The Washington herald., 1922-11-01

nSiteu. ner " Dc seateQ. She Ieit
utterly wretched.
Lets face this position frankly"
Lord Doucester began. with . kind
liness in his. voice that went far to
soothe his SON. .tAt the present mo-
ment each OF the three OF. US is feel
ing horribly embarrassed. when
there s-;no earthly need that we
should do SO. BY the merest acct
dent l have Just Witnessed one of
the conmohest things in the world
and one of the soundest-if the cir
cumstances are satisfactory"
Wilfred snatched at the last
phrase. He knew well the thought
behind those words, and the sooner
he faced it ,squarely the better.
The circumstances are wholly
satisfactory. father."' he cut in. Il
have asked Miss Quest to marry me
and she. has in effect consented"
That Is not qnite accurate, Lord
Doucester," said Nadia .s
Dear; said In effect"
Lord Doucester sized up the posi-
tion in a flash. His son had been
caught kissing a straight girl and
would pay the penalty of the sacri-
nee OF his, career rather than allow
her to suffer humiliation. Awkward!
But the situation might still be
saved with little tact. The girl,
fter'all. WAS straight-that was the
main point. II would be safe to
take a risk with her He must first
kill the idea that she had been hu-
inflated.
There seems to be certain
amount Of confusion on the point as
to whether l am to have the privi-
lege of welcoming you as my
daushrerin-law. Miss Quest" he
said with his lips. In his heart he
was saying that nothing was far
ther from his Intentions. -
Nadia looked at him unflinch-
ingly
There need be no confusion.
Lord Gloucester" she answered.
quietly. Il do not intend to accept
Mr.. Stranack's offer. / would have
told him why-if / haa-if he had
Il think 1 understand what Is in
your mind. Miss Quest" said Lord
Douoester. and your feeling on the
poiTft is, IL / may say so. exactly
what l would have expected of you.
The incident of WHICH. unfortunate
ly. l was a witness can leave no
doubt whatever, that you love my
son and. had his circumstances been
otherwise. would have married him.
Let me take the words out of your
mouth and say that you were about
to refuse him because you recognize
LaIr II
reer. and as the poet says. love is
of mans life thing apart"
1T Is thing apart from the vani-
ties and hollow ambitions and petty
strivings that make life stupidly
| selfish without it, cried Stranack
| impetuously. II can serve my coun-
try no less truly II Nadia is my
wife, father. II Nadia will not help
me up she certainly would not drag
me down.
| MY boy. as think Miss Quest.
being woman. knows even better
than /. wife who is not a help is
hindrance."
Surely the discussion Is unneces-
sary. pleaded Nadia. Mr.. Stra-
mack. I thank you with all my heart
for your offer. but again 1 say I
can't accept it,"
Take time to think il over" said
Lord Gloucester. Let US come to no
rash conclusions in the heat Of the
moment: Let us see first If you are
returned for parliament. my boy.
Take, say. a month. At the end of
that time be very sure that your
mother and I will be proud to well
come Miss Quest as our daughter
n-law-provided yOu are both con-
vinced that the marriage will lead
you to happiness"
Wilfred Stranack began to pro-
| test. But Nadia felt that she could
bear the discussion no longer
let us do as Lord Gloucester sug-
gests." she begged. and her voice
broke in spite of herself. Let us
say nothing to anyone in the mean
time
| As she spoke she moved toward
the chair where lay her hat She
picked II up with. fumbling fingers.
"A most excellent idea" said Lord
Doucester. as If Nadia had suggest
ed the whole thing "But-er-if I
may suggest it. would it not be wise
to remove the engagement ring