Year: 1877

KATE KENNEDY'S GHOST.


BY MRS. HENRY DEAs. ..


CHAPTER VIII.


The afternoon was spent in driving about
the environs of the castle. Geraldine had
once been passionately fond Of horseback ex-
ercise; but being out of practice now, had not
cared to venture upon it so soon, and there
fore chose the open carriage instead, as bet
ter means of affording her enjoyment OF the
expedition.


" The weather was lovely, the scenery
charming, and the Earl in his pleasantest
mood. He seemed resolved. for once, to lay
aside his formal and reserved demeanor, and
conversed with freedom that set Geraldine
also at her ease, and insensibly raised her
spirits to an unusually cheerful pitch. Never
before, since the renewal of her acquain-
tanceship with him, had she found him so
agreeable companion. He talkedso fluent
" and we'll as to draw forth her own conver-
sational powers in return, and she was &C.
tually surprised to find herself laughing, al
most with the gayety of old times, at jest
emanating from his grave lips!


"You have brilliant color, Geraldine, y
observed the Earl, as be assisted her from the
carriage, on their return home. eve must
90 out every afternoon, since the fresh air
agrees with you so we'll"


That evening, while they were at dinner, a
package Of letters was brought in. Among
them was one to Geraldine from her mother,
which she was surprised at receiving so soon.
Mrs. Harcourt wrote in an unusually atfec'
tionate strain, and in cheerful mood. Her
epistle contained no news of any Importance,
but was so elsborately spun out as to occupy
four pages, the perusal of which took her a
considerable time to accomplish.


Having finished it, she looked up to make
some remark to the Earl, who had, in the
mean time, been engaged with hss correspon'
dence, and perceived that his face had grown
dark and severe. He held in his hand let
ter which he had not yet finished reading, and
on the table beside his plate lay an envelope
curiously like the one which had contained
her own letter, though she did not notice this
at the time. Afraid to interrupt him, she re-
turned to her dinner in silence, secretly won
dering what had so changed his genial mood
When he spoke again it was in grave and
constrained tone, quite different from the one
he had used throughout the whole evening.
Poor Geraldine's heart sank, and all her tenn
porary brightness was once more clouded over
by this adverse change. By degrees Lord
Desborough seemed to throw of something Of
his gloom. After they adjourned to the libra.
~ (which on ordinary occasions was used as
the family sitting-room,) he made an effort at
conversation, but his ease of manner did not
return, and Geraldine only family reciproca-
ted his attempts so that the evening proved
nearly as dull as the previous one had done.


She was in no haste to 60 to bed, for the
remembrance of her last nights experience
still weighed upon her; but the hour for re-
tiring came at last, and bidding her husband
good night, she sought her chamber with a
secret feeling of uneasiness which she could
not shake of. She had almost mind to ask
Meredith to sleep in the ante.room. or on the
couch at the foot of her bed, but on second
thought she abandoned the idea. She resolved
not to indulge her own cowardice, which she
tried to persuade herself was without sufficient
cause.


Fortunately, her enforced frmuess was not
doomed to be again shaken on this occasion.
After some restless tossings she fell asleep,
and was relieved, on waking up, to find that
she had passed an undisturbed night, and
that morning had already begun to dawn.


Several days now passed without anything
upusual occurring to mark their course. The
Earl's manner to her was uniformly cour.
teous and kind, but he never returned to the
cheerful unrestraint which had characterized
his demeanor on that one particular after.
noon. Geraldine, on her part, strove to con-
centrate her thoughts entirely on other mat
ters. She turned her attention to household
affairs, being of the sensible opinion that
lady, no matter how high her rank, should
know something of the domestic economy Of
her establishment, and made friends with her
housekeeper, shrewd Scotchwoman, whose
heart, like that of the gardener, she won.on
their first interview. Besides this, she began
to make acquaintance with some of the poor
people on the estate; and though she found
the majority of these, thanks to the liberality
of the Earl, in condition of tolerable CON-
fort, yet there were many little marks of
kindness which it was in her power to show
them, and which only woman's insight into
their needs could suggest. The Earl had al
ready made her bountiful provision Of
pocket.money, so bountiful, indeed, that at
first she could scarcely prevail upon herself
to accept it; and the greater portion of this
she had at once laid aside as q fund upon
which she might draw, as often as occasion re-
quired, for the benefit of those in want. She
found satisfaction, and even contentment, in
the performance of these charitable duties,
which drew her thoughts from unpleasant
considerations. And when sometimes little
lonely or sad, she had her books and music
at home to divert her mind.


One day, about fortnight after her ar
rival at Desborough Castle, she chanced to
60 into the smaller study, where she believed
she had left q volume of which she was in
search. The Earl having gone out somewhat
in haste, had left some papers and letters