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American Sunday Monthly Magazine Section
»Guinevere's
Synopsis oi Preceding Chapters—Guinevere, the
young wife of the aged and selfish General Bohun, in spite
of her youth and beauty has led a lonely and narrow mar
ried life. I ler little son, Algernon, is much like his father,
and l*oth neglec t her. They have just moved into the an
cestral country seat of the Bohuns when Guinevere's elder
sister, Let it ia, arrive s and tells her about Nr I lugh Dremont,
a neighbor, w hom they soon meet . (iuinevere feels a power
ful attraction for Sir Hugh which has dcvelojK* 1 into love on
both sides when (iuinevere obtains permission from her
crabbed husband to visit he r sister in London. Sir Hugh
devotes himself to (iuinevere as much as is possible without
causing comment. In this they are aided by Letitia. At
last the- short period of bliss is over and Guinevere is com
pelled to return to her home. General Bohun is unexpect
edly sent away on a long diplomatic mission which permits
Sir Hugh to visit (iuinevere daily and the perilous inti
macy to further ripen.
Chapter XIX
Y party arrived this afternoon,
and I have told dear old Sir John
Kaird he must take Humphrey’s
place and act host for me with
Algernon.
Letitia is in high spirits. She
did not motor, for a wonder, but
came down in the train with a
number of the guests going on to Minton Dremont,
and she is full of their ways and doings.
"Winnie” is still determined to secure Hugh, and
one or two of the others have also put forward claims
for the post of favorite. A shuffling season has taken
place, it would seem, since last year, and several of
them are on the look-out for new partners to tlirt
with. Letitia caught sight of my face as she re
counted to me all this in 'her room before dressing
for dinner, and she went into a fit of laughter.
“Yes, it is comic, isn’t it, Guinevere?” she said.
“ I never had really looked at us all from a detached
point of view until I was awakened by your and
Hugh’s affection for each other. Yovv it all seems
frightfully funny. 1 wonder if they will appear dif
ferent to Hugh also. It will be so amusing to watch.
11 is temperament is too impatient of control to
stand anything he does not like.”
“ Yes,” I responded, "1 do not feel very disturbed
about them.”
Letitia laughed again softly.
“ No, you need not be. I believe, in reality, you
are cleverer than any of them, in spite of your sim
plicity, and you have got quite good looking, you
know, lately; full of life and so much less pale. Lang-
thorpe was only saying so just now; and if he notices
the change, it must be striking!” Then—
“Is not it a joy,” she called, as I was leaving the
room, ‘‘to feel we need not mind a bit, even if we
are five minutes late for dinner?”
The week has gone by, and it has developed a fresh
stage between Hugh and me. W hen we met at the
races, I could see he was ruffled about something,
t here was a steely light in his blue eyes.
It was impossible to have any private conversation
with him, and although he seemed to be doing his
duty in the same way as he did it last year, it was
unwillingly.
Our whole party was to dine at Minton Dremont
in the evening, and just before we began to dress
lor it Letitia came to my turret room.
“How cross Hugh looks, doesn’t he?” she re
marked, as she pushed the logs together. “I gath
ered from Ermyntrude that they had all chaffed
him after dinner last night because, 1 suppose, he
let out some sentiment that we have heard him exploit
lately, Guinevere, but which none of them have ever
known to proceed from him, and he grew nettled,
and answered them sharply, and Ada made one of
her exquisitely cynical remarks. How frightfully
mad they would all be if they knew it is your in
fluence which has caused him to measure them with
a new measure.”
glyn
Three
Checks
^C(fu)
T%r
yluthorof
*
YVe did not dance
after dinner, but
just sat about in
the saloon, so
there was no
chance to talk
beyond a
few words.
“This is
simply sick
ening. 1.shall
come ox er
in the morn
ing and ask for
Letitia, ’ ’
Hugh announ
ced, as he pass
ed me once.
■ Then fie had
to go and talk
to someone else before
could answer.
1 was almost glad when we left,
the strain was growing too great.
Next morning, soon after ten, Caesar
and his master pranced into the court
yard. YVe had all only just finished break
fast, and were about in the hall. Letitia
had not yet appeared.
Hartington came forward and whispered
that Sir Hugh Dremont was outside and had not
dismounted, but was asking how soon he could see
Lady Langthorpe, so 1 sent a message to tell him to
come in and wait until she came down. YY’hich he
knew very well would not be for another hour. I told
Hartington to show him into the drawing-room, and
then soon I got rid of my guests and joined him.
He was like a horse champing his bit with impa
tience, and his eyes were full of passionate love.
“IVe simply bolted, darling. Got off before any
of them were down. I could not bear it another
second,” he said. “They are boring me to death.
I seem to know beforehand exactly what tfiey are all
going to say, and when Ada will be brilliant, and
YVinnie caressing and Ermyntrude x ague. They all
seem perfectly artificial, and yet I suppose they are
exactly as they were before. It is myself who has
altered. Guinevere, tell me, you could not stand
another day like yesterday, either, darling?” and
he stroked my hand fondly. “It was ten times worse
than London. There we always used to ha\’e at
least some hours together in the twenty-four, but
at the races and dinner it was one long chafe, with
no prospect of relief.”
“Hugh, we must control ourselves,” I told him.
“ Think, if we fret at one day like this, how are we
ever going to get through the weeks which are com
ing?”
“As soon as this infernal party goes,” he informed
me, “I intend to motor up to Cheshire to stay with
Langthorpe and Letitia and I understand my Guin-
ex ere is going there too, and when she leaves -
“She will haxe to come back here. It will be May
then, and there will be no excuse to stay away. ”
“Very well. I shall return to Minton Dremont,
and I will haxe YY'illiam doxvn, whom I can abso
lutely trust; and you can come for canters in Corls-
ton Chase, and into the park, and YY’illiam can keep
Jenny YY’ren in the copse nearest to my yew hedge
garden; and often xve could spend a happy after
noon together in my sitting-room without a soul’s
knowing. There are all sorts of beautiful corners
in the park, too, which I hax-e not shown you yet,
darling. May at least shall be for our happiness,
leave it to me.”
But the light in his dear blue eyes xvas still full of
unrest and passion, and Letitia said to me that
night when they had all gone, that it xvould be per
fectly impossible to keep his affection for me hidden
much longer, if he was unable to hide his feelings
more effectually.
“It is always the same,” she exclaimed. “No
matter how watchful the dcus rx machina is, one of
the actors always gives the thing away. Now, for
heax en’s sake, Guinex’ere, be like ice to morrrow night
at the Hunt ball.”
I tried to be, with the result that Hugh was angry
and reproachful when we did sit out our dance to
gether. He would not listen to reason and, I saw,
was jealous of even dear old Sir John.
These are phases which lox-e has to go through,
I suppose, when it is as great as ours, and separa
tion makes life a torment.
He bent over
and kisssed
my neck with
brutal violence