| Show A E R I 1 A I 1 L ZOES STORY YM J 7 q of f the LADY by MOLLY ELLIOT SEAWELL coper 1906 bobba dobbs merrill Merri lICo co SYNOPSIS at 14 years of age admiral S r peter ha ila a nephew richard glyn fell deeply in love at first sigl sigi t w th lady arabella arabelia stormont who spurned his at tent ons the lad an orphan was div given en a berth as m dab aman on the ajax by I 1 Is uncle giles vernon nephew of S r T omas vernon became the boy 8 pal they attended a theater where hawk eha sha v a nephew saw lady arabella ver non met I 1 la hip 1 p overton next in line tor for S r thomas vernon s estate TM they start ed a duel was interrupted vernon ernon overton and hawkshaw Hawk shaws s nephew found themselves attracted by pretty lady ara bella bells the ajak ajax in battle defeated french warships in the mediterranean kichard richard glyn got ca 2000 prize money he vas ca led home ho ne bv lady hawkshaw as he was about to blow in 14 his earnings with vernon at a hawkshaw party glyn dig dis coi con pred tl 0 at lady arabe la was a poor but persistent gambler he ile talked much with her cousin daphne lady arabella again showed love tor for gaming later she held and overton prisoners th a delaying denying the duel in the overton ver non duel neither was hurt lady ara bella abed richard by her pranks richard and giles shipped on a frigate giles was captured by the french sr S r peter arranged tor for his exchange ne show ed a I 1 king tor for gl n who v as then 21 years ot of age G les was released biles giles and richard planned elopements CHAPTER VII continued cont aued I 1 was so staggered by having the words taken out of my mouth that I 1 could only gape and stare at her to render my confusion worse she added and you want to marry daphne I 1 can not deny it madam I 1 man aged to say will you ring the bell she asked I 1 rang the bell like a church war den and the footman came and lady hawkshaw immediately sent him tor for sir peter I 1 think my courage would wholly have given out at that except tor for a glimpse of daphne flitting up the stairs the dear girl wished to give glie me heart so she told me afterward sir peter appeared and was greeted by lady hawkshaw as follows sir peter here is richard glyn ranting fan ting to marry daphne he has but xa but she might go farther and fare worse hir peter literally glared at me he gasped once or twice then broke out in a torrent he wants to marry my ward does he my ward with in her own right I 1 wonder damme he didn t propose to marry arabella too young gentleman you are too modest heiresses in england go about hunting for poor lieutenants to marry I 1 suppose you think it would be a fins fine stroke for me to marry my ward to my nephew ha ila ha ho ho hot his laughter was demoniac sir peter said lady hawkshaw severely for I 1 remained mute I 1 am astonished at your violence and un reason did you never hear of an heiress and a fine handsome girl too with many accomplishments and of a great family marrying a poor lieu tenant without a penny and without an ancestor 9 by jupiter I 1 never did roared sir peter then sir peter cried lady hawkshaw rising with awful dignity you forge all about peter hawkshaw and the honorable apol lonia ionia jane howard at this sir peter fairly wilted tor for a few moments and I 1 heard something strangely lile lil e a tittering in ila the next room but sir peter presently recovered himself in a measure but but there are lieutenants and lieutenants madam I 1 was considered a man likely to rise and besides it if I 1 remember rightly I 1 was not an ill lockin looking fellow madam sir peter you were no taller than you are now five feet tour four inches your hair was red and you were far from handsome richard glyn is as good looking as you ever were in your life and he has already made his mark richard glyn aiming turning to me you are at liberty to marry daphne carmichael Carml chael richard glyn bawled sir peter it if you dare to think you are going to marry daphne carmichael mind I 1 say IP if the thought ever enters your damned head it will be as much as your life is worth I 1 am going this moment to the first lord of the ad miralta to see it if I 1 can t have you sent to the NN west est indies or the gold coast with my best wishes and endeavors to I 1 beep you there for ten years at least and what will you do with nith me dear uncle peter suddenly asked a soft voice and daphne who had stolen into the room she must have been very near stood before him and nestled her pretty head against his shoulder sir peter was too astonished for a moment or two to speak the whole thing had bad fallen upon him like the eho slin ic of an earthquake earth but in a lit tie tle while he recovered his voice and all at of his voice too he shouted as it if he were on the bridge of the ajax with a whole gale blowing and the enemy in sight do he shrieked what shall I 1 doa 9 bread dread and water miss for six months discipline miss and much more of the same sort this roused lady hawkshaw to take our part she shouted back at sir pete and I 1 not to be outdone shouted that daphne was mine and I 1 was hers as long as life should last and presently sir peter flung out in a royal rage and lady hawkshaw flung after him and daphne sank in tears on my shoulder and I 1 kissed her a hundred times and comforted her but I 1 knew sir peter was a determined ter mined man in some respects and I 1 felt assured he would shortly carry out his threat to send me to sea and once at sea it might be years before I 1 should again set toot foot in england scotland then sounded sweetly in our ears I 1 found in truth that when it came actually to going off daphne daphnes s romantic willingness changed to a natural hesitation at so bold a step but the near prospect of going to the bellona turned the scale in ila my favor and I 1 won from her a sort of oblique consent and another th ng seemed to play directly into our hands sir peter had business at scarborough which might detain him some time and although it was late in the au an dumn he determined to take his fam ily with him I 1 believe it was by way of separating daphne and me that he came td the decision lady hawk shaw was to go and his two wards and they were to remain a month this was so obviously showing us the road across the border that I 1 told my sweet daphne plainly I 1 should car ry her off at bluch she wept more and protested less than I 1 had yet seen her in the whole affair I 1 had counted upon the assistance of giles vernon and on the very night the party left tor for scarborough after a tearful fare well viell between daphne and me I 1 went to giles lodgings to male mal e a clean breast of it giles voice called me upstairs and when I 1 reached h s room there spread out on the bed I 1 saw a beautiful suit of brown and silver do you see that cried giles that Is my wedding suit for it I 1 REH A 1111 ILL am J that Is y ng su t 11 spent fifty of the last I 1 had in the world and it is to marry lady arabella cormont Sor mont that I 1 bought it I 1 thought he was crazy but I 1 soon perceived there was method in his madness he ile told me seriously enough that he meant to carry off lady arabella stormont from scar sear borough but but she does not like you I 1 said hesitating and amazed we hall see about that my lad he said and then began to tell me of what he thought a great change in his favor with arabella he put many trifling things which I 1 had not noted in such a light that under his eloquent persuasion I 1 began to believe I 1 ady arabella might have a secret weakness tor for him which pride pre vented her from discover ng he had never failed to win any woman s re gard yet and it had always seemed a miracle to me richard glyn who had fallen under his spell so many years ago how anybody could resist him he wound up his argument by saying in his usual confident manner trust me there is something corn com polling in the love I 1 feel for arabella women are all alii alli e my boy they want a master once put the bit in their mouths and they adore you tor for it let me have the spirit to run away with that adorable creature and see how quickly she will come to my call you will shortly see her clinging to me like peaches to a southern wall and her fortune she Is none the worse for that but I 1 swear to you dicky glyn that 1 I would carry her off as the romans did the sabine maidens it she had not a shilling which I 1 believed to be true for his was an infatuation which takes account of nothing he then began to tell me of his plans and in ila them he showed his usual shrewdness ness and boldness the trip to scarborough had put scotland in his head he ie was likely to be sent to sea any day dav to be gone perhaps for sears ears just the arguments I 1 had used to myself first and to daphne after ward I 1 remembered that scene five ears before with overton and lady ara bella in sir peter peters s cubbyhole cubby hole and the memory of it made me m think with dread of giles vernon s marrying arabella but I 1 could not speak open ly y and after all she was so strange a creature that one could be scarcely arcely judge her by the standard of other women and then the plan I 1 had to condid to him very effectually with drew the charges of any battery I 1 might have brought to bear on him when he had finished his tale and I 1 had told him mine giles was in an ec tasy he laughed in his uproarious good humor oh you sly dog he shouted so you are up to the same game I 1 explained that I 1 had not much to fear daphne was undoubtedly fond of me and lady hawkshaw being on our side and other reasons in our favor all of which fitted giles case exactly and at last I 1 gave up in sheer despair and agreed to G les suggestion that we should together carry off the two damsels of our hearts and then and there we made our plans sitting up until the gray dawn came oh the madness of it the wildness of it but we were two daredevil dare devil and happy go lucky lieutenants without the prudence of landsmen we loved and we were I 1 able at any moment to bf torn away tor for many 5 3 ears from the idols of our hearts runaway marriages were common and only the parents and guardians were offended in those cases and for gi veness generally followed we were about to commit a great folly but bu t we e thought we were nobly sustaining inin the refutation of his majesty s sea of fibers for our spirit and gallantry with the fair sex and 1001 ed not to the dreadful consequences of our desper ate adventure CHAPTER VIII vill giles vernon and J I 1 agreed that it was necessary we should strike the blo alov v as soon as possible while we had the weather gage so to speak of sir peter and on the day after his traveling chariot took its way north a very plan pla n post chaise followed it and in it were giles vernon and my self giles was in a state of the wildest happiness conceivable there is some thing appalling in that fervor of mind when the human creature forgetting all the vicissitudes of this life treads on air and breathes and lives in heaven thus I 1 was made sad by his gladness but I 1 dared not show it lest it be mis taken tor for a want of spirit in our enter prise so I 1 joined with him in his joy and revelry we reached scarborough at foul four 0 clock in the afternoon and put up at a small inn on the outskirts of tiie town dmn and some little way on the road to the north we sallied forth im mediately to find out something aboul about our inamoratas and fate whether it was that kindly goddess who leads oui out footsteps toward those we love or whether it was the cruel destiny which delights in torturing men at a once directed us we were walking along near the playhouse which had been lately opened in the town when we saw james lady hawkshaw sown s own footman go inside the playhouse and buy some hicl ets of the man at the door As soon as he was nas well out ol 01 the way I 1 sneaked in and thrusting two shillings into the man mans s hand in quiren if sir peter and lady hawk shaw and the young ladies would favor the performance that night the man mail grinned and showed me a slip ot of pa per on which was written in lady hawkshaw s bold hand three stalla stalls for lady hawkshaw and party TO BE CONTINUED |
