Geoffrey's Victory by Mrs Georgie Sheldon — page 290: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

286 THE COLONEL’S STORY CONCLUDED. improvements I was intending to make, when I suddenly said: ‘««Hstelle, Vue de I’7Eau has no mistress. JI wonder if you eould regard the conditions of Uncle Jabez’s will any more fa- vorably now than you did at the time of his death?’ “She flushed hotly, and shot a quick, keen glance at me. “«T believe we were mutually antagonistic to it,” she replied. ‘“«People grow wiser as they grow older,’ I remarked; then boldly asked: ‘Will vou marry me now, Estelle?’ *¢<Do you think it right for people who do not love each other to marry?’ she questioned. ‘Ts that equivelent to telling me that you do not love me?’ I inquired. ‘I will be frank with you, my cousin,’ I continued. ‘L confess that 1 have not the affection for vou that voung lovers generally rave about; but I admire you; you are beautiful, enl- tured, talented, and I am free to own that you are far more at- tractive to me now, than you were in those old davs when we were both so bitter and indignant. If no one else has won vour heart, I will do my best to make your future pleasant. We have only one more vear of grace; we must consider this subject and reach some decision before it expires; so what say you, cousin mine?’ “She thought a moment, then lifted her head with a resolute air, and said: ‘¢*Ves, I will marry you, William, if you are willing to take me just asI am, without very much heart to give you, but wil- ling to do my best to make you a good wife; I believe it will be the wiser course for both of us.’ “Thus our engagement was made, and we were married the fol- lowing month. I have endeavored to keep my promise to my wife to make her life a pleasant one, and until now,” with a sor- -rowfnul glance at the bowed head and shivering form of his proud wife, *‘I believe that we have been comparatively happy in our domestie relations; at least, I have known more of quict content than I thought it would ever be possible for me to attain. Thave kept this secret—the only one Lever kept from her-—nntil this hour. I did not have the courage to confess it after onr mar- riage—I kept putting it off until after my son, Everet, was born, a little less than a year after our marriage, and when I saw how my wife’s heart was bound up in him, I could not bring my- self to it. ‘Later, when I went to see how my boy was tiriving, intend- ing to make some other provision for him, when [ learned of that tre wedy in the Henley family and that both tie man and boy a disappeared, I was almost glad I never had spoken of that sai episode in my life, although I spared no expense to try to trace my child. ‘‘Kstelle, this is my confession; you have heard the whole, end know the extent of my deception. So many } years had =) GOMIicHooksneo