Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1904-07-14

az VII NC Hdppy, ne Sdlu, III a Mol
which will bring me nearer to him.
But that must not influence you. Mar
guerlte. Wait until your heart speaks.
Perhaps it will not remain insensible
to the language of mine"
Il will give you my answer in a
month";" replied Marguerite de Ker-
gariel. who had become grave and
thoughtful.
A week passed; Marguerite was Sc
cretly watching Georges and beginning
to become accustomed to the thought
OF a marriage with him. She knew
that he was kind and loving, and he
seemed more attentive now that she
looked at him more closely and with
different eyes. Surprised by charms
OF mind and person which she had not
noticed before, her heart was gradually
opening to love.
Georges OWNED the change, and his
JOY was reflected in his face.
But one evening M. de Kergariel
disturbed his peace of mind.
The two men were pacing up and
down the terrace. It was a cloudless
night, and a fresh breeze, blowing from
the sea, brought the salt breath of the
waves.
81 received a letter this morning
from my old friend, Nine. de Millery,'
said NJ. de Kergariel. "You know her;
she is a distant relative.
She is coming to spend a few days
here, and will arrive tomorrow. She
adds that she will be accompanied by
a young man who was a ward of her
husband, to whom she is much at
tached.
He has no property, but she will
leave him her whole fortune, and be-
lieves that he would be an ideal hus-
band for Marguerite. What do you
say?"
81 say" replied Georges ve%hemently,
that these are very useless complica-
tions, and hope, uncle, that you will
avoid them. You need only tell Nine.
de Millery that she is wasting her time
by trying to marry off Marguerite,
since you have the man whom you de-
sire for her."
Impossible. don't wish to vex
Nine. de Millery. She would never for
give me if your marriage did not take
place. | could write only in case
Marguerite accepted you. Then |
could my daughters ap-
proching marriage and all would be
| settled"
Marguerite requested a months de-
lay, uncle"
TRY to obtain her answer sooner"
"She would have reason to be sur
prised at my urgency, and I should not
like to tell her the cause"
Then you must understand that,
under these circumstances, | cannot
refuse to receive Nine. de Millery and
her friend. If Marguerite will not mar
ry you, she must make another choice.
Come, my dear Georges, courage;
learn to Highland to conquer!"
Georges made no reply. A dull sense
of anger oppressed him. He feared the
stranger.
The morning of the following day
Nine. de Millery reached the chateau,
accompanied by Raoul de Villiers, the
young man mentioned in her letter.
She also brought her maid and a de-
testable pug dog named Coquette, from
which she never separated.
She was a woman of 60, extremely
kind, but so excessively vivacious that
she seemed to fill the quiet dwelling |
with noise and hustle. A great beauty |
in her youth, she was now almost
hideous, owing to her efforts to con-
ceal, by art dyes, "the irreparable dam
age of the years"
M. de Kergariel, who had known her !
in her prime and wen at one time in
his life had been somewhat captivated
by her, was full of indulgence for all
the whims which, after all, scarcely |
disguised the genuine goodness of his |
old friends heart.
Raoul de Villiera, whom she treated
like g spoiled child, had a v.-J fine
figure and a most pleasing face. Tall
and fair, with blue eyes, whose ex-
preston was sometimes laughing,
sometimes cold and keen, he made a
deep impression upon Marguerite. But
he had a shallow heart, and the young
girls principal charm in his Eyes was
the amount of her dowry.
Georges and he instantly hated each
other.
There was an actual duel of sharp
words between the two young men
whenever they were alone.
Marguerite still hesitated.
Raoul perhaps pleased her more than
Georges. He shared her tastes, had
the same love for outdoOr life. But
Georges was so devoted to her, she
knew his loving, loyal soul, while she
was totally ignorant of his rivals ma
ture.
So one cay, when Raoul TESTED about
the love Of the handsome nissan
thrope," as he sarcastically dubbed
Georges, she answered, with a con-
sciousness of being wounded.
do not jeer, I beg of you. His love
has at least n merit; it is unfeigned
and sincere. Could I say Us much of
,yours?"
Raoul looked at her steadily.
IF I understand you correctly" he
said dryly, you doubt me; therefore
ii is useless for me to play a ridiculous
part longer. Since you have made
your choice, why did you not say so?
I would have spared my ardent dec
locations and annoying attentions!"
my choice is not made" the young
girl protested. 1T would be, il you had
not come"
This was almost a confession. Raoul
smiled proudly, believing himself the
victor,