The herald., 1896-07-05

you ACCUSE
nervous woman, and the thought, the BARE
first thought, that you had killed some one
stunned my love for you, stunned only, not
killed it, George!"
at is very good of you," says Meredyth
calmly, "to come here and tell me this. OF
course shall be always glad to remember
that you exonerated me from all suspicion
OF my Cousins death-when the evidence
was quite clear"
His own calmness hardly so much sur
prised him, as his extraordinary indiffer-
ence to the pleadings of this girl whom
only yesterday he had thought he had
wished to marry.
"Ah! What a tone!'' cries she vehement
Iy, yet musically. "Oh, George, don't look
at me like that. Only yesterday you loved
me, and now, now am l so different?
am the same, dearest, as was then" Mere
dyth, with bitter smile acknowledges the
truth of this. "You doubt it?" she has
quite misunderstood the smile, "but I am.
If 1 distrusted you for few brief mo-
ments--if your cousins death (hinted to
me as of your doing) alienated my thoughts
my affection for you. for the time, still"
here she does raise both her hands to his
shoulders, drawing herself very close to
him-touching him even with her svelte
warm body, and bringing her beautiful face
so close to his that he could have kissed
her by bare movement-'you can forgive
me, George, can you not? You can for
give-me"
"No," says Meredyth.
He takes down her hands deliberately.
His face is very white and very uploving.
"Ah!" She draws back. Her hands SO
quietly rejected are now hanging straight
by her side, clutching and unclutching her
pretty gown. mot yet, perhaps she
says, still clinging madly to last chance,
though hope has died out of her face. eve
have been very dear to each other, George,
for four months. You can't forget-I-''
passionately, "defy you to forget that-and
in time you will forgive
81 don't think so.'' Meredyth's voice Is
not only cold but Indifferent; there is in it
even (though he had striven hard to sup
press iD touch of disgust. There is not
a vestige Of regret in it.
All at once her face changes.
flame lightens her eyes and flood Of
angry crimson dyes her cheeks.
$50 it Is at an end between u.s." says
she in a low quivering tone. replete with
hatred. "You think me false; but what
are you? You would have me believe that
my stupid mistake Of this morning, when
l heard your cousin was likely to live, is
your excuse now for breaking your engage
ment with me. But it Is not. You lie
when you say that to yourself or to me.
You have been false to me for long time
in your heart-and know who made you
, so."
Don't you think this discussion has gone
far enough?" says Meredyth little hur-
riedly.
"Ah!-that touches you, does 1t not?"
A little vibrating laugh breaks from her.
''You know who / mean, then, the innocent,
truthful, honorable Betty. Well, shall I
tell you what the truthful Betty did, only
this morning? She came to me, as 1 sat
wondering whether Lord Dornham would
live or die she says this defiantly-she
has thrown off all disguise. She wishes
him to know it was Of Dornham she was
thinking. II asked her would he die. Oh,
no, he would live; he was not in any seri-
GUS danger. Was she quite sure, I asked
again. She was positive. Doctors never
made mistakes, she said. Yet she knew.
She knew he was dying. She wanted to Sc
cure you, and the Dornham title. wanted
to secure Dornham. You see, I am quite
frank. Clever as you think me, she was
more clever. False as you think me, she
was falser still. And she has triumphed.
She purposely misled me. She knew I
meant to take this opportunity of throwing
you over-the moment" with almost bru-
tai openness, "when the cloud of suspicion
about your having caused your cousin s
death, was hanging over your head, to set
myself free to marry Dornham, who has
always been more to me than you ever
were. So much" contemptuously, "for
the immaculate Betty! Why, when"
Enough" Meredyth breaks In sternly
on here virulent speech. II know my cous-
in sufficiently we'll to believe her incapable
of the meanness you ascribe to her,
"You mean?" Her face is ghastly, her
eyes blazing.
what" very quickly, 81 say
"You accuse me of lying?" says she in a
suffocating tone.
1T merely" with slight bow, 'believe
my cousin incapable of such hideous de-
ception."
There is a pause. The dead silence con-
tinues so long that at length Meredyth
makes a movement. He lifts his eyes to
find Claudia looking at him. He had
quite expected or dreaded scene of some
sort, but she has evidently quite recovered
her composure, and her glance as he
meets it is only insolent.
"Well, you know the truth now," says