CHAPTER XXVIII. PAUL'S TROUBLES BEGIN.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XIII, Issue 26, 23 October 1885, Page 5

CHAPTER XXVIII. PAUL'S TROUBLES BEGIN.

nnnn'h P ro ™ iae '" Baid ay 5" b^ Lady Archbold, don't be hard upon her You have spoiled her a little, I dare s*y." And May took part with Kathennein pity to the poor woman who waf bfamfngher An that is it ; but she might at least remember that it was our love or her that did ,t. I would give the heart ouTof my bosom Look a tl WoUld lOV6 , me ' T and be a little tender w 'th her mother Look at me, youn* girl ! I was as proud as the very eagles in the mountains ; and yet love for her has brought me to thw that I am whimpering here to you like the beggar that comes to you gate I reared her and fashioned her to be a fit *if c for a prince but I would give her cheerfully to the poorest gentleman Sat ever vet she would a rnlv PO f ODherWitheVery Snd J e * el I P SS«?If five InH finH 7 f°Z T6T 6 °u6u 6 Warm B P Ot ia her breast w^re I might live and find comfort for the remainder of my days But oh me ! how she wounds this poor aching heart !" 7 ' heart rather^ha^f olß^ *'* "*¥ M * y ' Btill P leadin g «or the mother's me ft I .Sl i"™ "}'° t" te ™ eß ' ; but sbe •"" « Ik freed from bad : js^sj sig'fa&giL**- knowi ° B that KathetiM

k k . -°r DvD v B F m P athize with her," said May, '• nor wish to keen her ; but if she insists on stiy.ng we cann »t dr.ve her away » P But you ou-ht to drive her away,"' fl »,hed forth Lady Archbold whose passion rose against opposition. You h*ve a lov.r Lam tokl • Ka^r 1 had Tf l0 ° k tO ifc ' VY ° U Will Dot -tanS'biS my hj IT yy ° U P^ rSIBt '2 keepiDg her b - V you - y° ur !^ r W 'H not tssifir^^tei xz's d < ]ight in ukiu « him from subje^wSTandled^ " ° Oane Way - - sacred a

" It oat think that will be in her power," she said watch over We "' ' b " e WarQed ' *°" to *»P "Ware a fool,' said La>iy Archbold ; "a great fool but a Wst one. Oh me, oh me! Will not my c.Ud come to speak to

S 5 e u doe f not k °° w you are here," said May. " I will g0 at once and send her to you." And she hurried away, leaving the mother rocking herself sorrowfully in her chair, and miking again that slow wringing movement with her hands, as if she wouki force back the tide of bitterness that was always seething in her breast May went and knocked at Katherine's door. "' Lady Archbold is here, and wants to see you " rt»tti ad H, A H Ch K Old K alreadyl Nonsense. Well, we must all w that the old lady has been pretty active. I shall go to her presently, when I have finished dressing my hair. I wonder what she has come

I' She hopes you will return with her," said May " Then her hopes are vain, my dear, for you are notgoin* to get rdof me so quickly. Your good Aunt Martha has invited me to stay here as long as it suits my humour ; and it very much Miits my humour to take advantage of her kindness ; so you may tell Lady Archbold. without waiting till lam ready, , h .t she can not the fit horses back to Camluu^h when she likes "; and Kuhenue swept a Klittenag braid upward as sbe spoke, a.id added its weight to the golden coronet which she was buikiin«- on her head ' at once TZ^jVu^ meßS^'" ™* " ' Sb ° uld t0 her "But you are not me," said Katherine, with complacency ■ nd she surveyed May all over with a slight sweeping g,ance, and with a faint smile upon I er lip as if to say : '■ How audacious to surest such a comparison !" ' However, I will go to her now ; and 1 wiffbee of you to have my trunks carried here meantime." "I believe there are no trunks," said May; "I have not seen any. '

" Wo trunks !" cried Katherine ; and her brows lowered, and an fnhp e rT n "r l- a Tr r ?°T* d ° nt ' aDd extinguis ,ed the beauty the trunks'" Archbold would not come here without But evidently she admitted the idea that the trunks had not lhe parlow UOt bngbtea as she tOuk h " w^y to The door was closed upon mother and daughter. By and by sounds were heard from the room ; echoes of voice- spe.kin- in bighpitched t ; nes, vu.rating with pas-ion. Afterwards there was wk-ifce and then low murmur* and subbing. A nut Martha came creeping sortlv into her niece s room, 6

th f h "7; tblS 1S dre ' dfUl ! Tbat bar 3h ' hau K bfc y woman « ill break bid tXn l ?wX' ure 8 " Oaly t0 hear the poor Clllld bOb- " Are you suie it i> she who is sobbin» ?" asked May ti, " ded [' C ° me VV U ° lhe btore -^otu, and believe your own eirs I have been th re miking b orne custard, and it is all curdled with tbe excitement '

•' Well aunty, the poor lady was in great trouble when I left her ; and she wants her daughter to go home " " Home indeed ! Don't tJI me I Does a girl run away from home when she is treated there with gentleness ? Lid you eCer run i::itzxil^il^' v me that! A p™*'^ — « keep'hen" 6 "^ l ° Uke ber ' J don ' t see how ou can Tf ti BUt L WiU k l ep her ; tbat i9 ' if sbe ia anxioU9 t0 say with me Let th 3 mother go home, and cool her temper a little Tne mil has asked me for shelter, and I promise you she shall get it " T*rtv A A^ 88 h S ?J arth ? T ke ' the P arlo^door opened violently, and Lady Archbold made her way rapidly down the garden path {o her ro a o r m' ge n/M 8 *™***™™ H av^ and wen? back to her^oreroom ; and May met Katherme returning to her chamber There were two red spots on .he young lady's cheeks, but her eves were Miss Martha s custard. Tne e y es that shed the tears were still weep'oSk^SmSugi 7 WerehUmed al ° Dg tbr °^ h ™«

The next day Katherine's trunks did actually arrive laden with the costly and beautiful ra.ment m which Mtss ArchbJld loved to deck herself. Mxss Martha marvelled not a little when she saw th el r number and proportions ; and Bnd^fs head was completely turned for a whole week by the visions of grandeur which d.zzled her eves while she was engaged in making up Miss Archbold's room Days passed and Kathenne had domehtica'cd hers, If thoroughly at Monasteries She had taken f os.^sion of all the b tt t th/L, ,Q, Q tbe house with the most charming good will. Ihe nremesf and most comfortable furniture had b4u carried info h^ioom ad she had the warmest seat at the fire and at the table. 1 h<- hale red couch under tbe black archway in the parlour which was stuffed with down off Miss Martha's own geese, she had at ouce made quu c her own She had tak.n posseJion of Bridget, so tSS ThaSSirtS 11 !^ h " le esides a «end upon MiJ Archbold. Th» Txutor had also her hostew |in thorough subjection ; and she

wrought her will pretty freely upon May. in spite of that young lady s rebellion against the tyranny of her rule. But Katherine's attentions were more chiefly devoted to Paul, ana to no one else did she care to be agreeable. All through the aark winter days, in the quiet little cottage, she was restless and troublesome, and sorely tried the patience of her entertainers ; but wnen evening brought Paul, her mood was sure to change. She took as much pains to amuse May's lover as though her life depended on bis being merry ; and Paul was glad to be amused, though he did not use Katnerine.

He did not like Katkerine, and yet it was certain that she exercised an extraordinary influence over his actions. She absorbed »llf** u° 'ln Bpite of his an d unwillingness to grainy ber. She exacted from him a hundred little marks of homage, such as May had never looked for, nor thought of. He became so ousy with her, and so tormented by her, that he soon found he had very little tfme to attend to his business. He became curiously cnanged in a short space of time, his temper alternating between Dursts of anger at himself and her, indulged in generally durin°- the nours of his absence from her side, and unreasoning fits of mirth Ji «* ? Mt Invariabl y took possession of him while in her presence, ana Jeft bitterness of heart and exhaustion of body when they passed Meanwhile May stood aside patiently, not wondering that the oruiiant beauty should be found more amusing and attractive than nerseif . She stifled her heartache, for was she not sure of Paul's Jove 7 And why need she be jealous and ungenerous and unkind ? Jenaer trust, euch as Paul felt in her, was a thousand times mor ? P™ olooß than tbe admiration of a moment. Therefore she would be tolerant, and await, however longingly, the happy hour wnen Katherine should take her way back to Camlough ; but as weeks went by, and Paul's strange unhappiness increased, all thought ot ncr own pain passed away, and keen fear for his welfare caused ncr a nmery far more sharp than she had yet suffered. It was but fu S ? O l ttime since he had be &Sed her to save him from anything tnat should look to her like the besinniog of that evil which he believed to be in wait for him ; and it seemed to her now that it was time for her to be up and doing for hi 3 sake. One night the three young people were sitting late over the fire, lhe keeping of late hours made one of the changes which Katherine bad introduced into the house. She loved to amuse herself a long way into the night, though the servants, grumbled and even Miss Martha was dissatisfied. The mild old lady had been obliged to yield the point. Br,e might go to bed herself when her eyes could not keep open, but midnight often found the three young heads bant together over the fare. May on such occasions would be as merry as her guest. She would have laugh for laugh, and jest for jest, with Katherine ; and she would not be disheartened even when she found that Paul would Jisten to the stranger, and would give little heed to her. " Tell me about Tobereevil," said Katherine to Paul. " I have heard scraps of the history, but I want to know it all. There could not be a better time for an uncomfortable story." Paul's face darkened, as he g'oomily prepared to comply with her request. He went steadily through the whole of the wild tale, passing from one strange hero to another among his ancestors, till he finished with Simon, the present terror of the country. " Oh, dear I " said Katherine, when he had done, "and you are the next of kin. Why, the end of it is that you will be the richest man in Ireland."

" That is it," said Paul ; " and there will not be many wealthier elsewhere. I have lately been calculating the old man's wealth. Think of the accumulation during many hundreds of years 1 " He said this with h.s brow bent, <md his eyes on the fire, and a look in his face which May had never seen there before. " What is this old man like ? " asked Katbenne, who had lost all her levity, and become for once grave and earnest. "Is he very old ? Is he in good health ? Is he likely to die soon ? " " That is as may be," said Paul, grimly. •' He may live long enough unless some one interferes to help him out of the world before his time. You know it is on the cards that I, being his kinsman, may do him that good office." " But you could never be so silly 1 " cried Katherine eagerly. You would be probably found out ; and, if you did escape punishment, there would still be a great deal of troab'e. and unpleasantness. Besides, if you are of a superstitious turn of mind, as I strongly suspect you to be, it might interfere with the enjoyment of your happiness."

{To be Continued.)