LOIS ERCOTT.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXVI, Issue 3265, 23 October 1897, Page 1 (Supplement)

LOIS ERCOTT.

BY KATHARINE S. MACQUOID. (Author of ‘ Patty,’ ‘Appledore Farm,’ &c., &c.). All Rights Reterved, CHAPTER X. AN INVITATION. Next morning at breakfast the father and daughter were silent and ill at ease. Mrs Ercott talked loss than usual; and though Sophy could not help being cheerful, she felt a storm was in the air. Mrs Ercott asked her niece’s help in marking a quantity of house linen. Lois went into the garden, and her father, Instead of going to his study, put on his hat and walked off towards Brinsby. ‘ X do hope, Sophy, your uncle will not call at the Manor-house.’ Mrs Ercott looked after him from the drawing-room window.

Sophy was silent ; she wondered whether Lois had confided her troubles to her step-mother. . The fair, pleasant woman looked perplexed, and made a blot on the pillowcase she was marking. ‘ Dear, dear, how careless of mo !' she exclaimed, 1 1 can never do anything properly when I have a worry on my mind.’

Sophy often wondered how Mr Ercott, with his soared pale eyes, looking as though they saw a ghost, and her pleasant, buxom aunt, whoso whole appearance denoted content (oven in her plump, dimpled white hands, there was a promise of ease and comfort), could have come together. ‘ What is your worry, aunt ?'

Sophy’s 1 Aunt Clem,’ the Miss Buchnell who lived near, was often satirical about her sister Agatha’s garrulity, and the girl felt sure that a confidence was coming.

‘lt’s always the same thing, dear. Lois is so fond of you that you may be able to help; I want you to speak to your uncle, Sophy.’

‘What.am I to speak about, aunt?’ Sophy felt greatly amused. Mrs Ercott’s hope of a marriage between Sir Miles and Lois so possessed her, that she. fancied Sophy must have guessed it was in progress.

‘ X mean about Sir Miles and Lois, you know. He’s completely wrapped up in her ; you should see the flowers and fruit ho sends her, and she likes him far more than she says, poor dear child! It is such a pity Mr Ercott should set himself against the engagement.’ Sophy was startled; she already thought Lois liked Sir Miles more than she would confess, and if the baronet cared for her, it did seem a pity that uncle Ercott had taken a crochet against him. She gave a half sigh; she was ambitious for Lois, but she was not worldly; it seemed to her a come-down that her friends aspira-, tions should end in making a mere good match.

‘ Do you like Sir Milos ?’ Mrs Ercott'stared as if she doubted Sophy’s sanity.

‘Why, Sophy 1 what can you mean? Like him! He’s unexceptionable; he’s a baronet, the principal landholder this side of the county; then, you know, Ms sister, Lady Symore, is quite a leader of .fashion. Only think what a position the child would have, with her beauty, and her cleverness; think how proud her father would bo to read about her parties and all the rest in the newspapers.’

‘ Why, aunt, you are quite a castle builder.’

Sophy laughed, hut she felt doubtful. She thought Mr Ercott would know better on such a point than aunt Agatha; she also thought he would not allow a mere personal dislike to influence him ; she began to fear he had some serious cauas of objection to Sir Miles. Meantime Mr Ercott’s walk had calmed him. The private road of the garden led across two meadows, here and there shaded by forest trees; beyond the last gate were cottages with red and yellow climbers on their white walls, and gardens gay with flowers.- .Facing Mr Ercott the chalky road went upwards to the village of Brinsby. There was a cross-road runrung right and left, and the right hand way would have takenhim far more quickly to the Manor-house, but he had business to do in and he was also desirous to get more thinking time before ho interviewed Sir Miles,

Yesterday he had seen Lois before she observed him, and blushing, self-conscious looks warned him that she was, perhaps, already fascinated by Sir Mile's flattery. Fattery, he thought, must be poison to a girl who had not been accustomed to adumbration. -

While he crossed the bridge over the little stream which cut the road at this point Bobert Ercott asked himself how he could beat open the subject with Sir Miles. He had ascertained from his wife that the flowers and fruit were sent from the Manor-house without any special address .—they were delivered “with the compliments of Sir Miles Caversham.” Lois’s father could not therefore find any complaint on that score; if the rector had been married, the flowers would probably have been sent to the rectory.

T-Tia groat cause of complaint against Sir Miles was this meeting in the wood; besides it was unwise to encourage any intimacy between his child and such a man as the baronet the puzzle was how he could set this before his neighbour, but he had resolved to put an end to the acquaintance.

He was some distance past the picturesque Mill-house, when he saw before him, in the middle of the village, Sir Miles Oaversham staring with much apparent Interest at the thatched roofs of the cottages on either side of the rambling street —roofs which in many, cases projected over quaint low browed dorner windows, and overhung the white-washed walls.

Sir Miles turned, and saw Mr Ercott; he came quickly towards him.: The village street had seemed deserted, but as the two men stopped to shake hands, faces showed at the windows; some evil-eyed old women, and one or two crippled lads were seen peeping out of the doorways.

It was new for Brinsby that tw6 gentlemen should talk together in its Highstreet; the village was only accustomed to the rector’s rapid visits as he hurried in .and out of the cottages,'in which it must be owned he had to listen to more complaints and oaths than might have been beard in the three nearest hamlets put together. Brinsby seemed to glory in the curse that was said to spread to it from the Manor-house; it was a sadly vicious place, and for at least two generations no softening or purifying influence had shed forth'from its superiors. 1 Good morning,’ the squire said. Ercott had to own that both his voice and manner ■were winning. I was on my way to the cottage ; now we have met, will you come back to the Manor-house ?’

Ercott stared - almost gasped; this audacious smiling man did not attempt an apology for his neglect; lie seemed to think he was doing quite the right thing by announcing that he was on his way to the cottage. * I’ll walk part of the way,’ Ercott said, stiffly. His'companion was amusedly his manner.

1 1 hope - Mrs Ercott is well, and your daughter : what a talent she has for reciting. I had the pleasure of listening to her yesterday ; she does it surprisingly well for any one so young; she seems still almost a child.’

Ercott smiled; be was. relieved that Lois should be thought younger than her age. ■ ■

Yes, she is .very childish; -I*do not approve of her doing it at all, and especially : in so lonely a place as the wood.’

He looked hard at bis companion as ho spoke. * I "think ybu'are quite rightj" "she* Is

much too remarkable-looking for that sort of thing; of course it was'different for me, I had already had the pleasure of meeting her; but surely, Ercott, you do not mean to ignore such a talent as hers ? I have seen a good deal of acting, especi-

ally in Paris, where, as you know, is the finest acting in the world, and I must say that Miss Ercott seems to me to possess all the necessary gifts for the stage, only they must be cultivated.’

He had intended to offer his assistance with regard to the girl’s training, but the expression . of Mr Ercott’s face checked him.

‘ I do not intend to have this habit of my daughter’s cultivated,’ he said,repressively. * I know little about players ; I do not wish to know moro about them,

to mo they are simply mountebanks, and we do not wish to have mountebanks in our family, Sir Miles.’ He spoke as if ho were annoyed, and a flush rose on his pale face.

‘ You are severe,’ Sir Miles smiled. ‘ Your daughter seems to mo to show decided genius.’

‘ I cannot see any genius in it,’ Ercott said in a dull, dogged voice; but the flush deepened on his face as ho spoke. ‘I on the contrary, Mr Ercott,’ said Sir Miles, ‘ think so highly of your daughter’s gift that I want to hear her again. I

have been thinking wo might get up some dramatic readings if you and Miss Ercott would take part in the idea.’ Ercott was flattered, as a man is apt to bo when asked to do something for which ho has not capacity. Sir Miles went on before ho could answer—

‘ I have also a favour to ask. The Manor-house is sadly out of gear, and I feel sure that Mrs Ercott’s advice would bo very helpful to me in my attempts at making it moro habitable. Won’t you i bring Mrs Ercott and your daughter tomorrow afternoon, and take a look with them over the old place ?’

Ercott smiled, but ho was alarmed and bewildered; it seemed possible that his wife’s surmise had not boon after all so absurd. Sir Miles might have serious intentions in regard to Lois. Before ho could decide what course to take, his companion’s expectant face hurried him into an answer.

‘ Thank you very much ; you are very kind. I will ask my wife if she is engaged to-morrow, and I will ■ let you know; you see I do not share your bachelor,freedom.’

Sir Miles laughed. 1 Loneliness would bo nearer the mark. Well, I hope you will all come. The wood is the pleasantest way for the ladies ; between three and four there is shade all the way.’ ‘ Thank you. I think I’ll go back now and consult Mrs Ercott.’

' They parted. Presently Sir Miles came hurrying down the road. 1 1 beg your pardon, but I forgot the very thing I was coming down to ask you about. I want you to borrow a horse of me for Miss Ercott. I brought a lady’s horse down with me; a gentle, nice creature. I will ride with your daughter as often as I can, though I expect she will quickly become a good horsewoman. I shall bo down here on and oft for some time. 'When I’m ; not to the fore, perhaps you will ride with her, or you could trust her to our steady old groom ; he taught me to ride years ago.’

He said all this in such a matter-of-fact, casual tone, that though Ercott stared hard at him, he did not detect the slightest change of expression. ‘Thank you,’ he said. ‘Youare extremely kind. I had better leave that point also to be decided by Mrs Ercott.’ He turned away and walked rapidly down the slope that led to the brook. His ideas were confused. Ho was obliged to own that. Sir Miles was a charming fellow i ho oven thought it possible that the stories told about him were untrue. Then, as he tried to free himself from the fascination of the man’s look and manner, and sent his memory travelling back to the' past, fact after fact recalled themselves. Sir Miles did not play or drink, but he had passed a singularly wild and profligate youth, while he was still at Cambridge his conduct had drawn down severe reproof. The former rector of Brinsby had gone abroad with the young baronet; and he had told-Mr Ercott in confidence some very sad stories of Sic Miles’s want of principle with regard to women. Ercott could hot forget that these stories had been told him in the way of warning not long before the rector left Brinsby, when Ercott had announced his. intention of sending for Lois to live with him. ‘ But that foreign tour happened a long time ago,’ he told himself. ‘ The man may be completely altered.’ The worst part of his perplexity was that he must decide it himself. Now and then Bobert Ercott would listen blandly to the opinion of another person, but ho always kept his own. He was weak, hut he had the most unconquerable power, the unreasonable bull-headed strength of obstinacy. While he pondered these thoughts he walked slowly. It would undoubtedly place Lois in a good position if Sir Milos married her, and it would be pleasant to have her settled so near him. The occupation and distraction involved by her position would leave no room, he thought, for the terrible fancies which had been his continual torment since her birth.

Good heavens! He grew paler than usual, and suddenly stood still, as though struck by some missle. The revulsion in his feelings towards Sir Miles came as instantly as though he had touched the baronet with Ithuriel’s spear.

Sir Miles had said that Lois was a child, and he had urged that her talent for acting should be cultivated. He could not, therefore, 'mean to marry her. Yet he proposed to ride with her, and he,i doubtless, meant, if he could, to win the girl’s love. Yes, the angry father told himself, this practised roue meant to win Lois, and then,' even if nothing worse come of it, leave her to break, her heart, as those others had done of whom ho had learned such sad histories. The ex-chaplain’s imagination was fired, and his fear rose into a blaze as he realised the danger that menaced his careless, unsuspecting child

—a horrible danger, .... The first thing to be done was to remove her from this perilous neighbourhood. But he did not know where to send her.

His few friends were still in India, his only brother was in South Africa, and the relatives of his present wife lived so few miles away that to Send Lois to them would be to place her within Sir Miles’s reach, and beyond his own power of protecting her. He could not find a way out of tins dark perplexity, and yet he was bound at once to find one. His intention had been to shut up the cottage at Christmas, unless ho could find a tenant for it, and to rent a flat in one of the suburbs, for the sake of his son George, who was to begin work in a solicitor’s office when ho left Oxford; but Ercott knew that this could not be done at once.

When he reached the last meadow, he paced up and down, trying in vain to find a way of escape from his present dilemma At last he turned and went towards the cottage. At the gate which led from the meadow to the road that bordered the garden, he met the postman. Ercott gave an unusually pleasant smile as the man touched his cap; the meeting recalled the memory of the letter Lois had received from Mrs Johnson. He felt at opce calmed and comforted by the sudden hope this memory" brought; he would go to town and see this lady, and if she and her.references satisfied him he would engage tctpay Lois’s expenses and ask Mrs Johnson to take charge of her for three months,. abroad. Inthree months, he told himself, Sir Miles would have left England again, and he would have forgotten all about Lois. Matthew Shinn, the Manor-house gardener, met Ercott at the wicket gate. He was annoyed at the sight of the man; he felt sure ho had brought some tribute

from Sir Miles. He looked straight before him,' as if he did not recognise Shin. Only for a moment, then, as the man stared after him, for Ercott had gone on to the farm-yard gate, he suddenly turned and faced the gardener. ‘ See here, my man, you come from the Manor-house, don’t you ? ’ Matthew Shinn felt that his dignity had been outraged by ‘ the surly gent.,’ as he called him. He had always been of opinion that Miss Bushnell had thrown herself away when she married the miserable invalid he considered Ercott to be. He answered very coolly : 1 Yes, Mr Ercott, an’ I’ve been tnkin’ some flowers an’ fruit to the young lady.’ It seemed to Ercott that the man sneered.

‘Ah —you need not bring any moro fruit or flowers.’ Ho had meant to add, ‘ we are going from home,’ but the man’s expression was so unpleasant he would not trust himself to further speech. Without another word he walked to the garden gate, opened it, and went into the house and to his study. Ho at once wrote two notes; one to Mrs Johnson —ho remembered that she had written to Lois from the Hotel Metropolo; then he wrote very politely to Sir Miles, explaining that sudden business was taking them away to London, so that they could not avail themselves of his kindness.

Ho had little doubt that Lois would be pleased with his plan. Even if she had taken a fancy to Sir Miles, the delight of foreign travel would certainly cure any nonsense of that sort. But when he had written these notes he found himself still haunted by the gardener’s mocking glance; it seemed to have left a, lasting sting. He wont out to find Lois, resolved to tell her her his plan before he spoke of it to his wife; his Agatha was very sweet and amiable, but he feared her discretion in regard to Sir Miles Caversham. (To be continued.)