The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1904-04-27
CHAPTER NLIV.
Continued.


myself robbed of scme of The satisfac.
ton which had promised myself.
Montei}i's arrest troubled ne. 1co, hui
that anxiety was not destined TO be G.!
long duration. Before tie day AaG
waned, ! was first shocked. then deii-
ricusly gladdeneG by the news that l
need fear this dangerous man no more;
that he was dead. and that ore CT the
r1cst relentless claimants upon my
weslth was taken out of my path for
ever.
Not that ] hegcudged the money he
demanded. ! could have spared mill
ion and not felt it. But l had some
initiation into business matters during
the transferring of this fortune into my
posse ession. and ! foreSaw that 1t was
not going to be so easy matter to pro-
cure two or three hundred thousand
dollars out of this estate without eX-
citing the attention Of those who haQ
It in charge. This was the reason, ike
wise, why / accepted your decision with
so much grace. A husband would nave
been incoIyeMient to me in those first
days; an agent was bad enough. l had
to deceive him. and ] had TO deceive
Hilary. In order to meet the wants OF
the Portuguese, who crowded her claims
doubly upon me, when she found that
Monte!li was dead. was obliged tc
ask for large sums Of money for which
could give no account, thus acquiring
with my agent the name Of being very
extravagant, and with my friends the
reputation of being strangely parslmo-
NOUS. ! went with Hilary to the sey-
eral watering places. but ] spent no
money in jewels, and bat little in the
necesaries Of life; for / looked forward
to the day when you would come BACK
to me, dearest. and ] wished to be
clear Of all obligations, and free forever
from the hateful presence of the Portu-
guese; for she never was long away
from me after returned to New York.
In the capacity of my hardresser she
visited me every day. and though but
few words passed between Us, it was
well understood that certain amount
must be forthcoming every week, if l
desired to preserve pleasant relations
between US.
Hillary suspected nothing. She used
to wonder why ! persisted in dressing
so plainly, and hinted, now and then,
that richer costume or more gener-
GUS mode Of living. would be more in
keeping with my wealth and position;
but it did not take much to turn her
thoughts to nobler subjects, and was
never unduly embarrassed by her ques-
tions, Or annoyed by her suggestions.
Il was happy-ab. how happy!-for
] had not yet come to the full reallza'
ton CT what had lone, and saw Moth
ing but complete delight in the future.
/ never doubted that you would return,
or that ] should pay off the Portu-
gnese. and thus win love and freedom
at once. l enjoyed my wealth, my con-
sequence and my power, and expert
fnced, perhaps, more delight in the con-
temptation Of the future than 7 would
have done if my present had been free
from care, and / Lad been enabled TO
crafty at once my naturally luxurious
tastes. And so The summer passed.
Dearest, I have more than once
asked myself while have been pour
ing cut these confessions, whether if
you had been less eZacting and had not
required the giving up Of my fortune,
we should have heen happily married.
1t adds to my grief to think we might.
it makes death doub!y hard to dream
of what might have been, if, instead Of
asking the sacrifice from me Of all for
which l had worked so long in shame
and sorrow, you had simply folded me
to your breast and made me by that
embrace the good woman l longed to
be. But, then comes the thought that
deception never pcospers, and that it
was in this way the God of which you
once spoke to NE showed His disap-
proval of my sin and the impossibiiity
Of my hoping to reap happiness, when
I had sowed for myself misery. And
this thought comforts NE, for it takes
from my fate that factor Of chance,
which it is SO maddening to contem-
plate. I die because ! have sinned, not
because your fancy led you to play
with my love, and exact conditions,
when all that my soul craved was per-
feet confidence on your part and 4
blind affection.
"The interference Of Byrd in my af-
fairs ] do not understand. You may.
If he has any real reason to suspect
me, it must spring from the treachery
Of some one Of those wretched aSso-
cates Of mine. Montelli and the Portu-
guese are dead, hut Annetta still lives,
as well as that miserable woman Of my
name whom ! have never seen. II
they have betrayed me, they have done
It with complaints and recriminations,
and these do not deserve. Believe it,
and spare me any unnecessary reproach.
What / acknowledge is bad enough.
Byrd was nothing to me. From the
day l bade him goodbye in Great Bar
rington till I saw him again in Miss
Aspinwalrs paIlors, did not bestow
upon him thought. But Oh that day
he showed that he had not forgotten
me.
DO you recall that day or can you
realize even now all that it was to me?
You had asked me to give up my for
tune, to yield what had been won
through ways so tortuous and at cost
Of efforts so shameful; and I heSitated,
can You wonder. and was swayed this
way and that according as my reason
or my heart spoke. But reason finally
had its way, and went dressed in vel