The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1889-11-10
aETRIBUTION.
az THE "DuTChESS."
CHAPTER XIV.

'.& there IL the advantage OF hnuiIk one
s. elf alive after thcm; but this afternoon
s To look at the Duchess Of Downshire
s. mas To guess the rest Poor woman she
f.rcw so flushed so heavy. toward the
" end, that J wonder the chair didn't give
way under her. ~
s'Whcrc Is Mnliccnt,n asks Lady
valworth. rather inconscqucntly.
s'In her bondoir with Miss Roche
Mrs. Brands tone is slightly sharp Il
asked Brown as ! came in, and he told
me So
GLOW did she spend her days.
"with some people rather ont Of my
set. though in a specially good one-h "A
rather dull ouc-Of their own. You re-
member the Durans old Fanny Duran
more particularly She is keeping house
IS for her nephew now
\. "Mauricc Duran. who lost his wife
some years ago, \ silly little woman
Il with a temper, rs remember her \
4 daughter Of Lord Ashborough S.
Eyes Tho wife was insupporiablc TO
n degree. Wcll-hc lives with his amt
now. And what on earth Milliccnt could
see in Fanny Duran 10 make her miss
to-day's concert Is more than lran con
ceivc: sometimes that girl worries me
: beyond belief. "
ssWcll think n was very nice Of her, ~
returns Lady Nalworih, pleasantly.
Sew girls nowadays would give even n
thought 70 an old woman like Fanny.
Yes. IL was kind Of her.
She taps her spoon softly agninsf the
edge of her cup. and tells hcrsclf that This
niece OF hcrs-sO soon TO be her daughter
fn.law-is indeed treasure 20 De desired.
rIf ~
"And as to Nadine Roche. That little
friend Of hers, have wanted 10 say a
word to you about her for some time.
She Is such sweet girl-s0 gentle, SO
thoroughly brcd-but poor, You Know.
Her father, Gen. Roche. died suddenly,
and there was no provision for the family
"A very usual thing with military men
} and so the poor child has TO give lessons
10 exc out the slender income That she
and her mother possess
~ sad story-but hardly an uncom-
mon one You suggested that could
hcla her-fh.t yOu wished TO eflisi any
sympathies with regard 10 hgf, but as
-sel, 'y SEQ 10" l can 0V0' ''''
Oh! no Nothing at all of that sort
But Of late il has seemed 90 me that
she Is looking pale; and. now that the
season is drawing 10 a close, ana MILF
cent and are 10 20 10 yOn 70 the park,
think IL would be very good of You If
YOU would ask the poor child there, too,
If only to give her breath Of fresh air
She is looking really in. 10 strikes me,
and. if you could put her mp for bit,
know il would delight Miiliccnt
"Why. Of coursc--Of course says
kindly Lady Nalworth. Anything to
please dear Milliccnt and, besides. all
You have said about Miss Roche quite in.
forests me-
''Shc is well worth your interest" be
gins Mrs. Brand warmly, when foot
steps on the landing outside check her.
..Ahi here she comes, probably Now
you will be able 10 see for yourself what
, remarkably charming creature she is.
The door, opening, admits the two
girls. Millccnt smiling. and a little mis-
chievous perhaps. rs n sort OF arnor
against the scoldng impending. Nadine
calm and gentle as usual. Lady Nalworh,
as she takes her hand holds 10 kindly,
and gazcs long into the girls lovely face.
Her blue ewes. innocent as n summer
sky, her soft waving hair. the charm OF
her mobile mouth. all make deep i'm
preston upon the mother of Grant
Boyle
Mrs Brand tells me you are looking
pale. my dear she begins. drawing the
girl down upon the seat near her; THAT
London smoke has robbed you of all yonr
pretty roses. | cannot speak from my
own experience, of course. as this is the
first time we have met. but IL seems 20
me that pretty child like you should
no; have such sorrowful eyes. 80
Nadine laughs a little, but the tears
rise rs she does 50 10 tie "sorrowful
eyes
Are YOU strong-arc you wCllf' goes
on Lady Nalwofth, still keeping posses
sion of the girls hand.
IL think So You arc very good. To
trouble yourself at all about inc is very
kind And indeed there is nothing the
matter with --eNccpt-eXcept that
sometimes feel a little tired.
"Tired All, yes. / see. Well, there
isa little scheme ailoat about You. \
tiny conspiracy, let me tell You. Have
you ever heard Of Nalworth Park? Yes.
IL Is a very pretty place, VIII allow, and
one calculated TO bring back the bushes
to pale checks touching Nadinc's face
as she speaks "Wcll! What do You
think OF our scheme VIII you like TO
come TO me to the park for week or
two"
"1o go to the country-to see again the
green hclds-the trees-the flowers,
breathes Nadine family.
"And more than that laughs Lady
Valworth gayly. "You shall not be left
20 the lambs for company Milicent
f. coming 10 me, too, and a good many
others. Some friends of yours. Mr..
Duran and his little Ciytie, for example"
Where are the pale checks now, the
langud lids' Gone. Uplifted are the
lids, and from beneath them two great,
eager, sparkling eyes CLEAN forth.
ut is true, my dear chatters on her
ladyship, pleased with the effect her an
nounccment is having on the pretty child
beside her, though she entirely misunder-
stands the pretty child's agitation. Il
always have my house full in August,
for many reasons For one, the grouse.
for another, because Capt. Boylc's birth
day (my son, my dear occurs in Au-
gust, and l always give my big dance
then" She smiles charmingly and pats
Nadincs hand rs though the mention Of
her handsome son is sweet 90 her $50
You see You VIII not be compelled TO a
proSy tetea-tete with an old woman.
on SH14l E3At YUM ~ manu- f'b
and take that tired look out of your
pretty eyes. Though l regret my son
will not be with rs until the seventeenth.
the evening of his birthday fctc-just
barely In time for il, IN fact
Gle is going away inurmurs Ma
dine by way Of making conversation,
though. in truth, she hears little, and
can think OF nothing but that Maurice
Duran is TO be at the park at the time
for which she has been invited. Can she
accept the invitation Dare she' But,
oh, how good thing il would be to be
near him for whole weck-perhaDs 4,
fortnight
Yes" Lady Valworth is saying apro-
pos her SON "he Is going abroad 10 swift /
xerland, he tells me, with some bachelor |
friends of mis-. OF course he has many |
-fxt<cds When you meet him, with a |
proud smile. you VIII understand that |
And so you viii come, my DEAR Mill |
cent, hear, will be inconsolable If You
refuse"
al should ike -bpCinS Nadine i