A LEGACY OF HATE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 12147, 18 December 1902, Page 3

A LEGACY OF HATE.

BY LOUIS TRACY,

Author of " The Final War," etc., etc.;.■

'■■■y CHAPTER XIV.

MARGARET SrEAKS OUT.

During the drive the presence of servants rendered conversation impossible on the one topic that engrossed their thoughts. Th. barrister, therefore, had "an opportunity to display the other side of his engaging personality, his singular knowledge of the 'world, his acquaintance' with the latest developments in . literature and the arts, and so much of London's vie intime as was suited to the ears of polite society. ; Once he amused the ladies greatly by a trivial instance of his faculty for deducing a definite fact from seemingly ■.* inadequate

signs. , , • - -j.He was sitting with his back to the horses. They passed a field in which some people were working. -Neither of the women paid attention to the scene. Brett, from mere force of habit, took in all details.

A little farthei on he said: Are we approaching a village?" "Yes," answered Mis? Layton, • "a small place named Needham." ■ " Then it will not surprise me if, during the next two minutes, we meet a horse and cart with a load of potatoes. The driver is a young man in his shirt-sleeves. Sitting by his side is a brown-eyed maid in a pokebonnet. Probably his left arm follows; the line of her apron string." His hearers could riot help" being surprised by this prediction. Helen leaned over the side and looked ahead. ; ■ V • • - : 3 "You are wrong this time, Mr. Brett," she laughed merrily. . "The : only vehicle between us and a turn in the road is a dogcart coming this way." ; ,' , ■ ' "That merely shows the'necessity of carefully choosing one's . words. I should have said ' overtake,' not 'meet.'" The carriage sped swiftly along. Helen craned her head t( catch the first glimpse of the yet hidden'stretch of road.beyond the turning. -■" ;"" •■' ■/"'. ' gracious!" she cried suddenly. Even Margaret was stimulated' to curiosity. She bent over the opposite-side. ... "What an extraordinary thing!" she exclaimed.

i Brett sat unmoved, anything in front ' being, of course, quite invisible to him. ; On the box the coachman nudged the footman, as it to say: ,", ' "Did you ever! Well, s'elp me!"■,.;"■■■; : For in the next few strides the horses had to be pulled to one side to avoid a; cart' laden with' potatoes, driven by a coatless youth, who had one arm thrown gracefully around the waist of a girl in a huge bonnet. Nellie turned and stared at them in a most unlady-like manner, much to their discomfiture. v "• • '«•

"I* do declare," she cried, " the girl has brown eyes! Mr. Brett, do tell us how you did it." ■■■'■ • ' V.VJ: ~ - ; '

"I will," he .replied gaily. "Those labourers in a field half a mile away were digging potatoes. Among,the women sorters was a' girl who was gazing anxiously in this direction, and who resumed work in a very bad temper when another woman spoke to her in a chaffing way. -The gate was left open, and there were fresh wheeltracks in this direction.' The/men were all coatless, so I argued a' young man driving and a girl by his side, hence the annoyance of the watcher in the field, owing particularly to the position of his arm. The presence on the road of several potatoes, with the earth still damp on them; added certainty to my convictions. It is very easy, you see." ' ; " ■■■' ' ■'-'■ : ; ;. ' ■ '•'"■'

"Yes, but how about the colour of the girl's ; eyes?" ,- '','.'-'.." " That was hazardous, to an extent. But five out of every six women in this county have brown eyes."' . , . i : -".Well,;you may think it easy to me it is marvellous." ; :;:; : " :

" It is positively startling," said Margaret, seriously; and if the barrister indulged in a fresh series of deductions he remained silent on the topic. ' 'He tried to lead the conversation to .Naples, 1 but was foiled by Mrs. Capella's positive disinclination to discuss Italy on any pretext, and Miss Laytou's natural desire not to embarrass her friend., ; J-

Indeed, so,little headway did he make, so fully was Margaret's mind taken up with the new departure he had suggested, that when the carriage stopped at the rectory to drop Helen—who wished to tell her father about tse dinner and to change .her costume— was strongly tempted to wriggle out of the engagement. ,: • Inclination pulled him to his quiet sittingroom in the County Hotel; impulse bade him remain and make the most of the meagre opportunities offered by the drift of conversation. ■' ',: .> ■

"I hope," said Helen, at parting, "that I may 'persuade you' to come here and dine with my father some . evening when Mrs. Capella and I are in town. If you take any interest in • old coins he will entertain you for hours." . :.■

"Then I will depend on you to bring an invitation to the Hall this evening. I expect to be in Stowmarket next week." . : "Are you, leaving to-morrow?" inquired Mrs. Capella. : ." ■'•( "I think so." ' '' '

"Would you care to walk to the house with me now?" ' ' .

"I will be delighted." ■ So the carriage was sent off, and the two followed on foot. Brett thought that impulse had led him aright. Once past the lodge gates Margaret looked at him suddenly,, with a, quick, searching glance. Hume was not in error when he spoke of her "Continental tricks of manner." '

You wonder," she said, "why I do not trust you fully? You know that I am keeping something back from you? You imagine that you can guess a good deal of what I am endeavouring to hide?" <l To all those questions I may generally answer ' Yes.'" ■. ■•'••• '

"Of course. You observe the small things of life. The larger events are built from them. Well, I can be candid with you.' My husband believes that I not only deceived him in regard to my marriage but he is, or was, very jealous of me." ' " She paused, apparently unable to frame her words satisfactorily. "Having said so much," put in the barrister gently, " you might be more specific." His cool, even voice reassured her. "1 hardly know how best to express myself," she cried. "Question me. I will reply so far as lam able." ■; " Thank you. You have told me that you first met Mr. Capella on New Year's Eve two years ago, at Covent Garden?" _ "That is so." ' ' : " ' " Had you ever heard of him before?" " Never. He was brought to my party by an Italian friend." "Did the acquaintance ripen rapidly?" " Yes. We found that our tastes were identical in many respects. I did not know of my brother's death until January 2. No one in Beechcroft had my address, and my solicitor's office was closed on the holiday. Mr. Capella called on me by request the day after the ball, and already 1 became aware of his admiration. Italians are quick to fall in love." "And afterwards?" .

"When poor Alan's murder appeared in the press Giovanni was among the first to write me a sympathetic letter. Later on we met several, times in London. I did notcome to reside at the Hall until all legal formalities were settled. A year passed. I went to Naples. He came from his estate in Calabria, and we renewed our friendship. You do not know, perhaps, that he is a count in his own country, but we decided not to use the title here."

" Then Mr. Capella is not a poor man?" '"By no means. He, is far from rich as we understand the word. He is worth, I believe, £1500 a vear. Why do you ask? Had you' the impression that he marrried me for my money?" '"■■'.;.','.. "There might well be other reasons.," thought Brett, glancing at the beautiful and stately woman by his side. But it was no moment for idle compliments. "Such things have been done," he said drily. • ' • ' ' "■"' : '"

"Then disabuse'your mind of the idea. He is a very proud man. His estates are involved, and in our first few days of happiness we did indeed discuss the means of freeing them, whilst our marriage contract stipulates that in the event of.either of us predeceasing the other, and there being no children, the survivor inherits. But all at once a cloud came between us, and Giovanni has curtly declined any assistance by me in discharging his family debt." . . .'

Brett could not help remembering Capella's passionate declaration to Helen, but Margaret's words read a new meanhg into it. •Possibly the Italian was only making a forlorn hope attack on a country maiden's natural desire to shine amidst her friends. Well, time would tell. ■ .■':>■< Meanwhile, Mrs. Capella's ' outburst of confidence was valuable. .. '"A cloud!" he said. " What sort of a Cloud?" ,-*■'' '

"Giovanni suddenly discovered that his father and '- mine were deadly enemies. It was a cruel whim of Fate that brought us together. ; Poor fellow! He was very fond of his father, and it seems that a legacy of revenge was bequeathed to him against an : Englishman named Beechcroft. I remembered, too late, that he once asked me how our house came to be so named, and I explained its English meaning to him. I joked 'about' it, and said the place should rightly vbe : called Yewcroft.,., During; our honeymoon at Naples he learnt that my father, for some reason, had travelled over a large part" of Italy in an assumed nai^je — "How did he learn this?" broke in Brett. " I cannot tell you. ' The .affair happened like a flash of: lightning. We had been to Capri one afternoon, and I was tired. I went to my room to rest for a couple of hours, fell asleep, and awoke to find Giovanni staring at me in .the most terrifying manner. There was a fierce scene. We are both hottempered, and when he accused me of a ridiculous endeavour to hoodwink him in some indefinable' way I became very indignant. We patched up a sort of truce, but I may honestly say that we have not had a moment's happiness since." , ;; "But you spoke of jealousy also?" - ; : "That is really too absurd. My cousin Robert—" '■ «

"What, the gentleman from the Argentine?" ' ... : . ':- ■';.• '

" Yes; I suppose David told you about him?"

" He did," "said/ the barrister grimly. "Robert is poor, you may know. He is also very good-looking." x- ; " A ,'family trait," Brett could. not avoid saying.. : . :;;,.;/_ . . : ,.■''..'•-. "It has ; not been an advantage to us, she replied mournfully." ■'-, v :-.'■; They were standing now opposite the library, almost on the spot where her brother fell. They turned- and strolled back towards the lodge.

r^ "Robert came to see me," she resumed ' He paid "a ' visit in* unconventional man waylaid' 'me, ;in ■ fact, ,in: this verj ivenue, and asked,me to help him. He de :lined to meet my husband, and 'was; verj sitter about- my marriage to a foreigner. However, I forgave him, for my own heart iras sore in me, and he also had been unfortunate in 'a different way. We had a long talk, and I kissed him at parting. I afterwards found that Giovanni had seen us from his bedroom. He thought Robert was David. Ido not think he believed me, even when I showed him the counterfoil of my cheque-book, and the amount of a remittance I sent to Robert, next day." "How much was the sum?" . "Five hundred pounds." "And where did you send it?" " To the Hotel Victoria." "In his own name?" , Certainly." ;■; " Have you ever met him since?" : "Yes, unfortunately. I was in London, driving through Regent-street 'a a hansom, when I saw him on the pavement. . I stopped the cab, and asked him to come to luncheon. We have no town house, so I was staying at the I Carlton alone. Yet how stupidly compromising circumstances can occasionally become. -I returned- to Beechcroft. I did not mention my meeting with Robert because, indeed, Giovanni and I were hardly on speaking terms. • One day, in the library, I was; sorting, a number of accounts when I.was summoned'elsewhere for a few minutes. On top of the pile was my receipted hotel bill. My husband came -in, glanced at' the paper, and saw a charge for a guest. When I returned he asked me whom I had been entertaining. I told him, and could not help blushing, the affair being so flagrantly absurd." - ~ -■'■■ "Is that all?"

"I declare to,you, Mr. Brett, that you are now 'as well informed as I am myself concerning our estrangement.'. "There is, I take it, no objection on your part to the inquiry I have undertaken—the fixing.,of responsibility for your brother's death, I mean?" - Margaret:;was silent for a few seconds before she said, in a low and steady voice: " We are" a strange race,, we Hume-Frazers. Somehow I'feltr;when' I first saw you and Davie together, that you would be bound up with a crisis in my life. I dread crises. They have ever been unfortunate for me. I cannot explain myself further. I know I am approaching an i eventful epoch. Well, lam prepared. Go on with your work, in God'? name. I cannot become more unhappy than am"." ■'•:;'

STo be continued daily.)