Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1917-07-20


when said I went to Brighton?
When / went to Brighton" Miss Will
loughby corrected her coldly.
But the chill of her remark was lost
upon her patient cross-examiner.
Georgy was too intent upon uncover
ing the romance that she thought she
had stumbled upon to be SO easily
discouraged.
"WelI, today at lunch Hugh Middle
ton said you couldn't have been in
Brighton that week" She paused
to watch the effect of her bombshell.
ibid he? Really?" Miss Willough-
by replied with well-feigned indiffer-
ence. Rut beneath her cold calm her
heart was beating furiously. She felt
for all the world like some wild thing,
trapped, at bay. And she turned away
to hide the alarm that she feared must
reveal itself in her face.
"Yesl He was In Paris, and"
PARISH Ethel echoed with a faint
start.
Youth is ever cruel; and Georgy
had no thought of sparlng her compan-
ion. Her sole idea was that II Ethel
were hiding some secret liaison she
wanted to share the romance with her.
YES" she went on relentlessly.
"And he saw you there twice that
week, and both times with Henry
Streetman."
But that's impossiblew Ethel pro-
tested.
But Mr.. Middleton seemed very
positive" the younger girl said some
what doubtfully.
Its too absurdv Ethel cried. fore
ing laugh. 81 was at Brighton, as l
can very easily prove"
"Well-that's settledv Georgy ex-
claimed, with an air of relief in spite
of her hopes. Her feelings had, as a
matter of fact, been somewhat COM
pick. "Of course I'd only admire you
for being brave enough to defy the
conventions. But father wouldn't"
"But 1 haven't defied conventions"
Ethel insisted, placing both her hands
over Georgy's as if to emphasize the
truth of her statement.
ooh, don't care If you have" Sir
Georges daughter told her callously.
But you ought to care" Ethel pro-
tested. "And as your governess l can
not condone such an attitude on your
part. Really, Georgy, stupid as con-
ventions may appear sometimes, new
ertheless there Is bitter penalty ex-
acted from people who break them"
Miss Wagstaff rose abruptly, as If
impatient with the views of her COVER
ness; and. crossing the room, she seat
ed herself nonchalantly upon the arm
of chair that was drawn up at one
side OF the tea table.
'Oh, pooh" she exclaimed. "All
that Observation-Disclosures Is old-fash-
ioned."
The older girl regarded her reprov-
ingly.
What silly book have you been
reading?" she inquired. After her ad-
vent into the Wagstaff home it had not
taken her long to discover that
Georges literary tastes had developed
along lines that would scarcely have
met with Sir Georges approval.
Miss Georgy did not even deign
to reply to Ethers question. They had
had numerous discussions-more or
less heated-upon the subject of her
reading, which Georgy regarded as
both footless and absurd. She had
openly rebelled at reading the books
that Ethel recommended to her. Jane
Austen and Mrs. Gaskell were, in her
opinion, hopelessly behind the times.
"I'm glad you haven't had an affair
with Henry Streetman," the younger
girl remarked. II don't like him."
Don't youY said Ether, relieved
that Georgy was at last convinced that
her suspicious were groundless.
'No! Every time he comes into the
room my back sort of goes up, just
like Rowdy when he sees cat" Row
dy was Georgy's Scotch terrier, whose
antipathy to cats was proverbial.
"Mr. Streetman has been very kind
to me-" her governess observed.
"Oh, don't defend himv' Georgy
cried impatlently. 81 know inside that
you agree with me-"
Miss Willougnby did not care to
continue the discussion. And with an
air of Diminishing both Mr.. Streetman
and her relations with him from her
own mind as well as Georges, she
rose from the wide seat. and as she
glanced at her watch exclaimed with
surprise:
Heavens! It's after Eve. 1 must
fuss up bit for the party"
But Georgy would not be put on
so easily.
"Well, forewarned is forearmed,"
she said sententiously. 1t was clear
that she did not intend to be squelched
like a child. II Henry Streetman
were still in her mind, size saw no
reason why she should dissemble in
order to please Ethel or anybody elae.
There's nothing to be forewarned