The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-02-11
CHAPTER XVI.

tney spoke again OF the tragic
news which the threat Of Sails
had broken to them.
A trim, self possessed maid came
to Lord Lissmere where he sat
brooding DULY in his study.
Louise wished him to go to her.
Gratefully he CLEANED from the
trained composure Of the maid
rather than from her words, that
Louise was better, and he was
quick to join her.
She was in bed; sitting up, with
a dressing jacket-a beautiful,
costly thing OF silk and swansdown
and lace-about her,
She was very pale, with deep
shadows under her wide eyes. Her
fair cleaning hair hung like q
heavy plat Of pale silk down her
shoulder.
He had not seen her since he
had carried her through the sunlit
garden, hours ago and had left her
room at the direct suggestion of
her French maid.
81 will care for Milady. If
Milor' will leave her to me-
jules eyes had been like blue Ice,
for she adOred Louise.
Her face frightened as her hus-
band came in, and queer,
tremulous little smile quivered for
a moment on her lips as he went
across with that curious, uncon-
sciously boyish, remotely clumsy
air she had always loved. She
patted the bed, gently.
"Sit down by me, Dick, and we
will face 1t all together" she said.
He stared little, noting a new
quality in her beautiful voice-a
thinness, a faintness.
He sat down and she caught his
hand.
Don't speak, please--don't say
anything at all, Dick, until l have
spoken" she began quickly. "Just
hold my hand--yes, like that. -.
l have been thinking so much
so hard"
Her fingers were clenched l.. his
so tightly that they hurt him
though she was quite unaware that
her hand was not lying lax in his.
And she was trembling-her
body was trembling-though her
face was very set and still.
81 have thought it all out, lying
here" she said.
Her lids went wide, her eyes
dilated so that they seemed to
change color and become so deeply
dark that they were almost black.
Look at me and hold my hand.
l wish to say to you that ! do not
believe that you murdered Charles
Lammarsh. | do not believe that
letter. But if it should be true
il, presently, when you speak, you
say that it is the truth-that you
deliberately killed him-neverthe-
less, ! am more at one with you,
more united to and inseparable
from you, in my soul than / have
ever been. l have been good
have tried hard to be good all my
life until now. Except for the
time when ] came to Luxor in the
hope of seeing you, have never
wilfully done anything that | de-
served great punishment for. !
have tried to-behave myself.
Does that sound childish, Dick =?
don't mean it childishly. | have
had temptations-oh, plenty of
temptations-before ever l saw you
in Cairo. And it has not always
been easy to cling sufficiently to
my pride to be able to withstand
some of those temptations. Little
victorics-I was always so proud
of those little victories afterwards.
But that is all past now. | am
with you in everything now, I as
sociatc myself with you in this
charge and ! am your accomplish.
If that is wicked, then ! am wicked.
If that thing is true, then you have
in spirit gone down into a place
of shadows, dark and vast and
secret-alone. Now you need no
more be alone, for join you there.
"Do you understand what l am
trying to say, my dear? 1t is SO
difficult-and my head is-hard
inside-rigid. Oh, can't express
it want to say that I am with
you-your close comrade. I am
no better than you'll don't want
to be any better. 1t is like that