The state herald., 1909-11-19
CHAPTER llr.-contInued.

CHAPTER IiI.-contInued.
"I said was wicked woman,
Margaret answered. rising; ''and
what's more, / believe l am. But l
quite forgot you were there, Potts. or
/ probably should not have said 1t
aloud"
Yes, ma'am," answered Potts meek
ly and she went back to her unpack.
ing.
Margaret had two maids, who were
oddly suited to her two natures. She
had inherited Alphonsine from her
friend the famous retired soprano,
Nine. Bonanni. and the cadaverous.
clever, ill-tempered. garrulous dresser
was as necessary to Cordova's theatri-
cal existence as paint, limelight, wigs
and an orchestra. The English Potts.
the meek, silent, busy and intensely
respectable maid. continually made 1t
clear that her mistress was Miss
Donne. an English lady. and that Nine.
Cordova, the celebrated singer. was
what Mr.. Van Torp would have called
'only a side-show."
The letter that had been torn up
before It was finished was to have
gone to Lady Maud, but Margaret her
self had been almost sure that she
would not send 1t. even while she was
writing.
She had written that she had done
very wrong in engaging herself to Lo
gothei: that was the "wickedness
she accused herself of. repeating the
self.accusation to her astonished maid,
because II was n sort OF relief to say
the words to somebody. She had writ
ten that she did not really care for
him In that way; that when he was
near she could not resist n sort OF
natural attraction he had for her. but
that as soon ms he was gone she fen
II no longer and she wished he would
not come back: that her ideal of n
husband was so and SO. and this and
that-and here fiction had begun. and
she had put stop to It by destroying
the whole letter instead OF crossing
out few lines-which was n pity; for
II Lady Maud had received II. she
would have told Mr.. Van Torp that he
needed no help from her since Mar.
garet herself asked no better than to
be freed from the engagement
Logotheu did not come out to Yer.
sailles that afternoon. because he was
plcntifully endowed With tact where
women were concerned. and he ap'
piled all the knowledge and skill he
had to the single purpose OF pleasing
Margaret But before dinner he tele.
phoned and asked to speak with her
and this she could not possibly refuse.
Besides, the day had seemed long. and
though she did not wish for his pres.
ence she wanted something-that inde.
scribablc. mysterious something which
disturbed her and made her feel un-
comfortable when she felt II. but
which she missed when she did not
see him for n day or two.
How are your" asked his voice. and
no ran on without waiting for an an.
swer. II hope you are not very tired
after crossing yesterday. came by
Boulogne-decent OF me. wasn't III
You must bc sick Of seeing mo all
the time. no shall give you rest for
day or two. Telephone whenever
you think you can bear the sight of
mo again. and I'll be with you In 80
minutes. shall not stir from home
In this baking weather. n you think
I'm In mischief you're quite mistaken.
dear lady. for I'm up to my chin In
work."
II envy you" Margaret said. when
no paused nt last nv. nothing on
earth TO do. and the plano here In out
Of tune. Hut you're quite right.
don't want to see you n little bit. and
I'm not jcaloun. nor suspicious. nor
anything dinagrcoable. So thcrc'"
How nice OF you'"
I'm very nice" Margaret answered
with laughing emphasis. Il know IL.
What mort Of work are you dolng7 It's
only Idle curiosity. 20 don't tell m. n
you would rather mott iIav. you got
a new railway In Brazil. or an over.
land route to tn. other side OF be.
yopd1''
Nothing no easyi I'm brushing up
my Tartar"
brushing up WHAT didn't hcnr."
"Tartar-tho Tartar language
=" he began to spell the word.
"yes. 1 hear now" interrupted Mar.
saret. "Yut what In tho world ID the