The Widowed Bride — page 229: what you’re looking at

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

x - 20% THE WIDOWED BRIDE. eae of her own future life that afternoon. How changed all seemed now! ‘‘Rena,” he said, speaking in a low, earnest voice, ‘‘do you know what has brought me to the Lake of Geneva?” ‘You said you had come to congratulate papa!” she answered, almost inaudibly. “But 1 might easily have done that by letter, instead of coming all the way from the River Nile here!” She was silent; in truth and in fact, our ready Rena for once did not know what to say! ‘I have brought you a letter from my mother, Rena,” he said, after a moment's pause, ‘‘a letter which expresses in her own words her love and esteem for you, and her entire appreciation of your noble character. But ” and he smilingly withheld it from her outstretched hand, ‘‘you must not read it until you have first answered a question, which I have to ask you!” “What is it?” “I see from your face that you guess it,” he said. ‘‘Dear Rena, you know it already. You sent me away from you once before, but I am ready to serve for your love as many years as Jacob served for Rachel. Once more, my dearest, will you become my wife?” And this time, Rena’s answer was not ‘‘No!” The Marquis of Balfour had a long interview with aa | Glenhampton that evening, and when it was over and the young man was once more en route for Villeneuve, the earl called Rena to nim. ‘‘Weil, my darling,” he said to her, imprisoning in his own the little hand that would tremble like a frightened bird in his tender clas», ‘ ‘what is itabout the map of your life to-night?” Her eyes fell. “‘Papa—if you disapprove ‘‘But Ido not disapprove,” he interrupted. ‘‘On the vontrary I think Lord Balfour one of the finest fellows I ever had the good fortune to know, and I am quite certain, my dark-eyed princess, that you will fill the position of future Duchess of St. Burgoyne, right royally. Nor do I think, Rena, that you will love your father one iota the less, because your heart goes naturally out to a husband’s nearer claim!” And thus bravely he gave up again the treasure he had I3 comicbooks ~< ine <=