Mrs. Georgie Sheldon

“ That business was his constant and almost hopeless search for Brownie Douglas. His meeting with Isabel to-night made his trouble seem more bitter than ever, and for the first time in his life he felt, as if he almost hated a human being.
He regretted exceedingly her engagement to Sir Charles, for he was warmly attached to the young man; but he felt that he was powerless to save him from what he feared his future would be with such a vain and selfish girl as he knew Miss Coolidge to be. ”

“ The book of my life is almost written, love, and it will do me no harm to review it once more before it is closed forever. I have borne my sorrow alone for forty-five years, and it seems as if it would do me good to breathe it to some one who would give me sympathy and remember it tenderly when I am gone.”
Brownie’s little hand fluttered down upon Miss Mehetabel’s lips, and the tears sprang to her eyes.
“Let us not talk about it, auntie; I don’t like you to speak about going away from me. I should be desolate without you, if I had ever so much money,” and the bright face wore a look of pain. ”

“ Had it not been for that dreadful boarding-house, with its noise, its small, close rooms, and its ill-cooked fare, she would have been comparatively content, for she had made the acquaintance of one or two young girls who were refined and intelligent like herself, and who, too, had been suddenly reduced from affluence to poverty.
Mattie Burnham was the name of the young girl who had been so kind to Brownie on that first day of her life in the factory, and soon, by her gentleness and refinement, won a warm place in her heart. ”

“ Coolidge took up the diamond necklace, and it sparkled in her hands like huge drops of dew in the sun.
“Very well; I will replace them at once, mamma, if you think best, and we will say no more about it,” replied her daughter, cunningly.
She had noticed the avaricious gleam in her mother’s eyes as they contemplated their beauty, and she knew she would give as much to possess them as she would herself.
“That would never do, my daughter. I should not rest easy while there is a suspicion against Miss Douglas’ honesty in my heart. There is only one thing to be done now.” ”

“ When Adrian Dredmond recognized his betrothed in the dim light of that dismal morning, he sprang forward with a cry of joy, mingled with dismay, and folded her close within his arms, while Brownie, utterly overcome by the reaction from excessive fright to a sense of security, and that her troubles were all over, burst into nervous sobbing, and clung to him with a grip so fierce that he was startled. ”

“ Sir Charles and his party were evidently taken entirely by surprise, for Mrs. Coolidge, as her eyes fell upon the despised governess, became white as the fan of costly feathers that she held in her hand.
Isabel grew crimson with anger and mortification, especially as she had on at that moment the young girl’s diamonds, and she looked as if she longed for the earth to open and devour her.
Sir Charles, however, hastened forward, with an expression of real pleasure upon his face, and grasping Adrian warmly by the hand, offered his congratulations, and begged to be presented to his bride. ”

“ Miss Isabel answered, with a yawn.
“Governess! Young person, indeed! Why, if I ever saw the mark of the true and cultured lady in any one, I do in her,” he replied, with enthusiasm.
“Nonsense, Wilbur! I hope you do not allow your head to be turned by every pretty face you chance to meet.”
“Not I,” and the young man tossed his head, with a gay laugh. “But this Miss Douglas is something more than pretty. Hers is a face which, if a man learned to love, he would gladly serve twice seven years for the sake of making its owner his wife.” ”

“ Miss Mehetabel said, touching the flowers, “I wore in my hair that night, fastened with the butterfly; and these are the gloves—they bear the last touch of his hand. This is the card on which the Count de Lussan wrote his name.”
She took up the locket with a tender touch.
“This contains the face of the one man on earth to me. Open it, dear—I cannot.”
Brownie took it, the great tears rolling over her flushed cheeks. It seemed so inexpressibly sad, and as if she, too, were about to look upon the face of the dead. ”

“ I should really enjoy being ‘lady’ somebody,” and the vain girl got up and sailed over to the full-length mirror to survey herself.
“Is it not time for Wilbur to come, mamma?” she asked, presently.
“Yes; he ought to have been here an hour ago,” answered Mrs. Coolidge, glancing at her watch.
Scarce were the words uttered when the doorbell gave forth a clamorous peal; another moment, and there was a manly step on the stair, a deep rich voice called “Mother!” “Isabel!” then the door swung open, and the only son and heir was received with open arms and joyous exclamations of greeting. ”

“ Lord Dunforth has also resigned his place to Adrian, and he and his wife now sit side by side.
He seems to grow more tender of his gentle companion of late, as if he experienced a sort of remorse for the secret barrier which has stood between them all these long years, and thus their lives are being filled with a blessed content, as, with their faces turned toward the setting sun, they calmly await the evening rest. ”

“ He did not like to have the lawyer escape so easily.
“I realize, doctor, that I am no longer an heiress to great wealth, as every one has thus far supposed—that there is no longer a life of idleness and pleasure for me. On the contrary, I must go out into the world and work for my living,” Brownie replied, lifting her grave eyes to the doctor’s face, while there was a touch of dignity in her manner which he had never seen before.
“Mr. Conrad,” he said, turning to the lawyer, “this is a very grave matter. How do your own affairs stand?”
“Much the same as Miss Douglas’. ”

“ Poor Brownie! it was a hard question, remembering so vividly as she did Miss Mehetabel’s fair, lovely face, set in its framework of clustering, silvery curls.
The comparison was not favorable, to say the least, to this antediluvian before her.
She flushed with embarrassment as she gently replied:
“All old people grow wrinkled, you know, and her hair was much whiter than yours.”
Lady Ruxley chuckled merrily over this non-committal answer.
“Young woman, you are as ‘wise as a serpent, and as harmless as a dove,’ and I’m of the opinion that your aunt might have thought considerable of you. ”

“ You have exquisite taste, my love, and I shall feel quite proud when you are my daughter. The blue velvet is charming, and your hair is very becomingly arranged, while that stomacher of pearls is superb. But”—and she started suddenly, while her face grew crimson—“but where did you get those coral ornaments?” and her eyes were fixed in utter astonishment, and with something of terror in them, upon the elegant coral and diamond cross, and butterfly hair ornament, which Isabel has just fastened in her hair, and clasped about her neck. ”

“ Coolidge, he had imbibed a sudden and unjust prejudice, and had withheld his consent to their marriage.
“Did you know of this before you announced our engagement at Lady Randal’s?” she demanded, when he had finished.
“Yes, darling; and, if the whole world had opposed, it would have made no difference. I am not a slave, nor a vacillating boy, that any one should choose my bride for me; and you are the only woman I have ever seen whom I would willingly make my wife. If my grandfather would only have listened to me while I explained your position, he would never have been so unreasonable.” ”

“ I never quite forgave you for that night’s work, Helen; it was the first time such a man ever disgraced my house, to say nothing about her coming to such grief there. But, ah! that was more than forty years ago. I wonder whatever became of her! I am sorry for Charles, though—he is a noble fellow, and ought to have a good wife,” and Lady Ruxley heaved a sigh of regret.
“Then you don’t approve of his choice, aunt; I’m sorry. She is certainly fine looking, and then she belongs to a very wealthy family.” ”

“ Brownie asked, with shining eyes, as he hesitated.
“Wilbur Coolidge,” he replied, with a peculiar expression.
“And why not?” she demanded, mischievously; and he laughed outright.
He had always been a trifle sensitive over that little episode in her life. He could not bear the thought that another should even have presumed to love her.
“Let me read you what she says,” Brownie went on. “Mr. Conrad knows all about her, and of course you are all interested in my friends, and then Aspasia was so kind when auntie died.” The sweet voice always softened tenderly when speaking of auntie. ”

“ The cripple’s health had improved greatly since he had been able to have plenty of out-door exercise, and his face lost much of that deep sadness which had so touched Brownie’s tender heart when she first saw him, but there was always a wistful look about his eyes which told of a life that had had but little of joy in it.
Adrian’s wife Herbert Randal considered the essence of perfection, and he spent many hours at her charming home, and often accompanied her upon her errands of mercy among the poor, while she valued him among her choicest friends. ”

“ Miss Douglas drew the shining head down to her, and kissed the sweet lips.
“Well, well, so be it, though it must come sooner or later; but we will talk no more of it now. You are very precious to me, darling, and your love has been the only brightness of my life for the past eighteen years,” she said softly. “Go lock the door,” she added, after a moment, “so that we may be uninterrupted; then draw a chair beside me, and I’ll tell you how I came to be an old maid. It may be a lesson that will do you good.”
Brownie glided softly to the door and turned the key. ”

“ Brownie said, her cheeks crimsoning with embarrassment.
“Ahem! you’d like me to think you are one of the industrious kind, wouldn’t you?” the old woman said, grimly.
Evidently she did not like anything which seemed like self-praise.
“Oh, no,” Brownie answered, with a mischievous smile; “I assure you I do not love drudgery a bit better than other people; but when one has not a penny excepting what one earns, it is necessary to bestir one’s self.” ”

“ I know not how you happen to be here; I devoutly hoped you would never cross our path again; but fate seems to decree that you turn up as a marplot wherever we go. Will you put that box down, or shall I ring?” and the angry woman grasped the bell-pull vigorously.
Brownie never relaxed a muscle, except that the proud lips curled into a scornful smile.
“You can ring the bell if you choose, Mrs. Coolidge.”
“Have you no fear of the consequences?” her enemy asked, eying her wonderingly, and her lips twitching with wrath. ”

“ If this young lady was Miss Mehetabel’s only living relative, how came Miss Isabel Coolidge by those jewels? Could it be that the poor child had been reduced to the necessity of selling them? It did not yet occur to him that she was the poor, discarded governess of whom Adrian had told him.
But no, he could not believe that a Douglas would be guilty of parting with precious heirlooms for filthy lucre no matter how destitute she might become.
“You say the young lady is lately married,” he said, resuming his conversation with the lawyer, and determined to learn all he could. ”

“ It was now the young husband’s turn to look surprised and puzzled, and he interrupted her in astonished tones:
“Dearest, what is this that you are saying?”
“It is true,” she answered, smiling at his incredulity, “that he wanted to marry her, and would, but for some treachery on the part of Miss Helen Capel, who is now Lady Randal, I believe; and poor auntie loved him till the last minute of her life.”
“Who told you of this?”
“Auntie herself, the very day she died, and the jewels which Isabel Coolidge has were, most of them, given to her in honor of her approaching marriage with his lordship.” ”

“ We do not any of us know our own weakness until we have been tempted. You and I might fall even lower than Isabel did under some peculiar temptation, and shall we presume to judge one who trusted in her own weak strength, and who, now sorrowing, has found, if I am not mistaken, a stronger arm to lean upon?”
“What a peacemaker you are, Mrs. Dredmond—you conquer us all. You take a very sweet way to be revenged upon your enemies,” Sir Charles exclaimed, with a suspicious moisture in his fine eyes. ”

“ She nestled closer to her lover, and he answered for her:
“No, dear, you cannot; and you have nowhere else on earth to go but to the one who loves you best, Brownie,” he continued, with tender authority, “you are mine—you have freely given yourself to me, and now I am not willing that you should go back to face those wolves until I have an indisputable right to go with you to demand proper respect for you, and the restitution of your property, without the possibility of a repetition of the insult and suffering to which you have heretofore been subjected. ”

“ No person with any such record can ever become allied to my family!” burst forth Lord Dunforth, rising from his chair in wrath.
“But, sir, let me explain——”
“No, sir!” he thundered; “not another word! I am astonished and disappointed in you, Adrian, that you could so demean yourself as to desire to marry any one so far beneath you!”
“She is not beneath me,” began the indignant lover, hotly.
“Not another word, Adrian, if you please, on the subject, unless you wish to incur my stern displeasure. You, the future Earl of Dunforth, marry a person accused of theft! Never!” ”

“ Then Brownie arose, and stood like an insulted princess before her inquisitor.
89“Madam, I ask—nay, I demand—to know why you put such a question to me!” she said, in low, firm tones.
Her face had grown white as the narrow linen collar which she wore, and her eyes burned dangerously.
“You forget yourself, Miss Douglas,” Mrs. Coolidge said, pompously. “It was I who asked you a question.”
“And I consider such a question an insult, madam!”
“Very well; I expected you would; all people who are guilty of wrong feel insulted, or appear to, when they are accused.” ”

“ Lady Ruxley had said truly that Vallingham Hall was full of company, and as Brownie, who sat reading to her ladyship the next morning after their arrival, caught the sound of fresh young voices and silvery laughter, as they floated up through those lofty halls, she felt her own heart grow warm and light, and she found herself longing to mingle with the gay company. ”

“ Brownie smiled wearily, though her lips quivered at his kindly words. It was so comforting to be treated civilly.
“Can I do anything for you, Miss Douglas?” Wilbur asked, eagerly, his heart deeply touched by her sorrowful appearance.
“Thank you; I do not suppose it is in your power to do the one thing I wish—give me back my jewels, for they are mine, Mr. Coolidge, notwithstanding it seems improbable for a poor girl to own such valuables,” she replied, her color rising. ”

“ Mabel,” replied the old woman, only seeing the motion of her lips, and catching the last syllables. “Mabel Dundas! That is a good-sounding name. Now, how old are you?”
Brownie was upon the point of correcting the mistake regarding her name, when she checked herself.
“What matters it,” she breathed, with a sad sigh, “whether I am Mehetabel Douglas or Mabel Dundas? It will be all the same to her, and perhaps help to shield me from my enemies.”
“I am nearly nineteen,” she replied to the question.
“What? I’m not always so hard of hearing, but I’ve got a cold to-day. How old did you say you are?” ”

“ We love each other, and have no right to make ourselves miserable over what the world might think or say. You and I are satisfied with each other, are we not?” he asked, fondly.
The look which she gave him told him that she, at least, was content with him; but, still knowing all that she did regarding Lord Dunforth, the knowledge that he was opposed to her marrying Adrian still rankled in her heart, though she forgot to consider that he could not know who she was, or that she had any connection with his former love. ”

“ Coolidge and Miss Isabel relaxed their haughtiness somewhat, though they both considered her too pretty and polished for the latter’s interest. She wished no rival in the way at present.
“If only Wilbur will not lose his senses and fall in love with her at first sight,” Isabel said to her mother, when they had withdrawn to Mrs. Coolidge’s boudoir to discuss Brownie’s merits.
“Never fear, dear; Wilbur knows we would never tolerate a wife for him unless she was his equal in society,” replied the matron, complacently. ”

“ Isabel had glided stealthily around behind her, and with one powerful blow had dashed the casket from her hands.
The next instant, and before Brownie could turn to prevent her, she had captured it, and with a low, mocking laugh, glided from the place.
With all her spirit roused to battle, Brownie sprang to follow the artful girl, but Mrs. Coolidge barred the way.
“No, no, miss, you cannot leave this place to-night; you are in too dangerous a mood,” she said. ”