The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1884-01-10

at once, he stood smiling, fattered, and
perfectly happy in their midst. Con-
fused by the presence of so much beauty,
he made speech, which most of those
who heard it regarded as absolute nom
sense.
Ladies'" he said, 81 am going away
tomorrow. 1t is dreadful to go and
leave you. don't think l have the
courage to do it. unless one of you will
consent to console me. Which of you
ladies will marry me? Ny wife will have
the late Mrs. Frere's diamonds, and
they are not to be despised."
lie spoke as if purely in joke, and
laughed as he said it. But his,eyes looked
eagerly and anxiously round the merry
circle to see if any face looked thought
full.
Il will, Mr.. Frere," said the beauty;
diamonds suit me, and I adore them"
The others looked in amazement, and
then burst into peals of laughter. The
idea of the beauty sacrificing herselffor
a set of diamonds-she who, it was sup
posed, might wear coronet if she
chose But Lady Rose knew her own
position better than any one else. She
had been out several seasons, and had
no offer worth accepting, and her
mother would not let her marry the
man she loved. A rich old man, who,
as she fully determined. should be her
slave, and set of diamonds for her very
own which were fortune for them
selves-these things were worth think
ing about.
The whole thing was treated as
joke at the time by every one present.
But in the evening Mr.. Frere came
quietly to Lady Rose and sat down by
her.
Lady Rose" he said, eff you are
willing to hold to the bargain we made
:o-day, I will keep to my part of it."
She raised her eyes and looked
coldly into his.
IF you mean it," she said, $50 did I.
AS 1 said, diamonds suit me; and have
I none"
81 will give you the late Mrs. Frere's
on your wedding day." he answered.
THE jewel case which contains them
shall be opened by you for the first
time since she herself shut it."
In due time the marriage was an
nounced and the details were settled.
The wedding was fixed for an early
date. Lady Rose, having made her
bargain, was not diffident about fulfill
ing it, She wanted the diamonds; not
only for their beauty, but because,
when once they were in her hands, she
would be rich in her own right for the
first time in her life. She was avari-
cious because she was unhappy; and
she determined if Mr.. Frere proved in
tolerable, and wanted to be her master
instead of her slave, she would, like the
late Mrs. Frere, run away, but she
would not commit the fatal mistake of
leaving the diamonds behind.
At last the wedding day came, and
there was no doubt about the thing.
Lady Rose was the handsomest bride of
the whole year. And yet she was so
pale as to look like the ghost of herself.
The diamonds she Wore were the envy
and admiration of her friends. They
were magnificent; her white neck and
arms blazed with their beauty. When
Mr. Frere brought her the jewel case
and the key, sort of shudder came
upon her at the recollection of who had
last opened it. She felt. for moment,
sorry for poor, frail Mrs. Frere, who
had left all behind her-her home, her
reputation and her diamonds.
But before long she made discovery
which chilled her blood and made her
face as white as that of ghost. The
diamonds were paste. Before her fight
the runaway had the set of jewels ex-
actly initiated by dexterous jeweler
in the Palais Royal. and none but an ex-
pert could have told the difference. 1t
was on the proceeds of the sale of the
real stones that after her flight the lady
and her cousin lived luxuriously in
Paris.
Lady Rose never felt sorry for the
late Mrs. Frere again.