YOUNG HEARTS

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 151, 27 June 1924, Page 12

YOUNG HEARTS

By EFFIE ADELAIDE ROWLANDS.)

CHAPTER X.—(Continued.) Diana found it extremely difficult to get to the village, there was 110 one j whom she could trust to send, for one by one, the old servants were sent away, and the house was full of foreign maids and new faces; but she did manage to get one letter sent through Miss Gray to London, and this had come when, on one occasion, she had put on her habit and mounting her mare had ridden out into the country. The frost was not quite gone, but the ground was beginning to yield, and there was both joy and sadness combined to Diana in that stolen ride. After she had snatched a few moments with the old housekeeper who had promised eagerly to Bend her letter and Diana was in the saddle once again and riding Lack to Winfrey, she. was overtaken by another rider who cantered after her. Hearing the sound and turning, Diana recognised Henry Lyndhurst. The young man had been making good progress in riding. He sat his horse fairly well now, and looked almost as if ho were comfortable in the saddle. Although they met frequently now at Winfrey, Mr. Lyndhurst had not made much advance in bis attempt at friendship with General Orland's daughter. He was always so awkward and shy and half afraid when with Diana, but today he had a different look. '"I am the bearer of a message to you, M;sa Orland." he said ns he drew up beside her, "from Sir Jasper," lie added. Dinnn frowned slightly. "Oh!" she said, and then she waited for (he message. "Sir Jasper would like to sec you; be asked mc the other day if I saw you; f told him that Mrs. Orland very kindly invited mc to Winfrey occasionally. Then lie asked about you, Jliss Orland, and then he said be would like to see you if you could spare the time to go to Hyde." Diana smiled faintly at this. "My time is certainly not my own these days, Mr. Lyndhurst," she said dryly, "but I will speak to my father and I hope it may be arranged that I can get over to Hyde. I would like very much indeed to Eec dear old Sir Jasper again; we have always been such very good friends." Honry Lyndhurst was looking at her in undisguised admiration. On horseback, in her well-worn riding garb, with the colour brought by the exercise painted delicately on her cheeks, Diana always looked her best. Lyndhurst envied the easy way in which she sat her horse; he had watched her so often riding to hounds and bad longed to be able to follow as she did. He had always found her very difficult to approach, and was reluctantly compelled to allow that despite Mrs. Orland's friendly attitude towards him, he was not making the slightest advance I towards a better understanding with Diana. The message he had given Diana was a real one. To his great surprise that morning when he bad gone into Sir Jasper's room to attend to the correspondence, the old man, breaking through a rule of silence, began to talk about Winfrey. Henry Lyndhurst had been ignorant that Sir Jasper had known of his visits to General Orland's house. It had given the young man a little uncomfortable feeling to know that his old kinsman was so well informed; in fact, he Irad quickly detected a note of sarcasm in Sir Jasper's voice when the new menage at Winfrey had been spoken of between them. "I hear," Sir Jasper had said dryly, "that the General's wife is disposed to be very friendly to you, Henry. I hope you appreciate the honour she docs you." Lyndhurst had looked under his eyelids at Sir Jasper and for a brief while did not answer. Then he said: "Mrs. Orland is a very beautiful and gracious lady, and I think the neighbourhood is treating her very unkindly." "Oh!" said Sir Jasper, "is that so? Well, you see, my dear Henry, people about here unfortunately have long memories. General Orland's first wife was a very sweet and beautiful woman; beautiful in deeds and nature as in looks, and though ehe died a good many years ago, her memory is still fresh and green with those whose privilege it was to know her." The young man writing at the table had set his lips rather grimly. "I suppose, sir," lie said, "you are one of those who consider that General Orland has committed a crime by marrying a second time?" Sir Jasper looked at the young man wits some surprise. "Why, Henry," he said, "arc you actually learning to talk?" then he banged his hand on the table near. "Commit a crime!" he repeated. "Yes! and again yes! There were many women whom he could have given as a mother to his girl, but to bring such a creature into his home life, and expose Diana to all the sorrow and trouble that this second marriage must have signified to her, was a cruel thing! But he will pay for his mistake and pay heavily. Next time you see Diana," Sir Jasper bad added, "give her my love and tell her I should like to see her." A moment later the old man had spoken again, fixing his dark eyes on Lyndhurst, "Let mc give you a word of advice, Henry! Don't put foolish ideas into your head; Diana Orland is not for you! Then he had gone on dictating his letters and he had taken no notice of the hot flush which had mounted to Henry Lyndhurst's face, though he was perfectly well aware that the young man's heart was seething with anger. That unpleasant remark of Sir Jasper's came back very clearly to Henry LyndImrst's mind as he rode beside Diana. The hot anger with which Sir Jasper had inspired him had died down, but the resentment wrought by that anger had remained. Ever since. Peter Shirley and his grandfather had parted, ambition had been creeping more and more surely into Lyndhurst's heart. The fact that he had been brought deliberately by Sir Jasper into the house, that the old man had "given him a place in that house almost approximately approaching that which Peter Shirley had held, had very naturally encouraged ambition, and Lyndhurst was no fool. He knew that he had a great deal to learn, and a great deal to unlearn. Above all he had to make bia way in the teeth of the enormous popularity which had belonged to Peter Shirley. He had to teach himself how to dress, how to speak, how to fit himself for a big position, for he argued shrewdly to himself that if Sir Jasper Shirley had had no plans for his future, why had he brought him from the North? Uprooting him from his middle-class surroundings, and putting ideas into his head which never would have come there in his own life? It had stung him, therefore, to have had the old man speak so bluntly about

himself and Diana. Not that he deluded himself in nny way where this girl was concerned. He knew that he would have :in uphill tusk in breaking down the barrier which her old friendship with Peter Shirley had built up between them, hut he believed that now Shirley was completely out of the running, unci realising that for some strange reason Diana's stepmother was disposed to make everything easy for him, Henry Lyndhurst dared to dream dreams of the future, with Diana Orland as his wife. And gradually ho had come U; the conclusion that so long as he remained in the backfnound, as i(. were, and permitted himself (o be judged an an inferior person, lip never would make headway. Consequently, although Diana gave him no encouragement now 1o stay, he continued to ride besiclu her, making conversation iii lie did bo. After a while Diana determined to get rid of him. and with just a nod of her head by way of farewell elm touched her marc and cantered along a grassy stretch. She wns conscious of feeling that she was a little unjust to Lyndhurst. After all, he was not to blame for having been "brought to Hyde, and though no doubt he was not by any means on particularly good terms just now mith l'cter, Diana knew enough of old Sir Jasper to be quite sure that lie had this other young man well in hand. Nevertheless she did not like Lyndhurst, and in particular was iiarply annoyed that he was being encouraged to come so frequently to the house. When she rode into , tile stableyard, she saw Georp.'tte just getting o it of a ear. Diana .lipped' from her horse, and turned to go into the house, but the oilier girl hailed her. Diana hesitated an instant before going towards Georgette, because she had been sharply conscious that during the last week there had lisen a marked change in iliss Delvine's manner to wards her. ]n fact, (ieorzptte had been extremely disagreeable, not to say rudi.-, and when she was rude she had the trick of making a sensiti\e person like 'liana suffer considerably. However, Diana braced herself up now, and went towards the ear. "Say!" said fleorgette, "I've just been t<. , that queer old town ot yours and I see that there is a dance advertised for to-night at the hotel. I guess it will bia sort of punk aM'air, but I want to w.> to it all the same; and I want you to come, along too, because you are sure to know crowds .of people."' Diana coloured hotly. "I am awfully sorry. Ceorgctte, but I don't dance." She paused an instant. and then said: "And one never goes to the town dances.'' Georgette took ofTencc at this speech. "Don't mix with the town people. I suppose? They're not good enough for you—that's it, isn't it? You'd simply rather get mouldy and old standing around on your dignity than having a touch of real life to warm you up. That's your real good English snobbery with a vengeance. Well, if you won't go, I'll go , alone.'' Diana looked troubled. "You are w> quick to judge mc wrongly, Georgette. It isn't a question of putting on airs or being a snob; it is simply a question that I have never been to any dance yet except little impromptu affairs got up at a moment's notice at one or another of the houses round, and I shouldn't know a creature.' . Then she added gently: "I am sure it is awfully dull for you here, and I am very sorry; but I am afraid I can do nothing to make things better or more cheerful." Miss Delvine gave, a shrug of her shoulders, and then walked away, and, after a little pause. Diana left the courtyard and went into the house. The only thing that, gave her pleasure at thia moment was the remembrance that her letter would l>o speeding on its way to Peter, and that she would have to devise some way of getting its answer, and yet this thought was shadowed. All deception was contrary to Diana's nature. She longed to be able to let her father and the whole wo-rld know that she was writing to Peter, and that ho was writing to her, but she was hemmed about by alien influences. The conditions of her life became every day so much more difficult that she had to put aside her , natural repugnance to anything like secrecy. She had to snatch at stray chances of happiness, for there was so , much that was new and hurtful surrounding Diana at this time. (To be continued daily.) N.S.W. CRICKET TEAM. The Sydney players were not long- in realising the value of Q-tol Tor skin soreness and Fluenzol as a throat gargle and mouth wasU. — (Ad.)