CHAPTER II.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7808, 12 September 1903, Page 1

CHAPTER 11.

- VIV-E-m-B's' SCHEME"DarIing," said Vivienne, smoothing ber -toi-her's thin head and gazing up into his tbeumy eyes as ha sat beside her while the former scene was taking place above stairs, 44 do you believe in intuitive perception ?" "Intuitive peroeption, hum; intuitive, perception, ha!" the old man rolled the ■Words over in his mouth with unction, astounded anew by his daughter's cleverness In* broaching a- subject with such redundant terms that even he could* not immediately fithom. "'.Of course,' my -love, there's sometbihg in it. Intuitive perception in relation 1 to, ci - — what, forexample?" e 4Jousin Val, what do you think of him*?" f The impression he conveys to my mind Hs?er; distinctly agreeable. He is a Biron •vfery ''inch of him, with the good looks of , lus family; its vigour and virility " — the 0-d;man lifted his head, . squared his shaking, elbows, and threw back his shrunken shoulders ' being himself a Biron. " I musfc Bay that I tarn* agreeably di-appointed in my nephew. Bacteriology, I feared;, might have made him pedantic • but he seems to be free from affectation, faultless in form, and a eplendid 'specimen — of his race. lam open, of /.course,- to conviction, my love ; what is yo]iir»opiAion of him?----."I feel," replied Viviennej with tiie mystio totia of a sybil, " that he-is my saviour." . 'f"Tou don'fc'sayL sol "gushed her father. * VI feel that ie- will bring ©ie batek the joys of healfch. I feel that be will give me life!'— pressing his hand to her lips, "I •hall nofc -have to leave you, darling." =."Now, God be praised!" cried Rowton, flushing with emotion. "For surely sdme divinity inspired me with the idea of sending 'for Valentine." - Viyiexme did not claim to- be that di■wnifcy.; It was sufficient to know that her '.scheme had; been a/ happy one. ."Is, ifc some subtle, influence or. mie-ely : hope that gives me strength! I cannot tell, :.bni>this Iknow, darling, I musfc cbm» down '; W, dinner vto-night." ' 11 was in- ecstacy. Por over six months Vivienne had .pteferred- to dine in Sfclusiou— the old -man's tedious «od wearisome fussiness giving less aest to her appetite than the: spioe supplied by fche lacy of Tberese. -Biron saw her at. the dinner-table under ••pew nspeot. Her deeps wasnow as elabor- ■■'-. »te as Ivrfore it had been simple. T_he_cmi_. Sing of two ctever women had been exhausted in height ening the value of every charm, in maskii§ every defect injier jxrSiiiC JHer lSeauty dazzled his eyes aiid bewildeiied his senses for a time. -And lps appearance satisfied her "more critical exa-rqination. Fine men are not, -lacking in the Court of Sfc Pefc- ; a gentleiaan^of South Austria iuas eyes to enthral. any woman who dared to look into them, .and a nobleman of France c^in, -if he qhoose, make himself irresistible, fevfep- all ;t&P fliehish^ had -.ever. ipet. ,she cowld Mteemb^r u^_.^l^ t fl]*irie, : quit» up to, "^^^pa ol(^|««(entV Sy^^^^S^' "Bin evident sfci^gljh;. appealed to herimagin- v--vfcion. He might 'fake her up in hip arms and crush her if Ihe would. , When hie got ©yep. $he, embarrassment ; produced , by sitting for ibe first tiime in nis life.clbse to a bearufciful young extremely deoollefce. liis conversation became easy and light, bright , and irrepressive. A happier, little dinner .'was nofc to be imagined. - j Rowton,felfcthe "subtle influenoe" Vivienne had m_n'tiohed!. There must certainly be something in it. For otherwise, quantity he ate aaid drank,' and the brilliance of nis repartee at this meal were perfeofcly incomprehensible. 'When the time 'came for VivienneL to witbdraw^ahe refused to be carried upstairs - in' the invalid chair. LShe was qnite sure she could do without- ifc if Cousin Val would . give- her his big arm — only 'darling papa must not leave the table ; his anxiety would make her nervous. : -■ • "It-would give me greater support if you took my arm instead of I yours," she said at the foot of the stairs, looking up afc him with her languishing eyes. So he pub his hand under her beautiful bare arm, arid clasping ifc to his side led her •upstairs with a sense of intoxication, not wholly attributable to the champagne' he had drunk. \ _ In the; corridor she offered him. both * luu-ds'and said, in a soft, low contralto, ".Good night!" her head so bent that she looked, upwaxd under her brows into his eyes.. He took them in his and she bent forward, _clear_y- inviting him, to embrace hex. But he resisted the temptation, only J pressing her bands a little closer before reinquifihing them, and with a trembling "Good night," and an embarrassed smile, he turned and left her. „ Wiff did he, nofc. kiss her? Ifc would have been betber had he recognised then that she •w__3:hiß cousin,- aiid treated her in cousinly fashion. Perhaps.she was already something other than that to him ; pej-haps a slight rai sing, of her brows, as she leant towards him, i-ei-rinded him of TKerese, and checked tbe in»ulse. ■ ■ ' , Vivienne, with her blunted sense of delicacy was unable to understand why a man, Jtoving kissed "Ker maid, should refrain from Ipssing her when the opportunity was offer- _^ 'aW'cou_d not see that had be not kiseke might have kissed her, becftu^elSp fbiwi to perceive the tacJt insult ill ttea^g a^wiy with the pavalier freedom peftuiCtptf to all impudent soubrette. Her knowledge of" men and nlanners was entirely dontiuental, acquired by experience wbroad amd by her exhaustive study of Fariikfq irtwaCure. ' SSfe teLrred aE men with the same brush, end g__»§ none credit for chivalrous respect Itey-diHJwat commanded by self interest. This was her first flirtation with an EngiUhman, and she asked herself, as an ekpla_>ation of Valentine's extraordinary restraint, whether the mere fact of race codld make this man different from the many lovers with whom she had intrigued. Bhe recollected an English romance, peculiarly bete — in which a man, after eaying a fe****', thoughtless Words to a girl, $elt bound 'to follow them up by an offer of giarriage. .Ah ! that must be the explanation: valentine feared to compromise birafcelf. Therwe ridiculed the notion. In a love -affair the woman only can be compromised. LA man may only be compromised in his dealings with more serious things — money or State secrets, for example. Nevertheless, Vivienne maintained her opinion : Vivienne believed thafc if he made love to her tei must marry her, and he was not fool enough to jeopardise his independence. fEgafc was understandable-, afc any rate. (There was promise of delightful ex«iiiement Jji tutting her seductive powers against the force of self-interest for the possession of Valentine's independence. She felt fairlyconfident that the victory must- be hers. -EJer blood tingled wifch anticipation of keen delight in holding this strong man absolutely at ber mercy. That -position opened up a wide i_gld of operation. What should •«^*^cfe^tther triumph— magnaairmoualy

■■itnfflnetfnnwHi-rwMi*! __a_--_--«-_-iiT _.j_mn_i_»---_w--m -*■ ■ ■ free him from his obligations I—let1 — let him go, whon ifc pleased her, the way of many another who had loved and ridden away ? Or should, she exact the full penalty of his Weakness and make him marry her? The subject of marriage hadi occupied her thoughts much less than those of other girls. Her peculiar position as an English girl in a foreign country had given her that freedom for which foreign girls wero willing to barter away body and soul. Of course, she had no desire for the existence of a hen and chickens. Her idea of marriage was' a good position, a facile husband, and unrestrained freedom to flirt as long as her looks would bring lovers to her, fee.. It seemed to her that- these requirements would be fully met by mairriage with her cousin. He was nofc rich, to be sure — she had gathered that from the fact that he had writte_t a book and from certain admissions at the dinner table, but Rowton would be his, and* he would take her father's title in due course, and at no very distant date probably. All other possessions would come to her, she knew. Valentine would take her father's place, in a way, and she would be just 'as well off as now ; but in addition she would have the title of Lady Rowton. Before their meeting she had begrudged her cousin the heritage of Rowton and the title— with the envious greed of one who wants all and a fierce resentment against the Salic law which barred the entail to her. Now she could regard Valentine with complacency and contemplate the reversion without rancour. All would be hers by such a marriage—estate, title and hard cash — all save a negligible quantity to' meet her husband's modest necessity. To Rowton's intense astonishment Vivienne came down to lunch the following morning— came down absolutely unaided. "Darling, I don't know when I have slept, so sweetly and so well," she said as she kissed the old man. ..As, a matter of fact, speculation had kept her awake to an unusual hour. "I am sorry you have no .company but mine, love; but Val, it seems, has gon© out for a long walk— a note tells us he will return, not earlier than- three or four." . "So much the better, darling. I havo you all to myself for a few hours." She had learnt of Valentine's expedition from Therese with a smile, and perhkps rightly attributed it to a desire on his part, to brace himself up and strengthen his pux,pose to stand firm under the temptations that "beset him. * "It is simply miraculous, my love," said Rowton, when be had ceased to fuss aboufc his daughter's wraps 'and cushions, her tastes and fancies, and she herself had dismissed the servant. " This change in you ;is not less remarkable than it is Providential." Vivienne had helped herself to a respectable portion of Perigord pie— "l say .'Providential advisedly; for Valentine's scientific treatment, from- which we hoped so much, has hot yet been put to the test, licked, I. think we have Httle to expect -from that; for with that modesty which 'distinguishes genius^specially in- our family— he disclaims exceptional' knowledge in medicine or the treatment' of bacterial disease. He put it rather pietfcily last, night when we Were discussing the subject; he said that hitherto he bad sought bacteria, in muddy ponds rather thai- in beat_fciful y oung- women." "Don't you think, darling, that health is jdue_ as greatiy. -fco personal, influence as to . Rowton -pushe^L^sfdfe his plate, and put his dexter to his bepfc .brows leflefetively. , Family genius, "through his -.wonderful : daughter, he saw, was aboufc to pub another iposer. "I. don't mean mesmerism or auy vulgar practice ;.but those favourable conditions to which all organisms are subject." " I follow jou, my darling, prooeed." " For example, ifc is known that a young child living constantly with a very old person, acquires old ways, and even a certain decrepitude of body. Now, why should not a weak person, brought in contact wifch one of- exceptional strength, imbibe that superabundant something, which, for lack of a better word, we call energy? Is ifc not possible that health and strength, brimimiing over, as it were, froni Cousin Val, should flow into my poor being and reanimate its forces?" . " A most profound deduction I I wonder ifc had not occurred to me," gushed the astonished and delighted old man, " there must be something in ifc. But such profound reflection, my love, is ui-suited 1 to your age and sex. Ifc disquiets rae. I would have you turn your fchoughs to lighter subjects," he added, with tremulous anxiety. '• I will if you wish ifc, .darling," she" replied, stretching oufc her hand and clinging to his-— sbe had ordered Tier servioe to be placed quite close to his for a purpose. "** My only desire is to regain health for your dear sake. You shall think for me — > you who are so clever." And to thafc end she led him up by the most simple remarks and observations . to the conception of an idea which startled him by its originality and profundity. And this idea was to unite all interests and promote general happiness by marrying Vivienne to Valentine. Of course, the thing must ba arranged 'with diplomatic precaution. The ground must be* carefully sounded, and, above all, suspicion of his vast project must be kept from Vivienne, whose delicate susceptibilities would be shocked by untimely revelation. Under skilful control of circumstances, which it would be his duty to see to, the thing musfc saen^to develop with a mutual affinity of __mtb__ent in , the young people, the ftrst'idea of marriage should appear to be spontaneous to them, though he doubted if ifc could ever occur unaided to Vivienne's virginal ima^ination. AH the afternoon long he paced his study pondering this weighty subject, and this, Vivienne knowing perfectly well, she prepared to hook her fish, and land him witl the least possible delay.