THE HEART OF DAPHNE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15551, 7 March 1914, Page 3 (Supplement)

THE HEART OF DAPHNE.

||P; : BY LADY TROUBRIDGE, j ffplpAuthpr of " The Cheat," " The Soul of! || j Hono.ir." " Love, the Locksmith," I Sl|f) " The Girl with the Blue Eyes," fift '■ Etc., Etc. m Bgj& Mi (COPYRIGHT.) - S|h CHAPTER I. lip;* Daphne sat alone in an upper room be- (&'. gide a low burning candle that cast a it' jhadow, fantastic and weird, on the wall l|i behind he- but lit up her face, making ; ! .f! ■ jt pale and luminous like a lily against a I|. black background. If Her hands lay in her lap; she wan star--1&" ing in front of her, with a look, half fife mutinous, half despairing—the look of a I vounp happy creature brought face to faco ' with di<«uter. H ; .* A wck ago it had seemed as if her niche in life was as fixed as that of any i' s human person could well be. Here she ~ would live with her father and mother nr.ti! some young Prince Charming, unfCPti ns vet. but of course, mirrored in her thoughts, came along to claim her. \ow tier father lay dead in the room below.

Her mother was so ill that she had been warned it might bo possible that sho would newr live to realise her loss, and on the table at her side lay .1 letter from {he lawyer, giving her information that teemed incrediblo, telling her of things (hat ( hanged the whole aspect of life. Ph.' picked up the letter and dropped it again, as the door opened, and a woman o( middle age, with bright eyes and a kind strong f.ice, came into the room. Paphno looked up, and moved away from her place with a little shiver. "Well, Sophie," she said, "well?" "My dear, she's no better. Oh, Daphne, it's much better to tell you the truth. She never will be!"

Daphne stood up, a pale, graceful, fragile-looking girl, whoso face arrested attention by its strange contrasts of colour. Eves black as night, and coloured hair. "Sophie." she said, "I don't know what to do. 1 can't think, I can't realise anything. Father dead, mother dying, and both of them ruined."

The other woman drew her closely into her arms.

" Don't wish her to stay," she said. "You know what life would be for her now, I'm- not her daughter, or even her sister but I'm her friend, end I simply couldn't bear to think of it. They were happy together; you must make up your mind that they will be with each other still."

Daphne gazed in front of her with strange, absorbed eyes. " And 1 shall be alone," she said.

■ " Don't think of that— think of anything, except of her, for the moment. It is onlv old people who can ever be really alone, Youth has a, thousand thoughts, a thousand fancies, a thousand dreams to keep it company, Come; don't waste a moment now, or you will regret It-

Together they went downstairs, but it was Daphne alone who passed up to the bed. where the nurse was in attendance— Daphne who flung herself down,' and covered the pale hands with kisses. She had not loved her mother as she had her father, but the tear* she had not been abio to shed for bim came in abundance for the feeble, querulous invalid who was leaving a world she had never seemed to enjoy. "Little mother!" she said. "Little mother!'' » The nurse bent over her and whispered in hrr car. - ,

" There's been a great change for the worse; she is going, but so quietly, so peacefully; it is wonderful!" Daphne knelt on,* with her eyes shut. " Look !" 'said the nurse, touching her shoulder. " Look !"

Daphne opened her eyes, and sprang to her feet.

. Kiss her," said the nurse. And bending down she obeyed. The forehead her litis pressed was damp and cold, but the strangeness and fear of death had gone from the face of the dead woman, and from the mind of the living girl.

F-h- from the grey room, out on the great sea of the Infinite, she. knew that her mother's soul was happy with the soul of the man she had loved in .her life. She way left to battle alone, but she knew now that she would win-

CHAPTER 11. Ten days later Daphne sat in _ her mother 1 !! drawing-room— well-furnished Toom, hrightaned with a Persian carpet, and full of old china ornaments, inlaid cabinets, and rather good screens collected by the late Dr. Merrycourt; who, before lie settled down to a London practice, had travelled much, and bought lavishly mementoes of the countries he had visited. An open-handed man, with a cultured taste, he had not hesitated to gratify it, looking upon economy as meanness, and upon luxury as justifiable oxtravagance.

Thus the room in which she sat was as unique in its way as the girl herself, in the black dress that showed up her wonderful colouring. She was watching th" door, that opened presently to admit a slight dapper man, who crossed the Tooni and took her hand.

"I am glad you were able to come," she said. "There is so much to settle, bit down, Mr. Gerrard, won't you? lie sat down murmuring a few condolences, and ending with the remark: ' I'm glad to see you looking so well, in spite of all you've been through." " 1 don't think sorrows make one ill," said Daphne ; "it's worry." "Quite so, quite so," agreed the lawyer. "But I'm afraid we have a little him if in "tore for us He bracketed himself with the young lady as,an easier way of speaking, and then he paused r'" w » o difficult word £> fling in the Uco of this fair young girl, with the atteet enigmatic smile just curving her Parted hps. He did not know how to put it, but Daphne helped him.

Of course it's difficult to realise things -it first," she said. "You must help me; roa must he very plain with me, please, iir. Gerrard." And again she looked alarmingly at him.

Daphne was gifted by nature with a complete understanding of the opposite sex. In happier (lavs it had made her a *irt, but now it had its uses. In a few moments she put him at his ease. "I gather my father has not left much," she said.

"You're so brave," said Gerrard, ' that you make it comparatively easy for me to toll you the truth. for a good many years Dr. Merrycourt' must nave been living on capital. As a matter of {act, I know he has been, and I warned him and remonstrated with him on more than one occasion; but, of course, poor follow, he always assured nie that he would put it back, and I daresay he thought ho would. But capital is not easily replaced, Mirs Merrycourt." Daphne nodded h-t head. She neither argued nor disputed the point; she knew in a moment it wat true. The liberality that had prevailed in the house was explained ; shillings lad drifted here and "rifted there, and .lad rolled themselves into pounds that should have been invested.

"Then there were the bad debts," said the lawyer. " Patients who wouldn't pay, or who couldn't pay; and he was too easy with them."

" Yes, poor darling," said his daughter, covering the harsh fact with a loving word. Then she lcoked at Gerrard witn those wide eyes of hers, and the look was intense, lull of a g -avity that was ready to receive tho worst. The delicate colour had faded from her face; she was pale to this lips. "When all the expenses are paid, she asked, what will be left?" '"Practically nothing."

"•You can't mean that?" But she suddenly turned her eyes away from him, and Qerrard breathed more freely. He pulled out a sheet of paper from his pocket, and laid it in front of her; and then for half an hour, until the street lamps were lit and the room got dusk, he went through the complicated mazes ot the dead Merfycourt's tangled affairs. Everything must be paid up—that they were both agreed upon. And the residue was some five hundred pounds. "Twenty pounds a year," said Daphne under her breath. " Not enough to live on.

aw ® nou !?h to dress on," suggested the .. " No," said Daphne firmly; and at this they both smiled. ' With the help of friends," ho began again.

I have no friends." ~ That is impossible," he said. " \on see," explained Daphne, "I've only just begun my life; I've nad no time to •. D if friends on my own account." ' But. your father and mother had relations ?

n Mother was an Australian," said Daphne. " Such relations as she has are twelve thousand miles off, and one of them, I believe, is very rich, but I don't mean to apply to him, all the same. As for father, you know he was an Irishman, an only son, and his father and mother are dead. No, I'm alone in the world, and I mean to earn my living." " All the professions are so hopelessly overstocked," he said. " Oh, no," said Daphne; " there's an ever-increasing demand for domestic servants.

Gerrard stared at her. " Yea. no doubt; but what's that got. to do with you.? " " Because I'm going to be one; no govern (or me; sitting at meals with children, and no one speaking to me; nor am I going to drudge in an office. "But I m not going to Diack boots or scrub floors, Mr, Gerrard, so don't look so worried. I'm going to belong to the most pampered class m creation—l'm going to be a smart lady's maid ! "

"Well, really!" said Gerrard. "You amaze mo. Have you thought this ouC at all?" 6

" Yes, I have. And when I told you 1 had no friends, 1 was wrong. I have onea lady who keeps a registry office, Miss Sophie Richards. She has a tremendous lot of clients, and I don't think 1 shall have any trouble in getting the kind of poet I_ want: but if I have, perhaps your wife"would vouch for me." Gerrard's sharp-featured face looked very grave. " Of course, of course," he said slowly. 'Anything in the world I can do to help you; but I cannot help thinking that you nave not realised what the loss of position will be." Daphne sat up, alert and composed; her eyes were sparkling, for now that the plunge was made, she felt- happier. "Oh! Mr./Gerrard, what is position, 1 ' she said, "Without money? It seems to me nothing but an empty bubble." "But you are a lady." " I can trim a hat like a Frenchwoman," said Daphne, "and When we were over in Paris three years ago, what do you think I did?"

" I m beginning to think you capable of anything daring," said Gerrard. "It was not very daring. It was very boring, but it was worth doing. I went to Lite, the great hairdresser, and took two dozen lessons. Have you never noticsd how well my hair is done ?" Gerrard involuntarily glanced at' the burnished masses that framed the girl's small white face, and ha did seem to grasp the fact that these carelessly arranged locks were put up by a master hand.

" Then I can sew, and cot out, and iron j —not that I mean to do all these things, for I shall have an under-maid very soon, J but I'm capable of it, and that's the great thing. ,r As she spoke Miss Richards came into the room, and Daphne, springing up, went to meet her. "I've told him," she announced, "and lie thinks I am quite right. Gerard gave a rather stern smile. . "Miss Daphne goes too far," he said, ' bat I think there is something in what she says." . "There is a. great deal/' said Miss Richards briskly. In fact, I'm amazed that more people haven't thought of it before, although, to be rate, it wouldn't bs much good their thinking of it without her special gift. I know what you axe thinking, Mr. Gerrard: the association with common people, but as Daphne's probably explained, "she'll have her own room and need never meet the "-est of the household, except at meals, which will bo served to her in the steward's room by a man in livery." i "Sophie!" cried Daphne, "I believe you've found mo a post! " "I have," returned Miss Richards. "At all events, I've got you an appointment." "Who with? Who with?'' asked the girl. She executed a little dance of delight and .triumph; then suddenly checked herself as the thought of the shadow over the house arid over her own life, came to her. " Tell me, y6u dear thing," she said more listlessly. "Well, it's the most unforeseen piece of good luck. You've heard of Lady Eileen Trevor, haven't you? She's a daughter of the late Lord Mendham, and sister of the roan, with whom she lives. They're the richest people in England ; I've supplied them with a great many servants from time to time, and they must be comfortable enough, for not one of them has changed. You know that house— House—half way down Park Lano; big enough for a royal residence, and managed, I believe, in very much the same way? " " Yes, that will do," said Daphne. " She seems sure that she's going to get the pout, doesn't she? " said Miss Richards, turning to Gerrard, as a grim smile lit up her face. Of course I'm going to get it, if she suits me," said Daphne, with the insolence ot youth. " Well, she's had three hundred applications, and came to me in despair as to the difficulty of choosing;. I thought of you in a moment, and advised her to stop l. " " * ' ' ■- <« X

her advertisement, and to leave it all to me, as I had the very person. She is the sweetest girl you ever saw, and I quite enjoyed talking to her, for she put on no side at all, and I could quite understand the success she's had "in London society. They say that ydung Lord Barnstaple is mad about her, and I'm sure I don't wonder." " We mustn't keep Mr. Gerrard with our gossip," said Daphne. " Mr. Gerrard, I'm going to leave everything in your hands, and I want to give Miss Richards a power of attorney, or whatever it is, so that she can wind up all my affairs for me. I, you understand, am ill. and have gone abroad." Gerrard shook his head. " Very venturesome — venturesome," he said. " However, I'll do what you say, and I'll try to get a little nestegg for you together, so that when you're tired of this mad prank, we can find something more suitable. In the mean- i time, you will tell Miss Richards your wishes, and if there is anything you wish to reserve from the sale; and we'll do the best we can. If Mrs. Gerrard is needed, you can call upon her without scruple." " I don't think that will be necessary," said Miss Richards. " I have told Lady Eileen one big fib already, and I don't wish to add to it. Daphne,has come from . a Parisian dressmaker's, and this is her • first post. Lady Eileen is no more ex-' pcrienced than a baby, and will ask no I questions." | Germ rd got up and took both the girl's ! hands. He looked into the bright, brave young face, instinct with courage and ; resolution, and felt somehow comforted as i to her future. If only she had not been . so beautiful! , " Good-bvc," he said, " and —— God bless you. Miss Daphne!" CHAPTER 111. ! In the large sunlit room Daphne stood behind her mistress' chair, as the latter sat at the dressing-table. The room was panelled in white, and upholstered in pale green. The dressingtable was of plate glass, supported on gold legs, and on it stood a three-leaved mirror, framed in gold, while a mass of fold bottles, and gold and tortoise-shell rushes, furnished the table with a jewel- . like radiance.

The electric lights were turned full on, and struggled with the dying sun, and a wood fire crackled pleasantly in the grate. Lady Eileen was a fair, frail-looking slip ot a girl, with masses of golden hair .thai felt soft as silk in Daphne's hands.' She chattered gaily, and even familiarly, with her maid, evidently considering the distance between them so,great that no kind* ness could bridge it. " Make me look very lovely to-night," she said. "What will your ladyship wear asked Daphne primly. Already she Was beginning to feel a kind of tender interest in this young girl, whp trusted her so completely, and whose nature was so far weaker than her own. She knew that she could do pretty well what she liked with her, but this power she did not use. "I won't flatter her or manage her," she said to herself. "If I am a maid, I will be & good one." Yet now she offered a .word of advice on being appealed to. "What about the pink dress ?" she said. " No, I don't feel like pink to-night. To wear pink one ought to be in a kind of gay, don't-care sore of mood, Daphne. Think of something romantic and poetical." " Your ladyship feels romantic, then, to-night," said Daphne. Yes, very. I feel as if something wonderful was going toi happen. Have you ever felt like that ?" " I often feel like that, my lady." " But nothing wonderful lias ever happened to you—poor Daphne." " Not yet," returned Daphne. " What a pity! If you were in a book now— story book—it would be different. You are the sort of girl to attract the fancy of some great, rich man, who'd lift you out of all drudgery, and turn you i into a fairy —somebody like Mend- [ ham, for instance. But, oh! what non- ; sense I'm talking." " Your ladyship does seem romantic, as | you say, to-night," replied Daphne, pass- | ing into the inner room, ana returning [ with a glittering web-like garment of [ white ana silver, in which she dressed her mistress. Then flowers were added, and ; long white gloves. And, looking like a j vision, Eileen ran to the looking-glass and peered into it. " I'm going to see someone I like tremendously to-night," she said "someone who likes me. Do vou ik.i i. 1?1_« . . 1 1 « • *

-.a; ihink that two likings could make one love ?" Daphne was about to answer in such a ay as to check the confidence she saw hovering on Eileen's lips; for indeed, it was no secret, and the gossip of the servants' hall had already coupled her name with that of Lord Barnstap.e. Yet ',o this maid, who was also a lady, it did not seem seemly that the other girl should commit .herself, and as she saw Lord Mendham coming into the room, Daphne seized the excuse to retire, when Eileen checked her. " No—don't go; wait there, by the dressing-table." Daphne obeyed, withdrawing to the window, and peering into the street. She amused herself with watching the road, so that her presence might be no restraint upon the brother and sister. This was a little bit of a sacrifice, for she liked watching Lord Mendham. He was so simple, so boyish; so charming in his relations with his unmarried sister, and yet so dignified that his very presence sent a feeling of awe through every member of tho establishment. Lady Eileen's rooms looked into Deanery Street, which was practically empty, so that Daphne's [attention focussed itself on the figure of a man walking up and down on the opposite side of the street, and it came to her with a sense of surprise that this was the fourth occasion on which she had seen the same young fellow, taking an apparently aimless stroll in front of the small houses that flanked the roadway, and every now and then sending a piercing glance at a certain side door in the big house opposite—the stately mansion that, guarded by a low wall, needed only sentries to make it look like a palace. Tlje first time she had seen him had been much later, and he had been dimly visible under the gaslight'; and on every subsequent occasion t she had seen him when waiting up for Lady Eileen to return from a ball. This was the first time she had observed his features in the daylight, and she noted them carefully, with a full sense of ■ the significance of what she had seen, and a wonder that she was the only person who had observed that Lord Mendham's house was being watched. Her first thoughts fiew to the jewels. Lady Eileen had the use of all her mother's diamonds, and Daphne had charge of historic necklaces, and exquisite tiaras. They wore all locked np in the safe outside the bedroom door— safe that i* took eight hours to pick, and she felt comparatively happy about them. Yet, at the same time, it struck her that the head of the house ought to know of the existence of this silent young gentleman who patrolled the street so regularly. Daphne had seen the gold plate gleaming on the dinner table, and she guessed that other treasures were stored away below. Was there a. robbery planned ? She looked at Lord Mendham, and her courage failed her. Kind as he' was, he was so terribly aloof, so utterly oblivious to the cares and responsibilities of a great householder. Mr. Raffe, the butler, was the real master of the houso, responsible

only to the auditor who called and looked through his accounts; while Mrs. Miller, the stately housekeeper, was the only mistress recognised. It es; she would go to her. " That's all, Daphne," said Lady Eileen, and coming out from her retreat, Daphne glided past the two. who were still talking to each other, gathering up cloak and ' handkerchief as she passed. . I? or a moment Memdham stared at her, as a man might look at a beautiful picture suddenly unveiled, and for the space of an instant their eyes met—Daphne's full of the wonderment and perplexity in her mind; Meudham's full of a sheer admiration. As the door closed behind her he spoke to his sister » •'/What a beautiful girl that is, Sissy." "Yes, I know; it's her only fault. I'm always scolding her about it," said Lady Eileen, in her babyish way. Is she a nice girl ? Do you like her—"' " Yes, she's awfully nice. I spoil her frightfully, but it never makes any difference. She keeps her place." " And you must keep yours," said her brother, with a touch of reproof in his tone all the mora marked because he was sensible that in his prolonged stare he had not quite kept his own.

| A few moments Inter the motor had . rolled away, and Daphne, bracing herself for an unpleasant ordeal, was tapping at j the housekeeper's door. I " Come in, Miss Merrycourt,'' said Mrs. Miller. She was standing in her back silk dress superintending the counting of some I doyleys used at luncheon. " There's one ! missing," she said to the footman. " Kindly go and see about it. Two dozen were given out this morning, and two dozen . must be returned. Now, Miss Merrycourt, wliat is it? I'm quite at your service." ' "Well, I thought I ought to tell you something that Ive noticed. You see, I feel my responsibilities here." ' "We all feel our responsibilities," said Mrs. Miller. . " Yee, of course," said Daphne. "You've been here so long; that makes a difference, • and, of course, I'm only a newcomer. But , Lady Eileen, has a great many jewels, and 1 I feel about it just as you do." i v," E y, ei ,\ more so > 1 should think," said I Mrs. Miller, " unless your references were • exceptionally good. Has an thing been lost or mislaid?" " 9 ; "Nothing whatever, and if it had I should have reported it to her ladyship." j "Certainly, I've no wish to prv into your business," said Mrs. Miller, "and I'm sure you've no wish to pry into mine." "No; but - your responsibility is more general than mine, and so I think you ought to know something. This house is being watched by a detective." ! The lace d'oyley fell from Mrs. Miller's hand. Her face turned an ashen grey. For a moment it seemed as if she could not apeak; then she suddenly turned on the astonished girl. " How dare you, Miss Mcrrycourt!" she ! gasped. "You must be mad to say such I a thing ! What are you insinuating? " Daphne stood amazed. She felt as if she had suddenly trodden on a mine', and, it had exploded at her feet. I (To be continued on Saturday next.)