Show ar e 4 rt 0 fe I GUILTY I 1 OR 0 biz 1 I 1 oc INNOCENT lit I 1 az by AMY BRAZIER irit 1 1 1 l 1 CHAPTER I 1 mrs saville ot of the court Is not a pleasant woman people are general ly ty rather afraid of her and like many unpleasant people she usually gets her own way ay her present idea Is to mar ry her only son sebastian to her niece barbara saville an arrangement perfect perfectly it agreeable to every one ex herself herself barbara with her aari rari witching irish beauty the beauty beamut at f a faff skin kl D and blue eyes with very dark lashes and dark hair a face ace at once charming and ing but barbara s sweet cut mouth Is a little bit too firm for her aunt and se bastion nas felt his big cold blood grow 9 warm beneath the disdainful smile of his cousin t sebast an Is not a pleasant looking man tall and dark with a heavy cynical face and eyes that look cruel tt ilin the whale whole of Le leinster tuster there Is not euch such a girl as barbara saville seville tashe I 1 lives at the court with her he ra aunt 1 and an d has done so abr several years lat terly mrs airs saville has put on the screw a little for barbara is twenty and it is time sebastian married and settled down but barbara tip tilts her pretty ch n and tosses losses her dusky head and says that wat to live at the court all her life would kill her 4 11 II it Is indeed a gloomy spot falling into decay surrounded by dark neg elect lect lec d woods and a dark sullen river running through the park mrs saville s husband has lived hard in his day driven a coach with eight horses and generally made havoc of his patrimony card playing ended what his eight horses had begun and hi hia only son sebastian Is a poor man barbara Is an only child too her father has an appointment in tasma nia and barbara la Is supposed to have a fortune mr air saville had bad sent her home to be educated in england and then to live at the court where the charming family arrangement of a marriage between the cousins was an open secret the time Is november when all day long the trees drip moisture and the fields are soaking and sodden while the long struggling street of Por traven js 8 0 one ne sea of mud it is worse norse than bual today for a cattle fair Is go ng on and the fair tabes place in the street the font foot paths are crowded with cattle and droves of panting terrified sheep are huddled into groups young horses led by are being paraded up and down and the footpaths being un all available pedestrians are forced to fight their way in the middle of the street ankle deep in mud amidst the confusion of carts and horses and animals of all sorts and kinds walking briskly through the crowd with an air of being thoroughly used to it comes barbara saville dressed in a short skirt of donegal tweed with a norfolk jacket and a tweed cap on her ater dark hair she carries a walking tick and her bright face wears a halt half amused half contemptuous expression as she looks at the hurrying crowd she she has reached the market square ks and here the fair Is at its b h and bargains are going on briskly bar bara looks pityingly at the scared seared tim id cattle driven to and fro with such ro and strange contrast just beside the drove of cattle heedless of the turmoil around stand a little group a preacher with uncovered head preaching the gospel of christ to the heedless multitude it Is a strange scene and barbara barbaras s face grows thoughtful the rough faces of toil hardened men and women the pa tient cattle standing by and those most humble creatures the subdued donkeys more used to blows than kindness then through the crowd comes a young P pan and he is head and ders over every one his hair Is gold real gold and waves in short crisp waves his fair moustache covers a sweet firm mouth and the eyes that look at barbara s are purple as pan sies and full of light now as they meet the sudden glad recognition in hers barbara says the young giant what are doing in this crowde barbara a face is a study ct pleased cur surprise prise I 1 only walked in from the court to post my letter to father she re plies and her dark eyes smite bright ly as she holds out her hand to him ill take care of you returns george Douver Bou verle fe these te fe lows are so rough you might get hirt and nd barbara has no objection her eyes dance what does it mat ter that the november sky is heavy and gray there Is sunshine in the two glad young hearts and they laugh janeta and they talk together and make fun f i tac 4 over their little adventures in the fair like the pair of children they are they kave the town and walk to gether along the country road sod den leaves brown and decaying lie ile in little heaps it is a day calculated to make any one depres depressed qed but bar dar bara baras s chaks are softly flushed her eyes are ike like stars barba barbai a when may I 1 speak to your aunt george Dou louvene veries s tone has grown serious suddenly his face takes a ten der expression hers flushes crimson walt wait till I 1 hear from father george she whispers you don t know aunt julia he would freeze me with a look but if it father saya says yes then she can t say anything but my darling how can I 1 wait urges the young man barbara sighs j aunt julia wo would uld write out horrid things to father she says and her fingers just touch the rough rought tweed sleeve beside her he ile laughs j oh yes she could say a me I 1 know I 1 am in debt and of 0 course that s against a fellow and I 1 did run a couple of horses at the cur bagh and lost a lot too and my dear old mother will go about pouring out her woes to mrs saville and making me out to be a black sheep but I 1 in not that barbara I 1 ve you to work for now and chuck the whole thing up III have one more plunge and then it if I 1 win and the luck s bound to come my way now pay up all round and marry you my darling with a clean page so hopefully he speaks who could doubt hima certainly not barbara you are my good angel sweet heart goes on the man bending his fair head I 1 know I 1 ve made a mess of my life but it will be all different now you wont won t mind being a poor man mans s life will you darling 7 I 1 should lit t mind anything with you george she whispers her beau ticul face aglow with feeling that s my bruve brave little woman I 1 I 1 ve not got muc hyou know barbara the grange comes to me at the theo mothers death and she allows me two bundled a year I 1 wishon ow I 1 had got a pro a wistful express on of re gret softening his eyes ache as he speaks the only son ot of his mother and she was a widow ah ali what a story those simple words contain george louvene la Is his moth er s idol and sorely she moans over hei bet darling darlings s shortcomings her view 1 s are not his views and aba regards with horror his increasing infatuation for borse racing a taste that Is a crime in the eyes of mrs bouverie Bou verle to please her george sold hia his lace i ace hore horde but took to betting a tact fact that ned not be known to any gue but himself only to barbara he has lias bourel I 1 out bib hi remorse and regrets over hi and his to please her hp h will give up everything and berbar Is content I 1 wish I 1 could ask you in to lunch she says naively as they reach th gloomy 7 entrance gates ol 01 the court heavily shadowed with giant cypres trees andi and dank moss grows on the Q pillars and the stone gri griffins flIns eur mounting them george smiles aunt julia wouldn t be pleased to see me I 1 fancy he says looking down at her I 1 know she N wants ants that sour sebastian to marry you she told my mother 0 zo o i 1 their hands meet in a lingering pressure when sebastian himself ap pears upon the scene chiq hi face dark as night his eyes furious morning bouverie Bou verle he begins with a curt nod and turns to bar bara my mother is looking for you barbara have you forgotten we have an engagement this afternoon 7 I 1 barbara lifts her lovely eyes with unconcealed scorn my dear sebastian you know I 1 told your mother I 1 could not stand stana a 10 mile drive to drink tepid tea at jadv barry s not even een your company SP se bastjan could compensate for such an infliction sebastian saville may and does hate young bouverie but the instincts of hospitality cannot be ignored I 1 won t you come in and have hav f a bit of lunch he says and george who realizes that it means an other how hour ot of barbaras society ac cents i io together the three walk up the long avenue where gnarled oaks meet over head and in the woods at a either side the moss grows deep and soft george swings along with his springy step an and d sebastian looks ith b 44 envy at the young man mans s splendid fig ure he Is tall himself h too bat awk ward anil and bis his face in 1 forbidding barbara barbari iks between the two men aal an sebastian notices the height ened color la 1 her checks the radiant light in her eyes she doea does not know that he can read her secret in her face and the knowledge fills him with ang er barbara Is to be his wife no idle flirtation must come between them she la lb to be all his her beauty pleases him ar ard d be he knows what DIr barbara bara Is ign rai t of that she will be an heiress elress h Bir Dir bras biras father nihed her to be brought bro ight up simply with no knowledge of the dorlas h orld s goods to till fall to her lot so whatever george bouverie Bouy erle may pos in the way bf faults he Is no for tune hi hanter litter he loves barbara for her 0 ayn yas self elf PIP saville chipier ii mrs saville as a peculiar looking woman she Is seated in the long drawing room room when barbara enters with her two cavaliers and she greets george rather coldly abely to barbara you are lute late dear you must dress tely after luncheon I 1 it is such a jong drive to Barrys town need I 1 go aks barbara looking bored my dear I 1 wish it mrs saville says decidedly and turns to G geirge e rge how is your dear mother she leaked but poorly latterly latt eily I 1 think she Is all right george re piles plies standing on the faded hearthrug in his careless grace altogether the court and ltv in mates are gloomy all except barbara whose clear young voice rings through the rooms luncheon Is announced and mrs sa villeria villa arises es an and d p its her jewelled hand haud 0 on n the arm of lot george Douy erie you and I 1 will lead the way may alle ats ays with a slow unpleasant smile chose two young people like to take care of each other As they pass across the great vault ed stone hall mrs saville looks up at the golden haired young man at laiq he s F ide and whispers you must not covet forbidden fruit mr Dou bouvine verie and I 1 think tor for boar own sake it would be well not to come too often to the court your mother knows my wishes for bar bara the blood surges to the very roots of his hair I 1 understand you mrs savil e he says ina in av ery low voice but has not barbara a right to choose there is a passionate pride in the whis whispered P ered words barbara must be kept out of temp tation mrs saville rejoins as they enter the dining room but george bouverie s eyes are full of triumph for has not barbara made her choice already 7 he ile flashes a glance at her as they take their places an ani I 1 barbara s shy lovely eyes meet his h Is tor for a brief second everything at the court Is damp ana an mouldy bouldy the great dining room hat hag the atmosphere of a vault A veit verv small file burns in the grate and a seedy looking butler chamb es round the tuble table with h s satellite a beaddles beard les youth imported from the stables breathing hard and walking bourd on tiptoe with awful and elaborate carefulness the dining table Is large b it the e is very little on oil I 1 it an claiming ex binse of tablecloth and not much pise else sebastian fixing his eyeglass firmly gravely carve a minute portion off a joint so sd small it will hardly go round the butler very carefully pours out a very minute portion of sherry into george bouveries bouleries Bou veries glass while the scared seared lad from the stables travels la bonousky bonous ly round with vegetables george does not care about luncheon so the scantiness of the repast does not affect him barbara Is sitting appo site and he can feast his eyes on the beauty of her face fabe while Sebast sebastian lan unfriendly tn expression affects him not at ill luncheon over mrs airs saville maies malea an apology for deserting her guest for or the carriage has been ordered early the drive to a Barrys town is ong it will only be au all lavoir geoage says gaily I 1 promised my mother her to the barry s affair this at af hernoon A chrysanthemum I 1 fqy bow I 1 beleve bel eve it Is distinctly annoying for chiq very handsome young man will corn com plemely monopolize barbara you will be rather late mr bou vene verie responds mrs airs saville icily oh not at all george says pleas antly while with a nod and smil barbara runs off to dress for the party just hop across country and be at the grange in half an hour george says gaily I 1 wouldn the mother for the world to be continued |