The Washington herald., 1907-10-13

from the other side Of the wide aspara-
| gus bed and the espaiier fruit trees, with
a broad smile Of admiration
The diversion was opportune Monsieur
! Leblanc recovered himself Miss Dens-
| ley's face gradually recovered its color
and St Quintin. quite satisfied with the
/ stand he had made and overflowing with
/ gratitude % Marie for the frank way in
| which she had accepted him and his Of
! fering together. was content 10 allow
/ monsieur 20 scold him again and 20 ex-
! press his fiery indignation at his pre-
/ sumption.
My niece, being an English girl and
! not understanding the extreme modesty
and reticence which we French expect in
! a young girl TO her lovers, has misun-
/ derstoOd me. You. too Mr. St Quintin
/ have misunderstood / permitted you to
I offer your gift. not in the promise that
/ you should marry my niece but as a
token that I myself would approve OF
the match. ! have the same opinion still.
/ have not changed But I repeat, and
Marie knows the truth as well as l. that
it is not possible for me to finally accept
any man as her husband until the ap-
proval Of Mr.. Williams. her trustee and
+ second guardian, has been obtained also. -
/ Marie fTowned impatiently.
"Oh, uncle, don't make such a fuss
about it, she whispered pleadingly. as
she twisted the cuff Of his coat affec-
lonately. L don't suppose this Mr.. VII
/ iiams is an ogre, any more than you.
| Why shouldn't he Ike Mr. St Quintin
/ just as much as you do?
From this speech st. Quintin was quick
T 81 rrrr Rs.v- hot n.
not yet made the acquaintance Of her
second guardian And he glanced curl
ouSly at her uncle again. and wondered
how such "a curious position OF affairs
could have arisen. If Mr. Williams had
as much authority as was represented. it
! seemed strange that he should not have
insisted upon seeing the girl when she
was first discovered by her second guar
dian. In the unusual circumstances of
1 her case, it would have seemed the nat
ural thing that a guardian who was also
a solicitor, should have at once inter
viewed the girl who was an heiress OF
such Importance. With view TO making
sure beyond ali possible doubt that she
4 was the right person.
However the young man had not much
time for these reflections for he had TO
I listen 70 Monsieur Leblanc's reply 10 his
niece's very natural comment
"Mr- Williams, he replied. deliber-
ately, is not ike me He is a hard man.
a lawyer. and not 50 indulgent and soft
hearted as your old uncle and aunt I
! think he may perhaps suggest that an
older man than MT. St. Quintin might
make you a more suitable husband, in
view of the fact that there viii be a
great deal Of business detail to attend to
CT your behalf If he marries you
Marie burst out into a merry laugh
And don't you think Mr St Quintin
can look after my money as well as if
he were seventy? If I were to marry an
old man, I should be thinking that he
considered poor little me as Of much less
CONSEQUENCE than my money"
Her uncle waved his hand impatiently
and then took her arm with a firm grip.
Enough, enough he said I desire
no more discussion. You viii have = be
satisfied with what we arrange. and Mr.
/ 81. Quintin, we viii join the others, for
il is time dinner was ready"
He did not release his niece until they
We're all in the dining-room together
and there she was placed between Mr.. Al
verthorpe and her old schoolmistress.
Tolk was lively and general during
dinner, but neither then nor afterward
did st. Quintin get the chance Of mo
ments conversation with Marie
Either Nine. Leblanc or Miss Stanley
or Mrs Mortimer was always with her,
so that at last I'm desperation, after try
Ing in vain, time after time, to insinuate
himself into the group about her in such
a way as TO cut her of for moment
from the rest, he went boldly up to Nine
al in,
with steady eyes:
Madame. no doubt you have heard
from monsieur that he has practically
accepted me as your niece's fancee-"
The lady, looking rather excited, in
terrupted sharply:
He told me, Mr.. St Quintin, that he
had not done sO-that you must wait"
ST. Quintin hooked at her so steadily
that the lady's eyes shifted uneasily as
he went on.
He told me that But no doubt there
will be little difficulty in getting Mr.. Will
liamS TO accept a suitor OF whom he and
you. I hope, approve"
"Oh. certainly. If it were a matter
concerning only me you need have no
fear, she said, graciously.
I thought not Well, then. madame.
will you please allow me 10 have a few
moments eonversat ton with your niece?''
Madame looked seriously alarmed. and
as he saw refusal on her face he said
rather coldly:
I can't insist of course. But if you
refuse. as I am asking what is only con-
sidered natural and usual in England.
I must cOntrive to get an interview with
Miss Densley without your permission.
and even, if necessary, without your
knowledge
1t seemed to him that the poor lady
turned absolutely green under this threat
Drawing herself up. after a moments
consideration she said severely:
/ thought Mr.. St Quintin, you were
an honorable man.
Il hope so. and that is why I have
warned you Of what l mean to do, in
stead of doing it without warning
But II is not customary in France for
young girl to have tete-a-tete inter-
views with her fancee"
We are in England though. and Miss
Densley is an English girl and is going
to marry an English husband" 4"
He had a fancy that her eyelids quiv-
cred inauiringly at these last words. but
in the end she said with sudden impa-
tience, and a gesture rather broader in
It's wave of the hand and bend of the
head than usual:
AS you please. then. But I rely on
your honor not to try to make her dis