The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1903-06-05
A PARDONABLE DECEPTION.

By LADY GILBERT.

1
that moment, however, that If he knew
my little history / should be undei
his disapproval. and I allowed him
to rank me among the mercenaries tC
whom he had given his sympathy"
$50 you already felt"
THAT he was going 10 love me II ]
did not take pains 10 dsenchant him,
and partly because he was a sick and
lonely man. partly for some other rea-
son that could not quite understand,
! felt no inclination to do any such
thing. ! knew he was poor soldier
and that he thought ] was poor
nurse, and ] thought If this man is
going TO love me, why, / shall not al.
low the dross Of the world. which is,
unfortunately mine, 10 hinder him.
kept my dreadful secret, and long be-
fore he was 1T TO leave the hospital he
had asked me 10 be his wife and | had
accepted him"
"You-you didn't mind at all about
his being-lamep
the more for 1t. Loved him the better.
because. though brave and distln-
gulsbed. he was no longer fit for SER
vice. He had the vaguest ideas Of how
we were 10 live. We had very little
money between us when We went on
board ship to return to England, for
my handbook was buried deep in the
bottom of my trunk, and / did not
dare 10 display more money than Just
as much as / had earned by my labors
In the hospital. I urged him not to
think about money, as | was a capital
manager ana knew how to make n
little 60 n long way. was exceedingly
happy. knowing all that / was able
to do for him, yet found myself in u
serious dilemma. The question was,
How could / break the ncws that
had deceived him?
~ had been humored to the top OF
my bent in marrying n man who loved
me FOR myself. in ignorance that pos
sesscd fortune. He must he n strange
man. indeed. / thought, If later on.
when the truth came to his knowledge,
he were 10 prove displeased or disap.
pointed. But the fact remained that |
had married him under false pretenccs,
and | felt ashamed Of II.
IL felt also unwilling to hasten the
inevitable moment which should see
me even in seeming lose the envlable
position OF woman who has been
sought by the man she loves for love
and love alone: and so the long voyage
that seemed all too short passed with
out my having said one word to en-.
Tighten him rs to the future of ease
and luxury which I had provided FOR
him.
while he took his convalcsccnt nap
on deck in the afternoons / paced up
and down thinking out my difficulty.
The time was coming when | must
have my mind made up as to what
steps | was to take for had resolved
not to allow my whm or mistake TO
cost him one day of less comfort than
| was able to hestow on him. At last
| hit on plan. You know Beatrix.
She Is my dearest friend. so much
so that she might have kept me from
the hospital experience If only she had
not always been so bent on marrying
me 10 some one of her acquaintanccs.
| wrote to her and posted the letter
at a convenient moment to travel hy
n faster going vessel than our own.
The letter ran somewhat like this:
"'My Dear Beatrix: / am travelling
to England with my husband n dis
tinguished and at present invalid sol
der, who is under the impression that
he has married penniless nurse. You
can help me TO break the truth to him
gracefully. | know your husband is
spending the summer in his yacht.
Will you take possession Of my house
and invite me and my husband TO
spend some weeks with you? | shall
rely on you TO act well the hostess.
and when I see you | will tell you
the sequel
The result of this stroke of genius
was an invitation from Beatrix. which
awaited us when we arrived at our
hotel
He was little unwilling at first.
but | overrued all his objections. and
as soon as possible we were estGb-
lishCd as the guests OF Bcatrix here in
our own comfortable home.
"Of course l found my way 10 my
wardrobe. and IL was sweet 10 see my
husbands surprise when he saw me
dressed for dinner. had put on the
first pretty gown found. il happened
TO he white satin. and naturally II
made change in my appearance.
This is charming, Mary he said.
hut. my dear
- knew what he meant. 'Beatrix
had some Of my old frocks i'm charge.
| said. You know am a lady
THAT l always knew he said
gravely, but ! saw Ivy the slight cloud
on his face that he feared I had n
taste for expensive things which he
could not give me.
You were good not TO ask any one
10 meet us said to Beatrix az table
Max is hardly ready for society rs yet
81 guessed you would not care FOR
n house party at present. she said. 'or
else | should have gratificd some
friends who are anxious 10 see you
Quiet. happy days went past. II
was delightful 10 see Max enjoy his
comforts. TO hear him admiring our sur.
roundlngs of park and woodland. or
commenting the good taste Of BentriS
in the arrangements OF her house.
"Once l ventured TO say to him
Wouldn't II be nice IL you and hat
a home like this. all to ourselves. every
bit our ownT
Don't let Us coyet our neighbors