Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1886-05-19
81 want to have a chat with you,

uuedSluoSS at ner COlu manner . w HoA
man is thiclAskinned, plainness of speecl
is the only effectual method of conveying
contempt or displeasure. Miss Vans5on'
was determined that Lord barley should
know what she thought of his. treacheroui
conduct, and she therefore accepted his in
vitation, and accompanied him to the ad
jacent conservatory.
81 wonder at your having the temerity
to address me, Lord Darley," she exclaim.
ed, haughtily, as soon as they were alone
From what Mr. Benson said to me, imag
inc it was you who spread this scandaloui
story about"
"Well, yes, it was," he replied calmly
81 didn't mean to, but it slipped out aftel
dinner one day. 1 only told one fellow, and
begged him not to say word, but, o1
course. might as we'll have proclaimed it
from the housetop."
| "Have you admitted this to Mr.. Bsas
son?" inquired Miss Vanstone, invoiuntari-
ly.
"Yes, oh! we've had deuce of row.
offered him every satisfaction
"The mischief was done,' said Miss Van
stone, impatiently, irritated at his lord
ships coolness.
"No doubt. That is why thought he
might like to have shot at me. l would
have fired in the air" said Lord Darley, in
a matter-of-fact tone.
"You know, of course, what the result
has been," said Miss Vanstone, intent on
extracting from Lord barley some expires.
sion of remorse for his conduct.
eyes, that is why came tonight" said
his lordship, setting his glass in his eye,
and assuming business-like air. II wish
| to make very urgent appeal to you.''
| ro vorrcolf onI mo III Micc
| Vanstone, hastily, and in some confusion,
thinking he was about to intercede on Jack S
behalf. II would rather not refer to the
past.''
81 am not going to refer to the past, "
said Lord barley. "Jack had his chance,
and has made hash of it. 1t may have
been my fault, but that was pure acci-
dent According to the original agreement
| it is my turn now"
Lord Darleyr' exclaimed Miss Van
stone, completely taken aback.
II told Jack should try my luck now
he has failed, and, and, of course, he could
raise no objection" said his lordship.
Without further preface, Lord barley
proceeded to make formal offer of mar
riage, laying considerable stress upon his
social position and prospects, and speaking
with the air of a man who felt sure of sue
cess. Miss Vanstone sat speechess with
mingled Indignation and amazement Her
natural impulse was to decline to listen to
him, and to express her scorn and contempt
at his behavior in scathing terms. But she
could not find adequate words to in which
convey her sentiments, and while in her ag-
tation, she wasvainly seeking them, Lord
barley contrivedto achieve his proposal
without interruption.
| Eiu0inU that hp was 1pn1v itipo for bor
answer MissVanstone was seized with a sud-
den misgiving that anything she might say
at this juncture would sound tame and spir-
tless. She realized now that it was too
late, that she ought to have stopped him at
the outset by a peremptory word or ges-
ture. AS a matter of fact, her furious in
dignation had deprived her of her presence
of mind, and though her spirit was raging
| within her she dared not trust herself to
speak.
Lord Dsrley replaced his glass, which he
had dropped from his eye in the fervor of
his declaration, and glanced at her pale face
with evident perplexity. Another moment
and she would have been forced, from sheer
embarrassment, to break the silence, but to
her heartfelt relief their tete a-tete was in
terrupted by the gentleman to whom she
had promised the next dance. Miss Van
stone rose Immediately and left the conserv-
atory, without deignirg to bestow word
or look at Lord Darley, who, however,
cOntrived tO.,whisper as she passed him:
"Unless hear from you in the meantime
1 will call on Monday for your reply.''
No doubt Lord barley had awakened to
the fact that the young lady was not pre-
pared to accept him off hand. It may be
that her silence had led him to anticipate
a refusal, for he did not attempt to ap.
proach her again during the evening.
Probably he preferred that she should give
him an unfavorable response. At all events,
when Miss Vanstone was leaving the house
an hour later, she heard the linkmsn bawl-
ing for Lord Darley's carriage, and she
caught sight of him as he vanished down
the steps.
Miss Vanstone was no less furious with
herself than with Lord barley. Her project
of numerically snubbing him had ignomin-
iously failed through her own weakness
She was more than ever convinced of his
meanness and treachery toward Jack, and
yet she had suffered him to make propo-
sal of marriage Unchecked. The worst of
the matter was, his offer was still undis-
posed of, and she had no alternative but to
write to him. She instinctively guessed
that refusal contained in letter,
however severely worded, would afford no
vent for her outraged feelings. On the 9th
er hand, after her past experience, she
doubted whether she could do justice to her
indignant sentiment at an interview. If he
had not expressed his intention of calling
upon her on Monday, she would probably
have decided to treat his offer with silent
contempt. But she felt that this plan was
out of the question under the circumstances.
and, besides, if Lord barley were persistent,
she would be forced to give him an answer
sooner or later.
Tne truth was that Miss Vanstone was
consumed by an intense desire to be re-
venged upon Lord Darley. She wished, if
possible, to humiiate him. and to make
him feel how she despised him for his con-
duct. She was so carried ,away by this un-
charitable impulse that she never rested un.
til she devised the means of effecting her
purpose. The idea with which her indig-
nation inspired her was so bold and start
ling that it almost took her breath away
By degrees, however, she became complete
ly reconciled to the scheme which she final
ly resolved to put into execution. The in
itial step was simplicity itself, for it con-
sisted of nothing more than an urgent note
to Jack Benson requesting him to call upon
her Immediately.
JACK CALI, OI course, With his hearG IN
his mouth, scarcely daring to anticipate the
good fortune which awaited him. But he
was overwhelmed by the joyous surprise
with which he learned the conditions i'm
posed by Miss Vanstone. She stipulated
for private wedding to take place within
three days-namely, on the following Mon
day.
Miss Vanstone gave a very plausible rea-
son for this unorthodox proceeding saying
after what had passed she thought the best
way of silencing the gossip would be to get
married without more ado. Jack was
hardly surprised that Miss Vanstone should
prefer to avoid the awkwardness of re- en-
gagement and for the rest he was not in
clined to be hypercritcal. The weak-mind-
ed old uncle, it is true, raised feeble objec-
tions, which were easily overcome, but
there was practically no one to be consult
ed on either side and the consequence was
that, a special license having been obtained,
Jack and Ethel were quietly married with
out fuss or ceremony, while their friends
were still talking of the rupture of their en-
gagement.
When they were on the point of starting