Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1900-03-08
CHAPTER XIV.-(Continued)

T1fG SCAlG one else! Is IL tAdt
She bent her head silently.
''Have you any hopes of marrying the
man you love!
'fOh, no; none-not the slightest, she
said, hurriedly; II shall never marry
Then, Vera, will you listen to an Old
woman's advice?"
eyes, dear Lady Kynaston.
Don't sacrifice your own life and the
fife of man who is good and loves you
dearly to a caprice of your heart. Hush!
don't interrupt me; [ dare say you don't
think it a caprice; you think it is to last
forever. But there is no forever in
these matters; the thing comes to us like
an ordinary disease; some of us take it
strongly, and it half kills us; some of us
are only very little ill; but we all get
over it. There is pain that goes right
through ones heart; it is worse to bear
than any physical suffering; but, thank
heaven, that pain always wears itself
out Because you are disappointed in
one thing, why are you not to make the
best you can of your life!"
Il do mean to margin time," said
Vera, brokenly, with tears in her eyes.
'Then why not marry John?"
There was minutes silence. Was it
possible that Lady Kynaston did not
know? Vera asked herself. Was it pos
sibI that she could, in cold blood, advise
Aer to marry one son while the other
one loved her? That was what was so
terrible to her mind. To marry was
simple enough, but to marry Sir John
Kynaston! She thought Of what such
an action might bring upon them all.
az cannot do it," she said, wringing
Aer hands together; don't ask me;
cannot do it,"
Lady Kynaston got up and went and
stood by her chair.
Vera, [ entreat you not to let any
false pride stand in the way of this.
When we hear of John shutting himself
up, of his refusing to see any of his
friends, and Of his talking of going to
Australia, why, then we all feel that it
is you only who can help us; that is why
4 have promised Maurice to plead with
you
You promised Maurice! 1t is Maui
rice who wants me to marry his brother"
She turned very pale.
Certainly he does. You don't suppose
Maurice likes to see his brother so un-
happy?"
The darkened room, the spindle-legged
furniture, Lady Kynaston's little figure,
In her black dress and soft white tulle
cap, the bright garden outside, the belt
of trees beyond the lawn, all swan to-
gether before her eyes.
Maurice wished it! To him, then,
9here were no fears and no dangers. He
could look forward calmly to meeting her
constantly as his brothers wife.
If this was so, then why, indeed, listen
TO the voice Of her heart when every
thing urged her to sti1e it? Why not
make Sir John Kynaston happy and her.
self prosperous and rich, as everybody
round her seemed to consider it her duty
80 do?
What is it you wish me to say, Lady
Kynaston?" she asked, turning suddenly
toward Maurice's mother
my dear child, only want you to
say that if John asks you again to be
his wife, you will consent, or say only,
lie you like it better, that you will agree
TO meet him here. There shall be moth
ing unpleasant for you; l will write to
him and settle everything
"Tf you write to me, l will come" she
said, briefly, and then Lady Kynaston
came up to her and kissed her, taking her
hands within her own, and drawing her
to her with motherly tenderness. my
dear, everybody will think we'll of you
FOR this
Vera gathered up her gloves and her
veil and opened the door which COM
municated between the morning-room
and the dining room. She heard the chat
ter of women's voices and the futtering
of women's garments in the hall; it seem
ed as though they were about to be
ushered into the room she was leaving.
She did not want to be seen; besides,
she wanted to get away quickly and re-
turn to London. She closed the morning
room door behind her. and took couple
of steps across the dining room toward
the windows.
Then she stopped suddenly short;
Maurice sat before her at the table. He
aifted his eyes and looked at her; he did
not seem surprised to see her, but there
was whole world of grief and despair
in his face. 1t was as though he had
iived through half a lifetime since she
had last seen him.
Not a single word was spoken between
them. What was there that they could
say to each other? Then suddenly she
turned away, and went swiftly back into
the room she had just left, closing the
door behind her.
It was empty. Lady Kynaston was
gone. Vera stopped over the writing
table, and, taking up a sheet Of paper,
she wrote in pencil:
EDO not write to Sir John--it is be-
yond my strength-forgive me and for
get ME. VERA.
Twenty. minutes later, when her beyy
of chattering visitors had left her, Lady
Kyuaston came back into her morning
room and found in the little pencil note
left upon her writing-table. Wondering,
perplexed and puzzled beyond measure,
she turned it over and over in her
fingers.
What had happened? Why had Vera
80 suddenly altered her mind again?
What had influenced her? Half by acci-
dent, half, perhaps, with an instinct Of
what was the truth, she softly opened
the door of communication between the
,norning room and the dining room, and
then drew back again. scared and shock