Custer County Republican. (Broken Bow, Neb.) 1882-1921, 1902-06-26

hardly knew whether his words were Il
burden or a relief. pain or pleasure
"My dearest Irene" he said. II have
listened to your story; need | say that
believe every word, and that ! most hon
cstly believe | express The opinion that
everyone in this world would give when
] say that you are ms innocent ms when
you were a child Of your fathers knee"
In surprise at the words. which she had
not quite expected. she raised his hand
to her lips and kissed it. That kiss sealed
her fate and his: for after IL the duke
could no more have given her up than he
could have flown.
81 love, revere aud respect you as much
as did before | heard your story: for
do not see how blame could be attached
to you. Unwittiugly, and through no
fault OF your own, you have lost your
way in life: now LET mo help you TO re-
tract your steps. let my love shield you,
let my name shelter you. let me give you
position unassnilablc. As for myself,
the confidence you have reposed in me
will never he misplaced or abused your
secret will die with me, and it will never
cross my lips. Now, Irene, will you be
my wife,
She laid her hand Ia his as she an.
swcred:
From my heart | thank you for your
love. your trust. your goodness; from my
heart. ! say. Yes, will I've your wife -
He was silent for few minutes, and
then he said:
Before we close this subject forever,
Irene. will you tell me the name of the
man who practiced this fraud upon you 2"
Her face paled.
II could not do that" she said, 81
have made my vow concerning him, and
| shall keep it; could not tell you his
name"
A hot flush rose to the fine old face,
and the dukes strong, white hugers were
clinched, as he answered;
81 should like to know his name, be-
cause ! should like to find the man; and.
having found him. would crush his face
with my heel. Now, you know. Irene.
why | would like to hear his name"
Vengeance Is mine. have sworn to
pay It, and l will" she replied "No
one can do 1t for me. and no one shall"
The week that the Duke OF Bayard
spent at the palace was one long act of
devotion to Irene. The grand old city
was ransacked to find presents for her
tho most exquisite canoes. the finest
pearls. The duke ordered velvet from
Genoa, lace from Milan silk from Lyons,
furs from Russia. One huge packet af-
ter another arrived. until Santon Darcy
was amused, and told his daughter that
il was easy to see that she was the af-
fianced of millionaire. The duke urged
that the marriage should take place at
the British embassy at Paris; he could
not endure that II should be in Rome,
where he had married Beatrice. or in
England, where Lord Wsldo's discon-
tented face would make him wretched.
The wedding took place with all the
pomp and splendor imaginable. The only
request that Irene made was that 1t
should not be put In the papers, and for
this request she had her own motives,
and the principal one was that Sir HUI
bert Estmere should not hear of her mar
rage. He would know that the Duke of
Bayard was married; the marriage Of
such a mighty person must be known to
all the world; but no one need know
whom he had married The fact that he
was married in Paris would naturally
lead to the conclusion that he had mar
ried a French lady. So. all that the Eng
llsn papers nAu 10 say ABOUT the muETluge
was this--that the Duke of Bayard and
his beautiful young duchess were spend
ing their honeymoon in Paris. and that
the marriage ceremony had been solemn
lied at the British embassy with the
greatest privacy.
Lord Waldo's anger was great, AL
though he was courteous enough not to
show it. The duke wrote himself, tell
ing him OF the event u few days before
1t happened but the anger of Lord Hurst
himself was as nothing compared with
the indignation Of his wife. Lady Waldo
Hurst was a heartless, brilliant woman
of fashion, who had married Lord Hurst
entirely for the reason that she should
ultimately become Duchess of Bayard.
! She had never made any secret of it, and
! now her Indignation was great. But,
! acting upon the advice OF her husband,
! she decided to conceal her indignation
/ and disappointment from the duke.
Take my advice. Ada said Lord Wal
do: instead of making the young duchess
your enemy, refusing to meet her, or any
nonsense Of that kind, make her your
friend, and then, should there be any pos
sibility OF learning anything about her
YOU will probably find il OUT" and Lady
Hurst saw Mt once how sensible that ad
vice was.