The Rhos Herald

[ATX RIGHTS RESERVED.] Lawrence Halliford's Trust BY CHRISTIAN LYS, Author of The Fortress of Yiidasai-a," "The Hepsworth Millions," &c. Lawrence Halliford had returned to town, after some weeks' absence, to find one letter in his box, dropped in there by mistake in- stead of being forwarded with his other cor- respoadence. It w--s a short note dated three weeks ago from Lilac Cottage, Raysley, stat- ing that the writer's father, who had died in Australia, had tolo her to forward the en. closed packet as Sf)!1 as she was settled in England. "Knowi. •* that you were a friend of father's," the 10L::r concluded, "I need iiardly say how pleased I shall be to see you. Yours faithfully, Mildred Stanhope." The reading of the packet enclosed was I long business, and its perusal brought back I the past very vividly to Halliford's mind, John Stanhope had once been his tutor, his adviser and friend, but he had fallen upon evil days, and had been tempted to forge all- other man's name. No prosecution followed, but Stanhope and his wife and two young children were obliged to go abroad. The pac- ket, after recalling the past, gave a history of the exile. Sirs. Stanhope had died soon after! their arrival in Australia, and Stanhope had only succeeded in providing the bare necessi- ties of life for himself and daughters. ties of life for himself and daughters. ties of life for himself and daughters. "You were only a youth of iift.vn or six- teen when I last saw you," the hislorv con- eluded, "but I believe you always liked me and pitied me. Well, Halliford, I swear to you I was innocent of the crime of which I was accused. Remember, as you read, that this is the statement of a dying man; it is the truth. I think it best that my two girls, Mildred and Flossie, should return to Eng- land, but they will have little money, and will have to get work. I want you to look after them. I have no other friend in the world but you, and I appoint you their guar- dian. It is a sacred trust." "By Jove! This is a tall order," said Hal- liford with a low whistle. "Why, Mildred must be twenty. A nice kind of guardian I I z-, look for a girl of twenty," and he laugheJ as he surveyed his face in a mirror. Then he became solemn again. "But it is no laugh- ing matter. I shall have to go and interview ttiy wards. I must do that, and give them advice which they probably won't take, and then—well, then I shall have done all I can do." Raysley was in Essex, a small village which someone had lately discovered was quite a convenient distance from town for those who wanted to live in the country. Several new villa residences had sprung up in the vici- nity, but for the present, at least, the place had not been spoilt. Halliford found Lilac Cottage behind a high hedge, and standing back from a. narrow lane. He had made in- quiries at the inn in the village, and been told-that a Mrs. Smart lived there. Yes, the Mian thought that two young ladies were stay- ing with her just now, but he knew nothing about them. A straight path led from the white gate in the hedge to the creeper-covered porch, and a woman came to the door as Halliford ap- proached. "Dcos Miss Stanhope live here?" "She is lodging with me at present, but is out just now. She is certain to be in hottly, it is so near tea time. Will you come and wait?" He was taken to a room looking on to the garden on the opposite side of the house to tbe lane, and there Mrs. Smart left him. A French window opened on to a verandah from which a step led down on to the lawn. a lawn that daisies grew in, and which was not too trim, a lawn with beds of old- fashioned flowers in it which bloomed as they listed and filled the whole air with frag- rance. The room was simply furnished, but there were evidences of the present tenants ftfoout, some books with markers in, a work -basket, a writing case with M.S. on it, and a liat bv the work basket, evidently in the pro- Cess of being retrimmed. There were some photographs, but they were of Mrs. Smart's family and acquaintances; he looked in vain for one of his wards. He had just concluded that the half-trimmed hat looked as if it must be intended to cover a pretty head, when the •°imd of voices came to him, a man's voice and a woman's. They came to the corner of the verandah; and, although they spoke in low tones, Halliford coi'ld not help over- bearing what was said. would have made uis presence known had not uie first words arrested his attention. "Mv d-ar Mildred, you wrote three weeks ago, and have had no Your father not young, this friend of his is perhaps Older still, and is very likely de: d. At any tate, it seems pretty certain that no help is to be obtained from him." "I shall wait a little longer," the girl all- and it was a low, sweet voice, the Charm of music in it. Perhaps her companion Noticed this, for he went on earnestly 'And if-lie comes, what difference does it 2ja've? He might find work for you and lossie yes, lie might do that, but you were meant to stand the rorgli usage of the v°t'Ul, any more than you could put up with deceiving charity. Why not come to me, Mil- J JU't'd? I ain not rich, but I can give you com- oi't. You know how I love you, I have told so o'ten, and I thought you realiv liked file. •• j *1 I do like you; yes, I think I can say 1:it, but I am sure I do not love you—not as «T/fe io11'0 !'•. r husband." fiat will come, Mildred, believe me it UI. Only be content to be wise now, and arry me as a refuge from drudgery and (If }1', f will wait for the coining of love." 1 might be tempted if I thought it wouM bf»?-r she answered. "But I do not go l<jVe ever would. You ha .e been awfully fov!> »*° US' 01ie cami0'; command one'3 ^Yh'-n will you answer me certainly?" the man. 1 4 Give me another month." Why, Mildred, why?" I will answer you now if yon like." jpji, ,°>' said quickly. 1 will Wait. You ro'w me come f°r a walk with you to-mor- thai as usual > I am not to be deprived of « ain I?" nlp.Y come, but you mustn't think I I don't—vet." •ten's 1'Wd the man's re1.renting foot- •)!l \iie Sl'avel path, and t!ier: the girl 111 (.)l!Sh the window. gave » !>s ho turned towards her. Stnile an:, not a trespasser," lie said with a the entered in a legitimate manner hy Smart dor, and gave my name to Mrs, "yn'„ iT!u Lawrence Halliford. "Uatlin surely you are to aBl.„ r .^unS ^or 'he post. I am inclined whit you; but tell nie, do vou know nat relation I stand to you? Did your » father tell you what he had asked me to do IB his letter?" "No; he only said that you would be cer- tain to advise us well, that you were an old friend of his. I thought you would be an older man; a man of my father's age." "Well, you must mentally turn my, hair grey, add a few wrinkles to my face, and give me an elderly stoop in the shoulders, be- cause I have an old man's part to play. I am the guardian of you and your sister, and I ¡ believe I hold the post until you each reach the age of twenty-three, but we can verify that later." She smiled and then she laughed, and Hal- liford laughed, too; her amusement was in- fections. She was exceedingly pretty, brown- eyed, with nut-brown hair, and a complexion tinted with the sun's kisses. She was tall, quick and graceful in her movements, and both her voice and laughter were musical. "We will start fair, at any rate," said Halliford. "So I will confess at once that I I overheard your conversation just now." "That was Frank Jackson. He travelled with us from Australia, and. has been awfully kind." "And now loolls for his reward. We shall have to talk about him, but first you must tell me all about your father and your life in Australia." Here Mrs. Smart came in with the tea, and I whilst she was arranging it a girl's voice senrnded through the house. "Millie, Millie! Where are you? I've got I it. Start next Monday. Thirty pounds a year!" The girl rushed into the room and stopped short. She w:is two years younger than her sister, jolly-looking rather than pretty, and was very excited just now. "This is Mr. Lawrence Halliford, Flossie, our guardian." "Our what?" "For the next five years or therenboutf you are under my control," said Halliford. ith a humourous twist in his face. Mildred shortly explained the position. "But isn't it absurd?" said Flossie. "Why, you are quite young, thirty-five at the out- side. You're not old enough to be my guar- Jian." "Thirty-three to be precise," was the an- swer. VAnd what is it you are going to start j next Monday?" "I am going to Lady Grove as secretary and companion and all tha.t kind of tiling. She was awfully nice, Millie; said she r, membered my mother a little." "Remembered your mother!" said Halli-, ford. "Mother lived near Raysley," said Mil- dred. "I believe her marriage with father was not liked; indeed, I think she ran waY from home and got married." "Ah, I believe she did," said Halliford. "You won't begin by stopping my going to Lady Grove, will you, Mr. Guardian, because you know we liberally have no money, and must do something; unless, of course, you are going to keep us in luxury until we get married and live happily ever afterwards." # "We shall have to talk about that too,' -aid Halliford. During tea he explained how it was that he had not come before, and afterwards he lis- elled to the story of their lives in the Colony. It was evident to him that they knew little of their father's past history, certainly no- thing about the forgery which had driven him from England. They had' come to Rays- ley because their father had suggested it, but with the exception of Lady Grove's? easual remembrance of their mother, no one in the neighbourhood had taken any notice of the girts. There was money enough for present needs, Halliford discovered, and the first interview ended with his promise to think over the whole business carefully and to come down again in a week's time. Alone in his chambers Lawrence Halliford did a great deal of thinking, smoking pipe after pipe in the process, but he g-ot little further than constantly stating to lun-.s-'cli that Mildred Stanhope was the prettiest girl he had ever seen, and that he felt conLdcul that he would never like Mr. Jackson. At the end of a week he packed a bag and went clown to the inn at Raysley. He was per- suaded that he really wanted a few ,de, vs, rest, and here was the opportunity of combin- ing business with pleasure. It was astonishing how quickly the fact of his being their duly appointed guardian did away with any reserve m the girls' tre-anient of him. He could almost imagine that he had actually reached the benevolent stage of .rinkles and white hair. Even Mr. Jackson, yho was very little his junior, seemed to look a) him for advice. He was also staying at he village inn, and Halliford saw a good deal of him. "I hope, Mr. Halliford, I shall have your support with regard to Mildred," Jackson -aid one evening. "I should attempt to influence her one way or the other. When she has made up her mind, I shall only have to decide whether the man she wants to marry is a fit and proper person to have the care of her." "I think I can satisfy you on that score," and Jackson gave a sketch ,of his history, to which Halliford listened with considerable in- 'erest. It prompted him to test the depth of Frank Jackson's affection. "Do yon know much about Mr. Stanhope, about his past I mean?" he asked. "That he committed forgery? Yes. I know hat; It makes no difference in my feelings owards Mildred. I don't think she knows." "I believe not. Mr. Stanhope declared he vas innocent." "Yet I suppose there is no doubt of his guilt," said Jackson. "He made the statement in his last letter to me. The solemn word of a dying moi .annot fail to be impressive," Halliford re- turned. He was almost sorry that the shn 111 the father's name did not moke some difff- "nce in Jackson's feeling towards the daugi :lr. Flossie Stanhope had commenced her duties is secretary, and Lawrence Halliford called upon Lady Grove. He explained that it was his duty as her guardian. Many other duties, too, seemed to fall upon him at this time, little business matters relating to hei father's affairs he told Mildred, and he was jonstantly at Raysley, even after his few lays' holiday had come to an end. The month which Mildred had demanded t'or consideration of her answer to Frank Jackson came to an end, and unable to decide for herself she declared that her guardian must decide for her. Halliford was sitting in a wicker chair on the verandah, and Mildred stood at the open window. He had only returned to Raysley last night and had walked <rrer to the cottage early this morn- ing'. "He is coming this afternoon for my answer," she said. "What shall I say?" "You have no money, and he offers you ex- emption from a life of toil." ''Yes,- I; know. "Do you love him?" -No. that is I don't think so.. but whafc am 4 ""t ?rI: "I I to do? I believe lie IIOIK 41T- l -I P5 IRE, and perhaps I should bo doing rt to ;iu-.rry him. It is a difficult pos> n i t it?" "At any rate you are not in love with any- one else?" "No." She spoke quite firmly, and Halli- ford lit another cigarette from tbe stump of the old one. "I have never quite understood why Jack- son took the trouble to hunt you up in Aus- tralia," he said. "He knew of father from some friends 01 his," Mildred answered. "He arrived the day after father died, and he was awfully good and helpful." "Very nice of him." ."Well, it really was. We were strangers, and he did a great deal for us. Then as lie was coming home he looked after us. Me asked me to marry him on the way home." "And has been asking at intervals ever since," said Halliford. "I wonder why." "Because—well, because he is in love with mo. Is that so strange? I suppose you have never been in love and do not understand?" He looked at her with a smile, but he saw there was the glint of tears in her eyes. "You think I am too wrinkled and old for love," he said. "I am going to tell you come- thing, Mildred, which under different circarn I stances 1 do not think I should have told you. Your father left England under a cloud. He was said to have forged a man's name for a considerable sum of money." "Father did that? You say father cl i that?" "He was in great at the time, and it was proved conclusively that he was gnilty." "Ah, I see, you were the only one wh" did not believe the lie!" she exclaimed "That is why father knew you would good to us. "1 pitied him," Halliford answered, "but as a fact I thought him guilty." "You, too! and NliH: "d b;,gan to sob. She had learnt to cling to this' strong young guardian of hers and now he had failed "her. "That is part of the story," Halliford went on. "In your father's letter which you sent to me he declared that he was innocent, he made the solemn statement when death was upon him, and it had weight with me, Mil- dred. I wondered what I could do to prove his statement, and cuiiously your friend Jack- sou gave me an idea. He told me about, these people who had known your father, when he explained why lie had called upon you in Australia. I followed up the idea and have been working at it ev-er since." "And you have found- V "That he was innocent, yes. I have seen the confession of the guilty man." "The coward Oh, the ecward to let an innocent man suff:r." "This other man is dead too, Mildred." She was silent for some minutes looking vacantly across the sunlit garden. "Did Frank Jackson know why father left England?" she asked presently. "Ho told me he did." nd that he was really innocent?" "He said nothing about that." "But he did know it. You believe he did." "I am inclined to believe that he knew something more, Mildred. The man who committed the forgery ultimately inherited a fortune, and before this he had bitterly re- pented his crime. He did all in his power to make restitution. Through a firm of solici- tors he advertised for your father, but to no purpose. At his death he left written confes- sion, and a large sum of money in trust for your father or his heirs. In fact, you and Flossie are very rich girls, rich enough to be an attraction to any man." And Frank Jackson knew all this." "How he found it out I do not know, but I believe his knowledge brought him to Aus- tralia. I should question him very closely bc- fore you consent to marry him." "What a good guardian you are 1" she cried impulsively, seizing both his hands and hold- ing them in hers for a moment. Then s!1 -vri info the house and did not come back to him aguin. Halliford left the cottage, but he did not return to the iw. He walked across country for miles thi;-i!i'ng of Mildred, wondering what she would say to Frank Jackson. He had no doubt himsdf that Jackson knew everything, that he hM out to Australia on purpose to win Mildred or her sister, and fortune had played into his hands. He found them in trouble, and he had helped them and 'looked after them on the way home, had sought to make himself necessary to them, an 1 would no doubt have kept his secret until Mildred was safely his wife. Yet he might really love her, and he might succeed in per- suading Mildred to marry him. "At least I have acted the part of guardian only," Halliford said to himself. "She can- not guess how I long to play another part in her life." Late in the afternoon he returned to the cottp.ge, and crossing the garden walled to- wards the verandah. The interview must be over long ago, he thought, but he was mis- taken. As he reached the verandah Jackson was speaking in an angry tone "Lawrence Halliford has told you all this for his own ends. Arc you so blind that vou cannot see he is after your fortune? Are vou fool enough to believe him when he makes love to you?" "Mr. Halliford is my guardian, nothing inorLv' "You love him. I can see it in your eyes." Then they both turned sharply, hearing footsteps on the verandah. "Eavesdropping into the bargain!" Jack- son exclaimed when he saw Halliford at the window. "Hardly that. I heard nothing but your opinion of me. "I can put that into plainer words if you like." "I shouldn't trouble if I were you," was the answer. "I might be tempted in my turn to give an honest man's opinion of your con- duct. Better leave things as they aro." With a muttered curse, and a short con- temptuous laugh, Jackson picked up his hat and went out. Mildred did not move, and Halliford went and stood in front of her, looking into her eyes to see if he could res-d the secret Jack- son professed to find there. "Has he gone for good, Mildred?" "Yes." "You did not answer his last accusation," he said quietly, and then he suddenly took both her hands. "Mildred, do you believe what he said about nief" •' "No." "1 have never made love to you, little girl, but I have often been tempted to do so. I should have done, if it hftdn't been for Jack- son and now I wish I had, before we knew all about this money. Does my hair look very v»liite today? Arv the wrinkles very apparent? Come, look at me, look into my eyes, and tell me what is written there. You won't. Then I will do the telling. I love you, Mildred. Somehow I fancy your father would hafe given you to me more willingly than he wouid have done to most men. Ic LU letter he said you were a sacred .tru.t; £ *■ I and that yon al vavs shall !>e, dear, if ynu wiii give yourself to me. I think I loved you (he moment you came in at the window there the other day, and I saw my ward for the first l.l:c. I Did you, Lav rence ? my darling. And you?" His arms weiv rouud her now, and she made no í su-xgij to get free. ¡ think that wns the moment I decided that 1 could never marry Frank Jackson b it this morning you were horrid, you lielp me a bit I vi^cd you whether "Whether I loved anyone else," she said, holding his arm tightly round her. "of course, I said no, and if it wasn't quite true, what else could I say? Yon hadn't asked me to love you then." II The door opened suddenly, and Flossie came in. "Oh, I'm so sorry 1-well, I always said you were an absurd guardian but you'll be awful jolly as a brother, Lawrence."