Show thu mystery JL fa a d t by F EL phillips philips oppenheim pie copyright by little brown wj co 1 I 1 LOVE GERALD SYNOPSIS Flee fleeing luff from 6 brutal stepfather in an unhappy home and a proposed husband she ha detests myrtile Myr young french girl stands in a country road on the verge of desperation halted by an exploded tire two young englishmen lord gerald dombey and christopher benec are attracted by the girls distracted appearance she begs beg them to take her away from her misery in a spirit of adventure they do so BO conveying her to monte carlo and leaving leading her bar with friends myrelle speaks En english cligh her mother having been an educated woman gerald sees rees 11 beamut beautiful f ul young woman in the gambling rooms room and to 1 MOW bated but can only learn that he Is ie called pauline paulina do de and to la with her aunt no he to Is unable to secure an introduction christopher and gerald decide myrille shall ahall not go back to her home lady mary geralds sis 1 lter secretly in love with christopher disapproves ot of the young mens guardianship of 0 myrtile Myr lord lard dombey makes the acquaintance of pauline he Is IN by y the air of 0 mystery and condescension surrounding her I 1 CHAPTER V continued 6 1 I dont know that I 1 am very different front the others lio lie said bald tell tel me what Is your nationality why should I 1 tell you anything about myself she asked a little coldly it appeared to me ine tint it might er br help our acquaintance have I 1 acknowledged the once well you are talking to roe me anny anyhow he pointed out with a 11 slight twinkle in his eyes 1 I scarcely see how I 1 could help it she replied if you are really curious about my nationality I 1 will tell you that I 1 have some french blood in my velna veins france how however evex Is not my native country and you live where nowhere she answered a little sadly at present we are wanderers wanderer 9 what you call in england adventurers gerald raised hla his eyebrows that Is scarcely the word he murmured nty my mint aunt hits has a curious objection to meeting people upon our travels pauline continued 1 I myself ind find her aloofness sometimes it a little tedious that Is why I 1 am misbehaving to the extent of letting you talk to me As a matter of propriety you certainly ought to leave mo me ut at once As a matter or fact I 1 wua was about to propose something else let we me bear it at any rate he insisted 1 I watched you drive up to your fat fathers tiers villa in your car will you take lake me a little way in it rather athert ll I 1 he assented eagerly where shall I 1 pick you up outside the villa gates she replied my aunt la is absolutely certain to sleep for two hours it Is the only liberty I 1 have during the day please go at once and fetch the car she dismissed him with no an imperative wave of the hand As soon ns as he was out of sight she jumped down from the rock crossed the little strip of annd and commenced her leisurely ascent to the villa once or twice she laughed softly to herself it was an excursion which gerald pondered or on many times afterward pauline had settled down in the low bucket seat scat by tits fide aide and leaned back with an air of absolute content she brid in tact fact the appearance of one enjoying a rare pleasure As soon as gerald slackened speed however with the idea of entering into conaw conversation she became curt and almost rude and hla his proposition that the they y might take the higher oad and have ten tea at nice she promptly when after an absence of about an hour and a half they drew up at the gates of the villa she be left him with the merest nod of farewell you will come for another ride ebon perhaps tomor tomorrow rowl he be asked anxiously she shook her head 1 I can make no plans she replied 1 I should think it very improbable I 1 thank you so much for your kl kindness adnas your tour car to la quite wonderful she walked away the air of one who has bof conferred a great favor oer ger aid drove slowly back to tho the villa dA dacarla dAc acla and joined his sister on the terrace do you anything about the tha two iwo women at the next villa maryt mary he asked one never knows ones neighbors here she bhe answered 1 I saw them driving tho the other day a strange looking old lady and a very good look ing girl there something queer about them or Is it my fancy there Is something unusual gerald geraid replied they seem curiously indisposed to forming acquaintances which Is odd in a place like this I 1 happened to be talking to the younger woman for a few minutes she gave me the impression somehow that they were people of greater consequence than their manner of living here would Indic indicate cite 1 1 I 1 expect I 1 am uncharitable mary observed an elderly lady with no friends who takes a rattier rather beautiful young woman about with her to public places does certainly invite comment she ahe tell me about your little we lunched with her chris and V I 1 gerald replied goodness gracious I 1 where at caros we bought her some clothes at lenores this morning lady mary lit a cigarette and threw down her book 1 I am not the guardian of your morals gerald she observed dryly a 9 girl irl nowadays has all she can do to look after her own but I 1 honestly think you ought to send that child back to her people too brutal he replied they wanted to marry her to some horrible old man whatever the position was your interference wits was most uncalled for his sister declared As for christopher I 1 am really surprised at him I 1 think you two young men ought to bo be thoroughly asha ashamed ined of yourselves for v bat at you iou are doing and I 1 shall just look forward to an opportunity of telling christopher so BO gerald glanced at his sisters profile and chuckled chuckle good old christ chris 1 he murmured III just let him know coming to him 11 1 chapter VI myrtile was suddenly tired she seated abated herself upon tho trunk of a tree and christopher followed her example delow below them stretched the motley pan oraina of monte carlo the wide nide bay and the glittering sea do you know she said that I 1 have not seen monsieur gerald for three days lie he has been busy christopher answered shortly ile he plays golf and tennis every day then hla his father and sister take up a good deal of hla his time you always find time to come and see me every morning she said besides it was not ills his sister with whom I 1 saw him motoring yesterday christopher braced himself tor for an effort myrtile Myr he began you know that I 1 am fond of you you yon have been very kind she answered listlessly because I 1 want to be kind I 1 am going to say things that may sound bound harsh he went on you are a very foolish girl to waste your time thinking and dreaming of gerald you should only let your thoughts dwell upon one man continually when there Is 18 some chance in the end that that man may become your husband her listlessness passed she settled down to the subject seriously dut but monsieur christopher christopher leaned over and laid his hand upon hers myrtile Myr dear will you listen to ne me he begged look at me tor for a moment I 1 am twenty six years old I 1 have lived in cities clelea as well as aa the country in london I 1 am what you call an avocat advocat I 1 have to use my brains every day I 1 have to understand my fellow creatures will you get that into your head bead it la is not difficult she assured him with a little smile 1 I think you are very clever cleve r and you know many many things and as for you yon myrtile Myr christopher went on when one minks of your upbringing it la Is amazing to realize how much you have read how much you know but listen to me nothing that one reads can teach one what life Is like you spent many houis wondering what was at the end of the road you think now because you have passed over the hill that you ore are there my dear you are not even at the beginning of the way she plucked some grasses and twined them round her fingers go on 11 she whispered what you see ee here la Is not ufa life it la Is not even a very wonderful reflection of it IL mostly it Is a little company of pleasure Pl ealure seekers come to cast aside for tt a time the serious side of life and gamble with their pleasures as an they do with their money but some must be in ID earnest myrtile protested one of them who to la not in earnest Is gerald and I 1 tell you so BO although gerald la Is my friend christopher said bald he Is here to amuso amuse himself and be e would prefer to abrue himself without giving anyone else pain P it if that tj le impossible however he be Is sufficiently reckless not to count the cost where the other person Is concerned she drew a little away that does not sound bound like the speech of a friend she ebe reminded him reproachfully mut but I 1 I 1 can assure that I 1 am hi his 4 friend although a candid one christopher declared tall all that I 1 have said to you I 1 have said to him and a great deal more you will let roe finish finisher hr she made no reply her eyes were fixed upon the exact spot where the sea seemed to melt into the clouds the grace of her dim allin body lent beauty even to the hunch bunch of her shoulders you are like a child who haa been let out of a 0 dark room christopher went on everything seems beautiful but you dont see clearly your eyes arent strong enough yet what you imagine to be love Is a worse thing gerald does not love you he can never marry you he belongs to that world tit at which you are looking with blurred eyes myrtile Myr dont yc want to be good 1 I want to be happy myrttle replied 1 I shall always be good how do you know that because I 1 am all good inside she said 1 I do any of the things that wicked people do christopher sat for a moment in puzzled thought look here he be went on it if you yon love gerald and gerald toy lov yc u and you are content with the pretense of his love and you go on I 1 loving av him and you kanovi that you cannot be his wife then you are not good any longer she shook her head there Is only once in my life she said that I 1 have ever come near sin oln and that Is when I 1 thought of staying at the farm and marrying pierre les champs champa I 1 love gerald all that I 1 need to be happy and good la Is that he be should love me but gerald does not love you and never will christopher declared bluntly gerald at the present moment at any rate Is incapable of a stable affection and if he were capable of it his people would not allow him to marry you 1 I do not wish him to marry mn she declared with a little choke in liar her voice perhaps not he be replied in that case you should listen to me raws mo ce patiently I 1 want you to leave this place and go to some friends friend i of oe mine in england what alone alone she shook her christopher she said suddenly shipping her arm through hla his 1 I think you want to be kind to me I 1 believe that hat you are very good perhaps you tire better than gerald but so long as aa gerald wants me near I 1 shall stay even if he goes about with other people he thinks of me he be has told me so BO and he has promised to take me to one of his supper parties this week I 1 am more to anything an thing else lu ID the world face hardened you will not go to one of those supper parties myrtile myrelle Myr he be insisted 1 I would rather take you back to the farm she turned her head and looked at him there was something in her from which lie he shrank something very much like hate she saw the pain in his face and she was suddenly remorseful she clung to his arm again her cheek almost touched tits his christopher dear christopher she bhe pleaded 1 I did not mean to hurt you I 1 know how good you yau are but just think how wonderful it would be for me to go with gerald to meet other girls to tough laugh and talk to sit by his side his guest to dance perhaps oh it would be para paradise disel 1 everybody else goes to parties christopher 1 I will III take you to the opera he promised her eyes glowed evidently myrtalie to I 1 going to be the cause of a considerable number of complications can you guess them thema TO BE |