Show lingan a ill sagas mann I 1 cullim iff 40 I 1 0 a IF by CONCORDIA 0 13 el ea 0 0 el copyright Set service vice THE STORY by chance chanca james les lee lecta lucy gresham daughter or 0 sir john gresham Gre shani healthy eal thy ship bul der leo lee unjustly accused of robbing the gresham firm was sent seat to prison lie he blames oliver amos am 0 a lucys bucys cousin and gresham 9 manager nd d seeks revenge les lee inherits wealth and in ram alian bllance co with the will changes change hla his name from warrington jie ile secures an invitation to the earla birthday party CHAPTER II 11 2 lucy meets james lee again when uliver ames gorgeously and effectively disguised as a grandee of the time of velasquez arrived for lucy groshams Gre shams birthday festivities lucy herself was just coming downstairs into the hall she was dressed after tile the fashion of her own grandmother in flounce upon flounce of dell delicate catli creamy lace that billowed cloudily round her as she moved her wide set eyes so almost unbelievably blue were bright with kiddish excitement in the occasion she greeted him very sweetly with only the smallest hint of nervousness and tools took him into the drawing room where her father was ready to help her receive cuesta sir john gresham tall white hatred haired and handsome welcomed him warmly im glad youve come in good time oliver he be said as they shook hands well sir I 1 have to go early so I 1 wanted to have all the time I 1 could answered ames theres some hitch over that big norwegian timber deal and cabled me to go over and see about it without delay wont old nilsen sell after all asked sir john 1 I fancy it la Is young nilsen who Is creating obstacles perhaps he thinks he can get a better price answered ames sir john glanced at him quickly you dont menn mean that are bidding against us ns he asked have they the meins ames rubbed his chin thoughtfully then said three months ago I 1 should have said bald no without hesitation but lately they have shown signs of renewed life im not sure of them anyway im going over to look into this business myself im taking the midnight to lull hull lucy knows I 1 dont want to ames turned to the girl eirl hla his eyes rather longingly on the picture of grace end and loveliness she made oh im awfully sorry she said cordially cut but of course I 1 understand well oliver lf it you must go you must but im sorry anyway enjoy the meantime said sir john lucy Is keen for you to see the ballroom before the crowd arrives ves she planned the decorations all herself and I 1 think quite tolerable ills his handsome old eyes twinkled round at lucy in his eyes she was the sweetest find and the most beautiful girl in the whole world she could do nothing wrong he spoilt her so consistently that it says all that need be said for her innate soundness of nature that site she was almost entirely un spoilt by it lie he had married late in life having reached fifty before meeting his ideal ile he had idolized his bis wife and when she died when lucy was only five was so frantic with grief that his friends all feared he would not long survive her he pulled abrou through b however but was greatly changed something had been knocked completely out of life tor for him ile he could no longer give to the business of groshams Gre shams the interest he always had given year by year he had left it more and more in ames hands until five years ago he had definitely denni lely retired from active service lucy growing up in the living image or of her mother absorbed most of his interest in life it had been an understood thing for years that some day lucy was going to marry ames every one looked upon it as settled except for such details as precisely when and exactly where lucy had known ames all her life it fe she had been brought bro up so much with him that she looked upon him almost more as a brother than as a cousin and although she had always known that some day she ghe was going to marry him yet it was none the less a surprise and something of a shock to her when nearly three weeks ago he had asked her to make the some day a definite day lie he loved tier her tremendously and it seemed to him that loving her was the chief rea son of tits his existence the thing he had been born for lie he felt that he tied nad waited long enough put but lucy had boon been curiously unready when he had asked her to name flame a definite day she had not known what to say and know why she should be so unsure she could find no reason for being suddenly so flustered when he be asked her when she would marry him it was just because instead s of asking ashing would she marry him he bad b asked when would she marr marry hla hin or perhaps it 1 had been cpr ap had hy h some unlucky chance hit on oil tile the evening of that very day when she fhe had had that queer fleeting tIng adventure with the stormy eyed man who had nearly run her town down with ills his big blue car it had just seemed to her that to say definitely yes I 1 will marry you on such and such a day was a terribly irrevocable thing thine to say only to form the words in tier her mind had made her catch a quick breath almost of fear she explained it to herself that slie she did not want to marry anyone yet that she was utterly happy nt at home with tier her adored und adoring father that life and youth were so lovely and so sweet that she want to do anything to change the happy course they were running but oliver had been insistent and she had realized suddenly that hla his love for her was a much bigger emotion than she had ever known so with an unaccountable feeling of being driven she had compromised by promising to give him a definite nite anav er on this evening of her nineteenth birthday she had thought that she must surely have decided by then rut but she had bad awakened this morning with all her doubts still upon tier her that was why this evening was something so much more than a birth 4 00 I 1 he came a step nearer and caught her hand day party to her and that was why it kept her in a quiver of restless excitement in the ballroom she began a lively cl cleatter cliatt iatter cr simply because she was afraid of silence between them there are going to be heaps of people here tonight some I 1 dont even know inow sirs mrs theodore dale asked it if she might bring a party so did the Mel melvillee villes and lady cordelia upton she wants to bring among others perry st abb and the man hes secretary to hes the latest thing to tn millionaires you know one james lee it sound lively lucy rattled on more for the lake ake of avoiding silence than an thing he came a step nearer and caught her hand band in his lucy you forgotten have you do you remember what you promised I 1 of course of course I 1 do and I 1 I 1 will oliver only leave it a little longer she answered breathlessly its such a oh such a ery cry big thing to decide ive loed you so ion long lucy waited for you so long iong and ive waited faithfully dear theres been no woman in my heart but iou ou youve got my heart in these little hands of yours and got it forever she faught a breath it awful that it should be hers to make him happy or to make him suffer just with the speaking of a word from sheer pity the word that would make him happy was on the very tip of her tongue all ready to be spoken when the sound of her fathers voice calling to her made her start away from him jerking her hand out of ills his theres dad ho wants us she said breathlessly 1 I suppose people are beginning to arrive how awful of me to neglect my duties SOL so she laughed a little tremulously and ran to the floor door but he came after her caught her hand band find and pulled her round before I 1 go lucy give me my answer before I 1 have to go remember wont you he urged her of course ohl oh of course ill rem remember emberl and she was on her way to the hall her full skirts swinging round her the he ba big 9 hol house 0 se seemed 0 alive alev with with an uncountable crowd of young people all bent on carrying the occasion through on one unbroken ripple of gaiety rut but ames scarcely knew how to live the evening through even though his time was waa all ail too short lucy was wag so go much in demand he watched her all the lie time raw her glance at this thia man smile upon that laugh with a nother another and did not know that behind nil her brilliant gaiety she was thinking thinking trang to ing to decide and she had a feeling that the jolly evening with all its I 1 light ht and sound and solely gaiety was waa rushing tier her toward some difficult dini cult crisis it was during an interval in the dancing da that ames saw tier her captured and cornered by three determined young men who end ench put forth excellent reasons why lie he should have the 0 next dance with tier lier rut put I 1 rant cant lance dance with all three lucy ancy was laughingly protesting when i tall youth in a tight costume of green find and white strip stripes suddenly constituted himself master of revels and from the cleared center of the ballroom floor made tills this elegant proclamation lar la oyez hoyez I 1 hoyez oyez I 1 know nil ye by these presents and all that sort 0 of f jolly old bunk boiled down what I 1 bienn Is this that it if the girls who fixed up the next cancell dan cell pop ot off and hide well give eni em three minutes and then come and ind find them bows that for a brain wave wavel A chorus answered him fine get on with it 1 scatter you girls and amid chatter and laughter the girls scattered lucy with them most of baem did not bother to make their hiding places very obscure but lucy left them aid turned toward the back of the house pushed through a green balze baize door into the main corridor on the other side of the staircase and slipped into the library there was no one in the room A single light shaded in deep crimson cast a somber glow over her lacy flounces as she tiptoed tip lip toed across the room climbed into a deep window feat and pulled a heavy curtain in front of her she was glad of the peace and quiet this refuge gave tier her she wanted to think must think I 1 must decide the sounds of jollity came to her faintly five minutes had not gone by when she heard the door open lind and a step sounded soft upon the carpeted floor her father perhaps she thought and she moved very cautiously along the window seat to peep round the curtain A hand appeared and ill the e curtain was flung aside her startled eyes quickly lifted saw the dark unsmiling face of the necklace neck lace ad adventure vent ure man and once again her eyes were caught find and held by the look in those sullen stormy eyes that met hers you she cried out yes he answered and yo you U she laughed ever so slightly a little tremulously 1 I im hiding she said kid deishly CL i nervous quiver in the words yes he said again his voice very deep a against alast the distant sound of revelry from beyond the room and im finding you 1 I know you were in the game she said its obvious that I 1 am though it he replied yes I 1 suppose it Is she I 1 se scrambled rambled oft off the seat and stood before him lookin looking like a little girl as she shook out her ber fleecy flounces but id no idea of seeing iou on here who who are i ou r lets introduce ourselves he said sly lly name is lee lames james lee she looked up at him quickly so his was perry st ablis chief the latest thing in millionaires she held out a quick girlish ban hand im so glad you were able to come ive heard so much of jou from lady cordella cordelia im lucy gresham Ur esham you know lie he took her hand in a rather mighty clasp that seemed to swallow it all up and said slowly I 1 now flow diou d ou do lucy gresham she lau laughed glied up at him her hand still in tits his and low how do you do james jame lee she answered merrily cut but he share her merriment ilia queer dark eyes looted looked down at her unlit by any least hint of aniese tient merit until it made her quite nervous and she klie twisted gway away from rom him the bright color coming up into her face claie you only just arrived she went on hurriedly 1 I entered the ballroom with lally cordella cordelia and st abb precisely as the young man in green stripes was proclaiming the rules of the game he told her 1 I cant dance but this ne next at dance Is obviously mine if you will sit it out with me I 1 came in here to find iou I 1 stood quite near you in the ballroom while the ame was being arranged how many dances are you going to give roe me she quite prepared for that 6 she equivocated but you say you dont dance slie she was destined to find out then that equivocation work with james jamer lee lie said do you think find it dull work sitting out a dunce dance or two with me and his sullen gray eyes were vere challenging she colored no she said slowly but quite truthfully no ko I 1 think id find it dull only there are other men I 1 must give some dances to theres mr green stripes J promised him and a romeo and a nero I 1 promised them and theres she caught a sudden quick breath and halted yes he prompted oh just my cousin oliver ames hes going away tonight lie ile has to leave at eleven I 1 must I 1 mean I 1 want to dance with him she broke oly off conscious that she was rattling on nervously conscious too that those queer eyes of his never left her face you must or you want to which he asked abruptly she looked up at him looked looke away all around things were go going faster than was quite comfortable she equivocated again 1 11 I promised to to her relief he be for the time at least left it at that well he be said we are sitting out this one anyway lie ile pushed up a deep leather covered chair for her dont you want to go and watch the dancing she asked why should I 1 he answered and she had bad no good reasons to offer so they remained in the library she sitting in the deep chair he standing leaning back against the mantel looking most of the time down at her she was recovering now from the surprise of finding that this guest of hers was that hat man who had shared that tiny adventure with her and began to feel that ever since the day of that adventure she had really been waiting to meet him again she known it but it seemed so to her now because disconcerting as he was there was a sort of of feeling of utter rightness in being with him again lie ile kept her guessing as no man ever had before made tier lier shy half indignant sometimes yet happy in a new and bewildering way that she in the least understand lie ile asked suddenly you say that lady cordella cordelia has told you a lot about me what e exactly has she told you nt fair to ask that she countered nt fair to say things behind a mans back that you say to his face lie he retorted oh she said she liked you very much and that mr st abb was very keen on you and that you came from canada or australia she sure which and lucy broke off there yes she raised fun lit eyes to his since he had bad asked he should be told she said you exactly wild or No coolly coolly olly but still you really tame and fiat jou were very strong and silent and never enjoyed anything she said she thought id like you immensely and do you what an odd conversation to have with anyone when youve only met him twice she laughed time anything to do with it do you she looked up at him well da dl ou know I 1 thought le been too busy being interested to think whether bether I 1 like you or not are you interested in oliver ames too what the word came from tier her so startled that it was almost a cry lie ile repeated the question and before she realized it she was answering breathlessly TO BE BB CONTINUED |