Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1899-05-25
Lord Lynne'S Choice
BERTHA M. CLAY.
BERTHA M. CLAY.

| Will OLIy i've W Ldht Hill happy.
He shall never repent the words he
said this night. 1 will make him hap
pier and greater than my cold, quiet
sister could have done"
In that hour OF triumph Inez forgot
the false, cruel treachery that had led
to her present happiness; she never
thought Of her sister, betrayed and
| unhappy; she remembered only her
! love and it's success. The fatigue
and WEAKNESS that a short time be-
fore had almost overpowered her,
| disappeared; it was a fresh and
radiant face that smiled so brightly,
as busy thoughts painted the past
and present in strong cOlOrs.
ct is not only that [ love him.
she cried; were he penniless and
obscure | would endow him with all
my wealth; but there is triumph to me
in the thought that my fathers
neglected child will be Lady Lynne,
mistress of this proud home; exiled
and neglected no longer; loved and
revered as Lady Lynne"
She would not remember the falsity
that had crowned her with success.
By strong effort of her indomitable
will she swept away all unpleasant
thoughts. She remembered only that
she loved and was loved,-that the
one thing she coveted was now hers,
her hopes gratified, her wounded
pride soOthed, the cup she had craved
for filled to the brim.
If all this could have been attained
by fair and honorable means, Inez
would have been better pleased. She
did not like to remember the false
words that had stained her lips. or
the pain she had seen in her sisters
face. But-and she silenced the out
cries OF conscience in the thought-he
would be the happier for it in the end,
and so would Agatha; they were not
suited to each other, she said to her
self over and over again. Agatha had
no ambition; she would be content to
dream away her life at Lynnewolde.
satisfied in seeing her husband full
filling the duties of a wealthy landed
proprietor, without caring for or
thinking Of fresh glory But it would
not be so with her. She would incite
him, help him, urge him on until the
name of Lynne was known and
revered throughout the length and
breadth of the Ind. He should be
statesman such as the Lynnes of
old had been, and all England should
ring with his fame and his talent.
Then he would turn to her, and bless
her as the center and source of all
mis- success. Then to himself he
should own that it was well the fair
haired cousin had rejected him, and
the half-sOuthern sister crowned him
with her love. When the mighty voice
of mighty nation was raised in his
praise, when h0nors had been thrust
upon him, when the first and grandest
OF positions were open to him, then
he would but love her the more, for
she would have helped him on his
brilliant career.
In such thoughts and dreams Inez
forgot less pleasant things. She
never for one moment feared detec-
ton. Agatha would not return yet:
and even when she did so, both she
orable, she knew, to make any refer
ence to their past attachment now that
she was his betrothed wife. There
was no fear for the future. Love
triumph, ambition, all wore their
finest cOlors; and no shade saddened
the brilliant face that watched the
moonlight and the first faint flush of
dawn. Even when she fell asleep at
last it was with a smile of child-like
happiness upon her lips.
Perhaps no one ever felt a greater
shock of surprise than did Lord
Lynne when he awoke on the morn
ing following the scene in the boudoir
1t rushed upon his mind as soon as his
eyes were opened to the light of day.
He, who only yesterday was thinking
Of going abroad, was now the be-
trothed husband of one Of the loveliest
and wealthiest women in England,
and she loved him. All, how she
loved him. The remembrance Of the
joy that had flashed in her face, the
silent happiness that entranced her as
III.
This glorious beauty, with her wealth
and talent, her genius and grace, loved
him who had never felt anything but
the calmest brotherly affection for
her. The young heir of Bohun loved
her; the gay and gallant Captain
Marchmont had laid his heart and
fortune at her feet; but she cared for
none. loved none save him. A hun
dred resolutions Of love and devotion
| crowded into his mind. He would
make her happy. She should never
know that her passionate tears and
signs had moved his heart to pity;
she should think he loved her above
all else, even as she loved him. He
would forget Agatha, whose sweet
face haunted him. After all, was he
not to be envied? Who was more
beautiful tnan Inez? Who had her
southern grace, her wondrous genius,
her rich voice, and her warm, loving
| heart? He remembered her on the
night he had played Romeo, how her
dark eyes fell before his gaze, and he
wondered how he could have been
blind so long. He seemed to hear
again that cry, Il love him so,"
Yet in some way he shrank from
telling MS mother the news; nor did
he seem in any violent hurry to de-
scend to the breakfast-room. When he
did so, his first thought was one of
wonder at his delay, for there, next
to his mother, sat fair and radiant
girl whom any man would have been