JOAN of the GREAT HEART

Manawatu Times, Volume LV, Issue 7295, 4 August 1930, Page 10

JOAN of the GREAT HEART

By MAY WYNNE

Instalment 2 *

CHAPTER I. —(Continued.) He pat his arm round Joan’s waist, «nd 'so Grefton saw them together, standing in the sunset glow which filled a littered, most hopelessly untidy room. Yet Grefton only saw how, the soft green' of a nan Sjng drapery harmonised with the rnd y warmth of Joan’s hairWhen he had gone Hardale drew his daughter nearer, and hissed her. “We shall miss the boy, Joan,” he said regretfully. “ I lihe him immensely. He had a genius, too, a career before him. I was a true prophet when I said the world wouldbe ringing with his fame, whilst I P „ . wfaflst we . . . Jean flung her arm around her Itotot*s aboolder. ' “Bewr mind, dear”* she whispered, world’s opinion is not worth Lm* after all. and I Eke your genius hggt/ 1 He brightened. Eke a schoolboy mhnnr fits of depression are hut Momentary. i *My Joan,** he rpeated fondly. my dear, you’re vfuite right- As long as we hare each other we can our at Dame Fortune or fifim. Each oSher. that’s enough 'lar ns, Joan, quite enough, eh, child? -fom, don't hanker after Florence _ or at afl that wealth poaki bring, , mew* wcs just the very vaguest Foote of anxiety in the gay tones which (to eo» of kwe were quick to hear, jam?* «s«® brimmed in a sudden tepE* p*y. P***. because she could not tonr bw darfing father to doubt his tom words; pity, tec, because . - - ■ . , because perhaps she fr—— cr «w»EKctcd * a bidden secret jtebloh only an honr ago she had been °b«e«nse her woman’s heart P’ sw*r* now for the first time, tha. Me which had always so weU her was not enough, she Cattnow to deny her own knowledge. dmrt want anyone or anything tot ynu, my dear old Darling Dad, 5S hogging a c^ t J y -tfwHM ateocK young arms m hers, no are Jus t as happy oToan be. We could n*t be happier, € af L o^ST*laughing **' annktng otherwise. , „ . “T&toagh. there is always the mgbt’mare lassie,” he added, gaily now, since the nightmare was but nebulous “ that some fellow will oome and cai*ry you off. This Anthony iLesterlees, for instance. I have a sort of idea he elected to came here instead of my going to him, because out of the tail of those very sharp eyes of his he had caught a glimpse of my ewe.,lamb.” , But here Joan could be scornful enough to allay any such fears. “ Anthony Lesteriees, indeed!" she mocked. “No, thank you, Dad, L*m not for sale, though as far as it goes I am sure be woold want more for jus money than a poor pamter s daughter. A coronet ai least- _ Herfother touched the burnished plaits around her head. • “Here is one unsurpassed lor splendour," he vowed and they laaghed together, glad to be so well content with each other’s perfwstioos. And Joan refused to allow herself to thing of a friend to whota aft too soon would he saying good-bye-

CHAPTER IL ttoe is very mash occapied,” iaid Lesteriees, “but I could fix toe pert flStttog for Sunday morning. Pere ifcaps afterwards you and your dangh■ter "would oome for a motor ran? We iooold timrth at the Wheatsheaf at Virginia ■water and go for a decent spin jaftertarda.” He was leaking at Joan, who had entered studio carrying a basket icf roses which had just been sent iher from a friend. She was vexed jt finding Mr Lesteriees still here, jor sfia thought he had gone. Now, to her own resentment her father's ri*rinng words returned to her memjary as she read toe admiration in ferae Wen grey eyes. Hardale had byypi rfeht -When he said Anthony [Lesteriees gave the impression of be<tog a master of men, right .too in sayling there was a ruthless Doe to those firm B3g, square-shouldered, san#»-jawcd, the millionaire ironmaster was a dominating personality. 'Yet Joan’s resentment of him came joeer to bring cHsffice. She felt glad )ta rile listened to her father’s apology. “ Sorry, Sunday’s quite out of die question. Engaged all day. lm P°£ant Twmhwiift, can’t be put off-. Will Tassdxr suit yon—tour ! Lesteriees frowned. He was used to people putting off important en-nr-rwmi. to suit his convenience. He IS an idea bis time was more valntMe than that of other people, estteoto&y that of an unknown _ artist who he was honouring by allowmg to latat his portrait. However, DemcA Hardale’f manner was so impertm'biHe and final that Lesteriees had to Side to the altered date, though as shook hands with Joan he repeated ° l9 “ Or s perhaps you will let me motor voa down to my place in Berkshire, .he added, ;i should like to show yon my TTerf'”was an almost inpereeptible emphasis on the my which «et loan’s lips curling* “Talk of swollen-headed P^ o^ e ’ she said afterwards to her father, " h Mr Anthony Les.terlees takes the nalm lam sure he thinks money can buy anything. L just longed to snub him.” , , , Hardal» laughed. “You vindictive little puss. But I rather think we can surprise the ventleman. What a pompous ass he 'f ß yet not a fool He will end by being given a peerage and marrying a. duke’s daughter.” “ Poor thing f* quoth Joan, I pity

h«r. Now come down to supper. 1 li&ar Nannie calling, the gong is KStroday proved to he July at Us brightest, everything, Hardale deSd! was atune with a holiday 'mood The cars were punctual, the £§& quite St an hour before their to the distraction of old Nannie, iwbo strongly disapproved of Sunday excursions and stood on the doorstep prophesying some untoward accident [But Nannie’s prophecies only added fo the holiday-seekers eaiefcz.

“ She’s a peart, your housekeeper, declared Tom Webbing, ‘ I sba‘l fh* her to sit for me for one of toe _ witches in Macbeth. * When shall we three.meet again?’ Now this is what I call going the pace. When _we ge clear of the traffic, Miss Joan, I m go - Ing to tell the ‘shuwer’ to race the other car. , There’s your father grinning hack at us -because they have - precedence.’’; - Joan only laughed. She did- not care the' least, how fast they went, sha was going to enjoy herself, and. resolved nothing should spoil, a golden day. Michael Grefton sat opposite to her. On arrival he had seemed less in holiday mood than the rest, though he was the guest of the day. He was perhaps a litille tired of congratulations and envy, rather bored by that batef.nl task of packing and -preparation, even more regretful too that the gay, hand-to-mouth existence of Bohemia with its joyous poverty and splendid comradeship was over. Even the thought, of Florence would have paled to-day had it not been for that resolve of- his whioh sight of Joan had strengthened. If be had Joan in that future upon whioh he was launching he would have all his' heart’s desire. Only he wished Joan were not quite so merry, so brimful of enjoyment of the hour, so evidently forgetful that it was hi* “ farewell feast” Joan’s spirits indeed seemed as joyous as those of a child. Her eyes danced with laughter, her lips were wreathed in smiles, as, after abnef and perilous race, the two cars settled • down into calmer going, and the Ferlies began yarning some merry- tai* such as Bohemia loves. ;{ " ~ Gr&fbon was the most silent or the five. His heart was behaving ridiculously. His anticipations of. a supreme moment were as filled* with hopes and fears as those -of any other young man on the eve of proposal. The vote had been in favour of a picnic luncheon, and, having exchanged cars for boats, the party set off in search, of a quiet backwater. After their arrival It was.. quiet no longer. Champagne corks popped, tongues wagged, laughter ran careless as though the banqueters were as free from trouble as children on a holiday. They might, toTom Webbing vowed, have been bloated mfiHrmaires ” from the splendour of tha entertainment. . “ Never mind,” retorted Hardale---who* was Ihe biggest boy of the lot, and insisted on making—save the mariri—toasted cheese as a relish, .as he had done thirty years ago in his study at Repton—“ never mind I its all paid for, that’s one item. The other and more important is that we don’t lose such a pal as Mike Grefton here every day, and we want him to take to his ancestral halls, etc., Die remembrance of Bohemia s Here’s luck, Mike, old man; I the best of it, brimming over as this glass. Dock to a good pal and a lucky dog eh?” . They all drank boisterously—excepting two. Michael could hardly svraflowg there was a queer lump m his throat, and Joan ..as desperately hard at work to disguise the tact ot tears. However, no one noticed; they were all too busy singing the old song about a jolly good fellow, and then to Grefton’s relief, other toasts succeeded, and allusion to his departure was allowed to pass. . After, kmcheon and the gethenng of forget-me-nots and the feeding, of the swans, they rowed back to Hampton Here was interest for all, since m Bohemia all speak the same language, and it was only natural the party should break up, each going his or her way as they wished without any of the starched conventionality which bids poE-tely-bored guests flock around the-:heels of the equally boredk°|o it was that Joan and Michael were free to wander down the many paths of those grand old gardens where flowers bloomed in. prodigal wealth of colom. Joan must have been a trifle tired, fer her joyous spirits were at an ebb; or, did her companion’s obvious ab-sent-mindedness cause her a vague embarrassment? There never had been need of small talk - between them, yet, to-day, the silence was less than natural. - ■. “That is a Dorothy Perkins rose, Is it not?” asked Joan, stretching up a hand to draw closer a spray of pink petals. “ How lovely it is.- Y-es, Michael, I think of all the you are going to see, I envy you the flowers of Fiesole as much as any. They were standing at the end ot a terrace facing the river, yet hidden from' sight of the holiday crowd by massed roses. . Grefton caught his breath sharply. “ Why," he stammered- “ Oh,Joan, why .can't you come and see them too?” She had been half lost in a reverie, induced by the loneliness around, thinking of her father’s oft-repeated desire to travel, pitying that father s many disappointments, when tn« ardent cry broke from her ' companion’s lips. i ■: She looked up, startled. “ See them too?” she echoed, but I can’t. How could IT .» would cost us a- fortune to go to Italy.” Bat Grefton had his chance now, and rushed on fate with all the. blind impetuosity of a lover. “I didn’t mean that,”.he declared. “I meant if yon mid I could see it all together. If you and I could stand on the heights of Fiesole and sec toe, Old Arno rushing down toe slopes, between banks of liHes and roses, and sentinel cypresses. You and k_ Joan v with all the exquisite joy of ft.ip.our. veins, because we love each ouier. He poured out his appeal so pasw sionately, in such eloquent haste that, he did. not give her the opportunity to interrupt, did not notice—-as ,h» eyes dwelt on the dream picture—how pale-his listener had grown, how wide distress filled these hazel eyes, how her -lips quivered. .' J Now, with a sob, John snatched away the hand he had .W** “ Oh, stop,” she orted, -Michael,. Michael, you must no* talk .like topt. You-must not say such things.. You know it is impossible. I could not leave ’ my- father. Oh! you know I should,- never, never wish -to lesy* himr It is impossible.”.; a

(To be continued^