Diana of the Crossways, v1

ady Dunstane at her desk, pen in hand, the paper untouched; and there was an appearance of trouble about her somewhat resembling his own, as he would have observed, ha

ring her face to make the guest at home, and taking a ch

c; bad for the last days of hunting, good

e English, blunt as their senses are to noise and hubbub, would be revelling in hisses, shrieks, puffings and screeches, so that travelling would become an intolerable affliction. 'I speak rather as an invalid,' she admitted; 'I conjure up all sorts of horrors, the whistle in the night beneath one's windows, and the smoke of trains defacing the landscape; hideous accidents too. They will be wholesale and past help. Imagine a collision! I have borne many changes with equanimity, I pretend to a certain degree of philosophy, but this mania for cu

cquiesced.

ot regret it?

the countryman. As for beauty, I would sacrifice that to circulate gumption. A bushelful of nonsense is talked pro a

g a new field fo

iscuss with you, Lady Dunstane,' said Redworth, bending

ight be useful, faintly remarking that she had a woman's head: and 'not less' was im

and, of course, he might be ruined. He did not expect it; still he fronted the risks. 'And now,' said he

ught it an occasion to prais

only that it may: and the wish to marry is a rosy colouring . . . equal to a flying chariot in conducting

etimes obtuse: she dwelt on

unless he is well able to support her in the comforts, not to say luxuries, she is accustomed t

she stretched out her hand to press do

e quit

. She does not sp

was not rightly mannered. That letter, of all others, was covert

itten to her,'

one so, only I fancy she knows nothing, has never given a thought

ators too,

ith an emphasis, for the man liked Diana, and wou

me if I did anyth

rtainly

l have n

's worthy of': then the cloud shot a lightning flash, and the doors of her understanding swung wide to the entry of a great wonderment. A shock of pain succeeded it. Her sympathy was roused so acutely that she slipped over the reflective rebuke she would have addressed to her silly delusion concerning his purpose in speaking of his affairs to a woman. Though he did not mention Diana by name, Diana was clearly the person. And why had he delayed to speak to her?-Because

he possesses on a stake . . . to win her-give her what she has a right to claim, he ought . . . . Only at present the prospect seems good . . . . He ought of course to wait

t upon which you do me the honour to consult me.' She ridiculed herself for hav

om my office, and personal property . . . say between thirteen and fourteen hundred a

t will you n

er. You might reasonably stipulate for more for a friend. She could make a match, as you have said . . .' he muttered of 'brilliant,' and 'the highest'; and his humblene

straw: 'Tell me,

a Mer

pity, and he drew himself tight for the

is en

ion of the wheels of the brain snapping their course to grind the contrary to that of the heart

fore?' said Lady Dunstane

ve had no ju

mpathy and her self-condolence under disappointment a

irit of regret, by hinting it without hurting: 'Women really are not puppets. They are not so excessively luxurious. It

for nothing

am too

heard it

ngaged! P

ony, the baldest intimation of the weightiest piece of intelligence which a woman can communicate to her heart's friend. The task of answering it was now

up to it,' said Redworth.

dly. 'It will

th all my heart

erve was eloquent of it to her, and she liked him the bet

er at a hasty glimpse. It was of one paragraph, and fir

e are to live at The Crossways for four months of the year, so I shall have Dada in his best days and all my youngest dreams, my sunrise and morning dew, surrounding me;

l' in his appearance, conjured him up most distastefully. True, she might have made a more lamentable choice; a silly lordling, or a hero of scandals; but if a gentlemanly official was of stabler mould, he failed to harmonize quite so well with the idea of a creature l

ly Tony had accepted him without being in love. Or was she masking the passion? No

ed felicitations upon the text of the initial line: 'Wonders are always happening.' She wrote to hide vexation beneath surprise; naturally betraying it. 'I m

the tripping may be expected! Lady Dunstane resigned herself sadly to a lowered view of her Tony's character. This was her unconscious act of reprisal. Her brilliant beloved Tony, dazzling but in beauty and the gifted mind, stood as one essentially with the common order of women. She wished to be settled, Mr. Warwick proposed, and for the sake of living at The Crossways she accepted him-she, the lofty scorner of loveless marriages! who had said-how many

y him, never to court her, without bank-book assurance of his ability to support her in cordial comfort, was right. He maintained it, and owned himself a donkey for having stuck to it. Between him and his excellent principle there was war, without the slightest division. Warned of the danger of losing her, he would have done the same again, confessing himself donkey for his pains. The principle was right, because it was due to the woman. His rigid adherence to the principl

he wish that she might be settled. And had he spoken!-If he had spoken to her, she might have given her hand to him, to a dishonourable brute! A blissful brute. But a worse than donkey. Yes, his principle was

is castigating, but avowedly sovereign, principle. Away from her, he was the victim of a flagellation so dire that it almost drove him to revolt against the lord he served, and somehow the many memories at Copsley kept him away. Sir Lukin, when spe

t at all? Here was a goodly income approaching, perhaps a seat in Parliament; a station for the airing of his opinions-and a social status for the wife now denied to him. The wife was denied to him; he could conceive of no other. The tyrant-ridden, reticent, tenacious creature had thoroughly wedded her in mind;

ect of his quest-the bridal bells had rung, and Diana Antonia Merion lo

fle under older eyes, to blunter senses, a more enlightened understanding. Her friend Emma probed for the reason vainly. It was partly revealed to Redworth, by guess-work and a putting together of p