Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1913-03-19
Go away Sophie" said Melanis

/
to wait, too, poor mani" She looked
scrutinizingly at Aleck. COR are you,
perhaps, hungry? I'm not going to talk
to hungry man." she announced.
Not bite till I've heard chapter
thirty-nine!" SAID Alech.
In a moment she became serious
again.
81 have lived in England and here in
America" she began, long enough to
understand that the differences be-
| tween your people and mine are more
than the differences of language and
| climate; they are ingraiued In our
| habits OF thought, our education, our
judgment of life and of people. My
| childhood and youth were wholly diff
ferent from yours, or from what an
| American girls could be; and yet
i think / understand your American
women, though suppose l am not In
| the least like them
"But /, on the other hand, have seen
| the dark side of life, and particularly
OF marriage. When 1 was a child !
was more important in my own coun-
try than I am now, since it seemed
then that my father would succeed to
the throne. / was brought up to feel
that | was not a woman, but a pawn
! in the game of politics. When l had
| been out Of the convent for year or
more, loved youth, and was loved
/ IN return, but f<lr marriage was
| laughed at, put aside, declared impos-
/ hn rs n.
! ferior to my own. My lover disap-
| peared, | know not where or how.
| Then affairs changed My father died,
and it transpired that l had been Of
ficially betrothed since childhood to
Duke Stephens brother, the Count
Lorenzo The duke was my guardian,
and there was no one else to whom |
for the wedding faced the duke and
declared I would never marry the
| count. His Highness ragged and
stormed, but I told him few things
| knew about his brother, and made
him see that | was in earnest. The
| next day l left Krolvetz, and the duke
gave out that l was i'll and had gone
| to health resort; that the wedding
was postponed. / went to France and
| hid myself with my aunt, took one of
my own middle names and her sur
name, and have been known for some
time, as you know, as Melanie Rey
nier"
81 know you wish to tell me all
these things, Melanie, but l do not
want you to recall painful matters of
the past now," said Aleck gently.
you shall tell me of them at another
time"
The color frightened in Melanie's
face, her eyes glowed.
mo, not another time; you must I'M
derstand now, especially because all
this preface leads me to. what I really
want to say to you. 1t is this: | do
not now care for the man / loved at
nineteen, nor for any of the other men
of my country who have been pleased
to honor me with their regard But
ever since those early days have had
dream of home-a place different
from Duke Stephens home, different
from the homes of many people of my
rank. My dream has husband in it
who is a companion friend, my
equal in love, my superior in
strength" Melanie's eyes lifted to
meet Alexis, and they were full Of an
almost tragic passion; but it was
passion for comprehension and love,
not primarily for the man sitting be-
fore her She added simply: "And
for my dream I'd give all the wealth,
all the love, have"
The room was very still. Aleck Var
Camp sat quiet and grave, his fore
head resting on his hand. He looked
up, finally, at Melanie, who was be-
side him, pale and quite worn.
Poor childi You needed me more
! than l thought" was what he said
But Melanie had not quite finished,
mo, that is not enough, that l should
need you. You must also need me,
want what alone can give you. match
my love with yours. And this,
think. you do not do. You calculate,
you remain cool, you plan your life
like campaign and am part of your
equipment. You are thousand times
better than Count Lorenzo, but l think
1
your principles of reasoning are the
same. You do not love me enough,
and that is why / can not say yes"
| Aleck had taken this last blow
standing. He walked slowly around
and stood before Melanie, much as he
had stood before her when he first
asked her to marry him; and this
time, as he looked down on her fair.
ness, there was infinite gentleness and
patience and love in his eyes. He
| bent over, lifted Melanie's two hands,
] and drew her bodily out of her seat
| She was impassive. Her quick alert.
ness, her vitality, her passionate seri
BUSINESS, had slipped away. Aleck put
| his arms around her very tenderly
and kissed her lips; not lovers kiss
exactly, and yet nothing else. Their
| he looked into her face
mo 2uS (s(HYTvTNTTTUT