Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1872-02-01
an 0rigiaal grize Story.
Written for the Yorkville Enquirer.
THE OAKHURST ROMANCE
BY MRS. HENRY DEAS.
CHAPTER VII.

CHAPTER VII.
With some difficulty, Brooke banished the
open.mouthed, staring children, who were all
agape with wonderment and curiosity, and
having locked the door, returned to Sarah's
bedside.
'Oh! dear, dear, DEAR" moaned the old
woman, restlessly moving her feeble hands.
"To think I should be layin' here now, with
all this trouble on my mind, and Judgment
staring me in the face Child, child, I hope
mymaker will forgive me, but I'm most afraid
you never will"
"I, Sarah!" said Brooke. II am sure you
have never done me any wrong"
"You won't be so quick to say that when
you've heard ALL" And she hid her face in
the pillow, and broke into quavering cry.
"Hush, hush," Brooke said, gently endeav-
oring to soothe her. "I am sure you are dis.
tressing yourself without cause. You haye
always been good and kind; and if you have
ever unintentionally done anything that it
troubles you now to remember, if it in any
way concerns me, I assure you l freely for
give it."
"But it wasn't unintentional. 1t was de-
liberate sin. If warn't going to die now, l
wouldn't have the courage to confess it to
you; but I can't face the judgment seat with
such weight on my conscience. Promise me
one thing, Master Brooke-promise me you
won't curse me, nor my memory when l am
gone"
"You may rest assured" said Brooke, ear
nestly, "that will never think of you but in
the kindest way"
"God grant you may! but I fear me twill
be as much as you can do to forgive me. Oh!
dear, dear, dear what's the good Of putting
off telling you any longer? it only makes it
worse"
Brooke felt truly sorry for her evident dis
tress, though he supposed her to be merely
grieving over some imaginary, or at any rate
greatly exaggerated cause for selfreproach.
She had always been, as far as he knew, an
upright, well-conducted woman, honest-hearted
though rough, and he could not imagine what
ofense against him, or dereliction from duty,
she could possibly have been guilty of, to pro-
duce such remorse.
"Suppose, Sarah," he said, ''you don't tell
me what it is, if it is so hard for you to speak
about it. Whatever it is, you may count on
my forgiveness, and am sure God will par
don you, since you so sincerel ly repent"
"Not tell you child. the Evil One put those
words into your mouth, for temptation to
draw me away from my duty" she cried shril-
ly. "Isn't it the temptation he's laid on me
on all these years, and I've been wicked
enough to give up to it. 1t was bad enough
to do what I did, but to be silent over it was
worse. When your father died, 1 was most
crazy then to think he didn't know the truth ;
but Master Arly was so sickly, I kept think
ing he might die young, and there was no
other near kin for the property to go to, and
then I would feel easier. Master Brooke,
whatll you say to me if I tell you that that
property is all your brother's-that you have
no more light to it than my Sammy in there. ="
Brooke looked at her inquiringly; he fan
cied that her mind was wandering.
"No, child, I amt light-headed," she said,
replying to his look. "I'm as much in my
senses as you are but dare say it's hard for
you to believe Master Brooke, I've been
acting lie these twenty-four years. When
Mr.. Eversham and his wife went abroad,
when their first child was baby, they left
the child under my care; and when they
came home gave you back to them instead
of their own child. You were not theirs"
"Not theirs" Brooke repeated mechanically.
"No. Their own child was puny, ailing
little creature, and died a month after they
had gone and the devil put it in my head to
put you in his place. Child, I'm not raving
though you may think ii"
"Goon, Sarah, I am listening" said Brooke
A mist had risen before his eyes, and every
thing in the room seemed to be wavering un
steadily around him but he spoke in calm
voice still.
"That much is told," said Sarah drawing q
long breath. "Lord, I'm thankful that Thou
hast given me strength 1 shall die easier
now. Master Brooke, will you please give
me some water to drink, there's pitcher and
glass on yonder shelf"
Brooke rose and got the water for her as
she requested. He was stunned, as if he hao
lust received great blow, or sudden fall
but the acuteness of the pain was to come af
terward; there was only dull, numb feeling
as yet.
"Now 1 must tell you all about it," Sarah
went on. The predominant feeling in hel
mind at that moment seemed to be relief Al
having gotten over the main part of her dis
closure.
GAS I've told you, your father and mother
or should say Mr.. and Mrs Eversham, wen
away to Europe, when their little son Brooke
was an infant little over two months old
and left him with me to nurse. I had just
lost my own baby, a sweet little creature about
the same age; my husband had gone ou
West to find employment, and my girl Ellen
the only one I had living, was out at service
so I was living quite alone. Mr.. Evershan
left nurse with me to look after the baby
but suppose she found it lonesome where
lived for in q connie of weeks after he'd pont