Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1898-03-16
CHAPTER XVIII.


Lcness VI uxzeiwovu, 20 Loro n,.-..-
10 De read alone on his wedding day."
CHAPTER XVIII.
Lord Arleigh stared at the packet which
his wife had given him. and again an,
again read the words that were inscribed
on It: "A wedding present from Philippa
duchess Of Hazelwood, to Lord Arleigh
To be read alone on his wedding day.
What could it mean? Philippa at time.
took strange caprices into her head. Thi:
seemed to be one Of the strangest. He
held the letter in his hand, a strange pre-
sentiment Of evil creeping over him which
he could not account for. From the en-
veiope came q sweet scent, which the
duchess always used. 1t was 20 familiar
TO him that for a few minutes 1t brought
her vividly before him-he could have
fancied her standing near him. Then he
| remembered the strange words: ITO be
| read alone" What could that mean
That the letter contained something thai
his young wife must not see or hear.
Madeline, my darling" he said, sinking
on to an ottoman, you have taken nc
tea. You would like some. Leave me
here alone for half an hour. I want tc
think
She did what she had never done volun.
tarily before. She went up to him xnd
clasped her arms round his neck She bent
her blushing face over his, and the caress
surprised as much as 1t delighted him
she was so shyly demonstrative.
What are you going to think about,
Norman? VIII it be Of mer'
"Of whom else should l think on my
wedding day, il not of my wife?" he ask
ed.
81 shall not be long," said Madaline.
You will find me here" he returned.
This is a favorite nook Of mine. l shall
not leave it until you return"
The nook was a deep bay window from
which there was a magnificent view of
the famous beeches. Soft Turkish cush.
ions and velvet lounges filed it, and near
it hung one of Titian's most gorgeous pic
tures-a dark-eyed woman with a ruby
necklace. The suns declining rays falling
on the rubies, made them appear like
drops of blood. 1t was a grand picture.
one that had been bought by the lords of
Beechgrove, and the present Lord Arleigh
took great delight in it.
He watched the long folds of Madaline's
white dress. as she passed along the GAL
lery, and then the hangings fell behind
her. Once more he held up the packet
"A wedding present from Philippa.
Duchess of Hardwood, to Lord Arleigh. -
Whatever mystery it contained should
be solved at once. He broke the seal; the
envelope contained a closely written epis-
tie. He looked at 1t in wonder What
could Philippe have to write to him
about7 The letter began as follows:
"A wedding present from Philippa,
Duchess Of Hardwood, TO Norman, Lord
Arledgh. You will ask what 1t II? My
answer Ii, my revengs-wen planned, pa
tently awaited.
heart as write this to you. You have
scorned me-this is my revenge. am a
proud woman-I have lowered my pride
to you. Ny lips have never willfully ut
tered a false word; still they have lied to
you. l loved you once, Norman, and on
the day my love dieG l knew that nothing
could arise from its ashes.
Years ago we had a maid whom NV
mother liked very much. She was gentle.
well-mannered and well bred for her sta
ton in life. She left us and went to
some other part Of England. She married
badly-a handsome, reckless, ne'er-do-
well, who led her a most wretched Hfe
Il know not, and care nothing for the
story of her married life, her rights and
wrongs. How she becomes of interest
to you lies in the fact that shortly after
my marriage she called to see me and ask
my aid. She had been compelled to give
up her home in the country and come to
London, where, with her husband and
child, she was living in poverty and mis-
cry. While she was talking to me the
duke came in. l think her patient face
him. He listened to her story
and promised to do something for her hus-
band. You will wonder how this story
If Margaret Dornham concerns you Read
on. You will know In time.
MY husband, having promised to assist
this man, sent for him to the house; and
the result Of that visit was that the man,
seeing a quantity of plate about, resolved
upon helping himself to a portion Of it
To make my story short, he was caught,
after having broken into the house,
packed up a large parcel Of plate and
filed his pockets with some Of my most
valuab jewels. There was no help for
it but to prosecute him, and his sentence
was, under the circumstances, none too
heavy, being ten years penal servitude.
"Afterward went to see his wife Mar
garet, and found her in desperate circum-
stances; yet she had one ornament in her
house. beautiful young girl her dauxh-
ter, so fair of face that she dazzled me.
The moment 1 saw her l thought Of your
description of your ideal-eyes like blue
hyacinths, and hair of gold. Forthwith
a plan entered my mind which l have
most successfully carried out.
II asked for the girls name, and was
told that it was Madaline-an uncommon
name for one Of her class-but the moth
er had lived among well-to-do people, and
had caught some Of their IDEAS. l looked
at the girl-her face was fair, sweet, pure.
I felt the power Of its beauty. and only
wondered that she should belong to such
people at all: her hands were white and
shapely as my own, her figure was slen-
der and graceful. began to talk to her
md found her well educated, refined, In |
in fact that one could wish. |,
Little by little their story came OUT
t was one Of a mothers pride and glory
n her only child. She worshiped her
literally worshiped her. She had not aued !
:hs girls mind with an neosonstcI nss