Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1896-06-18
CHAPTER XXXv.
constance's Master.

lbOnliudDl6 slupAuAlJ
the Count de Marsac was en- des-
,.biIe Of the most pre- nounced char
srter His howery DRESSING gown hung
ecselv round his limbs; his feet were
.brust into the most fragrant Of wool
rorked slippers A great brown cigal
oas I'm his mouth, but 1T did not seem
\ afford him much satisfaction. His
brow was dark, his accents forbidding
and vet the angry words he spoke Were
addressed to woman, whose deprecat,
ma looks. as we'll as her great beauty
might have moved heart Of stone.
Constance had found her master
from the day of her elandestine mar
rage with Rene de Marsac, she had
been a slave to his will At first she
had been not anxious to avow her mar
rage. but after a time she desired
nothing more earnestly, for she soon
found that her husband used her mere
IL as a means of obtaining money, by
fair means on foul. She gave him as
much of her allowance as she could
possibly spare; she sold her jewels for
his benefit and when other ways failed,
she sank so low as to take triiling ar
tices of value from her aunt and other
persons and to give them to him.
He would not, perhaps, have thought
Of asking her to thieve for him, If she
had not begun to do it of her own
will but when he found that she did
not shrink even from that he began
to exploit her powers for his own adj
vantage Many a small trinket did
Lady Esler lose about this time and
more than one servant was suspected
and sent away for the theft; but in
reality it was Constance who quietly
distracted each one from the drawer
81 the box where it was kept and sent
By post to her husband in London.
But for some time she confined herself
10 small matters and il required some
persuasion from Rene before she could
bring herself to attempt the robbery of
Lady Esler's celebrated rubies, In vain
had she demonstrated with him on the
danger of this attempt; he had but one
answer to her remark:
a Ii YOU don't do it you can't care for
me- as YOU say you do and we had
better not meet any more
He had found that this reply sue
ceeled when every form of persuasion
failed Constance could not bear the
idea of d complete separation from him
and would do or dare anything in order
70 remain in his favor So that he ul-
Jima,ely compelled her to make the
attempt. as he had known all along
flat She would do it if he insisted upon
III
They managed to meet fairly often,
though not without difficulty and dam
ger Sometimes Constance made an ex-
Tedition to London in the company of
aer maid, Martin, who was more in her
confidence than anybody knew, and on
these occasions she always met Rene
de Marsac. At other times they made
an appointment in some sheltered lane
0r eopse between Hurst and Aldersleiga
and Il much rarer intervals Rene came
% Hurst and was admitted to a secret
Aieulew with his wife in her own
1pdr.ments. The excitement and the
Danger of discovery added a spice of
interest to their intercourse, which
otherwise 1t might have lacked. For
Hele was by no means of constant
disposition and his wife was of ma
'lfe essentially cold, except where pas
sI1a for him was concerned. On the
pa"ea. occasion they were in Renes
oasIfgs and Martin was shopping in
-a2 nalghborhOod, having been charged
20 meet her young mistress at the
'4iRaf station about o'clock. 1t
Sas low I and Constance had plenty
w alaa N which to listen to the re-
Eolehes which, although she pre-
s~ surprise. she had fully expected
from her husbands lips
Ao9minable stupidityw said Rene,
oo6lns straight before him, with a
instance sat facing him. as she
did by preference, having found
4e was not always unmoved by
aapearance She had certainly de-
aaa INTO a magniicently handsome
yuan and she knew it. There was
'a,' beauty in the creamy tints of the
sely nodded cheeks, in the
sed lips the great dark yelvety
#aa She did her best to enhance
aae Of her charms by all the
nat dress and ornament could
fhe yellow and golden brown
costume accumulated the pale
afr complexion and the black
Her raven hair, the large hat
coping feathers, which she
affected became her admir-
gloves, shoes and other minor
q the toilet were perfect of
8a She had dressed for Renes
ae secretly appreciated the
although he was at the
90 angry TO show his appre-
see that It was my fault at
constance. rather neryously,
Aunt Selma hal r4nvna ~