189 
^1892.1 
\ 
rJAN 
^ '''' j 
V v\>v\ 'i/., -..i^ 
A Florentine Ejnsode. 
A 
I suppose I ought to thank you,” 
he said stiffly, in a veiy low voice. “ But 
a woman cannot perhaps realize what it 
is for a man to feel that he has been 
helped out of a position from which 
there is hut one honorable door.” 
“ I assure you, both Mr. Rau and 
Mr. Steinhof were glad of any excuse. 
It needed but a word.” 
“ AVh at was that word ? ” he demanded. 
“ Mr. Rau said that he could not have 
presumed to meddle with Miss Philli- 
more if he had supposed you were her 
suitor. I told him you were incapable 
of anything except serious and respect¬ 
ful attentions to a girl.” She looked up 
into his face. “ Keith, you see I could 
speak for you, for once you even put 
me on a pedestal and worshiped me. 
You cannot think how deep my sympa¬ 
thy is for this new happiness you have 
found. I insist that you shall take me 
to see Miss Phillimore.” 
“ I hardly think ” — he began stiffly. 
She laid her hand on his sleeve. 
“ Why are you so cold to me ? ” she 
asked coaxingly. “ Surely not because 
that foolish duel is off ? Those two men 
started for Venice this morning at six 
o’clock. It is actually they who ran 
away. Surely you cannot consider duel¬ 
ing anything but wicked and absurd, and 
why should you be angry with me sim- 
])ly because I want you to live and be 
happy ? ” 
“ jMuch you care about my happi¬ 
ness ! ” he burst out. “ I loved you. I 
had gone on loving and loving you. 
You knew that you were my conscience, 
my aspiration, all that I hoped for or 
cared about. Then when I put it into 
words, you said I seemed to you a mere 
boy.” 
“ Certainly you consoled yourself 
prom])tly,” i.aid Mist; Bellew, with spirit. 
“ Anti since jAn have ao esu-iil^'^ consoled 
yourself, Keith, I will tell you this ; it 
can make no diflercjice now except that 
it may hel}) you to forgive my inter¬ 
ference. You had not been gone a tlay, 
scarcely an hour, before 1 was wretched. 
1 had nobody to turn to. I suddenly 
found out ” — 
She met his startled, incredulous eyes, 
and broke off. 
“ You found out ” — he repeated, llis 
face was transfigured. He had gras])ed 
both her hands, and she found further 
confession difficult. She blushed more 
and more deeply, her eyes dro 2 )ping their 
lids. She tried to turn away. 
“ Can you mean,” he whisi)ered, de¬ 
taining her, “ that you found out you 
loved me ? ” 
“ Of course I loved you,” she said, 
with a sob. ‘‘ You understood me so 
well, you ought to have known it all the 
time — for you saw that — indeed, in¬ 
stead of being my slave, jmu actually 
were my master — I ” — 
A subtle fire ran through his veins. 
He longed to play with the possibilities 
of this moment, to test the reality of 
this strange, sweet confession, now at 
last that he had her at his mercy. But 
the revulsion of feeling made him be¬ 
side himself with joy, and he clasped 
her in his arms. 
“ But Miss Phillimore ! ” cried Miss 
Bellew. 
‘‘ I will take you to see her to-morrow 
morning,” he returned, with a low laugh. 
“ She is to be married. She is to marry 
an excellent man, a man T honor and 
rejoice in, — Mr. David Norton, of 
Ohio.” 
Ellen Olnetj Kiri:. 
