Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1903-04-09
q Woman S F ace
FLORENCE WARDEN
CHAPTER XXI.

Armathwaite himself, Ned CrOsmOnt
kept his word to the latter most faith
fully. Day after day the young
doctor called on Alma without
hindrance, and under his care her
mind began rapidly and surely to re-
cover its tone. She scarcely saw her
husband now, she said. Instead of
coming to her room at night to reau
her to sleep, as he had done some
times before Uncle Hughs departure
and frequently since he now never
even wished her good night, but
marched off to his study as soon as
be had finished dinner, slammed the
door, and was seen no more by her
until the following evening, as. no
matter how early she might get IN
he was always out before she came
downstairs. Armathwaite. who felt
a good deal of sympathy for the
agent, whom he looked upon more as
a victim than as an evilly-disposed
tyrant, was trying gradually to turn
Alma's fear of her husband into pure
pity, though, naturally enough, he met
at first with little success. At the
same time, he was beginning TO feel
as much loathing for Lady Kildonan,
the heartless cause of all this
mischief, as if she had been a
vampire or a lOup-garou: and on his
frequent visits to her husband, who,
If the truth must be told, was creating
in him a morbid distaste for
phllology, he found an ever-increasing
difficulty in concealing his aversion
from her
Her conduct at the reading of DR..
Peele's will strengthened this feeling.
The death of this old friend had been
a great shock to Alma, but it had had
a good effect in diverting her atten-
ton from her own trouble to that of
the widow and her daughter When
she came humbly and shyly to see
them, however, and to take a last
look at the dead face of her old
guardian, she found that there was
but one lady to comfort, for Mrs.
Peele was only sentimental in short.
sharp gusts, and, moreover, the cause
or her most pressing grievance was
the would-be comforter herself. For
not only had the disguised lady found
that her hope of marrying Anna
thwaite to Mile had proved fruitless.
but she had learned from her late
husbands solicitor that by a codicil
executed a few days before his death
DR.. Peele had left handsome legacy
10 Alma Crosmont, and appointed
Armathwaite her trustee. The
agents unfortunate wife being quite
ignorant of this provision for her,
was bewildered by the violence of
Mrs. Peele's attacks on the new race
of married women, who set them
selves up in rivalry with the single
ones, and prevent men from propos-
ing. She beat a retreat as soon as
she could, and it was not until after
the funeral that she, together with
Lady KildOnan, who was present by
her own desire, and in a state OF
strong suppressed excitement, Mile
Ned Crosmont, and Armathwaite him.
self, learned that the old doctor. who
" ebo hiioN Ii W nave DtSu ulucu DoIloT
off than his humble manner of living
betrayed. had left to Alma Crosmont
a sum of about two thousand pounds,
and had appointed Armathwaite, with
expressions of great confidence. her
trustee. His wife and daughter he left
we'll provided for. To Armathwaite
he bequeathed a legacy of five hun.
dred pounds, and his writing-table
with all the papers it contained. To
Lady KildOnan he left letter. which
was delivered to her by the solicitor
. and opened by her Immediately with
quivering fingers. A look of the
deepest and most angry disappoint.
ment convulsed her features when
she found that it contained no en-
closure of any kind. and after glanc
ing at the closely-written pages she
crushed them up in her muff.
Interested in the fate of that
letter, which he guessed to be a last
effort of advice and warning from the
dead friend, Armathwaite kept Lady
kildonan in sight as long as she re
manned in the house, and not much tC
his surprise he saw her, when she
was standing near the dining-room
fire, with no one very near her but
the agent who looked more i'll. more
harassed than ever. withdraw the
sheets OF crumpled paper from her
muff, and, without another glance at
them, without even pausing in her
folk A.
fire. She seldom took any pains to
hide whatever thought might be pass.
ing through her mind. and she did not
think it worth while to lower her
voice which she expressed both
establishment and irritation at the
provisions of the will.
That young Yorkshireman must
have worked pretty hard. Ned, to
worm himself like that into the
doctors confidence in such a short
time" she sand. with her head held
back in an offended way which was
exceedingly piQuant and becoming
1T seems you can't be trusted to
J look after your own wife so we'll as
this stranger"
We'll, and he wasn't far wrong
said Crosmont, sullenly
He had avoided Lady KiIdonan as
much as he could all the afternoon
and now he stood by her, morose and
restless, with his eyes on the ground
wearing a sulky air of being detained
against his will.
''Oh, l see he has your confidence
too. That is charming. l suppose