The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1884-12-27 00:00:00

CHAPTER XXXV.
PAVING THE WAY.

Delivers in such apt and graeions wordsi,
That aged Cart play rruaut at his tale,
And youn er heari gs are quite ravished,
So sw et and voluble is his discou e.
ALL was now plain sailing for Olaronce Woodville,
and it needs no saying that he seized his advantage
to the utmost. Day after day saw him on one ex-
cuse or another at Mrs. Gr me's house, where he
was received by its mistress more like an old
friend than one whose acquaintance she had only
recently made, and that too in any but an orthodox
fashion. .

Possibly it was this very reason that contributed
most to the fact by breaking down at once the
barriers of conventionalism. One can hardly feel
cold or stand-offish towards another under some
conditions, and to have been of use to a fellow-
creature, to have succoured and nursed him in illness ,
however brief, gives a kind of claim that some-
times years of ordinary intimacy might fail to
establish.
And this sort of claim it was that stood Clarence
Woodville in such good stead.
There were other reasons, too, that tended to
influence Mrs. Grteme and make her less cautious.
Her new acquaintance had so frank a manner, so
open a way of speaking of himself and his own
affairs, that she did not look upon him quite in the
same light that she would have regarded another
man. An orphan—for so for convenience sake
Clarence Woodville described himself, taking the
hint from Miss Desmond's successful romance
who had worked his way out to Australia before
the mast when quite a boy, earned money at the
diggings with which he purchased a plot of land on
the then almost empty banks of the Yarra Yarra,
which he 'afterwarda sold at more than a hundred-
fold its original price and entered into business,
prospering so well that he was now able to afford
himself a holiday tour in the Old World, Mrs.
Gnome's suspicions were completely lulled to rest,
her doubts entirely stifled, and it ended in Mr.
Woodville being recognised as a regular and welcome
visitor at her abode.

So all that he -1;-O-Ped for came to pass in the most
natural and easy manner. So much so, indeed,
that he often wondered at his own fiuccess, and was
especially careful not to endanger it by want of
cautiousness or too precipitate action in the scheme
which was slowly but surely gathering form within
his brain. _ _

" I have only to play my cards properly," be told
himself with much inward satisfaction, "and my
fortune is doubly made. But I mustn't be in too
great a hurry. Fair and softly goes far."
Meanwhile his calls became more and more
frequent, till they were loolced forward to every day
as a matter of course. Not with exactly the same
feeling certainly, as might be expected, for while
Mrs. 6'reme herself always had a hearty welcome
for him, and Eve experienced a certain amount of
pleasure in his coming, Laura Desmond preserved
a cold distance towards him which he made no
effort to overcome, did not even revert to their
former relations by word or sign.
"I can do very well without her assistance," he
would think. "And if I require it I fancy I know
a way to make my lady give me what help I may
require."
There was another inmate of the house, too,
though not of great importance, with whom Mr.
Woodville made no progress.
Jeanie, Mrs. Graeme's ancient waiting-woman,
regarded him by no means favourably. She had not
forgotten the suspicious incident which she had
noted at his first interview with Laura, and kept a
watchful eye upon both of them.
Without, however, being able to discover any-
thing to give her doubts tangibility, though they
were sufficiently strong to make her always greet him

with an air or reserve and quiet watchfulness that
Clarence Woodville was perfectly alive to.
Not that it affected him in the smallest degree,
indeed. He was perfectly indifferent both to the
sour stiffness of the old serving-woman and Miss
Desmond's chilling reserve, ignoring this last so
completely that Mrs. Grwme fancied he was quite
unaware of what she perceived plainly enough,
and resented so much as a rudeness to her guest
that she at last took the governess roundly to task
on the subject, and with so much effect that Miss
Desmond afterwerds was at more pains to hide her
antagonism, or at least from parading any outward
signs of it.
To Eve Trenchard, young, and impressionable as
she was, the daily advent of the plausible, smooth-
tongued adventurer was a means of diverting her
thoughts that she never dreamed of analysing. It
was not that she was faithless to the memory of
him who had left her without a sign, or that she
fancied herself inlove with this stranger, handsome
and insinuating as ho was. But the fact remained
that she grew to look for his coming, to feel dis-
appointed when he did not mate his appearance at
the usual time; and that as the days went by and
their acquaintance grew more intimate, Clarence
Woodville obtained a degree of influence over her
that Eve tried vainly to shake off.
No, she did not care for him except in a friendly
fashion, she was sure of that—quite positive. And
so far she was right, that it certainly was not love
that made her tremble when he spoke to her, that
caused her heart to beat faster, her colour come and
go when he was announced.
These are all signs of love, without doubt, and
yet they were misleading in her case, for Leonard
Grant—far away though he was, cold, neglectful as
she imagined him—had lost no inch of ground in
her affections. Still, there was a subtle tone, an
undefined significance, in almost every syllable
addressed to her by Clarence that in her girlish
ignorance she mistook for the true ring, and woke
a certain consciousness that she was loved, a cen-
sciousness that made her soft and gentle towards
him, as being to be pitied for that he loved her when
she had no power, no wish, to return it. _
. . _

And on this point Eve was not deceived. Really
she cared nothing for Clarenc e Woodville save as a
pleasant companion in walks that would otherwise
have been excessively dreary and uninteresting, for
she and Miss Desmond were by no means congenial
spirits; but her girl's vanity as gratified in no
small measure by the unremitting attention, the
thousand little yalaiirries shown her by a man who
was b 0 evidently, in her inexperienced understand-
ing, of good position in the world. A man, too, who
had battled with fortune, and single-handed won his
way against innumerable difficulties—a man who,
in spite of difficulties and disadvantages which
might well have left their traces in some outward
awkwardness of demeanour, some pardonable
gaucheries and solecisms when he found himself sud-
denly in the midst of a civilisation that must be
strange to him, yet bore himself as bravely and as
gracefully as though he had moved in drawing-
rooms and amongst cultivated people all his life.
Part of this estimate which she had formed of his
culture must of course be set down to Eve's own
profound ignorance of the world. More to the fact
of Mr. Woodville's stage training, whi h had cer-
tainly supplied him with many of the requisites that
go towards the outward ma ing-up of a gentlema ,
and which had also stored his memory with so im,ch
that is noble and chivalric in sentiment, besides
enabling him, without actually quoting, to use
me.aphors and poetry in his speech with such
fiuentness and aptness that it is little wonder if Eve
Trenchard, simple and unread in such iterature as
she was, should re, ard him as a marvel of men, a
veritable Admirable Crichton.'

Had not her heart Teen already disposed of, and
had not that heart, united though it was to a not
overwise and easily-turned bead, been a faithful,
ste dfast little heart into the bargain, and not to
be sba!sen in its loyalty, Clarence Woodville might
perhaps have made as much progress as he flattered
himself ha was doing, and secured the affect'ons of
its owner without much dlirculty.
And this object, if not quite attained, he fancied
was not quite out of his reach He had learned all
that there was to learn about Eve Trenchard and
her prospects —that her only guardians were two
old men who must surrender their trust when she
came of ago, and give up into her sole possession
an ample fortune, which would then be entirely at
her own disposal, and that fortune he had quite
made up his mind to share with her.
True, there were dialeulties,complications in the
way. There was Carrie' for instance. But she !
well, if she knew of his design it was possible that
she might be a stumbling block. But that was not
liely. He had taken care to keep her quiet by
well-concocted, plausible excuses for his absence,
and must trust to the chapter of accidents for so
desii able a state of things continuing. Then there
was Laura Desmond. She would be willing enough
to aulk him, no doubt; but he had her completely
at his mer y, as she well knew, and being where
she was, under his eye, he could take immediate
steps to counteract whatever ot the sort she might
attempt
The one great obstacle to Clarence Woodville's
success, however, lay in a fact that he was com-
pletely ignorant of, and it burst upon him with
rather a startling effect when Laura Desmond one
evening seized the opportunity of their happening
to be alone together to break it to him.
"You seem to make yourself quite at home here ?"
she said sarcastically, as she entered the drawing-
room to find him seated there,

"Yes, I generally do when I find myself in com-
fortable quarters, Miss Desmond," he drawlingly
replied. "It was always a habit of mine, if you
recollect, and.one I've always found answer. I told
you your opposition would be of no use."
"You did. But how much nearer do you think
you are?"
"To what P"
"Your purpose."
"Pardon me. I have not taken you into my con-
fidence as to what that is, and
"You don't intend to. But lam not blind."

"It would be a shame if you wore, with such
loveh e.‘es. Oh, don't flash them at me like that.
Surely I may be allowed to pay you a compli-
ment

"I can dispense with one from you," she
anewered frigidly. "But to what I was saying."
" Yes."
" You are wasting your time here."
"Possibly," he said in a light tone. "At this
present do you mean
"I mean in being here at all. Eve Tren hard
will never listen to you."
"All! You are no blind, I see. Permit me,
however, to differ with you. I flatter myself I
stand a very fair chance in that quarter."
Laura Desmon i laughed scornfully as she
answered.

"I tell you it is no use," she said. "The girl
loves somebody else."
"Unlucky for,him, whoever he may be. But I
don' believe you. I'm not so easily frightened
away."
"As you please. It is as I say, though. Try
her. Mention one name to her, watch her as yo-.
spe.ik, and see how she blushes and trembles, and
clasps the locket round her neck that holds his por-
trait."

You alarm me ! " mockingly exclaimed Clarence
-Woodville, though he was not quite so unconcerned
as he appeared, the idea of a rival not having
entered into his calculations. "Pray who is the
gentleman? By what name am Ito speak of him?
Is he young, good looking ?—like myself, for in-
stance."

"I never saw him, though I've heard enough
about him," shortly replied Laura, who was really
moved more by a desire to get rid of Clarence Wood-
ville's hated presence than to serve her young
charge. "He is a ward of one of her guardians,
Dr. Sampson-"
"Doctor who?" sharply demanded Woodville.
"Sampson," she repeated. "And his name is
Grant."
"Leonard Grant ? "

"Yes. Why— °how do you know P"
" How ? . Oh, never mind," answered Woodvilll,
abruptly rising and pacing to and fro in no little
distue'o.nce of spirit, muttering to himself tho
while, "I
--I have heard the name before—that is
all; but your story has nothing to do with it, and
—will make no difference."

"You will still pursue it, then?"
"Decidedly."
"You will fail."
"1 don't think so, in spite of your particularly
murderous look, my charming Laura."
"Do I look—murderous ? " she asked, with a
bitter laugh.
"Particularly feline, I assure you. Upon my
word I bplieve you would like to kill me if you
dared, and knew how." -

"Perhaps I shall, some day."
" How charmingly blood - thirsty," retorted
Clarence Woodville, with a mocking smile. "How-
ever, to be forewarned is to be forearmed. I shall
henceforth take precautions to touch nothing that
has passed through those fair hands of ours."
"It might be safer not," she replied slowly, and
then more passionately. "Why do you not go?
Why will you be so base as to remain here. But I
might as well preach to the winds as speak of
honour or baseness to such as you. Once more I
warn you not to try my endurance too far."
"I have heard so much of the sort from you that
I am really quite impervious," he answered, coolly.
"You can do nothing that I am afraid of."
"Except my duty, and that is to let Mrs. Gnome
understand plainly who and what you are."
"And that is just exactly what you will not. do.
No, no, Laura You are not such a fool as to ruin
yourself for the sake of being revenged on me. I
have no fear on that score, I assure you, and I
shall carry out the plan I have commenced m spite
of yo~r ws.rning."
(To is oontinwd.)

"Yes," said the merchant, "I always mark the,
most expensive of my goods as sold' during the holi-
day season. Then when women read the signs it
makes them crazy to havc the same article, and they
are so disappointed that I finally promise to try and
get them another—which, of course, I have no trouble
in doing. Oh, it's a great scheme, I tell you, and
never fails."