The day Edward left, he came down from bidding his mother good-bye,

looking very pale, for he had lingered in his sister's little room with

Miss Muir as long as he dared.

"Good-bye, dear. Be kind to Jean," he whispered as he kissed his sister.

"I will, I will," returned Bella, with tearful eyes.

"Take care of Mamma, and remember Lucia," he said again, as he touched

his cousin's beautiful cheek.

"Fear nothing. I will keep them apart," she whispered back, and

Coventry heard it.

Edward offered his hand to his brother, saying, significantly, as he

looked him in the eye, "I trust you, Gerald."

"You may, Ned."

Then he went, and Coventry tired himself with wondering what Lucia

meant. A few days later he understood.

Now Ned is gone, little Muir will appear, I fancy, he said to himself;

but "little Muir" did not appear, and seemed to shun him more carefully

than she had done her lover. If he went to the drawing room in the

evening hoping for music, Lucia alone was there. If he tapped at Bella's

door, there was always a pause before she opened it, and no sign of Jean

appeared though her voice had been audible when he knocked. If he went

to the library, a hasty rustle and the sound of flying feet betrayed

that the room was deserted at his approach. In the garden Miss Muir

never failed to avoid him, and if by chance they met in hall or

breakfast room, she passed him with downcast eyes and the briefest,

coldest greeting. All this annoyed him intensely, and the more she

eluded him, the more he desired to see her--from a spirit of opposition,

he said, nothing more. It fretted and yet it entertained him, and he

found a lazy sort of pleasure in thwarting the girl's little maneuvers.

His patience gave out at last, and he resolved to know what was the

meaning of this peculiar conduct. Having locked and taken away the key

of one door in the library, he waited till Miss Muir went in to get a

book for his uncle. He had heard her speak to Bella of it, knew that she

believed him with his mother, and smiled to himself as he stole after

her. She was standing in a chair, reaching up, and he had time to see a

slender waist, a pretty foot, before he spoke.

"Can I help you, Miss Muir?"

She started, dropped several books, and turned scarlet, as she said

hurriedly, "Thank you, no; I can get the steps."

"My long arm will be less trouble. I've got but one, and that is tired

of being idle, so it is very much at your service. What will you have?"

"I--I--you startled me so I've forgotten." And Jean laughed, nervously,

as she looked about her as if planning to escape.




readonlinefreebook.com Copyright 2016 - 2024