Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1903-06-25
CHAPTER LII.

fathers letter. She haf made I'D he
mind now how to act The doctor
had agreed that Hettie would not re
cover until she had had change of air
AMI ii was arranged that when tn,
first breath of warm weather came
the family were to go to the soutl
of France. Inc Duke and Duchess o
Rosedene were already settled there
SO that there would be a home
party" after all. There had beer
some mention of the wedding. Leah
beautiful face had paled, and wistfu
look had come into uer eyes. She
said that the wedding must be de
layed; there could be no thought Of
marriage when Hettie was in such q
fragile state of health. She spoke
calmly, and smiled when she re
membered how little any one knew OF
the pain at her heart.
The general had demurred slightly
when she refused to hear of the mar
riage taking place, as had been
settled, in the spring
Delayed marriages are always in
lucky, Leah" he said to her.
Mine will not be So" she replied;
and he wondered at the strange smile
on her face.
He had thought great deal Lately
about his favorite niece-she was 50
terribly changed. He tried to believe
that it was due to her anxiety con
corning Hettie; but that was hardly
possible. She had such strange ex-
preston on her face. lie could not
understand it, though he watched her
keenly. One thing in particular struck
him. She never spoke Of the future.
and her interest in everything seemed
dead. She laughed and talked; but,
to his eyes, there was always more or
less Of effort when she did so. Her
face would flush and the light in her
eyes was too bright.
I Hettie noticed nothing; her one
great relief and source of gratitude
was that she would not have to 90
through the trial of seeing Sir Basil
again The doctor had said that she
must go to Mentone as soon as pos
sible, and that in the meantime she
must be kept perfectly free from all
excitement and must see no one.
Sir Basil and Hettie could never
suspect that their secret was known
to Martin Ray: much less could they
imagine that it had been revealed to
Leah by her father. Whatever she
did, they must believe it to be the
expression Of her own feeling, the re-
suit of her own thoughts; they could
not attribute it to any influence
brought to bear upon her. Her life
just then was very quiet, owing to
Hettie's Illness there was neither
visiting nor the receiving of visitors.
Had it been otherwise, the strain upon
her would have been too great, and
she would have given way She lived
through 1t, longing at morn for night,
longing att night for morning. Her heart
was dead within her and she scarcely
ate or slept. There were days when
sat there stunned, dazed, bewildered
with the weight of her own sorrow,
the grief piercing ever and ever
deeper into her heart
No one guessed her secret or
imagined that, though heiress of the
vast wealth of Sir Arthur Hatton, and
acknowledged to be one Of the most
beautiful women in England, she was,
nevertheless, one of the most miser-
able and dcsoIate of human beings.
There We're times when she reflected
that she had read of the agonies of
death, of people lingering in torture.
unable to die: but surely no agony
had ever been so prolonged as hers.
She saw every day the man whom she
loved SO well, yet who had preferred
another to her. She had to meet him,
to appear as usual with him, the hor-
rible pain of wounded love and
jealousy gnawing like hidden cancer
In her breast. And every day she had
to minister to the sister who had sup
planted her, to cheer and sOOthc her.
When she was consulted about the
decorations and improvements at
Glen, which she knew well she would
never see. she gave her answer plainly
and clearly Without break in her
voice. she chose colors and ornaments,
and talked of harmonious arrange
ments. and then went silently to her
room to undergo the agonieS of de
spair And when Sir Arthur talked
about the future, about next year, when
she would he at Glen, she always re-
piled To him with smile--hut that
smile was sadder than any tears
AS the days passed, she grew
thinner and palor, and her eyes
brighter She never sang, She had
never touched her piano since the
reading of the fatal letter Her in
tcrest in everything was dead She
spent more time before the picture OF
Oenone than in any other place The
terrible repression told upon her II
she could have spoken of her loss, il
She could have eased her heart Ivy Il
How of passionate tears il would
have been better But there was ne
such relief: 1t was all speechless
dark unchangiug sorrow Great
lsilpnt WOO looked ont of thp dark