New Britain herald., 1930-10-30
@THE ROSE ROY SekEzs S2s
 >Y IN THE DARK

aud talk to me about it for?' shout | c1 the doctor.
 Because. apparently, someone ;s l going to give me away"
 "Who?"
 1 Lester Broom" l The doctor sworc, apologizcd and i swore again.
 "Ill settle him, Miss Elles-- Miss Conaldine. I'll shut his mouth 1 somehow. . What on earth does 1 he want to tell his brother for He's got nothing to gain by it."
 q thought" Hallie sounded i'm mensely weary, that once I'd re- i fused to marry Lester anyway be was out of it. But that's wher l he's so amazing. He's determined 10 marry me. l cant think why"
 She spoke without the faintest | hint of coq'etry. Lytton, ansrily l conscious of her slender limbs and ] the deep, sweet line of her breast and that bird swing hair, could | quite easily think why a man might l he determined to marry her. Bu. i the man was Lester Broom. for whom the feast of a woman's beau | ty was too often spread.
 ''Does he feel he ought to marry you after what happened?" he shot out.
 "Oh, mo-" She spoke quite calm ly. Lester would never in this world do a thing because it va: his duty. Besides, his duty is donc when I've refused him. He lied t1 his brother about it. she added dlspassionately, "and persuaded Saxely that it was - Nurse Files more who insisted on marriage And SaXely gave his consent. But all that is just stage-setting."
 Not necessarily. You forget tha' Broom gets big house and an am, pie income when his brother con- sents to his choice of a wife"
 T don't forget it. Nor does Les ter. But-there are a score of girl: whom Saxely would welcome, once Nurse Ellesmore has let Lester of | marrying nef,
 What does Broom say to that?'
 Simply that he doesn't want te be let off. That he won't marry anyone but te. And that if l don't marry him almost immediately h. will tell Saxely who I am."
 Its blackmail," said Lytton.
 ''I told him so. But, you see words don't mean anything to Les ter. He'd say, l suppose, that yo can call him a blackmaler all day long, if you want to; he isn't dis. turbed by your opinion in th$ least"
 It's monstrous," Lytton cx claimed. Its devilish. It's-wha1 are you going to do?"
 His hands thrust deep into h.. pockets, he stared at the white. washed wall against which he: shadow and his leaped and merged and drew away again. When di all this crop up?"
 He wired Saxely from New Yorl that he had arranged to marry 1 should be with SaNcly when tn wire came"
 Hes clever."
 "Yes, he's clever. And then h. came down here. q couple of hour later and we talked on the cliff l ran away, after a bit. l ra! ] and ran. . He said he was going back to New York; He may be somewhere around al! the same" Lytton looked roun' , for his hat. 'I'll have a shot a making his see ordinary commo' decency-'
 He can't" said Hallie. He jus can't"
 But" countered the doctor vio lcntly, "how am l to let you marr : him 2"
 The two shadows on the Wal were close together. Lytton locke at them steadily. There vas drumming in his veins. Give tha a moment. It'll pass Life-a ma' wanton, life; getting a man by tn throat when the years had long az stripped a woman's charm of every . thing but-charm. Such : darkly perfect woman this. Littl more than a child, against his forty s seven years. And he had always bee moved by dark women. Com now, his pulse vas steady agai and there was the discipline C ! years to hold his thoughts in checl What l mean is, how the dev can you marry Broom, now, suppo' '' ing for a moment that you war = to? There's Grannock talking getting to the church with only
 cane in three weeks
 "I.ester doesn't care about any
 those problems. When he speal
 Of Saxely and me, hes-offenslv
 Not exactly meaning to be" h
 white face trembled and she D
 up a hand to hide it-"becausc Il
 mind is twisted to that ono pa
 ticular thing"
 Marriage with you?"
 "Yes.'
 Hes pretty vilc,'
 "Yes"
 And not so long ago" went {
 Lytton, kicking himself for tI
 words, you were going to mar
 linn of your own accord. What
 the name of God possessed you? DhnD ID