ROMANCE

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 19, 24 January 1939, Page 17

ROMANCE

FURTHER FOOLISHNESS.

Short Story

¥ ADY REVLINGTON sat trembling in her corner of the jolting coach. Her eyes stared ahead of her and she was conscious with every nerve in her body Charles presence, of his lar«e Wi Se i l'- a ? d 8 g«"»«ping his jewelled headed stick, and his dark eves, heavily nnged with purple lines of "dissipation, which seemed to compel her to glance ifTu n ° l ? r ant * theu towards him, whether she would or not. Echoing still in her ears were the cries of farewell of her family and the cheers of the tenants as thev had driven away down the long ill-kept drive of the home she had known and loved for nearly eighteen years. It was with the greatest difficulty that she had prevented herself from crying out and reiusing to go away with her bridegroom when the moment for their departure had arrived, and yet even the momentary panic which bad seized her as she had coine rustling down the stairs in her new silk dress was not so agonising as the slow misery which was creeping over her now aa the £ull realisation of what she had done penetrated her mind. Vet, what choice ha.l she? There was her father, ill, practically bankrupt, and still gambling; mother, lighting to keep up appearances and to save the estate from the bailiffs; and her brother away overseas with his regiment. There was no one to whom she could turn, no one who could save her from what seemed to the outside, world a brilliantly successful marriage. Half the women at St. James' would have been only too delighted to be iu ner shoes—that, she knew. Sir Charles was rich, he was powerful, he was a friend of the king, and wkat was more he was in love with her. Yet she knew that she hated him, hated the husband to whom she had pledged her vows but tin hour before. The bridegroom took out his snuffbox sniffed, flicked a few grains of snuff from his satin sleeve with a lace handkerchief, and then put out his hand towards his bride. A small growl arrested him, and two rows of sharp teeth and a pair oi bright eyes appeared from among the ribbons, laces, and flowers of my lady's corsage. "By my faith," said Sir CHarleg, '1 did not know that rapping mongrel had accompanied us." He 18 a very dear companion, my lord," faltered bit bride in trembling tones. She put her hands round the tiny animal and drew it back under the folds of her mantle. The nervous flush which stained her pale cheeks was exceedingly becoming, and when she raised her blue eyes 'again to her husband he bent forward towards her. Almost in spite of herself she shrank from him violently and then his hand came out to hold her. There was a startled movement, a sharp growling snarl, and the dog's teeth met in the plump well-nourished fleeh of Sir Charles hand. He ejaculated an oath, and then almost before hi* wife was conscious of what was happening he had seized the dog and with a sharp, quick movement, had brought the heavy Jewelled stick down on its head. The dog gave one whimper and lay still. With a smothered shriek Lady Revlington stretched out anguished hands, but it was too late. "How dare you! my lord," she cried, "How dare you," and then horror and a sense of helplessness overcame her and tears gathered in her eyea and trickled •lowly down her cheeks. "Gad! But must a man be bitten by a cur on his wedding day?" Sir Charles answered, wiping the drops of blood from his hand with his handkerchief. "fie was all I had," the bride whispered, her lips trembling, but she said it so low that Sir Charles .did not hear. "And a bride, madame," he continued, "needs no other dear companion than her husband. Come now." Her shoulder* were so rigid against the cushions of the coach that it seemed as one or the other must give. She held her breath tightly, and even the trembling of her mouth was stilled as she watched him bend nearer and nearer towards her. Two terrified hands fluttered supplicatingly, as a piece of Dresden china might attempt to stem a flood, and then— "Stand and deliver," cried a voice, and the coach pulled up with a jerk. Through the window appeared two heavy. pistols held 'by shapely hands, the wrists veiled in valuable lace protruding from a richly embroidered coat. There was a smiling mouth beneath a black mask and a glimpse of fair hair under a black eocked hat. Sir Charles sat staring at the pistols, I liis jaw drooping, his finger* twitching against his formidable stick, but the .bride, after the.Ant quick breath, felt curiously unafraid, even relieved. "By the Gods! a honeymoon couple," said the highwayman gaily, seeing the (crumpled rose petals on the floor of the coach and the white flower* pinned against the bride's breast. "Yon shall pay for tbi* outrage," stormed Sir Charles. "What the hell are my servants doing f Hi, varlets, help." The highwayman laughed and moved a little from the aperture of the window. Past his shoulder Sir Charles could see his coachmen being tied to adjacent tree trunks by another masked man. "I must beg of you, sir and madame," said the highwayman with a sweeping bow, "to step into the roadway and allow my man to search under the seat for your valuables." "Damnation!" cursed Sir Charles, who had himself concealed various costly wedding presents in that place of considered safety. "Sir. your wife is present," rebuked the highwayman, opening the door. Pushing past his wife, swearing and oatbing, hi* hands ignombiiously above his head, Sir Charles descended. Even his own servants smiled a little at his discomfiture. He was a hard master, and a bully being bullied appeal* all the world over. Lady Revlington paused to pick up the small" body of her dog from the floor of the coach. It had been hidden hitherto beneath the stiff fold* of-her silk dress, but now she raised it, holding it against her laces, tears blinding her eye* so that she put out her hand tremblingly for support and found it claapad in a strong, warm grasp. "You are in distress, madame?" said a kind voice. Confidentially, instinctively, she held out the tiny corpse. "Is be quite dead?" she asked. The highwayman felt tfie small body with knowledgeable hands and then he looked at the bruised and battered head. "Who has dared?" he aaid angrily, and then stopped. "I am afraid you have lost a friend." he said very gently, end turned sbarplv to where Sir Charles stood fuming and oatbing, guarded by the masked accomplice.

"Tie him up," the highwayman cornmantled sternly, and Sir Charles' protests were in vain as he was bound ignominiously beside his own servants. When he was completely helpless the highwayman slipped the pistols into the holnter at his wa*»t. "Would you like to bury your friend?" he asked, and L<ady Revlington raised grateful ey«w. "I should be happier, sir," she answered, "were it possible." With a carriage tool they made a small deep hole, and regardless of time and the racing of Sir Charles, the bride wrapped her ''dear companion" in a dainty shift from her own box of wedding finely. Taking her bridal bouquet from the coach she scattered it as a fragrant lining for the tiny grave, and then the highwayman covered it with tlie soft soil and, taking a smooth stone, wrote the date and set it at the head. l>uek was falling when they had finished, and then with her eyes still wet with tears the bride rose from her knees. "Thank you from the bottom of my heart," she said, and even as she spoke she glanced apprehensively over her, shoulder. She knew only too well ljow little pity, how little mercy she herself might expect in the future, and her married life loomed ahead like a nightmare, a thing of horror from which she could never escape. She put out her hand instinctively to thank the highwayman, and he felt her fingers tremble in his and knew she was afraid. '"May we dine together before we j>art?" he said. I see a monstrous basket of food strapped oil vour coach, and I am very hungry. Oh," lie continued, as she hesitated, "you have but to speak and your husband shall be restored to his proper place." He did not mis# the terror in her eyes or the shudder which shook her, yet she smiled up at him bravely. "It would be inhospitable after your kindness, sir. to leave you hungry." At the highwayman's command the other i* '.ed man, who wore the respect. ' zarment*) of a servant, carried down the heavy basket and set it in a leafy grove some distance from the blaspheming of the imprisoned Sir Charles, • and the surprised surveillance of the servants. He laid out a gallant spread beneath a great oak tree and Lady Revlington sank gratefully on to the carriage cushions, which he also brought and laid on the mossy ground. The highwayman divided a bottle of wine and a pie also for his man's supper and motioned him aside to share his portion with the coachmen.

Sir Charles had grown hoarse with shouting and swearing, including all in his anger, even his wife. Now he was out of their sight and they could hardly hear him, and with a shy gesture, as the highwayman stood as if awaiting her commands, Lady Revlington invited him to sit beside her. He eat down,' and for a brief moment they both stared at each other, and then with a quick movement he removed his mask and she found herself looking into a yonng and very handsome face, clean shaven, with a kind but firm mouth and dark, grey eyes that seemed to hold a glint of laughter in their depth*. For a moment she looked at him wideeyed, and then she blushed and looked away. "You are not frightened, madame?" be asked. *nd it seemed to her that his | voice held a caressing note, but instead of .being afraid, her breath seemed only to quicken so that a white hand was raised to still the tumult of the laces at her throat. "Not now, sir," ahe replied, and he had to 'bend his unpowdered head to hear her answer, for it was scarce above a whisper. As they ate the moon rose round and silver behind the dark trees, the lanterns threw a golden light on the leafstrewn ground, the silence of the woods was magic round them, and the breeze, warm and sensuous, whispered of happiness. They scarcely spoke, and yet it seemed that so much was mentioned between them; they scarcely ate, and vet the food seemed delicious. i" "Why do you ply such a trade?" she questioned. "Life was incredibly dull," he answered, "and the lure of the open road is a glorious adventure. I was lonely and bored, yet there Is an old house not so many miles from here, oakbeamed and lavender scented, that awaits its master. Or maybe it is a mistress that it lacks." "Don't the stairs creak with the soft footsteps of bygone mistresses?" she asked dreamily. "Their dresses rustle in the passages, tljeir sweet scent clings to the old tapeatries, I hear the soft murmur of their gentle voices and glimpse the glisten of their bare shoulders as they pass to and fro. It is not enough. I would have tangible arms around my neck, living lips warm and breathing against mine. . . ." He stopped short. There was no need for further words. Youth, beauty and the moonlight ... it was all told. Ther? was a quick intake of her breath, the wonder of her eyea. and the unthinking surrender of her hands. -She felt his lips on her fingers and she knew —at last she knew, what life, happiness and love were meant to mean.

—By BARBARA CARTLAND.

For a long time they sat quite still and then slowly he dropped her hands and rose to his feet. With death- in her heart the bride felt that somehow this was the end, and yet she could not pry out, could not ask him to spare her the future, or even pray that she might die now in the happiest moment of her life. Without a word the highwayman rose and went across to Sir Charles. He cut his bonds and then handed him a glass of wine. The stimulant restored the numbed circulation and loosened the blasphemous tongue. "I will have you hung for this, theif. His Majesty's soldiers shall scour the country until they find you. As for my wife. . . ." He {mused, for the highwayman moved towards him with a menacing gesture. "Silence, sir," he said, "You and I will cross swords. We fight for our lives. There is to be no quarter." "A duel?" Sir Charles questioned, and then he smiled for the first time for many hours. It was a crafty, evil smile, holding no humour. He well knew his own merits in a duel. He was counted one of the finest swordsmen at St. James', and his dissipated, lust-lined eves gleamed through the shadows at his opponent. "My bride, fellow," he said, "will sleep the better in my arms for the thought of your demise." There was a little cry of protest from Lady Revlington, and the highwayman took her arm and drew her to one side, "Re brave, my darling," he said very gently. "It is the only way. For a moment he held her hand in his, and then as if he dare not trust himself even to kiss it, he left her. Sir Charles ignored his bride, slapping his arms, stamping his feet, and testing I the Ion" steel rapier he held in his hand. | Very slowly, without a backward "lance, Lady Revlington moved a little way into the wood and there she sank on her knees in prayer. The moon shone on a strange sight— the steely flash of rapiers, white shirts, and the still whiter faces of desperate men strained and alert. The servants watched like ghosts, immobile and silent. There was the ringing sound of clashing steel, the rustle of quick-moving feet on the dry leaves, the grunting, heavy breathing of Sir Charles, and then a sudden cry which broke the night and echoed for the moment round the sentinel trees. "I dare not look. Oh God, I dare not look." Lady Revlington clasped her fingers until they hurt one another. It seemed as if all the breath left her body, as if her ears were strained until she must swoon if the tension did not break. Then there wa« a footfall behind her and she found herself lifted in strong arms. She did not see the still, covered figure left behind in the darkness. Two twinkling eyes held hers prisoner, the moon was behind his head and like a great halo it dazzled her, while happiness thrillingly bewildered her. He carried her a short distance and then lifted her on to the saddle of his horse. He vaulted up beside her and held her once again in his arms, so that her head fell against his shoulder. "Is this a dream T" she murmured against his neck, and then they were for a moment silhouetted against the skyline. "No. wit heart, this Is romance," came his answer, and they rode away into the moonlight.