"A PERILOUS GAME."

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13372, 14 January 1907, Page 6

"A PERILOUS GAME."

By Bertha Wl. Clay. Author of "THROWN 4 ON THE WORLD/ "A BITTER ATONEMENT/ "BEYOND PARDON," "ON HER WEDDING MORN/ "THE LOSI LAD* OF *l ADDON," etc. CHAPTER XlV.— Continued. ' # lk« rooms are getting too cro*\cl ed/ J she said, hai'i" impatiently ; "and people are beginning to a\o . me. I suppose 1 ought to be ilatltned ; 1 am not. I call it Vulgar—detestable !" "Th'o penalty of beauty and fame/ said Savile. "Leave out the fame, . please, and substitute 'notoriety.' I don't c a ll it fame to be known as a veiry .beautiful woman, who dresses divinely. Come ! Shall we try to move on a. little ?" They paused, by and by, before one of Leighton's Greek maidens ; a soft, exiqtuisite face i upon which Margherita gazed for fiome minutes in silence. , "it reminds tv© so much," said 1 Savile, in a low v.oacc, of Lady Lilian Beaudesert." Margherita started, and glanced at the speaker. Something in Us tone and manner struck her subtle sense, and made' her frame her question i» the past tense. '•'Who was that?" she asked. "Lord^ Ernest's sister. , She cted about this time last year." -'Was -she young- when she die.! ?'' "Only 'eighteen. I thought you might have heard of her— not from him— he never speaks of he.—oiut from) others." •'Then ho loved her v«ry much ?'' said Mnrgiierita. "He worshipped her" — Saviio's lips quivered';, hp could not fini>h the sentence. Margherita, too, was silent ; she 1 would in any case have respect* d her •!omparo:on'B-'pain«: but her own was too deep .for "her to be mistress of herself for a minute 1 or two. She longed Ao !k<now- monJ about . this young- sister, whom Ernest Beaudeserfc had loved so dearly ; bait she shrank from asking any more ; she thought it might give pain, and, of course, she had no light to ber curious about Ernest's family. Sibe' might learn something from others less personally interested ., than .Auntim ,Savile. When . she spoke again, it was about some other p.cture. Savile thought :"I wonder. if she cares about Beau at all ! Perhaps she Isn*t capable of feeling very deeply for an 3' man ; she \soon dropped the "sc&ject of Lilian/ Poor Margherita ! "Shall • we leave ?*' paid she, by and by. "I know yjou have been here before, so Tarn not dragging you away. Come and lun;?h with me ; ther© are sure, 'to 7 be uotne nice people dropping in." So they ' returned to Hertfordstreet; and* two or three people came in- itv luncheon ; but Savfle could have dispensed with. them. Matigtoerita .went to ,t he ,, theatre that .-VFuncr. She was in no mood for it; but. «foe h a d. promised to take Tessie Danvers, ana" eho could not break a promise ; and, thinking Tessie must "have some 'one <to liirt with," she sent a message to Count Guardi to .come alaa. &he -three were to dine together, and • the drive to the theatre. • ', . "And mind/ Ansel-mo," aaid shg coolly;, "you ilirt with Miss Danvers ; I shall gnub you fearfully if you talk too much to me !" "That- i»- hard treatment !" iwotested the» Count. "I 'believe you only asked anfetotake the girl T off your jhands." • * » ' j "Of course. „„ I ..didHpatftJy ; besides, she is a little. _ «impletan | and likes 'flirtjng— go do you-^— '.' "iWith you, Margherita*- 1 - "Wi-fch anyone. You need not go ; ibut, if you 'do, j'ou must obey; me." j "I wMl' gor-Wm any t-erms — to bo ne«r to' you.*' ' "Poor .Ansel mo !" ?he burst o'«t laughing. -"But »f, you are sweet to tl*.s ljt^ie Danvers, T will' not forget the service.'' t "Oh ! you are too good !" "Of course. Now you' have to dregs, and T ntugt do the same,." Bwt/ she was saying to herself, while thie . maid arrayed her in evening dress-: ... . "Why does, he beep away ? Is lvo afraid of me ? Perhaps he does not wish to pain his sister. Well, I must not think : f. must try and Bay, 'Vive la bagatelle. !* There, thai will do, Adele. Those peari»--no diamonds to-■iig-ht.'' S^he* went • down- to the drawingroom, and a few nirmtes later, Tessie >and Cotunt Gn-ardi arrived almost together. Tessie looked very pretty, a nd was pleased to be seen with so famous a person as Madame de St. Lys, though she was vexed to think theft no one would look at her : but she would try to do some execution with Count Guardv. who seemed 'to be quite taken witth her. Pocff Tes&V cM not know that t^e count was acting under orders. At the theatre — where Madame St. Lys had a box — she put) Tessie next her. and Count Guardi «t Tessie' s 'side, an arran^em-ent he t't'd not aY ;mirc, but in which he was. of course, forced to acquiesce. Jilst before the curtam went un. MaFffherita, who, at the minute, was looMng >put dreamily before her, ql-h-«-od d o w n at the stalls. / She hardly jl-n^w why s^e cHd so. om ] y a va«r'"e thrill went "th""-<vir.h her. a str^n^e stirrin«gr of her pulses. She met futt, "Ernest Beaudesert's

dark pvp-J lifted to Her f}.ov. Hor lw*nrt jVii^wl 1 1 { • with a wild passitonat'O throb : but sl.p was no innenup ; she was a woman of tho world,, as he was a man of the world, and f='he did not even chfinne colour, a 5!a 5 ! she bowed, with a smilp, a« he noticed, that she would havo bestowed upon anyone. . lie bowed, too, and sat down— he ha*! only just coiv.e ip, but Ms 'heart was on fire, every fibre quivering. Did she want to show him that his keeping away from her could not affect her one way or the other— or did it really m alter little, to her ? Yet it was for her sake, though she could not 'divine that, not knowing Iris purpose. In truth, he did not wish to have their names so coupled together that, when he finally left liar, it might be said lie hn<l discovered thin-gs -in her past life unfitting her to bear his name «or that he had - - aTe-rcd her homage which was a snatve to her, a dishonour to him ; for few would credit a w^man. witVi refusing sobrilliant a suitor as Lrd Ernest Beaudesert. , / (To be continued.)