Evening star., 1923-07-10
CONTINUED from yesterday

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Continued from yesterday
II remember it perfectly" Francis
assented. 1--WE danced together that
night. 1 remember, at your aunt's,
Mrs Malcolm's. and you were in
tensely curious to know how Poyntngs
had spent his evening"
Lady Cynthia's reminder is per-
haps little unfortunate" Sir Tim
othy observed. Mr.. Ledsam is no
longer the last hope of the enterpris-
ing criminal. He has turned over a
new leaf. To secure the services of
his silver tongue. you have to lay at
his feet no longer the bags of gold
from your ill-gotten gains. but the
white flower of the blameless life"
This Is all in the worst possible
taste" Margaret Hilditch declared. in
her cold. expressionless tone. You
might consider my feelings"
Lady Cynthia only laughed.
MY dear Margaret" she said. 'if I
thought that you had any. l should
never believe that you were your
fathers daughter. Here's to them.
anyway she added, accepting the
cocktail from the tray which the
Ledsam are you going to attach your
self to me, or has Margaret annexed
you"
II have offered myself to Mrs Hill
ditch" Francis rejoined promptly,
but so far ! have made no impress
sion"
TRY her with a punt and con-
certlna after dinner" Lady Cynthia
suggested. After all. l came down
here to better my acquaintance with
my host. You fiirted with me dis
gracefully when I was a debutante,
and have never taken any notice of
me since. / hate infidelity in man.
Sir Timothy. shall devote myself to
you. Can you play a concertina?'
Where the higher forms of music
are concerned" he replied. II have no
technical ability. / should prefer to
sit at your feet"
while | punt. ] suppose"
There are backwaters," he sug-
gested.
Lady Cynthia slipped her cocktail
appreciatively.
Il wonder how it is" she observed.
that in these days. although we have
become callous to everything else in
life. cocktails and fiirtations still at
tract us. You shall take me to a hack
water after dinner, Sir Timothy.
shall wear my silver-grey and take
an armful of those black cushions
from the drawing-room. In that half
light. there Is no telling what success
l may not achieve.
Sir Timothy sighed
Alas" he said. before dinner is
over you will probably have changed
your mind"
Perhaps So" she admitted. but
you must remember that Mr.. Ledsa m
Is my only alternative. and l am
not at all sure that he likes me- ] am
not sufficiently Victorian for his
taste"
The dressing bell rang. Sir Timothy
! passed his arm through Francis
The sentimental side of my do
main," he said, the others may show
you. My rose garden across the
stream has been very much admired.
am now going to give you a glimpse
of The Walled House. an editice the
possession of which has made me
more or less famous"
He led the way through n little
shrubbery. across a further strip of
garden and through door in a high
| wall. which he opened with a key
attached to his watchchain. They
were in an open park now, studded
with magnificent trees. in the further
corner of which stood an imposing
mansion. with a great domed roof in
the center. and broad stone terraces,
one of which led down to the river.
The house itself was an amazingly
; blended mixture of old and new. with
great wings supported by pillars
thrown out on either side. 1t seemed
to have been built without regard to
any definite period of architecture.
and yet to have attained q certain
coherency-a far-reaching structure.
with long lines of outbuildngs. In
the park itself were a score or more
OF horses, and in the distance beyond
long lire of loose boxes with open
doors. Even IS they stood there a
grey sorrel mare had trotted up to
n CT n,,I 1o;I l.
Sir Timothy's shoulder. He caressed
her surrcptitiously, affecting not to
notice the approach of other animals
from all quarters.
Let me Introduce you to The Wall
ed House." its owner observed. so
called. 1 imagine, because this wall.
which is a great deal older than YOU
or l. completely incloses the estate.
or course, YOU remember the old
house. The Walled Palace. they call
cd 1T? 1t belonged for many years
to the Lynton family, and afterward
to the crown"
Il remember reading of your pur-
chase" Francis said. "and. of course.
1 remember the old mansion. You
seem to have wiped it out pretty effec-
tually"
Il was obliged to play the vandal."
his host confessed. In it's previous
state, the house was picturesque but
w,
Is an exact reproduction of the coun-
try home of one of the lesser known
of the Borgias-Sodina. / believe the
iady's name was. You will find inside
some beautiful arches. and a sense of
space which all modern houses lack
1t cost me great deal of money, and
it Is inhabited, when 1 am in Europe.
about once a. a-fortnight You know the
river name for it? 'Timothy's Folly" "
But what on earth made you build
it. so long as you don't care to live
there?" Francis inquired.
Sir Timothy smiled reflectively
Well" he explained. Il like some
tertain. when l do, on a grand scale
In London, If i give a party, the in
vitations are almost automatic
become there a very insignificant
link in the chain of what is known
as society. and society practically
helps itself to my entertainment. and
sees that everything is done accord
ing to rule. Down here things are
entirely different. An invitation to
the Walled House is a personal mat
do with my functions here. The re-
ception rooms. too, are arranged ac-
cording to my own ideas. I have as
you may have heard, the finest pri-
vate gymnasium in England. The
ballroom and music room and pri-
vate theater, too, are famous"
And do you mean to say that you
keep that huge place empty?" Fran
els asked curiously.
II have a suite of rooms there
which / occasionally occupy" Sir
Timothy replied, land there are al
ways thirty or forty servants and
attendants Of different sorts who have
their quarters there. / suppose that
my daughter and 1 would be there at
the present moment but for the fact
that we own this cottage. Both she