Selina's Love Story.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8232, 8 September 1906, Page 2

Selina's Love Story.

CHAPTER XVlll—Continued

/ The faot of b<s wife's wealth waß a bitter' oue to George Durnstone. Had he been a free agent he would have refused this mouey, but Dor othy had to be considered. Dorothy had been brought up, in a way, modestly, yet at the same time her life had lacked nothing. She was essentially not a poor man's wife, and Durnston'ewas only to conscious of how much he needed to eive her those things which his love demanded for her. Life had been pleasant enough at the Gate t House when Selina had been mistress there, but there had been no extravagance, aud old Anne had kept down expenses with a hand of iron. fie had not teen mowied a week before he discovered that his wife had uone of the simple tastes of his sifter. She was an exotic where Selina was a field flower. So he put his pride in his pocket, and he allowed Dorothy to paes into possession of her wealth, resolving that he himself would have none of it; but, of course, this was pructicaly impossible. It was difficult to map oat oue road for himself and one for Dorothy, and, to do her justice, Dorothy bad nothing mean or grasp ing in her nature. She waited money to be spent freely. It wu9 she who had insisted upon enlarging the Gate Bouse, and so when they came to London, George Durnstone had iDßtallod he aa befitted hia wife and a woman who had no need to economise. He took a boupe furnished in one of the streets off Park Lane, and sent to her the horses and carriages. Selina scribbled a few lines the night of her arrival to Mary Laacombe. / 'Here I am back in London,' she wrote. 'The weather is beautiful and the Parks are full of flowers. Everybody is wearing a spring frock, and there is a sort of music and gayety in the air, and yet it Is all ao different. I wish you could come back, Polly. I never wanted you so badly as i do now!' She prepared herself to be shunned by Dorothy as she had been in the 'country, but Lady Durnstone had more use for Selina in town than she had at the Gate House. She was quick enough to note tint Selina presence was an advantage to her in more than one way. Sir George left them the day atfer he bad brought them up. He wanted to get the work down at the Gate House finished as quickly as possible, and as Selina had truly said, he never cared for London. It had cost him a tremendous effort to separate himself from Dorothy, but he laboured und«r the hallucination that if he prepared her home in the country, and allowed her thia little holiday in town while it was being done, she would then turn r:und and settle down in the country in the way he had pictured. Nothing in her new life surprised and moved Selina more than her btother's manner to his wife. She hardly recognised Sir George at times. Had she dono a quarter the things that Dorothy did, in the old days there would have been no end of anger and quarrelling. But Doiothy apparently could do no wrong. And it went like a pangt hrough Selina's heart to see. the relief that came into Lady Dnmstone's face when her husband got into the cab and was driven to the station. Indeed, Dorothy made no secret of her delight at being more or less free. 'Now we are going to enjoy ourselves, my dear,' she said,, 'and first and foremost, Selina 1 am going to give you some clothes. I know quite well what you are going to tay—that Mies Lnscombe bought you all you want to have, but that is nonsense; you have not half enough. I want to give you no end of pretty thngs.' Selina thanked her sister-in-law, but there was little of pleasure in her voice. She felt utterly oppressed and depressed at the vision of spending these duys alone with Dorothy, doing nothing but waste time on frivolity, conscious only toe clearly that this spell of freedom must work disastrously on Dorothy's nature. 'George should have put his foot down,' Selina said to herself, miserably;, 'he married her against everybody's opinion. Surely if be oould do that he could be firm, enough to be her master when once she was his wife—and Doiothy wants a matter.' Lady Durntsono enjoyed beroelf for the first day or two in driving about in tho streets and the park, and in buying everything she wanted, and in taking Selina to a theatre; but almost immediately she began to feel the necessity of friends. She mentioned several names to Selina, 'Write and nak them to dinner,' -*ihe said, and, when Selina demurred, suggesting that it would bo better to wait till her bruther was in town, Lady Durnstone became ■ impatient and angry. f 'You know perfectly well that George does not intend to stay in London,' she said. 'He sent me up to amuse myself. He told me that you would invite everybody, you know such a lot of people. Look here," Dorothy said, a moment later, 'let us ask St. John Delaval to oome. He will be a delightful man to escort us about, and he knows ■everybody.' Selina's face was dyed suddenly with a hot colour, but, fortunately, Lady Durnstone wa ß not looking at her. 'Fou know his address of course,' Dorothy went on, 'and he is sure to ue in London at this time of year.' Selina found her voice after a little while. 'According to Michael, nothing is

By Effie Adelaide Rowlands. Author of "An Inherited Feud," " Brave Barbara," " A Splendid Heart," "Temptation of Mary Barr," "The Interloper," etc., etc.

very certain where Mr Delaval is concerned. He is here to-day, gone tomorrow—perhaps to the other side of the world,' 'Well, we can try, auyhow,' said Lady Durnstone, a little impatiently, 'and I am sure he is just the sort of man that would be able to get us any amount of fun.' Selina had au unoomfortable moment when she was by herself after this little conversation. Though she had a longing to see him again, she felt that she could not rush and ask him to come. If she did, that would have an utterly wrong significance to the man, and then, though her life was so disjointed and there was so little in it, the mere thought of it filled her with exquisite pleasure, yet she drew baok from,urging on the future. Her feelings were divided. She wanted to see him, and yet she dreaded to see him. Sometimes, she would remember that strange look that had come to his face when she had changed her opinion of his love, and she would remember, too, the things that Mary Lasoomoe had said about him in the voiy beginning, how such a man, having lived through such a career, must neoesaarily be hard and cruel. There had been a cruel expression in his eyes that day in the park, and a cruel touch in grip of his fingers on her wrist. Set Selina vvqh not afraid of him. She liked him for hia strength; and often as she found herself drifting into the smallness of the frivolous social life, she liked hirn all the better for his lawlessness, for his freedom, for the way in which he cut hiirself adrift from the haunting of modern civilisation and took himself out into the wild parts of the world. No, she was not afraid of him. There would havo been no oioud on her horizon had it not been for the faot that the two people whom she respected, and whose oponion was most valuable, had cast doubts on his honour. Mary Lascombe had *rerel/ generalised, but Michael had spoken with such gravity, suob seriousness. His words even now rang in her ears at times. This was one of the things that made her loDg to meet Delaval. v She wanted to speak with him about Michael. She wanted so much to bring the two together again. She felt somehow as if the future would he less unoertain if Michael remained their friend. That day, fortunately, various people came to call on Lady Durnstone aud Selina, whoso arrival lu town had been duly announced in th 9 Morning Post. They came for the most part out of curiosity, but were quietly converted to frionds. Certainly Dorothy Durnstone bad in her all the elements that go to insure popularity. She only had to be met and seen to be admired and liked. Selina hoped that the question of Delaval had been forgotten, but Dorothy forgot very little. She came back to the subject just as they were going up to dress for dinner. 'Give me Mr Delaval's address,' she said,''l am going to write to him and aßk him to come and lunch with us. I know he is in London. I have just seen his name mentioned' in connection with the Geographiual Society.' \ Selina gave the address a little hurriedly, and before she went up to her room Lady Durnstone scribbled him a few lines. 'There is no reason why he should not come,* she said to her self. He has known me ever since I was a child, and he is a great person. I don't want anybody about me who is of no use. But St. John Delaval can be most useful.' She told Selina at dinner that she had written. The girl tried to aooept the information quietly and indifferently, but this was impossible. The mere thought that she was going to see Delaval again so soon was enough to send the blood coursing wildly in he veins ; besides, she was glad at the time to temporise a little while' before she took the final plunge. (To be Continued.)