The Hermit and the Wild Woman, and Other Stories

ook on a fitting shadow of bereavement. They were all there: Van Alstynes, Stepneys and Melsons-even a stray Peniston or two, indicating, by a greater latitu

s importance by the deeper gloss of his mourning and the subdued authority of his manner; while his wife's bored attitude and frivolous gown proclaimed the heiress's disregard of the insignificant interests at stake. Old Ned Van Alstyne, seated next to her

. One or two made faint motions of recognition, which might have been subdued either by the solemnity of the scene, or by the doubt as to how far the others meant to go; Mrs. Jack Stepney gave a careless nod, and Grace Stepney, with a sepulchral gesture, indic

ght that now, at last, she would be able to pay her debts. She had looked forward with considerable uneasiness to her first encounter with her aunt. Mrs. Peniston had vehemently opposed her niece's departure with the Dorsets, and had marked her continued disapproval by not writing during Lily's absence. The certainty that she had heard of the rupture with the Dorsets made the prospect of the meeting mo

d with careless loudness to Ned Van Alstyne; and the latter's deprecating murmur-"Julia was

Grace Stepney, in the silence produced by the lawyer's preliminary cough, was heard

felt her attention straying as Mrs. Peniston's lawyer, solemnly erect behind the

ful hat. Then she noticed how stout Jack had grown-he would soon be almost as plethoric as Herbert

nd Stepneys, who stirred consciously as their names rang out, and then subsided into a state of impassiveness befitting the solemnity of the occasion. Ned Van Alstyne, Jack Stepney, and a cousin or two followed, each coupled with the mention of a few thousands: Lily wondered that Grace Stepney was not among them.

g of sable figures toward the corner in which Miss Stepney wailed out her se

e indifference came the acuter pang of hopes deceived. Disinherited-she had been disinherited-and for Grace Stepney! She met Gerty's lamentable eyes, fixed on her in a despairing effort at consolation, and the look brought her to herself. T

he caught a fragment of the lawyer's answer-something about a sudden summons, and an "earlier instrument." Then the tide of dispersal began to drift past her; Mrs. Jack Stepney and Mrs. Herbert Melson stood on the doorstep awaiting their motor; a sympathizing group escorted Grace Stepney to the cab it

us coincidence that her aunt's legacy should so nearly represent the amount of her debt to Trenor. The need of discharging that debt had reasserted itself with i

into a larger indignation. "Oh, Lily, it's unjust; it's cruel

t Julia has a right to her money,"

dent embarrassment, and Miss Bart turned to her with a direct look. "Gerty, be honest

hat there had been some disagr

t Bertha turned m

il

g to marry George Dorset. She did it to make him think

don't listen t

le they thought I was going to get the money-afterward they scuttled off as if I had the plague." Gerty remained silent, and she continued: "I stayed on to see what

ou I don'

ose and laid her resolute hands on Miss Farish's

Lily-how can

pect me of!" She kissed Gerty with a whimsical murmur. "You'd never let it make any difference-but then you'r

ng like some dark angel of defiance above the troubled Gerty, who cou

ose red, and the knowledge has helped me through several painful episodes." She took a restless turn about

w, my dear; for, in the first place, they wouldn't have quite dared to ignore me; and if they had, it wouldn't have mattered, bec

t makes no difference. The important thing--" Gerty paused, and then continued firmly: "The

t's easiest to believe. In this case it's a great deal easier to believe Bertha Dorset's story than

ious gaze. "But what IS your story, Lil

hought of preparing a version in advance as Bertha did-and if

don't want a version prepared in advance-but I want yo

faults: I'll say it was in my blood, that I got it from some wicked pleasure-loving ancestress, who reacted against the homely virtues of New Amsterdam, and wanted to be back at the court of the Charleses!" And as Miss Farish continued to press her with troubled

before they parted, had pressed on her the urgent need of returning at once to her aunt, and Lord Hubert, when he presently reappeared in London, abounded in the same counsel. Lily did not need to be told that the Duchess's championship was not the best road to social rehabilitation, and as she was besides aware that her noble defender might at any moment drop her in favour of a new PROTEGEE, she reluctantly decided to return to America. But she had not been ten minutes on her native shore before she realized that she had delayed too long to regain it. The Dorsets, the Stepneys, the Brys-all the actors and witnesses in the miserable drama-had preceded her with their version of the case; and, even had she seen the least chance of gaining a hearing for her own, some obscure disdain and reluctance would have restrained her. She knew it was not by explanations and counter-charges that she could ever hope to recover her lost standing; but even had she felt the least trust in their e

she had lost; and the first step in the tedious task was to find out, as soon as possible, on how many of her friends she could count. Her hopes were mainly centred on Mrs. Trenor, who had treasures of easy-going tolerance for those who were amusing or useful to her, and in the noisy rush of whose existence the still small voice of detraction was slow to make itself heard. But Judy, though she must have bee

nts they frequented, where, attended by the troubled Gerty

unt Julia's legacy? Think of Grace Stepney's satisfaction if she came in and found us lunching

wave of her buoyant grace, and neither shrinking from her friends nor appearing to lie in wait for them, gave to the encounter the touch of naturalness which she could impart to the most strained situations. Such embarrassment as was shown was on Mrs. Trenor's side, and manifested itself in the mingling of exaggerated warmth with imperceptible reservations. Her loudly affirmed pleasure at seeing Miss Bart took the form of a nebulous generalization, which included neither enquiries as to her future nor the expression of a de

d PECHES A LA MELBA-but Miss Bart, in the interval, had taken the measure of her fate. Where Judy Trenor led, all

ancied herself sheltered from inconvenient scrutiny; but if Judy knew when Mrs. Fisher borrowed money of her husband, was she likely to ignore the same transaction on Lily's part? If she was careless of his affections she was plainly jealous of his pocket; and in that fact Lily read the explanation of her rebuff. The immediate result of these conclusions was the passionate resolve to pay back her

ill, he and his associates might not be in a position to pay the legacies till the close of the twelvemonth legally allotted for their settlement. Bewildered and indignant, Lily resolved to try the effect of a personal appeal; but she returned from her expedition with a sense of the powerlessness of beauty and charm against the unfeeling processes of the law. It seemed intolerable to live on for another year under the wei

shorten the ordeal; and when Miss Stepney entered the darkened drawing-room, rustling with the best quality of

yed? Why, Miss Stepney herself had not received a penny of her inheritance, and was paying rent-yes, actually!-for the privilege of living in a house that belonged to her. She was sure it was not what poor dear cousin Julia would have wished-s

f this example. "But you will have everything, Grace-it would

the truth, it was the idea of your being in debt that brought on her illness-you remember she had a slight attack before you sailed. Oh, I don't know the particulars, of course-I don't WANT to know them-but there were rumours about your affairs that made her most unhappy-no o