A Struggle for a Ring — page 111: what you’re looking at

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

& A MOTHER’S STRATAGEM. 107 faith in you. I know your choice will be one that will please us and honor yourself. I wish every father in Eng- land had as much faith in his son as I have in you.” The young lord kissed his father’s hand. Those kind, trusting words were hard to hear; if it had not been for the thought of his sisters marriage he would in that moment have told the truth about his own. CHAPTER XV. A MOTHER'S STRATAGEM. Lucia, Countess of Waldrove, was a far-seeing, shrewd, keen, quick woman of the world; she understood men and women; in her graceful, indolent fashion she ruled them with an iron hand—it was an undoubted case of the iron hand under the velvet glove. She had studied her son’s character, and was not at all surprised to find in ita considerable amount of that charming quality called ‘‘con- tradiction,” a quality that seems like second nature to the noble sex of men; she was prepared for it, and resolved upon managing him accordingly. She said to herself that if she mentioned the name of Lady Ethel Pierpont, and suggested that, as she was mar- velously beautiful and wonderfully rich, it would be well for her son to marry her, he would at once rebel, and talk the usual nonsense about choosing for himself Lady Waldrove understood him too well for that. ‘‘He shall see paGy Ethel first,” she said, “then we shall see what follows.” One morning, about the third of the duke’s visit, Lord 4 = eoyanike 200