Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1892-03-31

Il 5
and dearest stake, and just what wish to
consult you upon; and you must listen pa
tiently to me. First, / appeal to your good
sense. Why has your father employed
Williams instead of Fuller? Why has he
given orders to Morton instead of Bum
teri
81 really cannot tell you. He is sure to
have some good reason"
.'W ell, / can tell you, + Iorence-because
both Bunter and Fuller are pressing him
for many hundreds when he has not many
shilling. He tells you they are inefficient;
but ne would find it difficult TO make me
believe that they are.''
s'Why should he persist in giving ball
at such timer"
s.That is reasonable question, my dear,
and the answer is most important one,
above all to Yourself. I have had some
painful conversation with your father late
~, hitherto kept from you by his especial
wish, not to distress you unnecessarily;
but the time is come now when you should
be told. He is very fond of himself, is my
brother-very," Lady Raven said, with
curious smiIe-'.and he cannot deprive
himself of his own pursuits and amuse-
ments: but still he has a soft spot in his
heart, Florence. He has a strong love for
you?"
1t was rather an extraordinary statement
TO make to an only child; but those who
knew Sir Arthur Worthington best would
have wondered least He had only one soft
spot in his heart or nature.
Something very like tears shOne in Flor
ence Worthington's anxious eyes, but they
were driven, back and she looked calmly
enough into her aunt's face.
81 have never doubted papa's affection
for me, aunt Margaret; but [ cannot I'M
derstand what you are saying to me, and l
wish you would be a little more explicit, or
else keep silence altogether" Some in
stinctive feeling seemed to possess Flor
encc Warrington that the ground she now
shared with her aunt might Soop be cut
from under her feet
dwell, Will be more explicit with you,
Florence. You shall not complain. on
ly wish the day were little cooler one for
our argument. 1t is frightfully hot, is it
not? However, as we have no carriage,
we cannot take drive in the park, which
I must say should have preferred doing"
Lady Raven said with provoking GOODNESS.
''But now let me be as clear with you as ]
can, Florence. Acting under my advice,
your father intends this forthcoming ball
to be the great crisis in your life"
Miss Worthington looked amazed but
kept silence.
"Lord Harcourt has almost proposed to
your father for your hand. He probably
thinks you an heiress; but that is his own
fault, and-happily he has gone almost too
far to retract with honor. He is evidently
deeply struck with your beauty; and this
ball must bring affairs to a crisis in all
| ways. Your marriage, Florence, must be
hurried on, your fathers difficulties ward
ed off in some way-Heayen only knows
how. AS Lady Harcourt, my dear, your
position may be a tolerablS easy one; your
father must retrench abroad as best he
can" Lady Raven declared.
"And Florence Worthington be sold to
the highest bidder the girl herself
thought bitterly; but yet the thought
was sWeetened when she remembered
that the bidder was lord, and that he
could place cOronet on brow well wor-
thy to wear it. 'EFrom all you teach me, it
seems in our station, that ones own feel
ings count for little" she said aloud.
"FeelingS, Florence! For Heavens
sake, do not give way to sentiment, or ev-
, erything will be lost All depends upon
your courage and good sense, my dear, and
/ do not think you are going to fail us i'll
either,' Lady Raven said more soothingly;
and then she added, "All we must think
of now is to avoid scandal of any kind,
and try to our utmost to keep the credit of
our house untarnished. Oh, Florence,
your father has been the first of his name
who has eyer-nay, increasingly tried to
dim its brightness! His first folly was his
MARRIAGE mean no slur on your mothers
! n-1ne, poor dear! Her ambition did but
little for herr
81 thought mammals marriage was
loye-match?" Florence asked quickly.
GA love-match? Well, / suppose it was
at least on her side, poor thing! But
her love must have been sorely tried when
she found that her husband was ashamed
of her-that all his friends looked coldly
on her. She was not of u.s." the Countess
of Raven said slowly and With emphasis.
"But surely she was lady? | have al
ways heard that"
ga lady, Florence? Well, she certain
ly never misbehaved herself in any way
she always conducted herself with the
most modest propriety during her short
married life-I must say that" her lady
declared magnanimously; ''but she was a
chemists daughter, Florence, that is what
she was, child, if, you have never known
before-a chemists daughter" she repeat
ed, "without the excuse of a penny"
There was certainly a look of something
very like horror on Miss Worthington's
face as she listened to the humiliating
statement-a look which did not escape
her aunG's observation.
81 never knew that before, aunt Marga-
ret. [ only knew that my mother was, as
you say, not one of us; but had no idea
she was a BRIDESMAIDS daughter. Was it
generally known" Florence asked.
"No, don't suppose that people troub-
bled their heads much about your fathers
wife, child, when she was not brought i'm
mediately under their notice-especially
as there was no scandal attached to her
name to make it interesting; had there
been, then, with her beauty, she might
have become the rage. Who can tell, In
this strange world we live in? But, as it
was, she was a poor, faded flower, child,
and boomed and died in her short solitary
grandeur. Your father had not long in
herited when he married, and was, of
course, better off than he has ever been
since. He certainly took his young wife's
death to heart; possibly he took to gam
bling to divert his mind"
"Was my mother so very beautiful?"-
Florence asked, with a little more than or
binary interest in her voice, her mind, in
spite of herself, dwelling upon the sweet
face she had never seen, the sweet voice
she had never heard, but often ycarned for
dyes, my dear, she undoubtedly was
very beautifully but she did not assert her
beauty sufficiently-it was not in her to do
that; still l must say, poor thing, she had
one of the most beautiful faces have ever
seen. She was like yourself, my dear, only
you lack her sweetness of expression, and,
instead, you have a more patrician stamp
from your father-so you see that you are
the gamer on the whole, Florence" Lady