THE SPLENDID SILENCE.

Clutha Leader, Volume XXXIX, Issue 53, 14 February 1913, Page 7

THE SPLENDID SILENCE.

• BY ALICE MAXJD MEADOWS,

' Author of " A Million of Money," " The I Dukedom of Portaea," "The House at the Comer," "I Charge You Both," "One Life Between," Etc. \ CHAPTER VII. "Thank goodness that is over! ,: ; Fausteen O'Neil was sitting on the balconv of the Hotel Prince de Gaul, Monte* Carlo, leaning back in a loungechair, and looking pale, tired, and upset. ' Wilfred Davener was ministering" to her wants, which, in spito of tlie tea equipage being at band, seem ed to run in. the direction of brandy and soda. . i "Don't drown it," she said, as sm began to splash the soda-water into the glass."iiy dear girl," he remonstrated; but he stopped at once, and 1 handed her the glass. "Im all to pieces—all of a tremble," she said. "If I do not have something to pull me together I shall be good for nothing, and unable to start on the leeward journey to-night. Personally, 1 &o not see why we need hurry 50, Why should we not pack our traps, drive over to Nice by moonlight, and jpeiid a few* days there. s '" His eyes flashed, his color rose; lie stooped and kissed her clingingiy. "Nothing would please me better, my dearest girl," he said, "but I must think of you." "Think of me? What do you mean by that?" speaking sharply. He put his hand very gently upon her shoulder. "You have no father or mother," he said, "no natural guardian. We have have been most circumspect; we have adhered to all the rules laid down by Madame Grundy; we have stayed at different hotels; I have left you each night at a ridiculously early hour; we went to church on Sunday; we have done in all things exactly as it was'right and proper we shouKl do. We must not spoil it now by any false step. We must hurry luck to England and then, my dearest girl, as soon as ever it is possible, get married, and I am quite, quite >ure live happily ever after." She took no notice of bis She had emptied her glass and pushed it towards him. "1 must have another," she said. "I feel a little better, but not much. Oh! wasn't that advocate, or whatever you call him, horrid! The questions lie asked 1 me! And that girl, the maid. She was detestable. She always hated dip, sin would have made me out a niurdercsr and hanged me if she could, and even Bob was stupid. TVliy did ho make so much of the quarrel Lady Golistei and I had had ? After all, it was not very much of a quarrel, and the verdict was horrid, too —she died of an overdose of chloral contained in her coffee, but whether administered purposely or in accident by herself or by some other hand it was impossible to toll. It's a sort of 'not proven' verdict, isn't it?" He looked' what he was, thoroughly worried. The inquest upon the dead Ladv Golister had, indeed, been an unpleasant affair, and taking place as it it did in France, a painfully theatrical affair.

There had boon certain strange incidents connected with the death of Lath Golister. In the first place, Lady Golister and her companion had quarrelled, quarrelled about a man, or rather a boy, who had been Lady (blister's admirer, perhaps lover, and then had transferred his affections to Fansteen. Lady Golister had told her companion that she should alter her will in the morning.

Later on the two had, according tc Fausteen, been reconciled., Lady Golister saying it was ridiculous to quarrel. They had kissed one another, and Lady Golister had asked her companion t" make her some coffee. She had mat! it for her, taken it to her, and it win the remains of that coffee that ill. chloral had been discovered.

Xo one else had brought Lady Golister's coffee, and she had no appliance.for making it herself. Lady Goiisiv: had also that evening made, sigrird and had witnessed two wills. In ti.<• first, made before she asked for the coffee, she had left Fansteen ;. fortune. In the second, made ailer sJ>. had had her coffee and taken the rmioi part of it. she had left her only a ruby rintr and -a hundred pounds. What had made her change her mind and her sentiments towards her companion? Had she any suspicions tliot all was not right with the coffee? And. supposing that to have been so, why had she taken it? It would have been easy enough to havj? left it, or to have bottled it and let some doctor have it for analysis. The affair was certainly mysterious. Lady Golister had so many admirers, that it was hardly likely she should have been terribly upset by the fickleness of one. The probability was that, being in the habit of taking chloral, and being somewhat upset, she had taken an overdose in mistake. The night porter of her landing and the night waiter had said she seemed sleepy when they had witnessed a document, which was, of course, the second will.

But on the other hand, that theory would not in anv way account for the making of two wills, one leaving Fausteen so much, the other so little. Had Ladv Golister done that put of spite? Had she committed suicide, and' had ejie. wished to throw the blame upon fausteen ?

Fausteen was, of course, perfectly innocent, but some of the questions put to her had been very unpleasant. Had she, upon her oath, had. she or had she not put anything into the coffee? Had she known I/ady Golister was busy making wills, or had she supPosed the new will, cutting her off with «™ door to nothing, would not he fiiade until the following day? That *&s a very important point, and had been pressed home to Fausteen.

, She" had replied that she had no belief that a new will had been made. a nd that Lady Golister and she had kissed good-night the best of friends. She had heard nothing from the dead Roman's room to indicate that anything was amiss, or she would, of worse, have gone to her friend. Lady Gtolister's maid had been a yery unfriendly witness so far as Faus*een wa s concerned. She had represented the quarrel as being painfully terrible, and she had no belief that it had been made up. Lady Golister, though of the sweetest temper when treated with loyalty, was of a terribly unforgiving disposition if she thought anyone had behaved towards her with black treachery. Lady Golister was also most careful in measuring the dose of chloral which she took, *nd al-

most childishly afraid of taking an overdose. Also she kept very little in her own possession. Miss O'Neil kept ;he greater part of it for her. Things at one time looked very avvk.vard for Fausteen: ibut she was. beautiful and young, she had looked pitiably upset, and Frenchmen are proverbially soft-hearted where pretty women are concerned. For all that the /erdict had not been a pleasant one, md the inquiry was likely to be re•pened at any time. "The whole thing is horrible," Wilfred answered, "and most folk seem to have the minds of hogs. It is ten thousand pities you ever became, the companion-friend to Lady Golister. i r ou never would have if I had had ray way. She was not a fit person for you to live with." Fausteen fired up. "Why not?" she asked. Wilfred shrugged his shoulders. "You know why not," he answered. "Still, we will let her rest in peace. I for one do not wish to rake over the ashes of her life. But if you had done as I have been asking you to do for the last goodness only knows how many years, this unpleasantness would never have happened to you. Don't think I am scolding you, dearest—rubbing it in—only I so wish your name to be free Tom the smudge of scandal." She laughed rather harshly. "I am oo beautiful and too much a free lance ' for that to be possible," she said, "and I really do not think you and I are in i position to call the kettle black. Still, if there were a chance you might become Earl of Northborough, I But, of course, there is no such luck for us. I think"—she gazed far away over the white hotels which looked as though a thousand f.iousemaids had been up before cock-crow and scrubbed them down vigorously, past the pink hanging ivy glraniums, past the gardens and the Casino to the blue waters of the Mediterranean—"l think I would almost sell my soul, if such a thing were possible, to be a countess !'' "Fausteen! 1 ' He spoke her name only, but the tone was full of horror. "Oh, but I would, I would," she said, passionately. "Think what itwould mean to me, how I could queen it over those who have snubbed me. slighted me, scandalised me, blackened rnv character, because I was only a sort of upper servant, and because I was more beautiful and better dressed than 99 out of a 100 of them." "Hush, Fausteen!" he said. "You must not get so excited. And don't, dear, please don't, drink any more of that stuff. You know you cannot stand it- As for your ever being a countess, it is not in the least likely to happen." "How do you know?"

"My cousin is well and strong, and, as you know, shortly to be married." "Even so, your cousin is not the only heir to an earldom. Your uncle is not the only earl in the world." He caught both her hands in a grip that was almost cruel, and his face worked 1 . "But surely," lie said, "I am the only man in the world for you — to you. Say that I am. Good heavens, that 1 should have to ask you! Say that I am."

"Perhaps." "What do you mean by 'perhaps'?" She stilled* a yawn. "Oh, I don't know," she said—"l think lam what the Soitch call 'fay' to-night—over-wrought, excited. Ring the bell—l must have a sandwich or something. I've not been able to eat for days, and I must have a little more of this poison—just a little drop. Oh, don't look so horrified!"

"You have had enough." She planted both elbows upon the table and dropped her face upon her hand* wearily. "You are right,'' she said.. "I have had enough—move than enough. 1 have gone through what one woman in a hundred could not have stood, and I have kept a firm lip. Neither by word nor look have I given myself away. I mean —I mean—oh!" she laughed hysterically, "I hardly know what I mean. I'm talking nonsense. I Come in !" (To be continued.)