The Portland daily press., 1898-04-18
COPYRIGHTED, 1897, B,
Chapter XXI)
IN KENsINGToN GARDENS.


IN KENSINGTON GARDENS.
On our return home in the carly hours,
Ella sat before the fire in her cosy boudoir
her opera-cap still about her shoulders,
resting her tired head upon a cushion,
and staring thoughtfully into the dying
embers, while ] lounged near, smoking
final cigarette. Times out OF number l
tried to account for the Earl's agitation
when he had encountered her. 1t was evil
dent they We're not strangers, although
when I had introduced them he treated
her with studied courtesy. There We're,
1 remembered, many suspicious incidents
connected with her as yet unexplained,
nevertheless, from that memorable even
ing when Dudley and l had dined at the
Nook and we had become reconciled,
had never doubted that she loved me.
Perhaps had been foolish, told myself.
I ought to have obtained full explanation
of the several circumstances that had
caused me such uneasiness before mar
riage, yet l had abandoned all active
effort to ascertain the truth, because of
the intensity of my passion Her beauty
had captivated me; her voice held me
spell hound, and because l loved her
could not bring myself to suspect her
For a long time she sat, rejecting grayely
upon the events of the evening, then,
shivering slightly, rose and went to her
room, leaving mo alone to ponder over
her sudden seriousness
Sometimes slight shadow of suspicion
would fit across my mind, as it often had
on finding her absent, yet when she spoke
caressingly to me l at once found myself
laughing at the foolishness of my
thoughts basking in the sun of her bril-
liant beauty, needless and content Prior
to our marriage, had been madly jealous
of every slight attention paid to her by
one of my own sex of whatever age, but
now, recognizing how marvelously fair
she was; and that wherever she went she
became the center of attraction, was no
longer angry with any of our guests who
paid court to her. Beck dined with us
frequently, always gay and amusing,
while once or twice Verblioudovitch had
also accepted our invitation and treated
Ella with the courtllness OF the polished
diplomatist. l did not invite the latter
often, because of her antipathy towards
him. When, after his first visit, had
asked her what she thought of him, she
had replied:
'sThere is something about him don t
like, dearest. ! cannot explain what it
is. Perhaps it is his excessive politeness;
or it may be his profuse hattery that bores
me: nevertheless, I seem to have feeling
that ought to avoid him..
ssHe's one of the best Of fellows, darl-
ing,' said. laughing at her misgivings.
sin my bachelor days we were very close
friends.
ST don't like him. she answered
frankly. 81 hate all Russians"
81 thought you said once you would like
to go to Russia"
'sYes, I am anxious to see the country,
but the Russians have met I have al
ways detested, she said. adding with
seriousness, ''now that am your wife I
may speak plainly, may l not?'
stOf course. darling"
"Then, in your own interests promise
me to avoid Paul Verblioudovitch as
much as possible"
"Why?" 1 asked, surprised
'Because-we1l, =" she answered in hest
tation; "because have some curious in
applicable feeling that he is not your
friend.
Then it occurred to me that they had
been sitting together that evening in o
cosy-corner in the drawing room, deep in
conversation, and it might be that Paul
had uttered some compliments meant to
be polite, butswhich she had misconstrued
into Irritation. In that case, it was only
natural that, loving me SO deeply as she
did she should warn me that Paul was
not my friend.
sin what way do you suspect him of
being my enemy?" I inquired.
''He is untrustworthy, she replied, an
answer that tended to confirm my sus-
picion. On several other occasions I
laughed at her fears but she always made
the same reply. that she believed he was
not straightforward, and even. wentgso far
as to ask me not to invite him to our
house in future. This caused me some
little annoyance, for of all men Paul
Verblioudovitch was one of my most val
ued friends, and further, while she had
conceived a violent dislike towards him,
she nevertheless allowed herself to be fat
tered by the man of whom / had once
been madly jealous, Andrew Beck.
Thus the early days of our married life
proceeded. blissful and full of love, but
I -
though growing no larger, still cast its
ominous shadow ever between US. Some
times when alone pondered deeply, won
dering whether my confidence had after
all. been ill-placed, puzzled over one or
two incidents such as | have already de-
scribed. Trifiing as they were in them
selves, they nevertheless caused me much
uneasiness, yet when Ella entered, bright
and radiant, greeting me with an affeo-
tionate caress, could not doubt her.
knew that, however suspicious her actions
might appear in my eyes, she loved me
honestly, with passion as fierce and
uncomfortable as my own.
= Meanwhile Renouf, who explained his
absence on the night of the Embassy ball
to Elias complete satisfaction, still con-
tinued to remain in service at Pont
street, and each time we dined there he
lowered about us noiselessly and ever
watchful. like spirit of evil. When our
eyes mat I saw in his a cold glance of
contemptuous triumph, for he had already
seen that I feared to denounce him for
Paul's sake, and he was pursuing his
mysterious Investigations, whatever they
were, without let or hindrance. Mrs.
Laing, signing as stout ladies will, was
always loud in his praise, declaring him
to be the most steady and attentive SER
want that had ever been in her service,
while Ella expressed a wish that we could
meet with a man possessed of similar
i-<T A n 7 10 %o1v
my wife and her mother into my conf
dence, but dared not, for the silence i'm
posed upon me was absolutely imperative.