The Real Charlotte. 20l 



were exasperating her almost beyond the bounds of endur- 

 ance. She waited till there was a lull. 



" What did he say about her ? " she asked in a hard, jeer- 

 ing voice. 



** Oh, Charlotte, how can I tell you ? all sorts of things 

 he says, nonsense like, and springing up and saying she'll 

 be drowned." 



" Well, it it's any comfort to you," said Charlotte, " she 

 cares no more for him than the man in the moon ! She 

 has other fish to fry, I can tell you ! " 



" But what signifies that, Charlotte," sighed Mrs. Lam- 

 bert, ^' so long as he thinks about her ? " 



" Tell him he's a fool to waste his time over her," sug- 

 gested Charlotte scoftingly. 



" Is it me tell him such a thing ! " The turkey-hen lifted 

 her wet red eyes from her saturated pocket handkerchief and 

 began to laugh hysterically. " Much regard he has for what 

 / say to him ! Oh, don't make me laugh, Charlotte — " a 

 frightened look came over her face, as if she had been 

 struck, and she fell back in her chair. " It's the palpita- 

 tions," she said faintly, with her hand on her heart " Oh, 

 Fm going — I'm going — " 



Charlotte ran to the chimney-piece, and took from it a 

 bottle of smelling salts. She put it to Mrs. Lambert's nose 

 with one hand, and with the other unfastened the neck of 

 her dress without any excitement or fuss. Her eyes were 

 keen and quiet as she bent over the pale blotched face that 

 lay on the antimacassar ; and when Mrs. Lambert began to 

 realise again what was going on round her, she was con- 

 scious of a hand chafing her own, a hand that was both 

 gentle and skilful. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 



" Metal more attractive ! " Lambert thought there could 

 not be a more offensive phrase in the English language than 

 this, that had rung in his ears ever since Charlotte had 

 flung it at him when he parted from her on his own avenue. 

 He led the black mare straight to the dilapidated loose-box 

 at Tally Ho Lodge, in which she had before now waited so 



