CHAPTER II.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2122, 13 February 1886, Page 2 (Supplement)

CHAPTER 11.

The next day was spent by Claud in lying on his sofa talking to Elsie, and in reading the books which she lent him, mO3t of which he would not have looked at under any othercircu instances. The day after, he might, according to the doctor's verdict, have ridden home, but for reasons known only to himself he delayed his departure, and Mr Ruthven and his wife were only too glad, in their hearty English hospitality, to entertain him for as long as he cared to stay. They might not have been so kind had they^ known that the handsome young soldier was winning surely and certainly the heart of their darling Elsie. Ohe lovely evening, the fifth of Claud's enforced visit, and the eve of his departure, he is sitting with Elsie in an arbour to which he had managed to hobble by the aid of a stout stick. The girl looks pale and tired, and ia unusually quiet, "gazing at the clouds which lie in heavy masses on the horizon, their edges burning as with liquid gold. "Shall you be sorry this time tomorrow evening, Elsie, when you think that I an far away ?" She does not answer— perhaps she cannot—but a burning flush overspreads her face, and her head sinks lower and lower upon her bosom "Tell me, Elsie !" heTwhispers, a gratified smile playing about his lips. , " You are cruel, cruel 1" she cries, springing up ; but before she can run out of the summer-house his arms are round her, and he bold* her tightly, breathing loving words, and kissing her hot cheeks and lips. Poor little Elsie ! Her breath comes and goes, her bosom heaves, and then she lets her head sink upon his shoulder, and gives herself up to her dream of happiness. How long they were talking she never knew, but at last Claud said — " You will not doubt me, my child, will you, if I ask you to say nothing to Mr or Mrs Ruthven just yet?" "Of course not, Claud. Aud as to waiting, I am ouly seventeen, and Auntie will not let me marry until I am twenty — she has often said so." " She need not think that I shall wait contentedly until then tor my little wife," was Claud's reply ; and now, my 'dear one, good night." A tew moments afterwards he watched Elsie's light figure flitting up the garden path, and then he was left to his reflections, not of too pleasant a nature, as might have be imagined. "Look here, Claud Morton! You have got yourself into a confounded scrape ; and how to get out of it, Heaven only knows ! I cannot give up Elsie. How lovely the child is ! And so fond of me I And yet Ido not want to break with Denise. Well, there never was a truer saying than ' sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof,' and I'll act upon it by letting the morrow take care of itself, and by enjoying tho present." Weak and selfish, and never letting anything stand in the way of his own gratification, with several good and lovable qualities overgrown by the weeds of dissimulation v and utter carelessness, Elsie might as well have pinned her faith to the four winds of Heaven as to Claud Morton, and with as ' good a chance of happiness. Let us do him justice. On this evening after parting with Elsie, and with the remembrance of her beauty and love for himself fresh in his mind, he fully meant to make her his wife, and left ready to brave father, mother, and the world's opinion for her sake. He was only weak —pitifully weak and selfish. On arrival at Lighten the next evening, a message from his mother awaited him. " My lady requested that you will go to her at once, Captain Morton. " "Very well, James," said Claud carelessly ; and limping np the wide handsome staircase, he tapped lightly at the door of his mother's boudoir and, entering, found himself in her presence. " My dear Claud, I am very glad to see you. Denise was beginning to think that you would never return." " Bother Denise !" was Claud's graceful mental comment ; but he kissed his mother affectionately, and asked after her health, and their threw himself upon a couch near her chair. Lady Morton was a strikingly handsome woman of nearly sixty, with clearcut features and piercing dark eyes. Her face was stern, almost to being unfeminine ; and, though loving her husband and son with a force of which a strong nature only is capable, she ruled them and her household with an iron hand. Utterly unlike Claud, who inherited his weak nature and selfish disposition from his father, and gifted with an unusual amount of penetration, she read her son as easily as a book, and before he had been a quarter of an hour in her company she knew that he was concealing something from her ; and in her impenons style, sot herself at once to find out what it might be. When Claud had. finished his account

of the lust few days, (au account, however, in which El-ie« name was not mentioned), nhe fixed her keun, (lurk eyes upon him, ami !«aid — " And what else, Claud?" Claud shifted M< position uneasily, and with a lnujih which he tried unso.cc.eASfully to maki» c irele*., s:«id — " I think I h:ivo told you all, mother. Yon would, hy-the-byp, be amused by the, -implicit}- of the literature with which those good people supplied me. I believo " The Wido, Wide World" figured among other volumes of the same btamp." Without removing her eyed from his face, his mother replied — " You are keeping something from me, Cloud." 11 You driro me distracted, mother," ho cried, impatiently. "Do you expect a man to remember every trifliDg incident, and every word he speaks during the space of five days ?" " No, Claud. But I want your word of honour as an officer and * gentleman, that you have told me all of any importance, and if you do not give it to me at once, I shall drive over to-morrow to this farm, and find all out for myself." Claud hesitated ; he would like to hare complied with hi* mother's request, but ho bad a certain code of honour of bin own, and could not pledge his word falsely in such a deliberate manner. On tho other hand, he knew that Lady Morton would carry out her threat, and be could not bear to think of pretty, gentle Elsie exposed to her criticism. While he deliberated, she rose, tod coming to his side, laid her hand on his shoulder. " Why will you not trust me, mj boy ? If you are in any difficulties am I not always ready to help you ? Trust me, Claud ! Is there any silly flirtation in the caie P Ah ! Claud, I laud," as he coloured under her gaze, " you tee I know your weak point . Come, tell me all about it. I suppose it is only another case of M>iggie Ray ?" She referred to an entanglement into which CUad had been drawn by the pretty, bat unscrupulous daughter of one of Sir George Morton's tenants. " No, indeed, mother," said he, earnestly. " Elsie it a very different girl from Maggie Ray. If you could only see her, you would love her dearly ; she is the most baautiful girl I have ever seen." " Indeed," drily remarked her ladyship, i " I think it is a good thing for Miss Elsie that your stay nt the farm was limited to five days. It in not advisable for girls in her rank of life to form friendships with handsome yonng officers, Of course you will not go there again, Claud ?" Claud started. " I promised to call upon Mrs Ruthren, when I am quite recovered." _ " And I wnnt you to promise me that you will not do so." " I am not a boy , mother !'' cried Claud, springing to his feet, and thereby remindimr himself of his injured ankle, " you have no right to cont.ro! :ny actions in this fashion ! lam answerable to no one for what I choose to do or to leave uridonn." " Listen to me, Cliod. Every con. sideration bids yon not to return to this girl. If you make her love you, you destroy her happiness, for Sir Georgo Morton's only son and heir nm>>t not marry beneath him. Then you are bound in honour to Denise, whQ is vpry sincerely attached to you. Promise me to act as I desire. This girl cannot love you yet, and is probably only attracted by the thought of being one day Lady Morton, for," she continued with true patrician scorn, " these people are always more or less meroonary, and do not feel as we do about such matters. Trust me, I nay again, Claud, and you shall not have cause to repent of it." Claud uttered an impatient word, and flung himself upon a <>eat. His brow was | contracted, be bit his lips, and his hands grasped the arms of the chair with a strength which drove the blood from his nails. While with Elsie, be had persuaded himself and her that he loved her deeply and could give up everything for her sake ; hut now at homp, all the prejudices of clans revived, and he thought of the social scorn, the gossip, and the publicity, which a marriage with her would bring upon him. And, more than all, the strong influence which his mother had always exercised over him, resumed its sway, and be yielded. " I promise, mother. But it seems tin awfully mean way of acting towards Elsie." " Not meaner than the other course would have been to Denise." Claud had the grace to feel thoroughly ashamed of himself, and his mother added, " You have never broken your word to me yet, Claud !" "No mother. lam not quite bo bad as that " Kissing her on the forehead, he betook himself to hid own rooms, merely asking " Is Denise here s+ill ?" to which he received an answer in the affirmative. Lady Morton sat for lotne time longer in deep and painful thought, if one might judge by the contraction of her brow. " I do not think he will betraj his word. ' Unt-tabl« as water, thou shalt not excel.' Why was unoh a son given to a woman like me ?" and the proud, stern face was bent upon her hands in tortures •uch as only a nature like hero can know. Tho same evening Elsie stood at the garden gate of Ruthven Farm, looking across the meadows at the road which Claud had taken as he rode away. The •oene wan very quiet and peaceful, and a deep happines reigned in her heart as she thought of her young soldier and of his promise of a speedy return. Left very much to herself, for she had no young companions, hers was a dreamy romantic nature, sensitive and shy to a degree, but intensely loving, and tender. She hardly knew what love meant until Claud came and wakened her heart from its sleep. A the flowers opened under the influence o sun and wind, so her love expauded and grew during those spring days, and now Elsie was a girl no longer but a woman, <( with the heart and hopes of a woman." She had given the first love of her heart to Claud, and, with all her gentleness and simplicity, Elsie Miller possessed a strong nature Her love given once, wan given for ever. As she stood at the gate, a well known figure came in sight, and advanced towards her. "Dear old Hugh ! Shall I *ell him ? I have never had a secret from him yet." " Well Elsie, so mother's pationt is gone at last." " Yes, Hugh," and eke coloured deeply. " We have seen the last of him, I sup* pose ?" " He has promised to call again coon to see Auntie." " Indeed. I hear he is to be married soon to Lady Deaise Curisbroke." " What I" Hugh looked at Elsie in surprise, so sharply had she spoken, and was startled to see that every particle of colour had left her face. " What is the matter, little one ? Are you ill !" " I boj? your pardon, Hugh 1 No, I am am quite well. Bnt what did you say?" " What was I talking about? Ah ! Yes, I remember! Of Lady Denise Carisbroke's engagement to Captain Morton. They arc to be married in four month"," " It cannot be true ; Hugh," said the girl. *• Captain Morton is engaged to me, so you must be mistaken, and with gentle dignity her slight figuro was drawn to its full height, and she looked steadily at her cousin. It was Hugh's turn to look pale now. " Elsie, what do you mean ?" ho said, gravely. "Just what I have said. We shall have to wait home time before we tell anyone about it, but I know I can trust you to be silent, Hugh." " There it* some sad miltake, dear. Captain Morton is certainly engaged to Lady Denise, for Lord Gar ton's steward was speaking to me to-day abont the marriage." - "I do not believe it ! I will not. How dare you you say things to me, Hugh] ? I thought yon would be kind and nice; as you' always are, and — ani — " Here poor little Elsie broke down -with

a sob, but recovering herself quickly, she turned to Hugh and said firmly— *' Please donot Hpeak to me again upon this subject, Hugh. Time will show that you arc mistaken." She turned away and entered the house, and Hugh watched h<;r go, us Claud had done th« evening before. Since El-ie had come, a pretty little «irl of five, to Ruthveu Farm. Hugh, who was eight years older, had constituted hirnsvlf her protector and guardian. He had taken her with him when he went upon nutting expeditions, carried her over brooks, brought her the nweetcst flower.*, soothed and petted her when she cried for her dimlyremembered parents, and loved her with all hit heart. This love had grown with his growth and fttrenifthened with his, strength, until tho dt are-t hope of the man of twenty-five was to win her for his wife. He had never «poken of it, for El«ie wan so youncr and seemed so fond of him, that he hud been content to allow things to remain as they w«re, and now a stranger had stolen his treasure from him, and left him only tbe shattered fragments of the hope which bad beauti. fird and sanctified his life. What pavsed during the next few hours no one ever knew, but when Hugh entered the house at ten o'clock, hia face was white and drawn, m one who has suffered agonixing pain. But if he had suffered, he had also conquered, and from that evening his manner to Elsie was that of a tender and loving elder brother. (To be continued).