A few days after, Cecil was _en route_ for England. Doctor Laurens and
his wife bore him company, for the young doctor was anxious to aid in
the search for his sister-in-law, in whom he had had such loyal faith
so long.
Arrived in London, they put up as usual at their favorite Langham, and
the gentlemen sallied forth in search of Florine Dabol.
At the address Louise had given them they found her parents--a decrepit
pair of old French people.
Florine was down in the country they said. She was lady’s maid to a
great, rich lady, but she had never told them her name. Their daughter
came to see them about twice a year, and gave them money to live on,
but they never wrote letters to her nor received any communication from
her in the interim.
Cecil went away in despair. What should he do now? He had given an
address to the old couple, and told them to send word when their
daughter came, but how could he wait so long in the fever of remorse,
unrest and longing that possessed him?
Surely it was his good angel that made him meet Lord Westerley coming
out of a fashionable club.
The urbane nobleman was delighted at the _rencontre_ with Doctor
Charley, but he was decidedly stiff with Cecil, who in his
preoccupation did not observe the coolness.
“Everybody is out of town,” he said, shrugging his shoulders in the
chill November air. “I brought Madelon up from the country this morning
for a few days’ shopping. You will come and dine with us this evening?”
Cecil was about to decline, but his brother hastily accepted. When they
had parted from Lord Westerley he said:
“Perhaps Lady Westerley can find out where Florine is staying.”
* * * * *
Somehow Cecil got a good chance to confide all his painful story to the
beautiful lady who had been his wife’s dearest friend. She listened to
him with emotion. The tears even fell from her beautiful eyes.
“But these are tears of joy,” she said, pensively. “I am so glad that
the martyrdom of that dear girl is over, and that you had some cause
for your apparent heartlessness. Florine Dabol, yes, I can tell you
where she is!”
“Oh, Lady Westerley.”
She smiled at the interruption, but continued:
“She is down in the country at The Oaks, our ancestral home. You are
aware, Mr. Laurens, that my father and mother both are dead, and that
Sir Edward’s grandson has come into the title and estates. Well,
Florine is maid to the heir’s mother, my beautiful niece, Ernestine
Trueheart.”
She glanced at him sharply as she pronounced the name, but it did not
seem to strike his attention.
“I shall go down there tonight,” he said, eagerly.
“Nonsense!” she replied, with a merry laugh. “You would arrive there in
the middle of the night. Wait until the morning train. When you get to
The Oaks ask for Mrs. Trueheart. When she comes to you tell her what
you want of the maid and you will get your wish.”
He obeyed Lady Westerley’s instructions to the letter. He waited till
the morning train. When they reached the station where his journey
ended he took a shabby fly to The Oaks.
“The lady of The Oaks must excuse the dust of travel. I am too
impatient to linger a moment,” he thought.
They drove several miles through one of the most beautiful estates in
the country, and at length drew up before a magnificent abode, one of
“The stately homes of England.” He paid the driver and dismissed him.
The sun shone brightly on the terraced walks as he proceeded on his
way, but suddenly he came to a dead stop and cried out in surprise.
He had come face to face with a woman and a little boy--a lad with a
handsome, spirited face, blue eyes, and chestnut curls. It struck him
as strangely familiar.
“Phebe, what are you doing here?” he exclaimed in wonder.
It was the maid whom he had discharged at Louise Barry’s instigation.
She had not forgotten her wrongs, for she answered, sullenly, as soon
as she recognized him:
“I’m nurse to the heir, Mr. Laurens--little Sir Cecil Trueheart!”
He brushed past her, with a smothered sigh to the memory of his wife,
and went up the broad stone steps. Presently he found himself waiting
in a stately reception-room for the coming of the mistress of The Oaks.
While he waited, he stood at the window watching Phebe and her little
charge as they strolled upon the terrace. He murmured to himself, with
a thrill of pride:
“Somewhere in England, I have a little son as beautiful and noble,
doubtless, as this little heir of a noble line.”
The door opened. A graceful lady in lustrous blue velvet came slowly
toward him over the velvet carpet.
At first sight of her there flashed over him the words of the young
English girl, his brother’s wife:
“The most beautiful lady in England!”
Dark, curling hair, dark, dreamy eyes, and a face the saddest his eyes
had ever seen. She came slowly on until they were face to face, then a
cry of passionate joy came from the lips of each:
“My wife!”
“My husband!”
The hour for which she had hoped and longed had come at last. She knew
that the truth had come to him somehow, and that the long, sad parting
was over for aye. Holding her close in his arms, he told her all. She
rang the bell for Florine Dabol, but, seeing Cecil Laurens coming into
the house, the wily maid had guessed all. She had instantly fled; and
she was clever enough to remain hidden forever from those she had
helped Louise to separate.
“My darling, you will forgive me all, even the cruel sneers at your
mother, so bitterly repented now?” he said, humbly.
Tears sprang to her eyes.
“Cecil, my mother was an angel,” she said, tenderly. “Although she was
an actress, she was not of low birth as Mrs. Barry told you. She was
an earnest Christian, too, and I am sure that when she was instantly
killed by a railroad collision her pure soul went straight to Heaven.
But this is too sad to dwell upon. Come and let me show you our
beautiful little son, Sir Cecil.”
THE END.
THE HART SERIES
Laura Jean Libbey Miss Caroline Hart Mrs. E. Burke Collins
Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller Charlotte M. Braeme Barbara Howard
Lucy Randall Comfort Mary E. Bryan Marie Corelli
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6--Aleta’s Terrible Secret, Laura Jean Libbey.
7--For Love or Honor, Caroline Hart.
8--The Romance of Enola, Laura Jean Libbey.
9--A Handsome Engineer’s Flirtation, Laura J. Libbey.
10--A Little Princess, Caroline Hart.
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14--That Awful Scar, Caroline Hart.
15--Flora Garland’s Courtship, Laura Jean Libbey.
16--Love’s Rugged Path, Caroline Hart.
17--My Sweetheart Idabell, Laura Jean Libbey.
18--Married at Sight, Caroline Hart.
19--Pretty Madcap Dorothy, Laura Jean Libbey.
20--Her Right to Love, Caroline Hart.
21--The Loan of a Lover, Laura Jean Libbey.
22--The Game of Love, Caroline Hart.
23--A Fatal Elopement, Laura Jean Libbey.
24--Vendetta, Marie Corelli.
25--The Girl He Forsook, Laura Jean Libbey.
26--Redeemed by Love, Caroline Hart.
28--A Wasted Love, Caroline Hart.
29--A Dangerous Flirtation, Laura Jean Libbey.
30--A Haunted Life, Caroline Hart.
31--Garnetta, the Silver King’s Daughter, L. J. Libbey.
32--A Romance of Two Worlds, Marie Corelli.
34--Her Ransom, Charles Garvice.
36--A Hidden Terror, Caroline Hart.
37--Flora Temple, Laura Jean Libbey.
38--Claribel’s Love Story, Charlotte M. Braeme.
39--Pretty Rose Hall, Laura Jean Libbey.
40--The Mystery of Suicide Place, Mrs. Alex. Miller.
41--Cora, the Pet of the Regiment, Laura Jean Libbey.
42--The Vengeance of Love, Caroline Hart.
43--Jolly Sally Pendleton, Laura Jean Libbey.
44--A Bitter Reckoning, Mrs. E. Burke Collins.
45--Kathleen’s Diamond, Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller.
46--Angela’s Lover, Caroline Hart.
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48--The Madness of Love, Caroline Hart.
49--Little Sweetheart, Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller.
50--A Working Girl’s Honor, Caroline Hart.
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52--The Rival Heiresses, Caroline Hart.
53--Little Nobody, Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller.
54--Her Husband’s Ghost, Mary E. Bryan.
55--Sold for Gold, Mrs. E. Burke Collins.
56--Her Husband’s Secret, Lucy Randall Comfort.
57--A Passionate Love, Barbara Howard.
58--From Want to Wealth, Caroline Hart.
59--Loved You Better Than You Knew, Mrs. A. Miller.
60--Irene’s Vow, Charlotte M. Braeme.
61--She Loved Not Wisely, Caroline Hart.
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63--Was It Wrong? Barbara Howard.
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67--Viola’s Vanity, Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller.
68--The Ghost of the Hurricane Hills, Mary E. Bryan.
69--A Woman Wronged, Caroline Hart.
70--Was She His Lawful Wife? Barbara Howard.
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72--The Richmond Secret, Mrs. E. Burke Collins.
73--Edna’s Vow, Charlotte M. Stanley.
74--Hearts of Fire, Caroline Hart.
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76--Nobody’s Wife, Caroline Hart.
77--Ishmael, Mrs. E. D. E. N. Southworth.
78--Self-Raised, Mrs. E. D. E. N. Southworth.
79--Pretty Little Rosebud, Barbara Howard.
80--Inez, Augusta J. Evans.
81--The Girl Wife, Mrs. Sumner Hayden.
82--Dora Thorne, Charlotte M. Braeme.
83--Followed By Fate, Lucy Randall Comfort.
84--India, or the Pearl of Pearl River, Southworth.
85--Mad Kingsley’s Heir, Mrs. E. Burke Collins.
86--The Missing Bride, Mrs. E. D. E. N. Southworth.
87--Wicked Sir Dare, Charles Garvice.
88--Dainty’s Cruel Rivals, Mrs. Alex. McV. Miller.
89--Lillian’s Vow, Caroline Hart.
90--Miss Estcourt, Charles Garvice.
91--Beulah, Augusta J. Evans.
92--Daphane’s Fate, Mrs. E. Burke Collins.
93--Wormwood, Marie Corelli.
94--Nellie, Charles Garvice.
95--His Legal Wife, Mary E. Bryan.
96--Macaria, Augusta J. Evans.
97--Lost and Found, Charlotte M. Stanley.
98--The Curse of Clifton, Mrs. Southworth.
99--That Strange Girl, Charles Garvice.
100--The Lovers at Storm Castle, Mrs. M. A. Collins.
101--Margerie’s Mistake, Lucy Randall Comfort.
102--The Curse of Pocahontas, Wenona Gilman.
103--My Love Kitty, Charles Garvice.
104--His Fairy Queen, Elizabeth Stiles.
105--From Worse than Death, Caroline Hart.
106--Audrey Fane’s Love, Mrs. E. Burke Collins.
107--Thorns and Orange Blossoms, Charlotte Braeme.
108--Ethel Dreeme, Frank Corey.
109--Three Girls, Mary E. Bryan.
110--A Strange Marriage, Caroline Hart.
111--Violet, Charles Garvice.
112--The Ghost of the Power, Mrs. Sumner Hayden.
113--Baptised with a Curse, Edith Stewart Drewry.
114--A Tragic Blunder, Mrs. H. Lovett Cameron.
115--The Secret of Her Life, Edward Jenkins.
116--My Guardian, Ada Cambridge.
117--A Last Love, Georges Ohnet.
118--His Angel, Henry Herman.
119--Pretty Miss Bellew, Theo. Gift.
120--Blind Love, Wilkie Collins.
121--A Life’s Mistake, Mrs. H. Lovett Cameron.
122--Won By Waiting, Edna Lyall.
123--Passion’s Slave, King.
124--Under Currents, Duchess.
125--False Vow, Braeme.
126--The Belle of Lynne, Braeme.
127--Lord Lynne’s Choice, Braeme.
128--Blossom and Fruit, Braeme.
129--Weaker Than a Woman, Braeme.
130--Tempest and Sunshine, Mary J. Holmes.
131--Lady Muriel’s Secret, Braeme.
132--A Mad Love, Braeme.
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THE ARTHUR WESTBROOK COMPANY Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A.
Transcriber’s Notes
A table of contents has been added by the transcriber and placed in the
public domain.
Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected.
Some inconsistent hyphenation has been retained from the original.