CHAPTER XXII.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 11784, 5 October 1901, Page 2 (Supplement)

CHAPTER XXII.

Of coarse, Lady Susannas, bubbling over with tender-hearted' plaosfor Barbara. She had been deeply ttiistip- ' pointed when the girl bad" left bar' 'old home so. hurriedly,; bat, . then, , Lady Susan was the ropst qopff ftt|c^l person , j in the world, and» hating always been' surrounded by luxury,, gbuld.noljbp ex-. | pected to understand all the difficulties ; ! that Barbara had "to contpnd Wth. , ,, , i She wrote in a. pli«n£ive tone to the i girl- i■ >, „.■ i v --- > I ! *You really ought to be" with me,' was what ebe said in her letter j 4 it is; not at all the right thing tn^t y9U t should be alone by yourself in,JU>adou. There is plenty of room, here at the; Manse for Basil and > yourself, as long as you choose to, stay. .1 «' »U,' approTe of your taking a small' house .'; This was the theme"of Lady Susan's letters to her son also, 'aod; It puzzled, the kind-hearted creature, a great deal' to explain to herself why Lionet shouldj seem so indifferent about. Barbara,

Lionel, on the other Jjand, was veryi well satisfied with ihe progress of af-j fairs. i He had Dick well in his grasp, and this signified that bis sister was, in his power also. The girl's determined coldness only served, to amuse Wm, acid he promised himself full payment fo* this in the near future. Bur, apart from this, Lionel had other matters to

;;plaim his thought, . ' - • •' ' :> ' As soon as he heard that' Mrs Grantley was in town, he began to, pay her considerable attention, ,»• fact which flattered her vanity immensely. He was always proposing some new- sort of entertainment, and he dropped in at tea time almost every afternoon, and in the course of conversation he learned all he wished to -know, about Charles Grantley. ' Ie was an easy thing for him to read Mrs Grantley'? ' mind, and to i . see that she was fretted beyond measure by her son's deep interest in the trellfare of the boy, who, as matters siotfd, 1 was heir to Castle Chase. He gathered, tuo, that Sir Charles was not very very much with his mother, 1 and' it gratified Lionel to note the restlessness and disappointment that were legibly traced upon Nelia Somers' face. He had deliberately turned' away from Nelia in the past, but he regarded it as disparaging to himself that she should have this strong preference for Grantley. For his hatred for this man was slowly but surely becoming the most prominent factor in his lire. He had managed to put suspicion in Mrs Grantley *s mind about Barbara. ( I suppose you see Miss Bunting occasionally,' he said «to her onca ; and as Mrs Grantley shook her head, as if only vaguely remembering who Mius Bunting was, Lionel had gone on : ♦Oh, I thought you would be sure to see her, as she is up in town now, and I fancied I caught a glimps? of Sir Charles calling on her when I left my card yesterday. She is a remarkably pretty gir?, Mrs Grantiey,' Lionel added, signi6caatly ; 'you remember, you remarked her the night of 'your

dance.'

4 Oh, Charles never flirts,' Mrs Grantley said, lightly ; but, all tbe same, she was iropie9sed t as he intended her to be. By this time she had arrived at the conclusion that marriage with Nelia wa9 the one end to be attained.

She felt that Nelia w»s clever enough to have grasped something of the situation, although no explanation had passed between them ; and, at any rate, she was too well acquainted with the other woman's nature not to feel securn that if Nelia bec4'm«'.Bir .'Charles wife she would take all possible means to guard her position. And Alma Grantloy never liked to confess to herself in these days how much she feared what might happen. In that tost interview she had had with her son in bis rooms she recollected that he had oppoeed her will, and manifested an appalling degree of 3t»bbornness.

'Charles mast be bonnd by stronger ties than those which held him to herself,' was what she said a dozen times a day. Sometimes she was impatient with Nelia.

Had she been in the other woman's position, she declared to hur&elf, irritably, she would have brought things to a crisis loug before now ;. instead of this, Nelia seemed t<> be losing her power every day. Something, then, must be working in her poq's heart — something of which she knew nothing.

i *He is .absolutely changed}' she said' ; /he dreaded to 'come in contact with Nelia when he first came home ; now it seems to me as if he did not care whether he met her or not. i never thought Charles was fickle. He certainly was once madly in love with Nelia ; but he is very sentimental, and perhaps just because she lets him see now that she is dying to be his wife, he remembers the old days when she would have nothing to say to him. But even that would not change him so quickly. Suppose Lionel Villiers should b« right, and that he has an attachment for some other woman ? I know Lionel well, and he never says things without • reason. I don't think he likes Charles, but^ of 'course, that does not matter one ,w»y. or the other. I jinust keep my eyes open, however. I remember that Banting girl diftinctly ; there was a sweet-seventeen simplicity about her, just the sort of creature who would be moat harmful in Charles* life '__ one who would unconsciously induce him to believe it was his duty to tell tfbe trath, do matter at what cost. , But the truth shall not be' told/ Alma Grantley said to herself, between lier teeth. She clenched her hands and looked so grim and bard that Nelia, who chanced to be in the room when these reflections took possession of her, glanced at her at this moment' and was startled, , , 'Has something annoyed you, Alma?' she asked.

Mrs Grantley turned with a start, and tberi smiled.

•I am angry with Charles/ she said ; 'it is really too annoying that he should shut himself up with that sick boy ! It is useless my talking to him. Why don't you do something, Nelia ?'

Nelia flushed crimson.

'You set me a task beyond my power.' She paused a moment, then she rose and moved toward the fire. 'Alma, yoo mast be open with me/ she said ; 'tell me why you want me to marry Charles V

Mr? Grantley did not epeak immediately, and Nelia went on almost passionately : 'You have a reason — why will you not give it to me ?' 'I have told you,' said Mrs Grantley, evasively, 'that I think you would prove' tbe best wife in the world for Charles — the only suitable one, in fact! 'That is not your reason,' said Nelia, quietly. 'Shall I give it to you ? You want me to marry Charles because yon think I could restrain him— because there is something that you wish to keep secret perpetually — because you are afraid that he will fail you in some way. Have I not guessed rightly V Mrs Grantley rose and approached the fire near which Nelia stood.

'If I say 'yes, 1 what then V she asked.

'You have simplified matter*, that is all,' was Nelia's reply. 'At least, as far as I am concerned ; bat it makes the position more difficult.' Mrs Grantley pat her hand on Neb*

ia's arm.

'I know wbat yon thinking about,' she said, almost eagerly ; 'you imagine that Charles will never marry because of this — thin secret ; and perhaps you are right. Left to himself, he will take no step of this sort ; but he mast not be left to himself, Nelia. Now we are all going down to Castle Cbase tomorrow, this boy with us. You are a clever woman ; why not make a vow to yourself that before a month has gone you will have won him ? I have ju9t said that Charles, of his own free will, may hesitate to ask' 'you to be his wife; but there are ciicu instances which might urge him to <lo what we wish.' Nelia turned very pale, and stood looking into tbe fire. 'One more thing, Alma/ sbe said in a low voice, 'ibis boy Kenneth — is his existence detrimental to the future ?'

*I wish h*e were dead 1' said Alma Grantley, so suddenly and bitterly as to make the other woman wince. 'It is be and he alone who has Ibis influence upon Charles ! I cannot disclose' the whole trutb, Nelw, but I can tell you this ranch, that Charles has a mistaken view in his mind. He imagines that he is wrongly ocenpyiner the position he holds, and that he (right to step aside and give his inheritance to this boy,' Nelia drew a sharp breath.

At last she understood the situation! At la«t all that had been so mysterious was explained ! Having imparted so much, Mrs Grantley apparently repretteu ber words ; she turned and gripped Nelia's wrist.

'Remember,' she aaiJ, 'I have confided to you that which is dearer to me than life; gi»e me your solemn pro misc. Nelia, that yon will ne?er breathe this secret to a living soul !'

Nelia quietly nnta&tcued the grip of those small fingers.

*Be at rest f Aim a,' she eaid ; 'it is as much to my interest as to yours to bold this matter secret. Bat I am glad that you have spoken at last. I feel now that I know bow to ace. I fee| that my wish will be attained more easily/ '