Enemy.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 3150, 30 March 1909, Page 2

Enemy.

HARLAND.

O C«» 0 W* O^«>

Continued. perfectly," the is upon a When her tell you change takes Leonard Da era his thirtieth year, too hard, thought too much in himself the necesrecreation, and his is badly undermined, and would, with in his favour, outgrow tendencies, and they consumptive, but if ivere to prey upon his last frali barriers would away." the major said, re"he shall never have any trouble of my making, nor any that I can prevent; but what are we to do if Dora finds that she is mistaken?" "That would rest with you. A word from you would fix her mind upon her duty, and she would keep her promise to him, as I hope she will; for without something to live for, a special interest in life, his lot would be a haid one." "In what way?" "I cannot explain, but I am afraid there is a heavy trouble in store for him. We are all inclosed in a network of mystery, Major Lugard, and whenever the light breaks in, as sooner or later it must, it seems to me that the innocent will suffer more than the guilty." "Yes, the mystery is there, surely enough," the major said, with a Bigh; "and somebody will have to suffer, but I do not see how it can affect young Dacre." "You know what his mother said, that if the colonel does not come back, Dora and Leonard can never marry." "But she could be moved from that; and if not—altogether I like to see a devoted and obecient son he is no longer a boy; and marriage is the one thing in life in which a man, who can earn his own living, has a right to use his own judgment, unless, as I have been more than once inclined to think, she holds something in reserve. She is a strange woman, but I can hardly believe that she would base her prohibition on anything so slender as a superstitious reverence fbr St. Hil ary's wish to give his daughter away on her wedding day." "That superstitious reverence is the very thing which would influence a woman of her character, '* the doctor said,,with a hurried and anxious glance at him. "Why should you think she has a stronger motive in reserve?" /'I coulcl not give a reason, it is only my impression; and they are lather a queer family altogether. Here i 3 the sister, poor old Aunt Hannah, creeping about the house like a spectre, making hersilf miserable by her perperted view of religion; and the sister-in-law, Mrs Dacre, shuns the house am if it were smitten with a pestilence." "ohe has done so, hitherto, for reasons of her own," the doctor said; "but thorfe reasons will' no longer keep her away. She sent for me today, ,to inquire about my patient, and she is coming to see Dora and Mr Dacre. I was to tell him so." "Did you tell her that Dora is better?" "1 told her the truth. Miss St. Hilary has youth on her side, and with such a nurse as Miss Walton, there was hope while a spark of life remained. You are 1 very fond of your cousin, major?" "You can hardly wonder at that," the major said, with inward enjoyment, for he felt that the remark was made with the intention of drawing him out. "It was something for a lonely feMow like myself to find j such a relation waiting, literally with open arms and a welcome. Yes, I am very fond of Mary, sweettempered, sensible and beautiful as she is; and her age is near enough to mine to make her companionship sympathetic. I never intend to part with her if i catti help it, and I snail be glad when I can take her to Ravenskerne." "As its mistress. I suppose?" "Of course." was the cool reply. "A house like mine is nothing without a lady at the head of it." "Well/' said De Vigne, giving the major his hand, slowly and warmly, after a long pause, "you are a good fellow, and Ma —Miss Walton i 3 evertyhing a woman should be. I was afraid—l was glad, I mean—to think that this would be Ihe end of it, the first time I saw you together. It was only natural, ana you will suit each other admirably. If the selection had been left to me as a disinterested party, you are the man I would have chosen for her "

CHAPTER XXVI. IVRS DACRE'S STRANGE PROMISE. "*lt co3t the doctor an effort to say this, but he said it bravely, looking into Lugard's eyes with a kindness in which there was not a little affection. Rapid as had been the growth of the friendship between these two gentlemen, ft stood on a solid foundation now, and they spoke to each other, as a rule, with a manly candor which made the major rather ashamed ef the equivocation he had indulged in. "You are very good," he said: "but before you dispose of Mary and me in that way, I should like to be sure than you are a disinterested party, De Vigne. It may have been an error of mine, but I had an idea that you were not quite indifferent to her yourself." i

"Why tell me of it now?" said the doctor, gently. "Mine was an honest love, of which no man need be jealous, and I have never mentioned it to her. I used to flatter myself that she cared for me, and understood that I was only waiting till I was in a position to speak; but like a fool I let the time go by. There was not much rii:-parity of means while she was Miss Lawton, the music teacher, and I a struegling doctor —a rising one, if you like; but I am still a struggling doctor, and she is Miss Walton, cousin to Major Lugard, of Ravenskerne; so let it drop, please. Some dav, perhaps, when I have married for money, and have a troup of sturdy youngsters to advertise me I may meet your wife, ard forget that I ever had the temerity, to think of her as mine."

"You must t)« gifted with more than mortal prescience if you ever did think of the future Mrs Lugard as yours," the major said; "for I have never, to my knowledge, set eyes on her myself." "But you spoke of Mary—Miss Walton —as the mistress of your house. You said you would never part with her if you could help it."

"Nor will I, unless it is to a man after my own heart, and to be that he must be something like you. Mary is my coui?n, my dear De Vigne, and that, as I think I told you in a previous conversation we had on the same subject, would be an unconquerable objection to our union. It may be a crotchet of mine, but I do not thinK there should be any thought of courtship between those are kindred in blood, or connected by rearriage. If I were in search of a wife, I should most certainly hesitate on the threshold of any home where the children of the family, cousins, whether of the first, second or third degree, were allowed or encouraged to look upon each other as possible husbands and wives."

"You are not alone in your opinion," the doctor said. "Too much cousinly familiarity has spoiled many a good chance. Men, who would be suitors, are apt to draw the line when they are in doubt as to whether the fellow they see kissed and petted is a cousin merely, or a cousin lover, and they don't like it. I, myself, should never be jealous of you; but were anybody else I should not care for too much of it."

The major laughed quietly as they shook hands.

"Do not think of taking Mary from me yet," he said. "I shall want her at Ravenskerne when Dora is well enough to be moved. She will nev*r get her health and strength back in this stifling den, where every window is shut in by a pile of brickwork, not ten yards away, and even in the park the London smoke of spring takes the place of the London fog of winter. I did not think I should care for country life, but since I left Ravenskerne I do not seem to breathe.'' [to be continued.]