Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1884-01-31
. smarl one; and though Marion Porus,

. small one; and though Marion Peroff-
val had looked very pretty. very chazm-
ing and very pensive in her brides At
tire, Margaret Darlington had looked
every inch the Lady of the Manor, the
splendid hostess, the first lady of the
occasion. The bride and bridegroom
had started on their travels almost inn
Immediately after the wedding break
fast. Margaret was not giving any
evening party, and the last of the not
very numerous guests had departed
scarcely half an hour ago. The invalid,
Miss Percival, had gone to her room to
rest, and was not likely to appear again
that evening.
Margaret had one other visitor Tom
Pierce. namely-who had come to spend
his Christmas holidays with her, since
she declined to spend hers with his faith
er and mother and their family at Irk-
ford. Tom was at that moment out of
doors. After having made second and
highly successful speech at the we'd
ing breakfast, he had fastened out. and
was now disporting himself on one of
the ponds before spoken of, and was not
likely to return to the house until the
irresistible mandates of hunger should
summon him to dinner.
Miss Darlington had left Blackford
Grange two days after her bitter quar-
rel with Louis Baldwin. Until now she
had contrived to keep herself so busy
so constantly occupied-as to leave no
time to give to reflections upon the past.
Now, in a moment of sudden loneliness
perhaps also of unguardedness-it all
rushed suddenly over her; how she had
gone into the house on that miserable
afternoon, after parting with Louis, had
scarce waited to have her wet things re-
moved in her impotence to see Mrs.
Lascelles, and tell her all, imploring
that lady to forgive her, if not for her
own sake. then for Rupert's. She had
told Mrs. Lascelles of her weary and
dissatisfied life amidst her uncongenial
surroundings; she told, without reveal
ing names, of Maurice Biddulph's offer
to her, and how its GOODNESS, and his
evident desire to have her because she
was desirable heiress and woman
of position, rather than the woman he
loved, had turned her heart cold, had
reused her into cynicism, had made her
repel him and mock him. How she had
come to the Grange, i'll at ease with the
whole world, and her entire lot, and
how Mrs. Laseelles' first words had fall
en- graciously on her ears; how she had
found there love and peace, and had
known that the love was for herself,
and that the peace arose from untram-
meled intercourse with noble and I'M
selfish natures. II could not give it
up" Margaret had said. Il could
not break the spell. Send me away if
you like! Blame me; can not reproach
you if you do. But try to forgive me,
for Rupert's sake.'
Mrs. Lascelles would have succmbed
to that appeal, had it been needed, but
it was not. She clasped Margaret in
her arms, calling her her child, her
daughter, her self-sacrificing benefac-
tress. Even in the midst of her pain
the girl had the consolation of this
deep and disinterested regard. In ex-
planning to Mrs. Lascelles. in trying to
account for her sudden grief and vio-
lent agitation, Margaret had unwitting-
ly revealed more than she had intended
had hesitated a little, and had then,
with anguish that she could not con-
ceal, related what had passed between
her and Louis. She had told Mrs. Las
celles of her amazement at his hard
ness and narroWneSs, OF her own lndIg-
nation, and had said she could never
see him again. Mrs. Lascelles had often
been little puzzled, wondering at Lou
is hard and ungenerous words. Atlast
she had said:
"He is a perverse nature, Margaret,
but he loves you. taxed him with it
once, and he could not deny it. He
would not confess it, because he is so
reserved, but he could not
ook at me and deny it. And if he does
love you, he will never care for anybody
else. He must have been terribly cut
up to have said such things to you. You
must remember how strongly les de-
fauts de ses qualities come out. l have |
often lectured him upon his morbid
pride and sensitiveness. The shock of |
inding you rich and Independent when |
he thought you poor and under the ne
,essity of concealing even your name.
aas been too much for him."
TO BE Continued