all time," said Lord St. Albans; and then Rose felt horrified at remembering what she had done. Instead- of being seated in the draw-ing-room, and making the proper regulation bow as practised so often at Madame Larroixs, here she was in the garden, talking to these two young men as though she had known them aU her life. Her lovely young face blushed crimson. How was she to get rid of them—.what was she to do? ' Lord St. Albans must have guessed her embarrassment. "We should apologise for seeking the garden first," be said; "but Lord Darner brought us here." -«. Must to save Rose from further confusion her father joined them, and they entered 'the drawing-room together. . Mrs. Curzon was there with Bell and Lily—looking as most other young ladies look— -in clouds of white tulle and lace. Hope Charteris was seated in the shade of the large window. How she thanked Heaven that every ones-attent-ion was directed, to the two young gentlemen, and none to her. ■ Her face grew white as "death, her heart almost stopped beating, when Verner entered the room. It was years since ' she had seen him—long years— then he was a boy, sleeping in the shabby 'little bedroom at Wjdcombe. She thought, if centuries had elapsed, she would have known that face anywhere— the white, broad brow, go full of ideality and poetry, the clustering hair, the luminous eyes, and the beautiful mouth, He was so like hie' mother that she grew sick and faint as she looked at Him. It would not have surprised' her if the whole room full of people had cried out, with one voice:— , "He is Hoy's son." - And then she saw Lady Darner, with a sweet smile on her radiant face, advance to meet him. • She saw ber sister's band clasp his, and then a merciful. darkness came before her.eyes, and.for some minutes she. could see no more. • When her senses returned to her, she found herself saying:— ' "Merciful Heaven, have mercy, on me!' ' When she hadlast seen those two to «etherj Florence lay with the' shadow ol death on her face, utterly insensible tc all that passed, and he lay, a tiny, helpless babe, on her arm.