Ainslee's Magazine, February 1913 — page 29: what you’re looking at

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

THE POINT OF OILEW his arm, and they all moved forward, followed by Canon Ebley and the Rev- erend Eustace Medlicott, with no great joy upon his face. Stella, meanwhile, felt herself being. drawn rapidly ahead, and so maneu- vered that in a moment or two they had completely lost sight of the rest of the relations, and were practically alone in a crowd. “At last!’ Count Roumovski whis- pered. “Even JI, who am generally calm, was beginning to feel I should rush over, throw prudence to the winds, and ” Then he stopped abruptly, and Stella felt her heart thump in her throat, while her little hand on his arm was pressed against his side. They made the pretense of taking some refreshment at the buffet, and then went toward the open doors of the garden. The part all round the house was illuminated, and numbers of people strolled about—the night was deliciously warm. Count Roumovski seemed to know the paths, for he drew his companion to a seat just beyond the radius of the lights, and they sat down upon a bench under a giant tree. He had not spoken a word, but now he leaned back and deliberately looked into her eyes, while his voice, with vi- brations of feeling in it which thrilled Stella, whispered in her ear: “It cannot go on, of course. You agree with me about that, do you not?” “\Vhat cannot go on?” she asked to gain time to recover her composure. “This situation,” he answered. “I am sure now that I love you, and I want to teach you a number of things —the first in importance being that you shall love me.” “Oh, you must not say this!” Stella protested feebly. “Yes, I must, and you will listen to me, little star.” He drew nearer to her, and the amaz- ing power of propinquity began to as- sert itself. She felt as if the force to resist him were leaving her; she was trembling all over with delicious thrills. “T made up my mind almost imme- diately I saw you, sweet child,” he went on, “that you were what I have been 19 waiting for all my life. You are good and true, and balanced, or you will be that when I have made your love edu- cation. Stella, look at me with those soft eyes, and tell me that | mean some- thing to you already, and that the worthy Mr. Medlicott does not exist any more.” ‘“J—I—but I have only known you for two days,” Stella answered con- fusedly; she was so full of emotion that she dared not trust herself fur- ther. “Does time count, then, so much with conventional people?” he demanded. “For me it has no significance in rela- tion to feeling. If you would only look at me instead of down at those small hands, then you would not be able to tell me these foolish things.” This was so true that Stella could not deny it; her breath came rather fast; it was the supreme moment her life had yet known. “You are frightened because the training of your education still holds you, and not nature. Your acquired opinion tells you you are engaged to another man and ought not to listen to me.” “Of course I ought not to,” she mur- mured. “Of course you ought; how else-can you come to any conclusion if you do not hear my arguments, sweet, foolish one ?” She did look at him now with two startled eyes. “Listen attentively, darling pupil and sweet love,’ he said. He was leaning with one arm on the back of the bench supporting his head on his hand, turned quite toward her, who sat with clasped, nervous fingers clutching her fan. His other hand lay idly on his knee; his whole attitude was very still. The soft lights were just enough for him to see distinctly her small face and shining hair; his own face was in shadow, but she. could feel the magnetism of his eyes penetrating through her very being. “You were coerced by those in charge of you,” he went-on, in a level voice of argument, which yet broke into notes of tenderness; “you were influ- CONMUC o”OOLK (C@ im