Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1896-09-04
CHAPTER III.

AS hcr delicate feet i'll the dance tWlnklc
round,
Thai her steps are of light and her home
is the air,
| And she only par compIaiSdnce touches the
ground!
@Aice,- is that Lord Inchcape? SEQ,
your husband is going to meet him
there by the private door,"
"Yes, it IS indeed that unfortunate
man We had not ventured to expect
him, although we always send him inyi.
tationS. Ccar heaven! what wreck OF
his former self! Laura, l can read IN
his face that his heart is broken"
The two ladies who exchanged these
remarks were, Alice, the wife Of Squire
Crecy of Stafford, and ihe hostess of the
occas on; and Laura Dcllamere: Beau
tiful widow of a.
They were longtime intimates, and
had many chords of sympathy between
them.
"tive years since lie left England, in
the Zenith Of tseful and hb Q lub'ic
life, with his sweet y, ung wife" coatin-
ued Mrs. Crecy; "thcn came the mysteri-
ous calamity which has bighted him,
and snatched her from his side. Sweet
loyal soull All, Laura, yOt and | knew
how truly she loved her lord"
each heart knoweth its own bitter
ness" answered Mrs. Delamere, her
proud face paling; "and if my lord had
cause for-shame" (she whispered the
word after a momcntary strugg.N with
| hersclf), "hc has hidden it well"
"He never had, through Enge ondc,
never, heyorl" exclaimed Alice Crecy,
with energyl "If the faintest sha9ow
| of bame ever fe upon her, it was
through the wicked folly of that era
ven"
"Hush Cont utter that name" inter-
rupted Mrs. Dcllamere, the b.Ood maDt-
ling to her brow 81 know to whom you
refer, though what your grounds for
suspicion in that quarter are | (annot
guess F"
Mrs. Crecy was 81 ent, her sweet face
shadowed with the sadness Of her
thoughts, for her friends chal onge had
thrown open o gate in the past, through
which crowded "reminiscences lite sus-
pected by the proud Laura, and not for
worlds Won she have humiliatcd her
by betraying her knowledge of her sad
secret.
Mrs Delamere eyed her scarchngly.
| to speak, remarked:
81 have noticed that your suspci6as Of
the ocf el date from the day Of his de-
parture from Stafford Is it not SOP"
"Perhaps 1t is," faltered Mrs Crecy;
"at al events | am convinced that
| great wrong was comm tied by that
man, and that an innocent lady was
made to suffer the consequences.
/ a. VANll lo
| mere, in an indescr. tabe t2ne
ayes, innocent white fawless as
truth itself" said Mrs Crecy, firm y.
81 would pledge my life upon that But
surely you are mad TO breathe such
theme here Hush! Forget, it, dear;
my Lord Inchcape com s."
These two ladies were seated side ~
side in two great blue easy chairs, in the
cent of brilliant company; the pace
was the lit gem thea.er in Dormant,
the Crecy res denc2, and the occasion
was o grand entertainment given to the
local gen ~ by the Squire and his wife,
in honor of their only sons return home
from the university for the last time.
A fairy extravaganza was about to be
| performed by several of tn youthful
| belle; and beaux of the noigh OorhOOd,
and the gooily mpany were en- Dying
a light talk while waiting fr the azuro
and silver act-drop curtain to rise uEon
iairy Land,
"Faith! | take this as very kind OF
vou!" exclaimed the oily Squire, who
| had busted forward to meet Lord Inch
| cape, and he grasped the rale, SNOWY
hand his lordshp offered with a warmth
that might have crushed the tabby MEM
Der o. fine gentleman.
81 wanted to sec your boy, Hal" re-
piled Inchcape, his dark unsmiling eyes
softening little as they met the simple
delight expressed in the Squire's.
"Nineteen now, isn't he? I've heard
Edgar Arden speak about him-he likes
| him"
"Auberon's his mothers boy. There
amt much of rough cd Hal in him."
said the father proudly "But come
along, George; won't Alice be pleased?"
He led him down the aisle towards
Mrs. Crecy, murmur OF surprise and
interest following thcm.
The Earl of Inchcape was still in the
prime of lite; noble martial carriage
and the easy grace which Is learned In
| courts, spoke Of time not far past
when he must have participated In all
that was most stirring and gittering in
life: and yet as he walked down the
center Of that gazing throng, he might
have come from the antipodes Sc struck
were they by his appearance in public,
and so sternly unrcsponsive was he to
| all their glanccs.
But his proud mien altered when he
stood before Alice Crecy and Laura Del
lamere-they were indsSolubly linked
with time when his earthly felicity was
at its zenith
These two fair women had been tho
fayorite associates of his wife, En-
gelon e. his beautiful young wife whom
the world had for FIVE years deemed
dead. The lady had been his second
wife a fascinating American; and for
one fair summer she had ruled queen
| of society, in his ancestral castle, and
these two ladies' had been her chosen
aids in the entertainment of her guests.
So inseparable were they that f1atterer
| had POLITICALLY named them the Three
Graces phrase which must have re-
Cured to the earl with poignant ass J.
Citations as he now stood in their pres
once for the first time in five years, and
looked from face to face, wist ully, as ii
he missed the third Grace from her place.
But he put an iron cOnstraint upon
himself and greeted them with faultleSs
formally. One would have supposed
that the naughty earl had not one