HONEYMOON HATE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21518, 15 June 1933, Page 18

HONEYMOON HATE

By MRS. C. N. WILLIAMSON Author of "Scarlet Runner," "Frozen Slippers, c.w.

CHAPTER XlX—(Continued) The footmen in the Grand Duchess Sacha's livery of grey and plum colour loomed ten feet tall. Their eyes upon her were like gimlets. In the little old, pearl-netted purse Pietro's mother had given her, she had brought two notes for a thousand dollars each. Even had a bribe been possible, there were too many people about. And behold! a person in authority above the footmen was taking the guests' cards. He had been out of Gail's sight as she strained anxious eyes from her car window, but now she realised that this creature in whom supreme power for the life or death of gato crashers was vested must be some sort of social secretary. Ho looked capable of recognising voices, tips of ears and even chins. Gail was obliged to step from her car, a radiant figure with despair in its heart. , She did not know what she intended to do until she heard herself saying in a firm, clear tone: "I wish to see Prince Dantarini. Kindly send word to him that I am here." " If you will give me your name," was the equally firm answer. CHAPTER XX. A facer! But, no. She felt brave and equal to it. " Have the Prince told that a lady who does not care to give her name, has come all the way here from Venice to bring him an important message from his mother-" Even the Power behind the Barrier was somewhat impressed with this. " There's a small reception room just inside, to the right of the doors," he said. " If you would like to wait there for a few minutes, Prince Dantarini shall receivo your message as soon as possible. You must forgive my asking you to wait, but. . ." " I quite understand," Gail cut him short. SHo was no longer frightened. Fate had dealt her a good card. If she had chosen a way to meet Pietro and surprise him, she couldn't after all have chosen better than this —to see him alone, not in the crowd. And in this beautiful little room with walls of rosecoloured brocade to make her stand out from the background like a rose-and-silver statue. The girl was too much excited to sit down. She stood or walked about, staring at the two fine old Raeburns and a Gainsborough, without knowing that they were not chromos. As time dragged on, her high excitement died. She grew anxious. What if Pietro were not in the house.. . . What if Rhoda had received the message, and suspecting the identity of the " lady from Venice," had prevented it from being given to the Prince. Or, worst of all, what if ho had got the message but didn't mean to meet the lady in the little reception room? Twenty minutes seemed a long hour. Gail began to think of stealing away, lest she should break down and disgrace herself with a fit of crying. She realised that she was very tired, that she hadn't slept the night before, that the heat had exhausted her, that she had eaten nothing all day, and that her knees were shaking. People in fancy dress peered at her from the hall, surprised that she should be in that little room alone. Tears stung her eyelids and ran doyfn under her mask, making the silver gauze stick to her hot face. She turned her back to the door and pretended to gaze absorbedly at the Raeburn portrait opposite, so that she might furtively dab at her oyes with a tiny handkerchief, sure of not being observed. And it was that minute which Pietro had to choose! She whirled round at sound of a step on the hard wood floor, and faced him. , , He wore the gold and white costume ofNiome Dantarini bridegroom of the sixteenth century, which Gail herself had selected for his mother to send him. Though he had on a small mask of white satin, the girl knew that she would have recognised him anywhere. She and the old Princess had talked together of this meeting, and what it would be like. Gail had imagined that it would take place in a thronged ballroom. She had pictured Pietro and Rhoda dancing together and herself passing him. The dress would catch his eye. He would leave Rhoda as quiokly as he could and come to her, if moved only by curiosity. He would question her, beg her to remove her mask, and she, in a disguised voice, would teaso him bv refusing. She would try to find out if he cared for the Duchess, or if he ever thought'of his wife, and then surely would come some great moment of dazzling joy or blinding disappointment. But the reality was different. The dress did catch his eyes. She had been right about that. She saw them gleam dark and bright under his mask, but ho was not puzzled for two seconds. He knew her instantly. He pulled off his .mask, and then without a by your leave or with your leave removed hers. "You came!" he said. " Yes," said Gail, " I came because . . . " There's just one reason in the world why you would come like this," ho said. " 1 know what it is." " I'm not—sure you do," Gail stammered, bewildered as she had so often been by him " You will know," he said. "Are —are you glad to see me? " she managed to falter. " You will know that too. Whore's your car? " " What do you want of it? " Gail asked " I want to take you somewhere." She fumbled in the little pearl bag, and the two thousand dollar bills foil out. " What did you bring those for? " ho catechised her. " In case I —had to buy my way in." " You thought it worth two thousand dollars to surprise me? " " Yes. Your mother . . . " Don't let's talk about my mother just now. I know she is well for I heard a few days ago. Ia that little ticket tlio number you're to call for your car? " " Y<js. You see I didn't give my name, and so . . . " I understand. Wait here one minute." " What are you going to do? " Gail tried to stop him. " Not send for the Duchess? " " Heavens, no. Why should I send for her? This is not her business." Ho wont out of the littlo red reception room, on to the porch and ordered one of the footmen to call the lady's car. For a few moments the Power Behind the Barrier may have imagined that Prince Dantarini was sending his visitor away. But the car came. The Prince, who seemed in a hurry, helped [the beautiful unmasked girl to step in,

A GRIPPING STORY OF LOVE AND ADVENTURE

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and, about to follow her, turned for an instant:* " Will you bo kind enough, Mr. van Citters," he said, "to tell the Grand Duchess —the first - chance you get —that I've been most unexpectedly called ( away. I'll see her to-morrow sometime and explain." " Won't you come back to-night, Prince? " the Power asked. " I shall not bo able to come back to-night," the Prince answered. So, thought Mr. van Citters, that was that! And considering the great beauty of the mysterious blonde lady from Venice, perhaps one could hardly blame Prince Dantarini, taken by surprise and all. But it looked liko a pretty scandal, and the Grand Duchess would be hopping mad. Dantarini had given some quick order to the chauffeur and shut the door. " But you don't know the name of my hotel! " Gail exclaimed. " I don't need to know it," said Pietro, " I spent one wedding night in a hotel. This one is going to be different. I told your man to take us to my place. Does that make you angry? " " No," choked Gail. " But . . ." " It's over my shop. I live over my shop. Do vou mind? " " No. 1 . . ." " 1 thought you wouldn't, when you should come. So I made it all ready to receive you, when time brought you to me. It's beautiful, Gail, my darling. But I warn you, there aren't going to be two bedrooms with a locked door between, or any door at all. You're here in America because you love me. Isn't that true? " " Yes." "How I've waited! I've known for months now that it was only a question of time if I could stick it out. But 1 had to stick it out, to win. And it seemed long—long! Do you wonder that I'm iu a hurry to get you home, and kneel at your feet, and kiss them and your little white hands that struck me in tho face that wedding night? " " You knew? " exclaimed Gail dazed with happiness. " You knew it was only a question of time? " " I've hoped since before I married you. But I knew the day we found the secret room, and you took tho sick pc.:irls to cure." " 1 wouldn't have dared come if the pearls weren't growing brighter," Gail told liim. " 1 said to myself that day: ' It will be an omen.' " " 1 know you said that to yourself. So I knew you loved me." "You didn't love me—you couldn't!" Gail choked. But she only wished to hear him contradict her, for already he had her in his arms. " I couldn't do anything else," he said. "You didn't deserve any man's love, much less mine that you tried to trample under foot. Yet it was fated I should give it to you. I told my mother that I saw the real you under the spoiled surface, and that I believed I could bring it out, just as you are bringing out tho lustre of those sick pearls—pearls of love —by wearing them night and day over your heart. But I think I said that to her only to excuse myself for seeming to be a fool. I did see, I did hope, but if there hadn't been a gleam, I know now I should have had to have you all the same." " I thought you loved the duchess," Gail said faintly. " So I did. So I do. As a grateful friend. She isn't my woman.. You are —now I've tamed you, my gorgeous tiger cub." " But you haven't tamed me! " the girl cried. " If I'm tamed at all, I've tamed myself. You turned your back on me. You lot me alone —and then you left me alone." "Do 3 r ou really think you tamed yourself? " asked Dantarini. " That's because you weren't clever enough to study my technique as a tamer. I didn't ' let you alone,' ever, or ' leave you alone.' I only seemed to. I was with you always, through my very great love. Loving you so, and seeming to let you alone was my method. I warned you it would be the opposite of Petruchio's." " But you said you couldn't love me, unless I were different! " " I said I could adore you if you were different. And already you were different —underneath, from the moment you felt so sick and ashamed because you had struck me." " You saw I felt like that? " " I believe I have never missed seeing anything you felt. Good heavens! I nearly wore myself out, watching for a sign! That night, I held you on my knees, and you said you were sorry. I wasn't sorry, though I was so angry on the surface I could have choked your life out and killed myself the moment after. I wasn't sorry, for such commonsense as I could keep in that mood told me it was the first step on the ladder, to this height we've reached now . . . Gail, I'm going to pull you on to my knees again, for the second time. Don't resist, because it won't do any good." She had no wish to resist. She was almost fainting with happiness. Ho pulled her on to his knees. The car jolted a little just then, but the two didn't care. He held lier more tightly so that she couldn't slip off his lap, that was all. Her head in the little pearl cap lay close to his neck. He took one of the long golden braids and twisted it round his throat. Then he kissed her. She hadn't known that kisses could be wonderful, like perfumed electricity. She had often thought kissing rather silly. Now she knew that it wasn't Billy. No. No. Not silly 1 " That other wedding night doesn't count," he said. " Not that we didn't love each other even then. We did." " I thought we hated each other," Gail breathed under his lips. ' Honeymoon hatef ' I said to myself that night, shut into my room." " ' Honeymoon love,' you'll say now," he told her. "My wife, my princess! " THE END