San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1897-09-19
CHAPTER VIII.
PACE TO FACE ONCE MORE.

PACE TO FACE ONCE MORE.
That night was one of the hardest in
Lola's life, but she faced the crisis
with all the strength of her most re-
sourceful character and came out of it
undaunted and determined.
So great was her self mastery and so
strong her powers of acting that Sir
Jaffray did not detect single symptom
of the struggle which absorbed her.
Through the night she lay awake.
never moving, lest she should wake him
and SO disturb her own opportunity for
thought, and perhaps arouse his suspi-
cions that something was amiss.
There were two courses open to her.
One was to tell Sir Jaffray at once the
whole matter and trust to his love for
her; the other was to face it out and
dare the man she hated to do his worst.
If the man at her side had been diff
ferent, if his sense of honor and morbid
fear of the suspicion of dishonor had
been less acute, she would have told
him all and trusted to her love to win
him to cling to her through the pub
licity and scandal which would inevita-
bly, follow when Pierre was set at def
ance.
But she dared not.
She knew that Sir 'Jaffray, with all
the influences that were round him, the
strong love of truth that dominated
him, the capacity to suffer rather than
be touched with faint of dishonor,
would. put her away from him at once,
and probably he would never see her
again
The alternative was TO face the other
man and dare him to do what he pleased
What would he do?
There was that scene ON the Devil S
rock, but there was no proof of what
she had DONE Besides, if there were,
what did it matter? If she was to be
dragged from the place to which she
had climbed, what did it matter how
far she fell? A little deeper would make
no difference.
Need she fall at NIL? That was the
question.
She knew Pierre we'll, had seen
through and through his sordid little
soul, and could count up easily enough
the price that would buy him. Com
fort, ease, luxury, money for his vices
these were his ambitions, and she could
satisfy him Sir Jaffray had settled on
her an ample dowry, and she could
easily get more money if she wanted it
She would go through with it, face
it as she. had faced her troubles and
fought them down, and so great was her
fighting instinct that though she knew
the whole happiness of her life would
be at stake, the excitement of the pros
pect was not altogether unpleasing
In the early hours of the morning she
fell asleep, and Sir Jaffray, waking in
the gray light, found her sleeping quiet
ly and peacefully, with a slight flush
tinting her cheeks such as he had seen
when she was excited and pleased.
When she went down to breakfast
she was quite herself-alert, vigilant,
resourceful, high spirited and so sug
gestive of strength of will and purpose
that Sir Jaffray noticed it and was
pleased.
He put it down to her being at home
at the manor.
"Seems TO have done you good to get
home, Lola, he said. You're not the
same woman you were on the boat
Where are your omens?" He smiled.
where, indeed?" she replied, laugh
ing back "I'm afraid l must have been
upset by the voyage. Perhaps | thought
i was going to be shipwrecked. But III
be safe here, eh?'' There was more in
her words than he understood.
lyon ought to be if anywhere, he
answered.
Even if manage to offend the very
great personages who come here?'
"You won't do that People aren't
easy to take ofrense with Walcote. -
Where's the intellectually WalcoteT
l suppose may call her mother?"
"She's not coming down to breakfast
She's not used to our wild west early
rising Besides, she was up late She'll
be down TO lunch. "
Ibid you sit up late? was horribly
tired. | couldn't stay? What was that