, 1869-02-07
CHAPTER LK.

THH EARL's WRATH.
The reade. may remember that ruin ,. had
which reached him from soarce which te
regarded a. very untrustWosthf-tnat Violet /
EtnnRham had qnar7cfled with her lover. !
He would probably hare paid no attention !
to the rumos, beyond that which uece .AsriiY |
full Of luteress ohm. had It not b:eu re
peated 10 hlm In another quarter. ~ bird |
has told me that your Violet EMnshAm has
broken With her loTet,n Madame Goeslsr
said 70 him one dag. "What bird :" he ask
l will coufeas TO you, thss these birds that
tell ns news are seldom very ctedib ae-Ana
are otlcn not very credItable. Tou must
take . birds word for what I: may BE- worth.
II is slld that they have quarrrled. l dare
soy, If the truth were known, they arc bill.
Ing and cooing In each others arm, at this
1uoment-e ....-... .. ....
Ph,ne.s did not Ike to be told of their BILL
NJ md eootng.-did not ,uke TO be told even
I OF their qu,rrelling. Though they were to
rather that nobody should mention their
names to him 80 that his back, which had
been SO utterly broken, might In process Of
time get lteef cured. From what be knew
| Of Violet, he Thought 1t very improbable
that, eyen were she to quarrel Sith onc
into the asrns Of another. And be did feel,
too, that there would be BoHe neannrsa
IN taking her, were she willing to be SO
taken. But, ncvertheie.s. these rumora,
coming 10 him in this way from dtderent
eources, almost made Il Incumbent on HIN to
his broken back MAS not cured that perhaps,
alter slI, II was not In the way Of being cured.
And was II not possible that there might be
explanati1Dss Then hs went to woek sad
built castles In the sir % constructed as 70 ad-
nit Of the possibility oi vioiet EEanghAn be-
I coming his Wifi.
This had been in April, and Ut tha. time
all 1ha: he knew Of Violet Was, that abe was
not yet in London. And he thought that be
knew The came - to Lord Chlltera. The
town, nor expected IL town as ye, ana IN
saying 50 had seemed 70 express d.pleasure
: against his son. Phiuess had met
Lady Baldock At some house which
be ffequented, snd had been quite
by ihe old weu1sn. Sac had said not word
) Of Violet, ont had spoken Of Lord Chi!teTn.
! | mentioning his name fu bitter Wrath. '.But
. { be Ia > Gisud OF mine,n said Phi1css, s1tl
{ ing. "a friend Indeed Nj. Finn. know
6 you are hls tilend. an afraid be Is moi
worthy Of having any fdead.n Phlucas did
. | not quite understand from this that Lad1
r Balaocl wss s1Rui!yiug to him that, badly Al
abe bad thought oi him ~ suiIor for he,
:! niece, she would have preferred him
r especially now when people wcrc be
= | ginning to speak we'll Of htm-to thu
!. terrible young man, who, from bis yontl
e upwards, had b:cn to her cause OF l:ar and
81 trembling. Of couzse 1t TR desirable tha
II belf. All th&t kind kci thing, In Lady B.l
!, docks cvcs, was most desirable. Bat, ncve,
Fc thclcs1, anything Wss better thxu Lord Chi
tern. IfV!olet would not tax Mr.. Appl'
lie dom Or Lord Fawn, IN heavens pane let b.
ke take this young mAu. who was Kind, worth
snd steady, who whs civilized In hls mauucr
re and would, no doutt, BE- amenlole 10 regal
K. 10 settlements. Lady Baldock hsa 70 far fallt
~ Into the world thlt abe would have conben
ut edito make bargain With her ntece-aluo
isl excluded. thineas did not quite understAs
Irb | all this bnt when Lady 8a1dock asked hi
H. TO come TO Berkeley square, be percclr
OF that help was being proacred 70 him whe
he certainly had not looked io1 help.
va nc waa frequently with Lord Brentfo,
who talked 70 him constantly on matts
nd | connected with bis Parliamentary life. Afl
il having been the Intimate friend OF tho dAua
al Ter and Of the son, IL now seemed TO be
nt- lot 70 be the intimate friend Of she f.sh
,r his arr1nec ecmen1s Win his son, and had II
her IL expressed himself ns only half sAti,t
% With inch reconciliation - had taken p!a'
H. and Phlpeak could perceive that from day
The osy the Earl was less and less sat1shed.
Is would complain bitterly o. bis so,-; J..
Fl sem'as naast to h0o9SGs 9is,st, s0eS eSenp!a
~ Iii iile indifference to anything IKE pro
1.s nrc1,pa,Iou bu. he had never ~ yet ss1t
word to show that there hao per- pssa
q0sel 5ets1sI ss r. Y1ui ts.t b. o eon1S II nat Tx
,aid QUESTION, "Mr. Finn" said the Ear 70
IT | ono morning. II boon ~ PC snte5e1
I'd. room. II hsYe just heard , story which
RVS almost seemed 10 me 70 b tnereoto!o''