The Argosy — page 360: what you’re looking at

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

Lady Grace. 341 dyeing her face. ‘I would rather die than disbelieve Charles Baum- garten.” “ That’s a pretty modest avowal!” gasped Miss Dynevor. ‘ You will Regina, what on earth are you doing there ?” ‘Only what you told me to do, Aunt Ann,” replied Regina, with the utmost apparent innocence, as she held out Miss Dynevor’s knitting, nearly the whole of which she had been quietly undoing. “ Ttold you!” shook Miss Dynevor, half beside herself with vexa- tion: “I said to you ‘Do a bit!’” “Oh, ‘Do a bit,’” commented Regina. ‘I thought you said ‘Undo a bit.’ I’m sure I’m very sorry, Aunt. It was a nightcap for Archdeacon Duck, wasn’t it ?” Aunt Ann’s wrath was arrested midway, for Charles and his brother at that moment entered. She knew Cyras at once, and pushed up her wig a little in astonishment. Cyras advanced to the young ladies to greet them in what he called New Zealand custom, which they found meant neither more nor less than kissing. When the noise and laughter had subsided, Cyras turned to Miss Dynevor. ‘‘ May I venture to touch your fingers with the tips of mine, Aunt Ann ?” No response. Miss Dynevor had not recovered from her petre- faction. “It’s only right to ask, before presuming,” went on Cyras; ‘because, you know, at the play the other night, you looked as though you wanted to annihilate me.” However annihilating Miss Dynevor might have looked the other night, she looked very foolish now. Cyras standing before her with his gay glances, Grace and Regina enjoying her discomfiture, and Mary drawing nearer to Charles as if it were her own sheltering place, a happy smile on her eye and lip. Miss Dynevor’s temper was exceedingly acid just then. ‘* The Sub- Dean forbade you the house,” she said sharply to Charles. ‘‘ Do you set him at defiance ?” “The Sub-Dean!” interrupted Cyras. ‘‘ My dear lady, we have been making ourselves comfortable with the Sub-Dean in his study for this half hour. He sent us to you here that we might do the same with you.” There was no daunting Cyras. Miss Dynevor demanded whether he knew the meaning of the word impudence, and-why he had presumed to address her that night under such very doubtful circum- stances. “The circumstances will bear the strictest investigation,” laughed Cyras. ‘The lady I escorted to the theatre is charming, and one of my very good friends. I'll bring her to see you, if you like.” ‘* Mary,” whispered Charles, whilst Aunt Ann was striving to frame a fitting answer to this last most astounding proposition, ‘ they did not make you doubt me?” GOMIG OOO () <S