The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1905-07-26
Little DOrOthy'S
COurtship
By VIRGINIA LEILA VENT


the name she had given the young Eng
lish earl talking to her alone. She
alas, WIS only poor little Cousin pora-
thy ana acting in this particular house
hold rs Joan's mothers paid eompan-
lon. So she pretended TO he bored
with his lordships society.
Ia In, la-la, In Ia la" she hummcd,
sinking back into the depths of the
easy chair and stretching her white
arms lazily.
Il say said the earl Am | firing
YOU, Miss Dorothyf"
Dorothy stopped humming NO"
she drawlcd with mock mischief, not
exactly. But here she smiled her
sweetest smile upon him you won't
be vexed. Will You. If | tell you that
I'm II bit sleepy and that | must sleep
In the sun? VIII you draw this chair
over for me. please" Rising slowly,
she adjusted the heur de lis at her
waist while his lordshp drew ths chair
TO the sunny corner of the big Veranda
How'll that do?" asked he.
"Splendidly. Now for cushions"
How many%'
.lIundrcds.' said she.
He collected rs many MS he could
carry and fetched them to her
Here are thousands" he announced
"Dcliclousw murmured Dorothy, sink
ing back Into them with II sigh of con
tent This Is quite perfect"
at VIII be when l fetch you sun
shade" he amended.
"Sunshnden cried she. Go away.
you Goth! l want the sun"
You'll be plcklcd" warned he.
No" corrected she, dimpllng, pre-
served" Her long blnck lashes lay mo
tionlcss ON the wild rose flush of her
| rheeks.
The carl chuckled and, pretending
that he fancied her already asleep,
rrept deliberately away ON tlptoc Joan
md the rest of them were In sight.
and he advanced to meet them.
joan Shannon wns unquestlonably
beauty. She had been photographed In
every variety of pose. she had been
painted by several of the most cele-
bratpd artists on two continents, but
In spite of this fact she had passed
through the whirl of three seasons and
WITS still unwed.
she must be waiting for n title"
people saId, as other girls far less
beautiful came out, danced through n
season or two and were led to the
altar by men of their choice.
However that may be- included
among the guests al this particular
house party Mt the Shannon's big coun-
try place on the sound was the young
Earl of Stowbrldge, and 1t was common
property that Miss Shannon already
had found him very attractive.
80 awfully sorry you couldn't join
us IN our sail this morning" she began
in her sweet, suave voice, with an ne
cent which was the result of much
travel els your headache better now"
"'Pon my honor, I've not given II
thought for the last half hour. | found
Miss Dorothy reading on the yeranda,
and she took pity ON me and put down
her book. nd-wcll. somehow she must
have cured my headache! She's got Jol
ly pretty dimples, and she's IL cousin
of yours, didn't some one say"
YES distant Mamma never liked
me to associate much with her family
when we were little, and now. as you
can Imagine. we aren't very cr~con-
genial"
"Such fun" observed the earl lacon-
ically. His fair companion turned and
looked Mt him rcproachfully. And who
would wish to be 'funY said she.
"Oh. don't know" said his lordshlp
CALAMITY.
Miss Shannon found herself wonder
ing for moment MS they walked on
whether the earl might moi prove tcsty
after all Would he be uneasy under
the crushing and ordering about 10
| which her father and mother submit
ted. If there was one thing she dlslik
ed 1t was obstacular people. She had
been brought up to expect people TO
agree with her.
"Of COURSE she sighed, Struggling
her beautiful shoulders discrcetly, II
feel sorry for poor little Dorothy. Moth
or won't need her after the autumn,
and I'm sure don't know what's going
to become of her then Besides, she
hasn't any practical sense. Just look Mt
her now lying asleep IN all that sun.
She'll be simply black with frccklcs"
That afternoon when everybody waa
resting for dinner dance in the even
ing the Earl of Stowbrdgc wandered
into the library. n cool, dim apartment
banked with books and made comfort
able with couchcs
He had Just discovered one Of his
favorite authors and settled down 30
read when the sound Of feminine
voices In the adjoining room disturbed
his attention. Six seconds had not
elapsed when he became aware that
II was no ordinary interview and that
he should make n step forward to an
nounce his presence. II was not In his
character or traditions to be an caves
dropper; nevertheless hc found him
self curlously unable 10 move or utter
sound
"Anglng for himli' 1t was Dor
othy's voice, low and impassIoned, but
with quick little gasp or two, such
as would come from one who had sud
denly received an unexpected douche
OF cold water
"'There can be no doubt Of that"
came Mrs Shannon's icy tones. "Onli
yesterday Joan was telling me OF her
own misgivlngs'-
"Misglvlngsw There was stlll that
tremulous catch in the breath.
"Oh, Of course young men will be
young men," continued Mrs. Shannon,
with a pur In her well bred tones.
'rhey will pursue the girl who holds
out the angling iron. You are clever
don't dispute the face; you are clever
and calculating but one thing | have
to tell you: If you wish to remain In
this household you must assume diff
ferent pose. And, remember, not an
other conversation alone with the Earl
Of Stowbridge while he is under this