The Argosy — page 307: what you’re looking at

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

288 Fack Laybourne’s Inheritance. acquired proof of it, for she met Justine, the little housemaid, in the passage, looking rather guilty and hastily trying to pocket a letter to Prince Sobranowski in Miss Cameron’s handwriting. That young lady, on being remonstrated with, showed herself most violent and reckless of consequences. She protested that there was no harm in the correspondence, which had only been resorted to because Prin- cess Sobranowski’s ‘senseless jealousy’ made all pleasant conversa- tion with her husband impossible. Rita asked to be allowed, under these circumstances, to read some of the innocuous productions, but with the sole result of increasing her sister’s excitement. Deter- mined then to put an end to the affair at any cot, and not daring to agitate her mother, she found out Sobranowski, and insisted upon his meeting her yesterday afternoon in the arbour, where she hoped to be able to speak to him undisturbed by stranger eyes or ears, and unnoticed, above all, by his wife. She chose the hour when Mrs. Laybourne least needed her, but, being pressed for time, as well as agitated by her previous scene with her sister, she betrayed, on meeting you, Miss Greville, there, a distress of mind which she felt must have given you a very false impression. The rest you know.” ‘‘ But,” said Kate, with her practical curiosity, “I do not yet understand quite what Sobranowski thought he would gain by his note to Rita, nor why he should have chosen-that clumsy way of conveying it to her.” ‘“‘ As to that,” answered Jack, ‘‘it is obvious that the object of his note was simply to gain time. Rita—who seems capable of measures of quite an alarming energy,” said the young man, with a smile: ‘Rita had declared to him that unless he cleared out of this the very first thing this morning, she would denounce him without mercy to his wife. I imagine that was a very alarming prospect. He probably hoped to avert it, and yet to be able to remain on by stipulating for three days’ delay—three days 1 in which he counted upon his eloquence to appease Rita and convince her of the groundlessness of her fears. As to the manner in which he gave the note, that is explicable on two hypotheses. Either he had had enough of trusting to house- maids, or he wished to force Rita to take it, which she would not have done had it been conveyed to her by a messenger.” “ And what are you going to do?” I asked presently. We had tried, of course, like the gushing old maids we were, to pet Rita a little. But we had soon desisted, for it was evident the child did not like it. ‘What are you going to do?” ‘“‘ Kick the beggar out of the house,” responded Jack curtly. ‘‘ Alas! only metaphorically, I fear,” said I laughing, “ but in any case—go and do it.” Jack went. He reappeared shortly, looking very triumphant and rather pugnacious. The Russian had talked at first about his honour, and suggested settling the matter with a pair of pistols. Jack, however, answered 1) GEomichbooks.co