m 
 
 ^4 
 
 F »< 
 
/t))^ 
 
 .►e.^ 
 
THE EXECUTOB 
 
THE EXECUTOE 
 
 3^ iiobzl 
 
 BY 
 
 MKS. ALEXANDER (^(XtO^Y ^ 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 
 fHK wuoiyo o't,' 'which shall it be?' 'the freres,' 'her dearest kok,' 
 
 AND 'look before YOU LEAP.' 
 
 IN THREE VOLUMES 
 VOLUME L 
 
 LONDON 
 
 RICHARD BENTLEY & SON, NEW BURLINGTON ST. 
 
 ^ublisfjcrs in ©rtjinarg to fin fHajcstg tfje ©urcn 
 
 1883 
 
Printed by R. & R. Clark, Edmburgh. 
 
Hii'ie. 
 
 THE EXECUTOK. 
 
 "^ CHAPTEK I. 
 
 ■J 
 
 The young ladies of the Misses Boaden's estab- 
 s lishment, Elmwood House, Forest Hill, had dis- 
 \persed for the hour of recreation permitted on 
 summer evenings. 
 
 A couple strolled to and fro with linked arms 
 in deepest conversation ; one of somewhat heav}^ 
 * aspect sat under a lilac bush laboriously conning 
 a lesson. The rest were playing croquet (lawn- 
 tennis was in its infancy as yet) on a tolerably 
 large space of grass in which the garden termi- 
 nated, and which was mentioned in the Misses 
 ^'" Boaden's prospectus as " The Grounds." 
 "^ The players, however, were evidently knocking 
 
 the balls about inapurposeless manner, and had not 
 settled to a regular game, while a running fire of 
 ^ conjecture and question ran from mouth to mouth. 
 VOL. I. 1 
 
 
THE EXECUTOR, 
 
 "Where is Stasie?" 
 
 " Isn't Stasie Verner coming ?" 
 
 "Oh, she will not be long!" 
 
 " She is writing letters, I think." 
 
 " What a shame, when she promised to be my 
 partner I" 
 
 " Eun, Dolly, and ask if she is coming." 
 
 " No, I won't ! There she is looking out of 
 the window : call to her." 
 
 Chorus — " Now you know Miss Amelia will 
 not let us shout." 
 
 Vigorous dumb show, waving of hands and 
 beckoning, answered by a serious shake of the 
 head, conveying decided refusal. 
 
 Stasie Verner — now kneeling before the win- 
 dow of her bedroom, her elbows resting on the low 
 sill, while she gazed dreamily out over the garden 
 — a discontented, even sad look darkening her 
 young face — was the leading spirit of the school : 
 first, she was the eldest, except the pupil-teacher, 
 Ella Mathews ; secondly, she was of a bold and 
 daring disposition, disposed to take full advantage 
 of any superiority nature might have allotted 
 her ; thirdly, she had a remarkably sharp tongue ; 
 and finally, though her means were limited, she 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 had a certain munificence of nature, that recom- 
 mended her more to her companions than to her 
 teachers. 
 
 A tap on the door roused her from her thoughts 
 or dreams some minutes after she had shaken her 
 head in token of refusing her schoolfellows' invi- 
 tation; she rose slowly and stood still for a 
 moment before uttering, not too amiably, " Come 
 in." A tall and already developed figure, upright 
 and well rounded, a careless stateliness (if such a 
 contradiction can be combined) in her carriage and 
 the pose of her head, a confusion of very fair 
 disordered hair, and a face too pale perhaps, 
 though the skin was soft and creamy, broad 
 browed, and narrowing to a delicate chin, lit up 
 by a pair of eyes, uncertain as to colour, but dark 
 compared to her hair and complexion, as were 
 also the brows and lashes. Her expression was 
 for the moment unmistakably impatient, not to 
 say angry. 
 
 The door opened to admit a small slight girl, 
 plain but pleasant looking, and exceedingly neat 
 of aspect. 
 
 " Well ! what is it, Ella ? Am I never to have 
 a minute's peace to think my own thoughts ? I 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 tell you I will not go out to play croquet or any 
 thing else ! it is too hot and too tiresome ! " cried 
 Stasie Verner. 
 
 " I have not come to ask you," returned the 
 other calmly, as she closed the door and advanced 
 into the room. ^'The postman has brought you 
 this letter, and one to me. Will you permit me 
 to stay and read it % " this with a tone of mock 
 entreaty. 
 
 "A letter ! Oh, thank you, dear! Even a letter 
 is a blessed break, though I have no correspon- 
 dents I care for ; " and she opened it with some 
 eagerness, while her friend, drawing a chair to 
 the window, proceeded to peruse hers, deliberately 
 and attentively. 
 
 " Come,'' said Stasie, her brow clearing, her 
 eyes lighting up, " this is not so bad. It is an 
 invitation from Mrs. Harding to go to them on 
 Friday, and stay for a few days ; they hope 
 to have a box to see Jeafferson (in Ri'p Van 
 Winkle). Isn't that perfectly delicious 1 I know 
 every word of the story, and I have so longed to 
 see it acted." 
 
 " Yes, I am glad ; I wish I could go too ! " with 
 a little sigh. 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 " So do I," cried Stasie heartily. " What can I 
 wear, Ella? I have nothing fit to be seen, and I am 
 sick of rusty black ; I really must insist on buying 
 some new clothes while I am at the Hardiness'. " 
 
 Miss Mathews did not answer, and seemed 
 absorbed in her letter. " AVhat have you got ? " 
 asked Stasie, squeezing herself on to the same 
 chair with her friend. " Nothing very good," she 
 returned slowly, folding up her letter ; " I am afraid 
 Bob has been getting into some scrape again, 
 though mother does not exactly say so, and she 
 has not been very well herself, poor dear ! The 
 vicar has been asking about me ; it seems he 
 knows an old lady who wants an accomplished 
 young one as companion, etc. etc. Alas ! my 
 accomplishments are few and far between." 
 
 "But, Ella, you must not leave while I am 
 here. Why, what would become of me ? I should 
 either mope to death, or quarrel with every 
 creature, and be expelled as a nuisance ! " 
 
 " * There is many a slip,' " quoted Ella, " and I 
 fear there is no such good luck as an engagement 
 in store for me, though I am fitter for some such 
 nondescript employment than to teach." 
 
 "You can teach very well, if you only knew 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 the things to teach," said Stasie reflectively. 
 " How I wish they would let me go back and live 
 with your mother, Ella I Yours is the only home 
 I ever knew ! and then I might be a help, for I 
 know I have some money — perhaps not much, 
 but something I can call my own." 
 
 ^' Not till you are one-and-twenty. You may 
 be sure Mr. Harding and the other executor will 
 keep you tight enough while they can." 
 
 " I am not sure of anything," returned Stasie 
 impatiently ; " Mr. Harding is always so pleasant 
 and good-natured when I am with him that I 
 think he will do everything I want ; and yet I never 
 advance a step towards emancipation. Why, next 
 month I shall be eighteen ! and I have seen no- 
 thing — I know nothing. I can't help being a big 
 baby ! It would be almost better to have been 
 shut up in a convent ; there is some sort of 
 romance, something distingue^ about such seclu- 
 sion ; but a second-rate school in Forest Hill, with 
 Saturday afternoons at the Crystal Palace, is the 
 very essence of commonplace." 
 
 " But, Stasie, you are really not so badly in- 
 formed, as girls go." 
 
 '' Bah I I am utterly ignorant ; and I should 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 be ignorant if I had taken honours in every 
 University Exam. Can books teach me how to 
 talk ? how to eat, sit, stand, and comport myself 
 like people in society \ I shall never forget the 
 only day I spent at my guardian's house. Every- 
 thing was so strange, I felt afraid to speak ; I could 
 not shape my sentences in the light, droll, pleasant 
 way the rest spoke. I was afraid to choose any 
 of the dishes that were oflfered at luncheon, lest 
 I should make a mistake in the manner of eating 
 them. I felt stiff and awkward when I moved 
 compared to the quiet easy manners of the other 
 ladies ; and though Lady Elizabeth was very 
 kind, she altered her tone in some indefinable way 
 whenever she addressed me, as if I were a half- 
 reclaimed savage, to be dealt with carefully and 
 indulgently. Oh, I cannot tell you the curious 
 dread and longing I have to try another plunge 
 into a life so different from all I have known, and 
 
 yet " she stopped abruptly. 
 
 "I think, Stasie, you are too ambitious and 
 discontented," said her friend gravely. *' Just 
 think what it is to be certain of one's future — to 
 have enough ; I don't mean for the pleasure of 
 being idle, but to be sure of food and raiment and 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 lodging, and be free to work at what you like 
 best, without anxiety about any one." 
 
 " That's just it ! " cried Stasie, jumping up to 
 walk to and fro. " I have no one in the world 
 to care about, which is as bad as having no one 
 to care for me." 
 
 " No one, Stasie ? " a little reproachfully. 
 
 " I do love you, Ella, and I am fond of your dear 
 mother ; but then I do not belong to you nor you 
 to me ; yet I would rather go and live with you 
 — ^your people, I mean — at Islington, dull and 
 slow as it is, than stay here or anywhere. Still I 
 like some of the lessons very much, though I am 
 not what you call intellectual. At any rate, I am 
 sick of being shut up, and I intend to make a 
 strong effort to escape when the other executor 
 comes to England, and he must be here soon. He 
 will help me, I am sure." 
 
 " I hope so. Now, had you not better sit down 
 and answer Mrs. Harding's invitation, while I 
 write a line to my mother ? " 
 
 " I will, but there is plenty of time before 
 prayers." 
 
 Nevertheless Miss Verner began to clear away 
 the looking-glass from her small dressing-table, 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 setting forth upon it a shabby little writing-case 
 and much besprinkled ink-bottle, and applied her- 
 self to the composition of a somewhat gushing 
 acceptance. 
 
 Stasie, or according to her high-flown baptismal 
 name, Anastasia Yerner, was the daughter of a 
 well-born but exceedingly unsuccessful younger 
 son, who, after many follies and failures, had made 
 a love match, and dying, left his widow an empty 
 exchequer, a formidable amount of small debts, 
 and a pretty fair-haired baby girl. The poor 
 young mother was brave, self-helpful, and utterly 
 devoted to her child, but her strength was under- 
 mined by grief and anxiety, and so overweighted 
 in the struggle for existence. 
 
 Accident threw her into an evangelical circle, 
 through the kind notice of the clergyman whose 
 church she attended, and whose assistance she 
 asked in her search for pupils. At the parsonage 
 she met an elderly Syrian gentleman, who was for 
 the time being a prime favourite with the Exeter 
 Hall faction, and had brought a parcel and an 
 introductory letter from a gifted missionary, then 
 working amid the Jews scattered throughout 
 Turkish Arabia, to the busy incumbent of an ob- 
 
10 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 scure nortli-west district. But neither time, nor 
 scorching heat, nor money making, nor consular 
 cares (Christian Kharapet, Esq., as he loved to 
 call himself, was British Consul at Mardin, a town 
 that had lately come into notice because of the 
 mighty ruins discovered in its vicinity) — none of 
 these had so exhausted his system or dulled his 
 sight as to render him regardless or indifferent to 
 the pensive delicate grace of the young widow. 
 His fancy was pleased, and although she had 
 neither money nor position, she stood well with 
 many influential members of the party that petted 
 and pushed him on the road to fortune. He felt 
 he should do himself no harm by a disinterested 
 marriage ; so he offered a safe home, and promised 
 kindly companionship to the widow, and further 
 baited his hook by undertaking to settle on her 
 precious little daughter a sum sufficient to ensure 
 the child against poverty. 
 
 Conscious of her own physical inability to pro- 
 tect or provide for her child, and vaguely hoping 
 that rest and a genial climate might prolong her 
 days until Stasie was old enough to take care of 
 herself, Mrs. Yerner accepted the old man's offer, 
 and went away with him to his Eastern home, 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 11 
 
 taking Stasie, then about a year old, with her. 
 Whether the poor young widow found the repose 
 and security she hoped for, or withered under the 
 influence of a life so unsuited to European habits 
 and training, God only knows, but she did not 
 survive her ill-assorted marriage two years. Her 
 elderly husband bitterly mourned her loss, and 
 transferred all his affections to his wife's little 
 girl, who developed into the spoilt pet, the 
 diminutive tyrant of the Consulate. When 
 about six years old, however, she began to 
 droop, her stepfather was terrified. He would 
 even have paid large sums out of his painfully- 
 gathered and rigidly-guarded hoard to restore his 
 darling to her natural strength and vivacity, but 
 where was he to find help ? In his extremity 
 he summoned what native skill was within reach, 
 but in vain ! At this juncture the missionary 
 whose introduction had led to the establishment 
 of little Stasie as queen of the Consulate, made 
 his appearance at Mardin, on his homeward 
 journey, having been successful in his labours, 
 and being recalled to report them by the society 
 he represented. 
 
 Kharapet received him with embraces and 
 
12 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 tears of joy. Here was a counseller, a comforter, 
 a saviour! His advice was clear and short. "You 
 must send the child to England at once," he said ; 
 " she simply wants a European climate : she will 
 die here." 
 
 "And what is to become of me without her ? " 
 groaned Kharapet. 
 
 " Better part with her for a few years than lose 
 her altogether," returned Mr. Mathews, the mis- 
 sionary. " After a few years you must pay an- 
 other visit to London, and then she can return 
 here with you, and be your companion for the 
 rest of your days." 
 
 " Oh, the dreary years — the dreary years ! " 
 
 "They will soon pass," said the missionary 
 consolingly. "Let her come home with me. Mrs. 
 Mathews will take charge of her, and bring her 
 up with our own dear ones in the nurture and 
 admonition of the Lord, so that hereafter she may 
 be a help to you in your favourite scheme of 
 drawing nearer together the Nestorian and the 
 English churches." 
 
 This project found favour in the eyes of the 
 afflicted Consul, and after a keen encounter as to 
 the terms to be given and received for the little 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 13 
 
 invalid's education and maintenance, Stasie Ver- 
 ner, attended by a Chaldean nurse, started for 
 Alexandretta, on her westward journey. 
 
 Arrived at the residence of the missionary's 
 family, Stasie soon became one of them, and one 
 of the noisiest. Here she was happy enough. 
 Mrs. Mathews was no strong-minded disciplin- 
 arian, but she was kindly, honest, well-meaning, 
 and not unjust. She kissed and cuffed the little 
 stranger as she did her own children ; scolded or 
 cried over them all according to the temper of the 
 moment ; and the household scrambled on, not 
 unhappily or uncomfortably — the girls getting 
 what instruction they could at a neighbouring 
 day-school, and occasional treats, wildly enjoyed, 
 to the Crystal Palace or to Eichmond, as the 
 finances permitted. Mrs. Mathews managed 
 as best she could for her little 'protegee; the 
 payments made on her account seemed far from 
 munificent, but what cash passed through her 
 reverend husband's clutches she neither asked 
 nor knew. 
 
 When Stasie was about eleven, her stepfather 
 was obliged, by public and private business, to 
 
14 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 visit London — an ecstatic period for his adopted 
 daughter, who enjoyed unlimited indulgence, and 
 received unbounded promises of Arab steeds, 
 jewels, attendants, and Heaven knows what, when 
 she should resume her sway at Mardin. The old 
 gentleman was delighted by her progress, mental 
 and physical, and agreed readily enough to her 
 remaining three or four years longer. 
 
 These years brought many changes. First, the 
 missionary succumbed to fever ; this brought a 
 serious diminution of means to the family, though 
 the good man had not been improvident, and had 
 managed to store up some small provision for 
 wife and children. Stasie continued to reside 
 with them, the money paid on her account form- 
 ing an important item in the family budget. 
 
 Then one of the boys got an appointment 
 abroad, and so much was lifted from the widow's 
 burden. The eldest girl, Ella — Stasie's special 
 friend — had begun to pine for greater educational 
 advantages, that she might fit herself for self- 
 support. Even Stasie, the idlest of the young 
 group, most given to dreaming, and finding nearly 
 pleasure enough in the harmony of mere healthy 
 existence, nearly excitement enough in games of 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 15 
 
 cricket and battledore and shuttlecock, played in 
 a large back-garden with which the old-fashioned 
 Islington house was blessed, began to think she 
 ought to do something, she knew not what. 
 
 She was always at the bottom of her class, 
 always under punishment for neglected lessons, 
 always the despair of her teachers, yet a bit of a 
 favourite, for if she was saucy one hour she was 
 kindly and helpful the next. Nor could she be 
 considered quite ignorant. At times she was 
 seized with a passion for reading story-books and 
 a battered cheap edition of Shakespeare, that she 
 had unearthed from behind a row of religious 
 books in a nondescript apartment dignified by the 
 name of " the Study," as also some stray volumes 
 of Bulwer Ly tton's, which latter did much to rouse 
 her desire for knowledo^e. After reading^ Zanoni, 
 she made up her mind to master the doctrines 
 and tenets of the Eosicrucians when she returned 
 to Syria, never doubting that she should there 
 find some venerable mysterious priest who pursued 
 profound scientific and astronomical researches 
 under the deep blue of Eastern skies ; but in the 
 meantime she could not bend her mind to the 
 low and narrow limits of spelling, grammar, geo- 
 
16 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 grapliy, and tlie multiplication table ! In which 
 latter little Polly, the baby of the family, could 
 beat her hollow. 
 
 While the months and years rippled by, scarce 
 marked by any incident, Stasie began slowly to 
 think of her return to Mardin, and even of progress 
 in her Kosicrucian studies, with less of unmixed 
 pleasure. She had grown warmly attached to 
 Ella, and even felt a sort of half - contemptuous 
 liking for Bob, the second boy, destined for the 
 medical profession; besides, the aforesaid Bob 
 had, to his mother's horror, made some delightful 
 theatrical acquaintances, and occasionally received 
 from them orders, which enabled him to treat his 
 sister and Stasie to ecstatic glimpses of dramatic 
 delight. This was a joy she (Stasie) could not 
 expect to find at Mardin, and for which the Arab 
 steeds, the jewels, cloth of gold, salaaming attend- 
 ants, and Eosicrucian priests would be but a poor 
 exchange. 
 
 The period of trial and of separation was near 
 at hand, and Stasie's courage had sunk lower and 
 lower, when one day towards the close of February 
 the startling news reached Mr. Kharapet's London 
 agent and personal friend, Mr. Harding (of J. Hard- 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 17 
 
 ing and Co.), tliat H.B.M.'s Consul at Mardin had 
 died suddenly, after a bath injudiciously taken 
 immediately on his return from a long and 
 fatiguing ride. 
 
 These tidings changed the aspect of Stasie 
 Verner's life. She had now no home, and belonged 
 to no one. Her father s people had simply dis- 
 regarded her completely, and of her mother's, only 
 an elderly lady. Miss Stretton, a grand-aunt, had 
 ever taken the slightest notice of her. 
 
 Stasie was deeply and sincerely affected when 
 Mr. Harding himself announced the loss of her 
 only friend and protector. 
 
 This gentleman was not quite a stranger to her. 
 From him Mrs. Mathews received the quarterly 
 payments on account of her young 'protegee. He 
 even visited the Islington residence at rare inter- 
 vals, and held private interviews with the young 
 lady, on whom he made a very favourable impres- 
 sion by the frank kindly honhomie of his questions 
 and friendly interest he seemed to take in her. 
 She had spent a day occasionally at his handsome 
 house near Eegent's Park, where she had enjoyed 
 herself in a spacious nursery with some pretty 
 children, and been taken to drive in the Park by 
 
 VOL. I. 2 
 
18 THE EXECUTOR, 
 
 Mrs. Harding, a soft -mannered, dark -eyed little 
 woman. 
 
 " Your stepfather has not left you unprovided 
 for," said Mr. Harding, after a pause, to allow the 
 freshly -orphaned girl's tears unchecked course; 
 " and I suppose that is all you care to know of 
 such matters. I am one of the executors, and I 
 am sure I need not say that I shall take parti- 
 cular care of your interests in every way. My 
 co-executor is Hormuz Kharapet, your step- 
 father's half-brother. I daresay you have never 
 seen him. He lived chiefly at Bombay, where I 
 knew him; but he is. now at Mardin. Poor 
 Kharapet, rather unnecessarily, I think, has 
 appointed, in addition to executors, a guardian, 
 Mr. Percy Wyatt, who travelled in the East 
 some years ago. Can you remember him % I 
 think he must have been at Mardin before you 
 came to England." 
 
 " My memory of everything at Mardin is very 
 shadowy," returned Stasie, drying her tears, and 
 trying to steady her voice. I vaguely remember 
 some strange gentleman who used to take me on 
 his knee and tell me stories, but it is like a 
 dream." 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 19 
 
 " I dare say it was Wyatt, just the sort of 
 thing he would do ! Well, he is away in Kome 
 at present, and we can make no sort of change 
 till he returns. I will not keep you any longer, 
 my dear, for I have not much time, and I must 
 have a talk with Mrs. Mathews. My wife shall 
 come and see you in a day or two. You will 
 always find us true friends." 
 
 Stasie could only give him her hand in silence, 
 and then escaped, to pour out her thoughts, her 
 mingled grief and sense of isolation, to Ella, 
 her most sympathetic confidante. Meantime 
 Mr. Harding, with much civility, laid the state 
 of Stasie's affairs before Mrs. Mathews, who 
 gathered from his exposition that Kharapet had 
 on his last visit to London made a will, bequeath- 
 ing all he possessed to his stepdaughter, — that 
 was now nearly three years ago, — and it remained 
 to be proved whether he had since made another; 
 also, to ascertain what amount of property he had 
 left, respecting which Mr. Harding had no certain 
 knowledge. In any case, he felt sure that Stasie 
 would not be left penniless, and that for the pre- 
 sent Mrs. Mathews might venture to keep Miss 
 Verner as an inmate, without risk of loss. When 
 
20 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 Mr. Percy Wyatt returned it was impossible to 
 say what changes might take place, for which 
 he (Mr. Harding) would be in no way respon- 
 sible. Indeed, he believed a politician like 
 Wyatt, and a woman of fashion like his wife, 
 Lady Elizabeth, would take very little trouble 
 about an obscure ward. Mr. Harding even 
 doubted that Mr. Wyatt would accept the re- 
 sponsibility. To this Mrs. Mathews answered, 
 with moist eyes, that with all her faults Stasie 
 was like one of her own children to her, that 
 she would miss her as much as any one of them, 
 and that she was welcome to a home with her 
 (Mrs. Mathews) until she was able to help 
 herself, if indeed it were possible that a true 
 Christian, as Mr. Kharapet seemed to be, could 
 have the cruelty to leave Stasie penniless by 
 any subsequent will. 
 
 So the matter remained for many months, 
 during which the young orphan heard little or 
 nothing of her own affairs, and continued to lead 
 the same life as heretofore, broken by rare visits 
 to Mrs. Harding, who was always kind and plea- 
 sant. 
 
 The only distinct information which reached 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 21 
 
 her good-natured protectress was conveyed by 
 a message given as Mr. Harding was bidding 
 Stasie good-bye one Sunday evening, when she 
 was starting on her return home after passing 
 the day at his house. 
 
 ''Tell Mrs. Mathews, Stasie, that the will is 
 all right, and you are properly provided for," on 
 receiving which Mrs. Mathews observed, " Thank 
 the Lord ! for though one ought to have faith, it 
 is hard to sit loose to this world with an empty 
 pocket." 
 
 The arrival of ''Mr. 0. Percy and Lady 
 Elizabeth Wyatt, from a prolonged visit to the 
 Continent," — as announced in the Morning Post, 
 soon after Christmas, made a great change in 
 Stasie Verner's existence. 
 
 She was formally introduced to her guardian 
 at his own residence, whither she was taken by 
 Mrs. Harding. He asked her a few questions 
 politely but vaguely, apologised for the absence 
 of Lady Elizabeth, who was not able to come up 
 to town just yet, expressed his readiness to be of 
 service to her in any way, and then bowed them 
 out. 
 
 Soon after this interview poor Stasie was 
 
22 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 informed of tlie terrible decision arrived at by 
 executors and guardian — to remove her to a 
 " high-class boarding-school," the choice of which 
 Mr. Wyatt was graciously pleased to say could 
 not be in better hands than those of Mrs. 
 Harding. 
 
 In due course and with many tears Stasie's 
 rather limited outfit was prepared, and she was 
 deposited with those excellent ladies *' the Misses 
 Boaden.'^ But compensations sometimes come 
 when least expected. Mrs. Mathews, with all 
 her good nature, was generally on the look-out 
 for chances, and finding there was room in Miss 
 Boaden's establishment for a pupil-teacher, suc- 
 ceeded in placing her eldest daughter Ella there, 
 to the infinite comfort of her friend and con- 
 jidante. 
 
 Time rolled on swiftly and silently in the 
 monotony of school life ; Ella had already passed 
 her nineteenth, while Stasie was approaching her 
 eighteenth year, at the time this story opens, 
 when the period of stillness and inactivity for 
 the latter was in its last moments, and a total 
 change was close at hand. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 Stasie had finislied her note long before her 
 friend ceased to write rapidly, and she still sat 
 on, gazing at Ella without seeing her, while her 
 thoughts strayed away to the dim distant past 
 of her childhood in her stepfather's Syrian home, 
 the half-forgotten realities of which were largely 
 supplemented by a lively imagination, influenced 
 no doubt by as extensive reading as her means 
 permitted, on Eastern subjects. She was im- 
 patient for the arrival of the other executor, 
 from whose interference on her behalf she ex- 
 pected so much, albeit she did not very clearly 
 know what she wanted. Her leading idea was 
 to leave school, to travel in Italy or Germany, 
 or to return to the only home she ever knew. 
 Latterly she had troubled herself more than she 
 used as to her own future, as to whether the 
 property bequeathed her was mere competence 
 
24 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 or wealth ; on this point she had, on one or two 
 of the rare occasions when she saw him, essayed 
 to extract some distinct information from Mr. 
 Harding, but in vain. 
 
 A friendly pat on the shoulder, a laughing 
 assurance "that she need not disturb herself," 
 "that she would always have cheese to her 
 bread, '^ was all her acting guardian deigned to 
 say, so she was obliged to fall back on con- 
 jecture. 
 
 She had grown weary and indignant at the 
 prolonged imprisonment to which she was sub- 
 jected, now that she felt herself a woman, and 
 fancied she was equal to guide her own steps. 
 To be shut up with children and half-formed 
 ignorant girls, by no means of the class that 
 might be expected at an establishment of the 
 pretensions affected by the Misses Boaden, was 
 too bad ! for Stasie Verner, in spite of her 
 middle-class training, was by nature an aristo- 
 crat, so far as hatred of vulgarity and meanness 
 went. 
 
 While she sat musing with contracted brows, 
 and a mouth half-sad, half-pouting, she became 
 vaguely aware that the front-door bell sounded, 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 25 
 
 and that some one was being ushered into the 
 drawing-room beneath, Elmwood House, in spite 
 of its large name, being only one of a row of 
 semi-detached villas slight as to construction and 
 of small dimensions. 
 
 '^ It is late for a visitor," said Ella Mathews, 
 without looking up from her writing. '' I want 
 this posted by eight o'clock, and it must be 
 seven now.'' 
 
 " Not quite, I think," returned Stasie dreamily. 
 " I wish I had a watch ! I wonder if " 
 
 She did not finish her sentence, but lapsed 
 into her own thoughts. 
 
 A moment or two after the door opened to 
 admit the junior member of the firm, Miss 
 Amelia Boaden, who held a card in her hand. 
 " Stasie, there is a visitor below for you, your 
 uncle, I believe," ofiering her the card; "you had 
 better come down and speak to him, my dear." 
 
 Stasie started up, all quivering at this sudden 
 fulfilment of her hopes, and taking the card, read 
 the inscription thereon — 
 
 " Hormuz Kharapet, 23 Str. Mayfair. 
 
 " It is my stepfather's brother, the executor !" 
 exclaimed Stasie. '' Oh ! I am so glad I I did 
 
26 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 not think lie would be liere so soon ;" and she 
 made for the door. 
 
 " Stay, Stasie ! stay, my dear," said Miss 
 Amelia eagerly. *' Had you not better smooth 
 your hair and put on your best dress ? You are 
 reaUy " 
 
 "My best dress," interrupted Stasie scorn- 
 fully. "Bad is the best! I will go as I am, 
 and then, if he has any feeling, he will make 
 Mr. Harding give me some money to buy a new 
 one. I am the worst-dressed girl in the school. 
 Miss Amelia, and you know it." 
 
 Without waiting for a reply, Stasie flung out 
 of the room, and descended the stairs rapidly. 
 
 In truth her toilette needed renewal. The 
 black cashmere had grown nearly brown ; marks 
 of unpicked stitching showed visibly where alter- 
 ations and revivifications had taken place ; the 
 edges of the cufis were frayed; the white frill 
 round her throat, though not soiled, was crump- 
 led; and her fair hair was rough and untidy. 
 Nevertheless, with the light of suddenly-awakened 
 life and hope sparkling in her eyes, glowing on 
 her cheek, and dimpling round a mouth which 
 could be sweet, scornful, or sad, as the spirit 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 27 
 
 moved lier, she was as pleasant an object as tlie 
 eye could rest upon. Without fear or hesitation 
 she opened the door, and entered the room 
 swiftly, joyously, ready to welcome as a second 
 father the man who awaited her, and whom she 
 expected to find less aged, less decrepit indeed, 
 than his brother, but gray, perhaps bent, and 
 almost venerable, ready to pet and indulge her. 
 
 A figure was standing on the hearthrug which 
 made a step forward to meet her, so different 
 from her fancy's sketch that she stopped short 
 and forgot to accept the hand he held out. A 
 man of middle stature, slight, and not ungrace- 
 ful, though rather high shouldered, well and 
 carefully dressed in the newest possible clothes, 
 with small fine brown hands peeping out of large 
 snowy shirt cufis ; a pair of soft lustrous eyes, 
 that seemed to Stasie of unfathomable depth and 
 darkness; a lofty but rather narrow forehead; 
 thick glossy black hair, beard, and moustaches ; 
 and a smooth, sallow, dusky complexion, were the 
 items which she chiefly remarked. 
 
 " And is it possible you are little Stasie whom 
 I remember playing in the court of the Consulate 
 with her gazelle," he exclaimed in perfectly good 
 
28 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 Englisli, althougli his accent was slightly foreign, 
 and his voice, though carefully subdued, had in 
 it something harsh and strident. Stasie re- 
 covered herself and gave him her hand with a 
 frank smile. 
 
 '' I suppose I am the same Stasie ; but I cannot 
 remember you at Mardin." 
 
 " Can you remember anything of Mardin % " 
 
 *' Oh yes, much, only it seems all like a dream ; 
 but you I do not remember," and she looked 
 straight into his eyes as she spoke, then, with a 
 slight blush, she withdrew her hand, and sat down 
 on the sofa. 
 
 Kharapet drew a chair near, and there was a 
 slightly awkward pause, during which, though 
 Stasie did not look up, she felt that his deep eyes 
 were fixed upon her. 
 
 '' I did not expect you quite so soon," she said, 
 still feeling ill at ease. 
 
 '^ You expected me, then ? I have been five 
 — six days in London, and it seemed long, very 
 long, until I could come and see my poor brother's 
 beloved Stasie. I little thought what I should 
 find." These last words were murmured in a 
 caressing voice, conveying such subtle delightful 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 29 
 
 flattery that Stasie's heart beat quick with grati- 
 fied vanity. *' Are we not somehow related ? " he 
 continued ; '' ought I not to hold the place of 
 your uncle and protector as well as executor to 
 my brother's last testament \ " 
 
 " I am sure," replied Stasie cordially, '' I should 
 be very thankful to have any relative that would 
 be kind and take an interest in me, for I seem to 
 have lost every one when dear Papa Kharapet 
 was taken away," — her voice broke a little, — "but 
 I can hardly fancy you are his brother, you are so 
 much younger." 
 
 " I am his half-brother, and considerably his 
 junior, yet old compared to you, Stasie. I sup- 
 pose I may call you Stasie ? though you are such 
 a grand young lady — so tall, so fair ! " 
 
 " Of course you may," she said with a pleased 
 laugh, amused by his tone of deference ; " I do 
 hope you will be my friend, I want so many 
 things. Mr. Harding is very kind, but I see him 
 so seldom, and he is always in such a hurry that 
 I can never even ask him." 
 
 " You must tell me all you want and wish," 
 replied Kharapet, drawing his chair a little nearer. 
 " I had just joined my poor brother, whom / also 
 
30 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 regarded as a father, when his death occurred ; 
 and I know how tender was his affection for you, 
 how he looked to your return, and longed for your 
 presence even as a dry tree for the gracious rain. 
 I shall best fulfil his wishes (which are most sacred 
 to me) by watching over you, and, so far as I can, 
 furthering your happiness." 
 
 *' You are very good," murmured Stasie, a little 
 embarrassed ; " and did he — did he die quietly ? 
 without pain ? " 
 
 " Quite without pain — quite quietly," returned 
 Kharapet, his deep eyes still fixed upon her with 
 an eager half-surprised look, and there was a 
 pause — Stasie thinking how sad it was to be thus 
 deprived of the only creature to whom she was 
 necessary, but her attention was quickly fascinated 
 by her companion's next words. 
 
 '"■ I have only seen my colleague, Mr. Harding, 
 two or three times since I arrived. He is your 
 very good friend, and we hope to arrange your 
 afiairs to your satisfaction " 
 
 *' Then I do hope you will let me leave school," 
 cried Stasie, interrupting him. "It is quite too 
 shameful to be kept here so long. Do you know 
 I shall be eighteen next month ? " 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 31 
 
 " Indeed," lie exclaimed, with the air of one 
 suddenly roused to the perception of a great truth. 
 " It is a just cause of complaint that you should 
 still be here, but the person to blame is your 
 guardian. Now that I have come for the sole 
 object of attending to your interests, I shall see 
 Mr. Wyatt frequently, and see also that your 
 wishes are carried out. Mr. Harding is so greatly 
 occupied with the concerns of his business that 
 he does not think how swiftly time rolls on, while 
 your bright youth and beauty are left to the 
 mournful seclusion of a prison like this;' and the 
 Syrian glanced indignantly round the neat apartr 
 ment, its walls decked with washy water-colour 
 drawings, its tables crowded with crotchet mats, 
 wax-flowers, and specimens from Tunbridge, Bux- 
 ton, and even humbler Margate. 
 
 " It is tiresome," said Stasie, with a swift blush 
 and pleased smile, " but that is all. The Misses 
 Boaden are kind enough, and I do very much 
 what I like, but I am quite too old to be here." 
 
 " Have you formed any plan — any idea of 
 where you would wish to live ? In such arrange- 
 ments I need help, for though I have lived much 
 with Europeans, especially Englishmen, and have 
 
32 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 even resided a while in London, I am scarcely fit 
 to advise a young English lady in such a matter. 
 Your own views no doubt will be our best guide. 
 What would you say to residing with Mr. and 
 Mrs. Harding?" 
 
 He looked at her keenly as he spoke, averting 
 his eyes as they met hers. 
 
 " I do not think I should like it," returned 
 Stasie frankly. '' They are kind and nice, and 
 
 she is delightful ; yet " She paused, resuming 
 
 with more vivacity, " I should like to go back to 
 Mrs. Mathews, and you know, as she is a widow 
 and far from rich, it might be a help to her." 
 
 " No, no ! " cried Kharapet energetically, "that 
 would not do. Orphaned and alone as you are, 
 you require the patronage of the rich — the power- 
 ful ; if, indeed. Lady Elizabeth would recommend 
 some companion — some protectress. Her Lady- 
 ship is most friendly and condescending. I had 
 the honour of dining " 
 
 "I don't want to be patronised and conde- 
 scended to," interrupted Stasie petulantly; "I 
 want to go where they are fond of me, and where 
 I am at home ; or, better still, I want to go abroad. 
 I want to see Eome and Nuremberg and the Tyrol, 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 33 
 
 — and oh ! heaps of places. Could you manage 
 this for me, Mr. what ought I to call you ? " 
 
 " Hormuz ! " said he, in a low hesitating tone 
 " if you will give my name a charm by speaking 
 it!" 
 
 Stasie laughed uneasily, half- pleased, half- 
 startled. " Well, then, help me to travel and see 
 new countries, and I will call you what you 
 like." 
 
 " I think I might manage even this for you," 
 he said thoughtfully, " but not all at once. We 
 shall see. I am not altogether free to act as I 
 should wish, but " 
 
 "Will you promise me that I shall leave this 
 place within a month from the present time?" 
 cried Stasie imjDctuously, and clasping her hands 
 together, she bent forward resting them on her 
 knee. 
 
 " I will," he returned promptly, '^ only I must 
 try and persuade the head of this establishment 
 to forgive the usual three months' notice, which 
 is, I am told, necessary." 
 
 " But you, or I can pay all the same," per- 
 sisted Stasie. 
 
 "It is never right to disregard money or 
 VOL. I. 3 
 
34 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 money's worth," began the Syrian, when Stasie 
 broke in upon him 
 
 ^' Do tell me, have I much money 1 Am I 
 well off? or have I only enough to live on by 
 pinching? No one has ever told me anything 
 clearly, and I never have enough money." 
 
 *' I scarcely know if you will be rich," returned 
 Hormuz; "the task of collecting and realising 
 my poor brother's property is tedious and diffi- 
 cult. However, you will at least have enough !" 
 
 ''Then do tell Mr. Harding to let me have 
 some money! I am going to stay with Mrs. 
 Harding on Friday, and I do so want some new 
 clothes and things." 
 
 " Your word is law," said the Syrian. And 
 then the conversation turned on the late Consul 
 — his fond preparations for his beloved step- 
 daughter, and on her misty memories of her 
 Eastern life — her experiences under Mrs. Ma- 
 thews' care — of the position and prospects of the 
 excellent widow — the number and occupations of 
 her children, etc. etc. — all which particulars the 
 Syrian soon ascertained from Stasie's ready talk. 
 At length Kharapet rose, and making a deep, not 
 ungraceful bow, " I must," he said, " tear myself 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 35 
 
 from a conversation that will long dwell in my 
 memory ; and you, my fair niece, as I shall con- 
 sider you — you will be before my eyes until we 
 meet again, which will be, I trust, soon. Mean- 
 time you must not suffer any inconvenience I 
 can remove. Allow me to give you, on account 
 of the increased allowance which I shall take 
 care you receive, this small sum for present 
 emergencies," and taking out his '' portemonaie," 
 he very carefully counted six sovereigns upon 
 the polished walnut table. 
 
 Stasie's eyes sparkled. " Oh ! thank you — 
 thank you ever so much ! You will pay your- 
 self, will you not % I don't want presents, you 
 know." 
 
 " Kest content," he replied, a smile softening 
 his grave eyes, though it could scarce be seen 
 through the thick beard which concealed the 
 lower part of his face. " I have brought you a 
 few mementoes from the sunny land where your 
 childhood was passed, besides some jewels I have 
 kept for you, because I knew such was the desti- 
 nation my brother intended for them. So for 
 the present, farewell, fair lily ; we shall meet at 
 Mrs. Harding's." 
 
36 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 The instant Stasie heard the front door shut, 
 she darted up -stairs, and found Ella Mathews 
 had finished her letter, and was busily employed 
 renewing the torn hem of a dress. 
 
 Stasie, after executing three or four wild 
 pirouettes, sprang into the middle of her bed at 
 a bound and stood upright there. 
 
 " What in the world is the matter V exclaimed 
 Miss Mathews. 
 
 " Everything that is delightful," cried Stasie. 
 " The new executor is a dear, darling duck ! He 
 is going to take me out of this horrid den, and 
 let me travel on the Continent ; and he has 
 brought me a box full of jewels, and above all, he 
 has given me six gold sovereigns ! I don't think 
 I ever even sav) so much money all together. 
 What do you think of that, Ella?" descending 
 from her elevation with another bound. " He is 
 very handsome, and quite young — that, is rather 
 young; he has such lovely eyes, and what is 
 more," swiftly reinstating her looking-glass on 
 its table, and looking at her own image earnestly, 
 ^' I fancy he thinks me very nice indeed" — a 
 little triumphant nod — "not that he said so 
 absolutely, but I could understand that he was 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 37 
 
 astonislied to find me — well, such a tolerable- 
 looking girl; and yet I was horribly untidy, 
 and my hair all loose. If he takes a fancy 
 to me I shall just make him do what I like. 
 Oh! it is delightful to find some one to think 
 you nice." 
 
 "What a wild thing you are," said Ella 
 Mathews, laughing; then more seriously, ''you 
 must play no heartless tricks, Stasie." Ella had 
 a very quiet but earnest love afiair of her own 
 hidden away till better times would give her and 
 her lover a right to speak of it. 
 
 " Nonsense," cried Stasie. " You are too great 
 an owl sometimes ; and do, dearest Ella, put away 
 that horrid old frock ! You shall buy a new one, 
 for you and I always go shares, don't we, dear ? 
 Let us ask Miss Amelia to come up to Spencer's 
 to-morrow and buy the stuff." 
 
 Ella shook her head, and a very sweet smile 
 played round her lips. " I can t take your money, 
 dear Stasie. Mr. Harding would say very sharp 
 things if he heard of such proceedings ; and you 
 forget what heaps of ' wants ' you have yourself 
 Do not be so generous — I was going to say fool- 
 ish — only you don't deserve that from me ! " 
 
38 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 " You are really an ill-natured cat," said Stasie 
 very gravely; "you will only put me to the 
 trouble of choosing for you, and I have not such 
 good taste as yours, don't you see ? This money 
 is just for my ' immediate requirements,' as that 
 nice, dear executor said. When I go to Mrs. 
 Harding I shall make all my big purchases. I 
 am quite sure there is plenty of money for all I 
 want, and I shall just tease their lives out till 
 they let me go back to your mother. Oh ! Ella, 
 suppose you and I could travel together in 
 Switzerland and Italy, even to Eome ! — Eome," 
 with a little shriek of delight. " Wouldn't it be 
 too delicious ? but we could not manage it alone. 
 Why not take Hormuz Kharapet as a sort of 
 male chaperon — ^you don't know how nice he is 
 — I am just longing for you to see him. Only I 
 wish he were not in European clothes. He would 
 be ever so much nicer in a turban and baggy 
 trousers, with a scimitar in his girdle ; indeed, I 
 almost wish he were a Mahometan. Of course it 
 is better for himself that he is not, but he would 
 decidedly be nicer and more interesting if he 
 were. Do you know he is exactly what you 
 might imagine Selim to be, or Hafed in the fire- 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 39 
 
 worshippers ; only it is rather funny to imagine 
 either Selim or Hafed an executor mixed up with 
 lawyers and parchments, and English law courts. 
 Still, even as a Christian he is charming — so un- 
 common — and so polite. Probably he is not 
 accustomed to fair girls, but he is evidently quite 
 taken with me, and I shall do my best to be agree- 
 able to him. I wish I had a nice new dress for 
 Friday ; that is out of the question, but I will 
 buy a large tulle cravatte and frills, and new 
 gloves, and shoes, and a sash. I wonder if Hor- 
 muz Kharapet will come to the theatre ? He 
 speaks English quite like an Englishman. I do 
 wish you had seen him, Ella 1" 
 
 Here the conversation was interrupted by the 
 entrance of Miss Amelia Boaden, the younger and 
 more energetic of the sisters who ruled Elmwood 
 House. " Well, my dear Stasie, I should like to 
 
 hear something of your interview with Mr. 
 
 I did not quite catch his name ; but he told me 
 he is executor to your late excellent stepfather, 
 and I presume lie is the gentleman whose absence 
 and whose objections so often offered obstacles to 
 a more enlarged system of education for you, my 
 dear?" 
 
40 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 " Yes, Miss Amelia, lie is the other executor ; 
 but I am sure he would never object to anything 
 right or reasonable." 
 
 "That is a good deal to be sure of on the 
 strength of one short interview, my dear," re- 
 turned Miss Amelia drily. " Come, my sister is 
 in her own room, and would like to hear what you 
 have to say, as I presume your stay with us will 
 now soon be brought to a close." 
 
 " I am not at all sure of that, Miss Amelia ; 
 but you must acknowledge that I am old enough 
 and big enough to leave school," said Stasie, as she 
 rose and followed her preceptress out of the room. 
 
 • V • • • 
 
 Mr. Harding's residence at York Gate, Kegent's 
 Park, was the typical middle-class house of a well- 
 to-do citizen. Everything in it was solid, hand- 
 some, and in the most perfect order. The door 
 and bell handles, the name plate, the steps, were 
 in the highest condition of polish and whiteness. 
 Within, the same care and attention were every- 
 where visible, suggestive of a tight hand. In the 
 rather heavily-furnished drawing-room, however, 
 something of a different and more graceful taste 
 was discernible. Flowers were always judiciously 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 41 
 
 placed about it ; velvet rugs and silken hangings 
 of Persian manufacture, Oriental china and quaint 
 bronzes, redeemed it from being a stereotyped 
 edition of other rooms. 
 
 Here Mrs. Harding's happiest hours were spent 
 in the morning, when she administered simple 
 and very small doses of rudimentary education to 
 her children, and better still in the evening hour, 
 before papa's return from the city, when she 
 answered their many questions and told them 
 stories to their hearts' content. 
 
 Could any of Mrs. Harding's acquaintance 
 have looked in at such times, they would scarce 
 have recognised her — bright, animated, playful ; 
 a glimpse might be caught of a nature very dif- 
 ferent from her ordinary seeming, but she had not 
 many visitors. 
 
 AVhen first Stasie knew Mr. and Mrs. Harding, 
 she was charmed with the frank cordiality of his 
 manner and a little chilled by the indifference of 
 hers. This soon wore off, however, and was replaced 
 by sincere liking for the wife, notwithstanding 
 the strong contrast between the eagerness and ani- 
 mation of the one and the stillness of the other. 
 
 Here Stasie Yerner found her hostess with her 
 
42 THE EXECUTOR, 
 
 three children when she reached York Gate on 
 the ardently- expected Friday. 
 
 " You are later than I expected," said Mrs. 
 Harding, shaking hands with her cordially (they 
 did not kiss on every occasion). 
 
 " I came with Ella Mathews, who is going 
 home for a day or two. Her mother sent for 
 her, and I waited to put her into an omnibus 
 before coming on here." 
 
 " Were you in charge of her or she of you ? " 
 asked Mrs. Harding with a smile. 
 
 " Oh, we take charge of each other. I think 
 she is more of a coward than I am. How do you 
 do, Johnnie? Come Ethel — Willie, don't you 
 know me ? give me a kiss, you darlings ! Willie 
 is looking much better, Mrs. Harding." 
 
 " Yes, he is better," returned the mother, press- 
 ing the little dark curly head to her side, while 
 Stasie took the fair shy little girl on her 
 knee. 
 
 "Did you come in a bus or a cab?" asked 
 Johnnie, a large, bony, red-haired, fiery-tempered 
 boy, some years older than the others, and an 
 ugly likeness of his father. 
 
 " You will like to take off your bonnet before 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 43 
 
 lunclieon, Stasie, said Mrs. Harding, and led the 
 way to the rarely-used " spare room." 
 
 " How delightful it is to come and stay here," 
 cried Stasie, unable to repress her abounding joy- 
 ousness. *' It is so dull and tiresome at school ; 
 your house is charming, and it is so good of you 
 to have me," she continued, throwing her hat and 
 mantle on the bed. 
 
 Mrs. Harding smiled. "Most young people 
 would consider this a very dull house," she said, 
 "but nevertheless I think you will enjoy your 
 visit, for I have permission to supply your needs 
 and renovate your wardrobe." 
 
 " How delicious ! " cried Stasie ; "I am sure 
 that is Hormuz Kharapet's doing. How nice and 
 kind he is ! Don't you think he is ? '' 
 
 " He is exceedingly ready to oblige you. He 
 has had deep discussions with Mr. Harding as to 
 what you might or might not have. Executors, 
 you know, have but limited powers." 
 
 "Well," returned Stasie, "as long as I get 
 what I want, I do not care what their powers may 
 be." 
 
 " Mr. Kharapet dines with us to-day," resumed 
 Mrs. Harding ; " and after luncheon we must 
 
44 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 arrange about our shopping. It is considered 
 right that you should call on Lady Elizabeth 
 Wyatt, and I suppose you would first like to have 
 a new dress." 
 
 " I should indeed. Am I not awfully shabby % " 
 
 " You might be smarter," said Mrs. Harding, 
 with a smile ; " but luncheon is ready and the 
 children ravenous." 
 
 Before the mid-day meal was over Kharapet 
 made his appearance, somewhat to Mrs. Harding's 
 surprise. 
 
 '' Ah ! Miss Verner — Stasie," he said, after 
 saluting Mrs. Harding, his large eyes lighting up 
 as they met hers, ''I am rejoiced to meet you 
 again. It seems long since my visit to your 
 school, but you will find I have not been idle." 
 
 " Thank you," returned Stasie, with a delight- 
 ful quick blush — she changed colour readily. '' I 
 have been thinking of all sorts of things that you 
 can help me in since I saw you." 
 
 " Do not make too large demands," said Mrs. 
 Harding, as Kharapet drew a chair to the table and 
 proceeded to attack the good things before him. 
 
 He presently asked how Stasie managed to 
 travel from Forest Hill. " I reproach myself for 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 45 
 
 not going to fetcli you. Although I love and 
 honour most things English, yet I would not adopt 
 all its ways — the freedom of your young ladies, 
 for instance." 
 
 "Yet you must be quite familiar with our 
 habits as regards them, you have lived so much 
 with English people,^' said Stasie. 
 
 "It is true ; nevertheless I observe differences. 
 There are the daughters of my noble friend, Lord 
 Saintsbury ; they never leave the house alone." 
 
 "That is diflferent," said Mrs. Harding. What 
 do you want, Johnnie ? — wine ? Oh no, toast and 
 water is much better for little boys. That is 
 quite different ; the Ladies Lumley are wealthy 
 aristocrats, and can always command caretakers. 
 We are but respectable bourgeoises." 
 
 " I wish I were an aristocrat," sighed Stasie, 
 who was busy mashing up some strawberries with 
 cream for Willie. 
 
 " Why ? " asked Mrs. Harding ; " are you not 
 happy and well off as you are ? " 
 
 "Oh, I can scarce say why; but I imagine 
 there is somethino; refined about their life — a 
 something chivalrous about the men, even when 
 they run wild and do not pay their debts." 
 
46 THE EXECUTOR, 
 
 *' A school-girrs idea, dear ! " 
 
 " Perhaps so. Still I am happy enough — or 
 I intend to be, with your good help." A sweet, 
 frank smile, and a little confidential nod to the 
 Syrian, which he received with a flash of delight 
 beaming over his face, but immediately sup- 
 pressed. 
 
 . " We cannot get a box before next Thursday, 
 to see JeafFerson in Ri'p van Winkle^' resumed 
 Mrs. Harding. " Will you come with us, Mr. 
 Kharapet?" 
 
 "I regret I cannot. I am engaged to my 
 good patron to arrange a meeting in support of 
 the 'Church Assimilation Society for drawing 
 nearer the Nestorian and English Churches.' " 
 
 " Can there be much in common between 
 Protestantism and Eastern Christianity ? " asked 
 Mrs. Harding, as she adjusted a napkin round 
 Willie's neck. '' Confess, Mr. Kharapet, you 
 have the Oriental indifference to dramatic dis- 
 plays, unless, indeed, for ballets, and would 
 rather be excused coming with us.'' 
 
 " You are wrong, indeed you are wrong," he 
 exclaimed. "It is always a pleasure to be with 
 you and my fair niece ; but on the present occa- 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 47 
 
 sion the matter in hand is so important that I 
 must exercise self-denial." 
 
 Mrs. Harding smiled ; and Stasie, whose in- 
 terest had been aroused by his words, exclaimed, 
 " How do you mean, about drawing the Nestorian 
 Church nearer to ours, Mr. — Mr. Kharapet." She 
 hesitated a little how to call him. 
 
 " "Why address me so formally ? " he said in- 
 sinuatingly ; ^' surely you and I — so nearly re- 
 lated, I may say — can call each other by our 
 Christian names ? Shall we not, Mrs. Harding ? " 
 
 " You are not related," replied Mrs. Harding 
 with the gentle indifference which generally char- 
 acterised her manner, " but I see no objection 
 to your using your Christian names." 
 
 " And mine will acquire beauty and music if 
 you use it," said Kharapet to Stasie, with a 
 courteous bow. 
 
 " I am glad to bestow such favours so cheaply," 
 said Stasie laughing, yet blushing too. " Now, 
 Hormuz, pray tell me how you are to assimilate 
 our respective Churches ? " 
 
 Whereupon the Syrian entered into a long 
 explanation of the original simplicity and purity 
 of the Nestorian creed, and of its points of re- 
 
48 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 semblance to Protestantism, with an exposition 
 of the advantage to Christianity in general if it 
 could be affiliated to the Church of England. 
 His words flowed with wonderful ease, and sur- 
 prisingly few grammatical errors. His manner, 
 too, was gentle and graceful, and though his 
 voice was naturally harsh, its tones were most 
 carefully subdued to persuasiveness. Neverthe- 
 less, he did not succeed in making his subject 
 very clear to his hearers, which Stasie accounted 
 for by her own ignorance and dulness. At any 
 rate the exposition carried them to the end of 
 luncheon, when the children, feeling the renewed 
 strength which comes from eating, grew restless 
 and audacious. 
 
 " May I get down, mamma ? " asked Ethel. 
 
 " Stay, dear, you must say grace, and then 
 look at that picture-book on the chair till nurse 
 comes." 
 
 " Thank God for a good dinner may I get down 
 now % " said Ethel, all in a breath. Johnnie, 
 without asking any permission, slipped from his 
 seat, and was quickly at Kharapet's side. " Now," 
 he said, " will you give me some of those sweeties 
 you said you would bring ? " 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 49 
 
 " My dear Johnnie ! " remonstrated his mother. 
 
 " He told me he would ! " insisted Johnnie. 
 
 "And here they are," said Kharapet good- 
 humouredly, as the little ones crowded round 
 him. " This is better than Eahat Lakaum. This 
 is Mardin sweetie, with a flavour of pomegranate. 
 I had it straight from Baghdad. You ought to 
 ask papa to get some home for you by one of his 
 ships. It is perfectly pure and wholesome, Mrs. 
 Harding — no bad London mixtures I Ah ! Stasie, 
 you have eaten plenty of this at Mardin, I dare- 
 say?" 
 
 " Give me a little," said Stasie, laughing, and 
 stretching out her hand. "I fancy I remem- 
 ber it." 
 
 No sooner had she closed her white teeth upon 
 it than she gave a little nod, and as soon as she 
 had disposed of the morsel she exclaimed, " Oh, 
 yes ! I remember this well ! — the sweet, deli- 
 cious scented taste ! It seems to bring back a 
 courtyard, with such a glare on one side of it, 
 and a surly old camel kneeling in a corner in the 
 shadow. And wasn't there a camel-driver — very, 
 very brown and very gaunt ? " 
 
 " Yes, yes ; that was the Mardin Consulate," 
 
 VOL. I. 4 
 
50 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 said Kliarapet, rubbing bis hands softly over each 
 other, and looking keenly, hungrily at her. " I 
 did not think you would remember even so much 
 of your early home ; I feared you had quite for- 
 gotten." 
 
 " I often think of it," returned Stasie dreamily, 
 " and fancy I remember it ; but how much is 
 memory and how much imagination I cannot 
 tell. Do give me a little more of that — what 
 do you call it ? — Hormuz — " a little coquettish 
 pause before the name. 
 
 " Helwa," he returned. " It is a great favour- 
 ite in the Turkish harems." 
 
 "Don't give it all to Stasie Verner," cried 
 Johnnie. " She is big — she can have what she 
 likes ; but I never get no sweeties ! " 
 
 " Have mine, Stasie dear," said Willie, trying 
 to climb on her knee, and taking a piece half 
 sucked from his rosy mouth. 
 
 " Oh, Willie ! " cried his mother, laughing, 
 " that is very ill-bred." 
 
 "He is a dear, kind little fellow," said Stasie 
 stroking his head. " Eat it up yourself, Willie." 
 
 "Now, Stasie, if you have quite finished, we 
 had better go out," said Mrs. Harding. "As I 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 51 
 
 have nearly carte hlanche from tlie powers that 
 be in the matter of dress for you, we shall have 
 plenty to do." 
 
 " How delightful I " cried Stasie. " I have to 
 thank you for this," holding out her hand to 
 Kharapet, who took it almost timidly. '' I shall 
 never be able to remember all I want," she con- 
 tinued. " May I come into your room and write 
 a list while you dress, Mrs. Harding ? You can 
 help me." 
 
 ''Yes, certainly." 
 
 " May I be permitted to accompany you '? " 
 asked Hormuz. 
 
 Mrs. Harding smiled. " I think," she said, 
 " we can do our shopping best alone ; but I shall 
 be happy to set you down anywhere." 
 
 Without waiting for a reply she walked away 
 upstairs. Stasie followed her, thinking, she did 
 not know why, that Mrs. Harding was not quite 
 friendly to Hormuz Kharapet. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 This visit to Mrs. Harding produced an intoxi- 
 cating effect upon Stasie. She suddenly found 
 herself the pet of the house. Mr. Harding chose 
 tit-bits for her at dinner, and told her his choicest 
 stories, besides paying her very broad compli- 
 ments, and encouraging his favourite, the eldest 
 boy, to climb on her back and pull down her 
 hair. 
 
 Kharapet was constantly at the house. He 
 said little, but brought her offerings of sweet- 
 meats, and gazed at her with an air of wondering 
 adoration, calculated to create in her a high 
 estimate of her own powers of fascination, while 
 Mrs. Harding, though never demonstrative, 
 managed to impress upon Stasie the pleasant 
 feeling that with her also she was a favoured 
 guest. 
 
 The days which intervened before the vividly 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 53 
 
 anticipated evening at the theatre were delight- 
 fully occupied with shopping and dressmakers, 
 and so passed quickly. 
 
 Mr. Harding had agreed to dine out, to avoid 
 an early repast and a lonely evening at home ; 
 and as soon as the lady of the house and her 
 guest had departed, the neat parlour-maid cleared 
 away the dinner things, observing to the house- 
 maid, who was trimming a cap in the house- 
 keeper's room, " I am sure I wish I knew when 
 master will be in. I do so want to run to 
 Tottenham Court Eoad before the shops are 
 shut ; and it is so seldom one has a chance in 
 this house." 
 
 " rd go if I were you," returned her fellow- 
 servant. '^ Cook is off abeady. If master does 
 come home before you are back, why, I can 
 answer the bell ; he won't heed." 
 
 " It's easy to see you are new to the place," 
 said the parlour-maid, with a shake of the head, 
 as she screwed down the tablecloth press. " I 
 believe master would know from outside the 
 door if the wrong servant came half way up the 
 kitchen stair to open it ! I never see his like — 
 never ! Sometimes I think I'd give a good deal 
 
54 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 if I might slap his face, he is that aggravating, 
 and other times I think he isn't half bad ; any- 
 ways I'm glad I am not his wife. Law, Sarah ! 
 what missus has to put up with !" 
 
 " I begin to think so," returned Sarah. ''It 
 must be hard for her. Thank the Lord, Jane, 
 you and I can give warning, and leave at the 
 end of the month." 
 
 " So we can. Still if I were missus I think I 
 could manage him. She answers soft and reason- 
 able and respectful, always treating him as if he 
 was a gentleman when he is in his tantrums ; if 
 she'd just shy a soup-plate full of hot soup at 
 his head, that's the sort of explanation lie would 
 understand. He knows no man would put up 
 with his nonsense, and that's the reason he keeps 
 only women servants. I am sure he is rich 
 enough : still he is not so bad to us, but I can't 
 abide him when he is on the rampage." 
 
 "It's not a bad place, after all," said the 
 housemaid ; " five servants and a man to clean 
 the boots and windows. There are many worse." 
 
 " A fair table and meals regular,'' chimed in 
 the parlour-maid. " I think I'll venture to go, 
 Sarah. He won't come home when there's no 
 
THE EXECUTOR, 55 
 
 one here to cosset him. At any rate he will not 
 want dinner, and you'll not mind opening the 
 door to him ? " 
 
 " Not I," returned Sarah, who was of a less 
 imaginative sensitive nature than Jane, the par- 
 lour-maid. " He can't eat me, and if he does, 
 111 make it uncomfortable for him. "Will you 
 buy me two yards of blue sarsnet ribbon while 
 you are out, like a good girl, and a reel of black 
 cotton ? " 
 
 Jane accepted the commission, and ascended 
 to her room to adorn; hardly had she accom- 
 plished half her toilette when an angry peal of 
 the front-door bell made the stout-hearted Sarah 
 jump. Throwing down her work she went 
 quickly to answer it. 
 
 Mr. Harding was standing outside regarding 
 the door with an angry suspicious stare — a man 
 above middle height, broadly and powerfully 
 built, with a strong handsome face, sandy hair, 
 light eyes, thick red whiskers and moustaches. 
 He was remarkably well dressed, and though not 
 looking quite the conventional gentleman, had 
 not the slightest tinge of vulgarity in his aspect. 
 
 " Where's Jane \ and why the devil do you 
 
56 THE EXECUTOR, 
 
 open the door?" were his first words, as he 
 crossed the threshold and handed his hat to 
 Sarah. 
 
 "Please, sir, she has just gone to her room, 
 and I thought it was better to open the door at 
 once than to keep you waiting till she came 
 down," she returned with perfect civility and 
 composure. 
 
 " Send her to me at once," said Mr. Harding 
 sternly, as he turned into the dining-room and 
 threw himself into a vast luxurious chair, looking 
 round him with an impatient dissatisfied expres- 
 sion, as if seeking whereon to wreak his ill- 
 temper. While he thus sat glowering, Jane, 
 neat, collected, but really nervous, presented 
 herself. 
 
 " Oh ! you are there, are you \ " said Mr. 
 Harding, a little disappointed at not finding her 
 " absent without leave." 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 " Ah — hum ! how long is it since your mistress 
 left?" 
 
 " Nearly an hour, sir." 
 
 " Ha ! they are half melted by this time, and 
 serve them right, for spending their time and 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 57 
 
 money on such balderdash. Tell cook to send 
 me some dinner — I am famished." 
 
 ' ' Dinner, sir ! " echoed Jane, dismayed. " Have 
 you not dined ? " 
 
 "No. Oh, you thought you had got rid of 
 me, did you ? You are just mistaken. Go and 
 get me some dinner, but first I will take some 
 brandy and seltzer." 
 
 Jane went quickly in search of the desired 
 beverage, and seized the opportunity of exclaim- 
 ing, '*Law! Sarah, he wants his dinner, and 
 cook out. Can you cook a bit ? / never even 
 peeled a potato. Isn't it aggravating." 
 
 " I can do a chop," returned Sarah in some 
 trepidation, "but he is that particular. I'd 
 rather not." 
 
 " Bless us and save us ! there's the bell again, 
 and I haven't an inch of ice left ; the boy promised 
 to bring a pound more, and he hasn't come 1" 
 She snatched up the tray, and went off quickly. 
 
 "Well," cried her irate master, "what has 
 cook for me?" 
 
 " There's some lamb as was left from dinner, 
 sir, and a piece of salmon that was put by for 
 supper in case missus wanted any " 
 
58 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 " Half-cold leavings !" ejaculated Mr. Harding 
 with contempt. " This is a nice home for a man 
 to come to. By heaven, it's too bad ! Go — get 
 me a steak, and tell cook to make me a savoury 
 omelette. Look sharp now ; what are you star- 
 ing at?" 
 
 " I'm afraid, sir, there are no eggs in the 
 house," said Jane, appalled by the imminence of 
 the danger. 
 
 " No eggs ! Are there no eggs at the butter- 
 man's or the milk shop, or, where the deuce do 
 you get them ? Look here — something has gone 
 wrong, I know it by your hang-dog look. What 
 
 the ! By gad — the cook's out — that's the 
 
 secret, is it ? Now, don't tell me lies ! By 
 heaven, I'll go search the house for her !" 
 
 " Yes, sir, cook is out," replied Jane, with the 
 courage of despair. *' Missus said you were not 
 dining at home, and cook thought she might run 
 out for half an hour to buy some things she 
 wanted, so " 
 
 "Did your mistress give her leave?" in a 
 tone of suppressed fury. 
 
 "No, sir, missus didn't. Cook never asked," said 
 the girl hastily, as if eager to screen her mistress. 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 69 
 
 " A pretty state of discipline, by George I 
 
 Look here — what's to be done about my dinner ?" 
 
 " Please, sir, Sarah can cook a steak, but I 
 
 think there is some cold roast beef, quite cold, 
 
 and " 
 
 " Better not venture on Sarah's cooking, eh !" 
 said Mr. Harding gloomily. " There, bring me 
 something to eat — dinner is out of the question. 
 It is too bad after working hard all day to come 
 back to the discomfort and neglect of a house like 
 this. Go, make haste." Jane gladly escaped to 
 seek eagerly in the larder for what dainties she 
 could find, and proceeded to set forth the cold 
 viands to the best advantage, striving to soothe 
 the family juggernaut with cunningly - mixed 
 salad dressing, and to propitiate him with 
 pickles. 
 
 Mr. Harding was really hungry, and so relish- 
 ing the simple fare provided, grew more genial 
 and disposed to talk. 
 
 ^' I suppose the children are all in bed ?" 
 
 " Yes, sir." 
 
 " Hum ! not a soul to speak to. What time 
 did Mrs. Harding set out?" 
 
 " About half past seven, I think, sir." 
 
60 THE EXECUTOR, 
 
 " Ha ! I'd bet a fiver she gave that cook leave 
 to go out." 
 
 " I am sure not, sir." 
 
 " How the deuce do you know ? and why are 
 you trying to bamboozle me? It's not to be 
 done, Jane, I can tell you. Did Mr. Kharapet go 
 with Mrs. Harding?" 
 
 "No, sir; he went out with them after 
 luncheon, but did not return." 
 
 *' Ah ! catch him stifling himself at a theatre ! 
 There, you may take away, Jane, and feel in the 
 left pocket of my dust coat for a newspaper. 
 Then draw up that blind, put the brandy and 
 seltzer on the little table near my chair." So 
 saying, Mr. Harding established himself in much 
 comfort, and proceeded to peruse the city article 
 carefully. 
 
 He had begun to nod over his studies, how- 
 ever, and was fast dropping into a sound sleep 
 when Jane reappeared with a countenance con- 
 siderably lightened, and announced " Mr. Khara- 
 pet." 
 
 '' He has something to divert him now," she 
 said to her companion, " and we may have half 
 an hour's peace." 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 61 
 
 Mr. Harding started up to receive his guest 
 with alacrity. " Come along, Kharapet," he 
 said. '' I thought you might look in as you did 
 not turn up at the office to-day. What will you 
 take % Sit down, sit down." 
 
 '* I thank you," returned Kharapet blandly, as 
 he advanced to the seat pointed out. " No, I 
 was unable to go into the city to-day, and had 
 an appointment with my Lord Saintsbury this 
 evening." 
 
 "Have you dined 1" 
 
 " I have ; but I shall feel obliged for a little 
 lemonade or cold water." 
 
 " Ah ! you Eastern fellows have the pull over 
 us in the matter of drink," said Harding, as he 
 rang the bell and ordered the desired refreshment. 
 *' Why, you must save pounds a year ! Now I 
 can't do without my glass of wine, or spirits and 
 water." 
 
 "It is habit, and the difference of climate," 
 returned Kharapet mechanically ; and there was 
 a pause — each waited for the other to begin. 
 Mr. Harding lit a cigar, and offered one to his 
 companion, who declined. 
 
 "Those Moreira shares are still rising," ob- 
 
62 THE EXECUTOR, 
 
 served Harding at length. " I told you they 
 would." 
 
 " So I see ; yet you must have a care. They will 
 come down with a run before many days are over." 
 
 " 111 venture to hold on a bit longer," rejoined 
 Harding. " I am sure I can rely on you for 
 friendly action." 
 
 " So far as I can with safety to myself assist 
 you, I will," said the Syrian cautiously; ''but 
 you must be prudent." 
 
 And without discussing the matter, whatever 
 it might be, in which both were interested, they 
 glided into talk of their past experiences and 
 mutual transactions in Bombay — none of which 
 concern the present story. They had evidently 
 known each other well in the lifetime of the 
 older Kharapet. 
 
 Sometimes their reminiscences were of a kind 
 that would not look well on these pages, and 
 occasionally they lapsed into Arabic, with which 
 Mr. Harding was tolerably familiar. He laughed 
 more than once, long and loud, but his companion 
 found sufficient vent for his mirth in pressing his 
 slender hands together, and chuckling in a low 
 inward manner. 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 63 
 
 Jane came, lit the gas, and drew down the 
 blinds without interrupting their conversation, 
 and its drift had again changed to the present. 
 
 " I suppose those women will soon come back 
 from that tomfoolery. I susj)ect that's what's 
 keeping you, Kharapet, eh ? " 
 
 " I should like to see Mrs. Harding and her 
 young charge," said Kharapet demurely. " And 
 speaking of her reminds me to warn you afresh 
 against staying too long on those Moreira shares. 
 I have no objection to your making a fair profit 
 on the transaction, but Stasie's interest must be 
 cared for before everything." 
 
 " Who is going to injure it ? " asked Mr. Hard- 
 ing gruffly. 
 
 " I do not suppose you will intentionally, but 
 you are running a risk ; and if you hold on too 
 long, and lose her money, I must see that you 
 refund it." 
 
 "You have turned suddenly conscientious," 
 replied Harding, with a sneer. " You usedn't to 
 be so strait-laced." 
 
 The Syrian smiled a triumphant smile that 
 show^ed all his white teeth and glittered in his 
 black eyes. " Good and faithful friend," he said, 
 
64 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 ** Stasie Yerner's interests and mine are or will be 
 the same. Know, excellent Harding, that I 
 love that beauteous creature, and I will wed her. 
 Am I not the luckiest, happiest man on earth ? 
 I came, after many difficulties, as you know, all 
 this weary way determined to marry her, even 
 were her hair red, her eyes green, her form hump- 
 backed ! and lo ! I find a golden-haired angel, with 
 soft speaking eyes, the grace of a gazelle, lips like 
 a pomegranate, hands white as snow ! It is a fore- 
 taste of heaven to feel her velvet touch, and all 
 this will be mine." Kharapet spoke with a sup- 
 pressed rapture of anticipation, a sort of tremulous 
 passion, that evidently surprised his hearer, who 
 did not seem too well pleased. 
 
 " Why ! how the devil do you know she will 
 have you ? " 
 
 " She must,'' replied the Syrian, in a low con- 
 centrated tone, '' I will lay hold upon her and 
 keep her — none shall take her out of my hand — 
 but she will be mine willingly. I see I please 
 her ; she gives me kind glances, friendly words ; 
 her accent as she says my name is tender, and 
 she has seen none other save me. Nor am I ill- 
 favoured, Mr. Harding." He glanced round for 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 65 
 
 a looking-glass, but finding none, continued — " I 
 am still young, and I love her ; I hunger and 
 thirst for her presence, yet when she comes it 
 overpowers me — I feel a strange restraint — she 
 has a nameless power which I must con- 
 quer." 
 
 " Well, you have been going ahead ! " exclaimed 
 Harding. "Why, how often have you seen this 
 girl?" 
 
 " Times and seasons do not count in such a 
 passion as mine. She has never left my sight." 
 
 " And what do you think, my good sir, will 
 the guardian say to your proposal ? ^' interrupted 
 Harding. 
 
 *^ He will not object. I stand well with him. 
 I have obliged him." 
 
 "Ah!" cried Harding — a prolonged "Ah!" 
 " If I were to tell him of those little transac- 
 tions at Bushire, — of that affair with Himnar's 
 people, — I am afraid he might not think you a 
 very desirable husband for his ward." 
 
 "My friend," said the Syrian quietly but sig- 
 nificantly, " you will do no such thing ; we should 
 indeed be foolish to injure each other by any 
 unnecessary revelations of past mistakes and 
 VOL. I. 5 
 
66 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 errors." He looked with unusual steadiness 
 straight into Mr. Harding's eyes as he spoke. 
 
 " What do you mean ? " returned that gentle- 
 man, with some degree of bluster in his tone ; but 
 his glance sank even as he spoke, and he resumed, 
 with a little embarrassment, *' You never under- 
 stand a joke, Kharapet. It does not look well 
 when a man is so ready to fancy you are going to 
 split on him." 
 
 ''Split," repeated Kharapet, as if puzzled. 
 *' Oh no. I quite understand what — what you call 
 a joke, when a joke is meant, and I am quite sure, 
 joking apart, that you feel convinced I am a very 
 suitable husband for my brother's heiress." 
 
 '* Ay, there's the rub ! isn't it, Kharapet ? To 
 think that your brother's hard-earned money 
 should go to a stranger. Never mind, man ; you 
 have a better chance of grabbing it by marriage 
 than by any other way. You used not to be so 
 great a favourite with your late lamented brother," 
 
 The Syrian smiled, not a pleasant smile. " For- 
 tune has compensations for the deserving," he 
 said. " Do I understand that you will offer no 
 obstacle to my hopes ? " 
 
 " No ; that is, I reserve my decision. We will 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 67 
 
 see how matters go on. There is a good deal to 
 be seen to first — much to be considered," replied 
 Harding very deliberately. 
 
 " We will discuss the question farther," re- 
 marked Kharapet. " I think you will find that 
 our interests are identical, only I would strongly 
 advise you to sell out those shares at once, and 
 reinvest the sum originally expended in Govern- 
 ment or guaranteed stock without loss of time." 
 
 There was something significant in his tone, 
 and he caressed his silky beard with a gesture 
 usual with him when speaking earnestly. Mr. 
 Harding did not reply, and Kharapet went 
 on — 
 
 " It rests with yourself how to dispose of the 
 fruits of your speculation. I should be sorry to 
 do anything unfriendly, but I have duties imposed 
 upon me by the executorship which I must not 
 neglect, and " he paused. 
 
 " Of course, of course," returned Mr. Harding, 
 rousing himself from a fit of thought ; "we are 
 both equally anxious to do the best we can for 
 the girl ; an uncommon fine creature she is ; if I 
 hadn't a wife already I would see if I could not 
 cut you out." 
 
68 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 The Syrian's dark eyes lit up for an instant 
 with a fierce glare, like an irritated wild animal. 
 He smiled, however, a rather forced smile, as Hard- 
 ing went on — " But I made a fool of myself long 
 ago, ran my head into the noose for the sake of 
 a pretty face that was all the owner's fortune. In 
 short, I never thought enough of my own interest. 
 Well, Kharapet, come up to the office — let me see 
 — the day after to-morrow ; we will go thoroughly 
 into the accounts, and I'll undertake to satisfy 
 you on all points." 
 
 As he uttered these words the two men looked 
 steadily at each other, and there was a short 
 silence. 
 
 " I wiU be with you about two," replied Kha- 
 rapet, rising to take leave ; but his movement was 
 checked by the sound of a carriage stopping, fol- 
 lowed by a peal of the front-door bell. 
 
 " Here are the ladies," said Kharapet, making 
 a step towards the door, which was soon thrown 
 open to admit Stasie, who entered slowly, and 
 walked to a chair, where she sat down, without 
 noticing either Mr. Harding or Kharapet. 
 
 " Well, Stasie, how are you ? " said Mr. Hard- 
 ing. 
 
THE EXECUTOR, 69 
 
 " Oh ! I beg your pardon," cried Stasie, start- 
 ing up and rushing over to shake hands with 
 him. " Do you know I was so absorbed in the 
 play that I still seem to see it and nothing else. 
 Oh, Hormuz, why did you not come ? You 
 would have been enchanted ! It was not acting 
 — it was nature ! — the queer, idle, genial, kindly 
 Eip Van Winkle lived and moved and dawdled 
 before you ; and when he came back after his 
 twenty years' sleep and found himself forgotten 
 — when he waited the hesitating recognition of 
 his daughter — it was too touching ! — all the more 
 because of the funny quaintness of the poor old 
 man. I could not help crying. You cried too, 
 didn't you, dear Mrs. Harding?" 
 
 '' I am afraid I did. Tears are with me a 
 simple physical weakness," said Mrs. Harding, a 
 faint colour rising to her cheek. 
 
 " A man slept twenty years 1 " exclaimed Mr. 
 Harding, with great contempt ; " and you two 
 go crying over such rubbish as that ! — by George, 
 you are only fit for a lunatic asylum !" 
 
 Stasie laughed. '^ Certainly it sounds absurd ; 
 but if you only saw it ! I am sure you would 
 have felt as we did." 
 
70 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 " I doubt that." 
 
 "Well, you would, I am sure," turning to 
 Hormuz, who had drawn a chair near, and was 
 gazing at her through his half-closed eyes. 
 
 "I would, I would," he exclaimed hastily. 
 " I should have felt as you did." 
 
 " Come, it is getting late. Will you take 
 some supper or something, Stasie ? though I 
 warn you the cook is out, so I don't know how 
 you are to get an5rthing." 
 
 " Is cook out 1" said Mrs. Harding nervously. 
 
 " Oh, I do not want anything," cried Stasie. 
 " I will go away to bed and dream of Eip Van 
 Winkle. What a wonderful gift to be able to 
 act like that I Good-night, Mr. Harding — good 
 night, Hormuz." 
 
 " One moment," said that individual. " Shall 
 you be disengaged to-morrow ? I should like to 
 bring you the jewels I took charge of, and a little 
 gift I ventured to add myself." 
 
 " Jewels !" said Stasie, pausing on her way to 
 the door. " Oh yes. He may come ; may he 
 not, Mrs. Harding ?" 
 
 " I am not sure we ought to give you the 
 jewels till you are of age, Stasie," said Mr. 
 
THE EXECUTOR. '71 
 
 Harding, with a good-humoured laugh. "But I 
 am afraid Kharapet is going to give you too 
 much of your own way." 
 
 " Ah, he perceives that I am to be trusted," 
 said Stasie, laughing, as she kissed her hand and 
 left them. 
 
 It was not, however, till two or three days 
 later that the promised jewels reached Stasie. 
 
 " To-morrow," said Kharapet, as he sipped 
 some black coffee after dinner, ** to-morrow I 
 shall indeed bring you the long-promised trinkets, 
 dear Stasie ! Our good friend Harding has been 
 somewhat over scrupulous. He may be erring 
 on the safe side, but I think he might trust you ; 
 you would not insist on his replacing what he 
 gave to yourself because the law entitled you to 
 do so when you come of age." 
 
 " Of course I should not be so dishonest," 
 cried Stasie ; " so be sure you bring me the 
 ' pitty sings,' as Ethel calls them. You know I 
 am coming out in colours on Sunday. I am hav- 
 ing four new dresses all at once. You will have 
 to pay some terrible bills for me, Mr. Harding." 
 
 " Ah, my dear, I will take care you do not go 
 
72 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 too far. Mrs. Harding knows the length of your 
 tether." 
 
 '* We have not even approached its length," 
 she returned. "Pray, Mr. Kharapet, how did 
 your meeting go off to-day V 
 
 "Very successfully. My Lord Saintsbury 
 made a most excellent speech. My own poor 
 efforts, too, were listened to with courtesy, and 
 even considerably applauded." 
 
 "It is wonderful how beautifully you speak 
 English," exclaimed Stasie. "Where did you 
 learn it so well 1 " 
 
 " I was early placed in the office of an English 
 merchant in Bombay, and then I had the honour 
 of being secretary and interpreter to Mr. Percy 
 Wyatt during his travels in Persia and Turkish 
 Arabia ; besides which I love study." 
 
 " Ay, Kharapet is a dab at languages. How 
 many can^you manage ? " 
 
 " Oh, not many languages — a few dialects of 
 Syriac and Hindustani." 
 
 " It must be delightful to know a great many 
 languages," said Stasie. " Tell me, what was the 
 meeting about to-day?" 
 
 "For promoting the establishment of an 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 73 
 
 English and Syrian College at Antiocli where 
 priests may be trained for the evangelisation of 
 the Nestorian and Chaldean churches." 
 
 " And do you get in any money for this 
 scheme ?" asked Mr. Harding, with an indescrib- 
 able accent of contempt and incredulity. 
 
 '* There are several thousand pounds on our 
 subscription list abeady, but of course we want a 
 considerable sum." 
 
 " I tell you what you'll do," said Mr. Harding, 
 with an odd twinkle in his hard, light eyes. 
 " You start a ' Collegiate Company,' with so many 
 shares, to pay six per cent ; offer educational 
 advantages in Hindustani and Eastern dialects 
 cheap to students for the civil or military service. 
 I don't mind promoting it for a consideration. 
 Your religious friends won't object a trifle of 
 filthy lucre in addition to their spiritual gains." 
 
 " My good friend Harding, you scoff too much 
 — you do not believe in the disinterested wish 
 to spread the gospel of peace which so many of 
 your noble countrymen cherish." Mr. Harding 
 made a slight gesture expressive of incredulity, 
 and Kharapet continued. " I have forgotten to 
 mention a circumstance which concerns you, 
 
74 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 Stasie. At the close of the meeting I was in the 
 committee room, and receiving the kind congra- 
 tulations of the noble chairman, when one of the 
 attendants approached me with a slip of paper, 
 whereon was written, ' Miss C. Stretton would 
 feel much obliged for a minute's conversation 
 respecting her niece, the late Mrs. Christian 
 Kharapet.' I went as soon as I could to the 
 ante-room, and found a lady, not young but 
 elegant, and well looking, as you English ladies 
 are at almost any age. She asked me many 
 questions, which showed acquaintance with your 
 history, Stasie, and explained that she was the 
 sister of your mother s mother. Do I make it 
 clear?" 
 
 " Oh yes ! I know her," cried Stasie. " She is 
 my aunt or grand-aunt. She used sometimes to 
 come and see me at Mrs. Mathews', and bring 
 me toffy and things. Once she took me to 
 Madame Tussaud's, but would not go into the 
 chamber of horrors ! I should like to see her. 
 She used to cry about my poor mother, and I 
 think she is the only relation I have in the world." 
 
 " Just so," returned Kharapet. " It seems 
 she has not long returned from the Continent, 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 75 
 
 and was not aware of the death of my poor 
 brother. She is very anxious to see you, Stasie ; 
 so I ventured, Mrs. Harding, to say she might 
 call here, as I saw no reason to doubt her 
 identity." 
 
 " Certainly," said Mrs. Harding indifferently. 
 
 "We had better be cautious," growled Mr. 
 Harding, who had been nodding in his chair, but 
 roused up at the mention of a visit. " She 
 will be some old maid that hasn t a sixpence, 
 and wants to sponge on Stasie. We must be 
 cautious." 
 
 " I am sure if she is /should not grudge her a 
 little help ; and I suppose I have a right to see 
 my own relations though I am not of age," said 
 Stasie aggressively. Mrs. Harding looked up 
 surprised. 
 
 " No one wants to interfere with your rights, 
 my young lady ! but you must be guided by 
 those who are older and wiser than yourself," 
 retorted Harding testily. 
 
 " Stasie will always be reasonable ; few young 
 ladies have her sense and high spirit. I am 
 sure, Mr. Harding, you can have no objection to 
 receiving any friend of hers." 
 
76 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 Mr. Harding muttered something about 
 '' making a fool ; " and then started up, exclaim- 
 ing, " Come along, Kharapet, let us have a smoke 
 in the study. I see, Miss Stasie, you are just as 
 self-willed as the rest of your sex, only you are 
 more likely to get your own way than others." 
 
 '^ I hope so," said Stasie, laughing, as they 
 went out. 
 
 " Come up to the drawing-room, dear," said 
 Mrs. Harding, " and play me something. I scarce 
 ever hear a note of music." 
 
 " Mine is not worth listening to, I fear," re- 
 plied Stasie. " I do hope I may get some good 
 lessons now." 
 
 " Yes, you ought," rejoined Mrs. Harding, as 
 they mounted the stairs. 
 
 Stasie went gladly to the piano, and began 
 her very simple repertoire. Soon Kharapet 
 stole in, and, creeping over to the piano, leant 
 upon it in closer neighbourhood to the player 
 than she quite liked. There was something, 
 she knew not what, in his dark eyes and fixed 
 gaze, that made her uncomfortable ; and in 
 proportion as he grew more familiar and bolder, 
 she grew shyer and more ill at ease, a transfor- 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 77 
 
 mation that miglit well mislead liiin as well as 
 the onlookers. 
 
 It was late before Kharapet took leave, and 
 Mr. Harding had been sound asleep in his chair 
 for nearly an hour. 
 
 " Till to-morrow," sighed the Syrian, as he 
 pressed Stasie's hand at parting ; adding, with 
 an expressive glance, " I hate the night." 
 
 " Oh ! I love it ; it is so delightful to feel one- 
 self dropping to sleep, and so nice to wake up 
 fresh in the morning, especially here, where there 
 is no horrible bell to rouse one at half-past six. 
 I do not know how I shall bear to go back to 
 school after the delightful time I have had with 
 you, dear Mrs. Harding." 
 
 " Trust me. We will arrange matters as you 
 wish," were Kharapet's last words. 
 
 When Stasie reached her own room she sat 
 down before the glass, looked long and steadily 
 at herself, and fell into a reverie, or rather a fit 
 of graver thought than was usual with her. First 
 she recognised, with a very exquisite sense of 
 pleasure, that she was more than a good-look- 
 ing girl, and that Hormuz Kharapet shared that 
 opinion. How good-natured and kind he was to 
 
78 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 her ! His extravagant compliments reminded 
 her of the lavish praises of her stepfather during 
 his last visit to London, which was her only clear 
 recollection of him. " It is their Eastern way, 
 I suppose," she thought, " and I daresay Hormuz 
 likes me too for his brother's sake. He treats me 
 rather as a child ! I daresay I seem so to him ! 
 I wonder shall I ever have any romance in my 
 life ! I hope so ; but I hope too I am not a 
 coquette by nature," she mused, for she warmly 
 admired earnestness, constancy, loyalty, although 
 a keener sense of fun than generally falls to the 
 share of romantic young ladies often induced her 
 to act flightily. So the Kharapet episode was 
 dismissed from her mind for the present, with a 
 brief resolution to make him talk rationally on 
 some other subject than her own charms and per- 
 fections, and to ascertain if he knew anything 
 about her old favourites the Eosicrucians. " It 
 is all very nice to be admired," was her con- 
 cluding reflection on this head, " but one wants 
 variety ! I daresay Hormuz Kharapet was in 
 India during the Mutiny. I wonder if he had 
 any ' hairbreadth escapes.' I will ask him to- 
 morrow. I wonder what the jewels will be like. 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 79 
 
 It is a shame not to give me the whole of them ! 
 Mr. Harding is very tiresome sometimes. I 
 don't think he has quite so good a temper as 
 I thought he had. Oh, gracious ! it is half-past 
 eleven. I shall not get half sleep enough." And 
 Stasie prepared rapidly for bed. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The following day was clear and bright, and 
 promised fair for tlie flower-show to which Mrs. 
 Harding and Stasie were going. The morning 
 passed delightfully for Stasie. First, two of her 
 new dresses arrived, and stood the test of " trying 
 on " triumphantly. Then Mr. Kharapet was an- 
 nounced, and entered, bearing an inlaid sandal- 
 wood box. Mrs. Harding was writing, and Stasie 
 busy dressing a doll for Ethel. The former 
 smiled and held out her hand without rising, but 
 Stasie came forward. 
 
 " AhjHormuz ! you have kept your word, I see." 
 " I always try to do so. Here are a few of 
 the more trifling articles bequeathed you by my 
 late brother, and here," — placing the box on the 
 sofa, beside Stasie, and taking a small silken case 
 from his breast pocket, — "this is a trifle from 
 myself. Will you wear it for my sake, Stasie ? " 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 81 
 
 While lie spoke lie drew out a massive gold 
 bangle and slipped it on her arm. 
 
 " Oh, thank you ! a thousand thanks ! Is it 
 not lovely, Mrs. Harding ! Oh, I will always 
 wear it, Hormuz ! " 
 
 ^* It is very massive," said Mrs. Harding, rising 
 and coming over to look at the contents of the 
 box, which Kharapet knelt down to open with a 
 curious rude key. He exhibited a variety of 
 brooches and clasps, four or five bracelets, a 
 turquoise necklace, a few solid clumsy rings, all 
 of rich yellow gold, studded with small rubies, 
 emeralds, carbuncles, cat's-eyes, and pearls. Many 
 of the stones were uncut, and all looked dull 
 from their opaque setting, but to Stasie's un- 
 accustomed eyes they seemed magnificent, and 
 Kharapet assured her they were all valuable 
 stones, carefully chosen. Lifting up the tray 
 which contained these treasures, he then dis- 
 played another layer, consisting chiefly of gold 
 ornaments, a beautifully chased classic-looking 
 necklace, armlet, brooch, earrings, and clasp for 
 the waist. 
 
 " These are far the best," said Mrs. Harding. 
 
 " They are quite lovely ! " cried Stasie. 
 
 VOL. I, 6 
 
82 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 " And have additional value for you," said the 
 Syrian ; '' for I find from my poor brother's me- 
 moranda that they were made for your mother, 
 from the pattern of some antique ornaments 
 found at Ctesiphon. I believe she wore them 
 up to the time of her death. My brother loved 
 to see her richly attired." 
 
 Stasie's eyes filled up at the ideas suggested 
 by his words. She lifted the necklace tenderly, 
 and sat gazing at it, trying to recall her faintly- 
 remembered mother, imagining the golden cir- 
 clet round her fair throat — for she had been 
 fair, that young mother ! How Stasie longed 
 to have her there with her, to protect and be 
 protected ! 
 
 "And that is all," said Kharapet, breaking 
 the silence in which Stasie contemplated her new 
 possessions. " There is an emerald necklace with 
 a diamond pendant, some valuable rings, and 
 other articles, which Mr. Harding thinks you 
 had better not have at present." 
 
 '' Pray, at what time " Stasie was begin- 
 ning, when the door was opened by the smart 
 parlour-maid, who presented a card, saying, "A 
 lady for Miss Verner." 
 
THE EXECUTOR, 83 
 
 Stasie glanced at the card. ** Miss C. 
 Stretton!" she exclaimed. 
 
 '' Show her up," said Mrs. Harding. 
 
 A tall lady entered — tall, not ungraceful, and 
 much younger looking, Mrs. Harding thought, 
 than she exjDected. She had good features, and 
 a rather fixed expression of amiability ; her hair 
 was parted smoothly, and fell in a couple of 
 curls behind each ear. She wore an abundantly- 
 trimmed pale lavender dress, and a black silk 
 mantle much befringed, neither looking very 
 fresh. Her bonnet was a little top-heavy, with 
 black lace and poppies ; a veil and long lace 
 lappets adding to her incumbrances. 
 
 She made an elegant curtsey on entering, and 
 then approaching Stasie with a little run, ex- 
 claimed, " Ah ! my dear niece, I should have 
 known you anywhere from your likeness to your 
 dear mother 1 We were like sisters ; for, though 
 her aunt, there was a very little difference in 
 our years ! " Here Miss Stretton kissed Stasie, 
 pushed her gently away, looked at her, shook 
 her head, and wiped her eyes. *' How the past 
 comes back in gazing on you, dear child ! " 
 
 " I am very glad to see you," said Stasie, 
 
84 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 blushing, and feeling a little awkward. Kliara- 
 pet had quietly thrown a large silk pocket-hand- 
 kerchief over the trinkets that lay spread out on 
 the sofa, not, however, before Miss Stretton's 
 quick but unsteady eyes glanced curiously in 
 their direction. 
 
 " Mrs. Harding, I presume ? " continued Miss 
 Stretton, with a graceful inclination, " and Mr. 
 Kharapet. I presume, my dear niece, you have 
 heard of my curious interview with this gentle- 
 man.^' She accepted the seat he offered as she 
 spoke. " It was quite extraordinary," — address- 
 ing Mrs. Harding, — ^' I have only just returned 
 after an absence of two years on the Continent, 
 and my attention was attracted by the advertise- 
 ment of a meeting under the patronage of Lord 
 Saintsbury and some of the leading clergy, where 
 Mr. Kharapet, of Mardin, Syria, was to deliver 
 an address. Thinking it was your excellent step- 
 father, Stasie, I determined to attend. You may 
 imagine my surprise when this Mr. Kharapet 
 came forward. I at once made up my mind to 
 ask him for a few words of explanation, which he 
 most courteously accorded, when I learned the 
 sad bereavement you have sustained, my dear 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 85 
 
 child, in the death of your kind protector. I 
 have lost no time in coming to see if I can be of 
 any use to my dear Anastasia's only girl, though 
 I am sure she is hajDpily placed with you, my 
 dear madam ? " she concluded suavely, but inter- 
 rogatively, for she was not a little desirous of 
 understanding her niece's position. 
 
 " You are very good," murmured Mrs. Harding. 
 
 *' Oh ! I am only on a visit here," exclaimed 
 Stasie, who was pleased to see " any one belonging 
 to her," as she phrased it, and beamed accord- 
 ingly on her visitor. '' I am still at school. Is 
 it not a shame, at my age ? I am trying to coax 
 Mr. Harding and Mr. Kharapet to take me away, 
 and let me live with Mrs. Mathews." 
 
 " Mrs. Mathews, ah ! " returned Miss Stretton, 
 compressing her lips and shaking her head, as if 
 she " could a tale unfold ; " catching Kharapet's 
 eye he bent his head as if in solemn acquiescence. 
 
 '' AVhat is the matter with Mrs. Mathews ? " 
 asked Stasie, looking from one to the other. 
 '' Is she ill ? " 
 
 *' No, no. There is really nothing the matter, 
 my dear. ]\Irs. Mathews is an excellent woman." 
 
 " I hope you will stay to luncheon," said Mrs. 
 
86 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 Harding politely. This gave an agreeable turn 
 to the conversation. 
 
 Miss Stretton accepted the invitation readily, 
 but declined Stasie's offer to " come up and take 
 off her bonnet." 
 
 " In fact, T think it unwise for a lady of my 
 time of life to dispense with the extraneous aid 
 of cap or bonnet," she exclaimed with an ami- 
 able simper. " I shall therefore not remove my 
 present head covering." 
 
 Luncheon was announced, and the children 
 entering at the same time, a fresh strain of con- 
 versation was started, and Miss Stretton went 
 into raptures over the beauty and grace of those 
 "sweet little angels.^' She was lively and 
 sympathetic in a remarkable degree all luncheon 
 time : she detailed her own later adventures at 
 great length. 
 
 " You know, dear Mrs. Harding, I am one of 
 those unhappy creatures, an unprotected female, 
 and unfortunately an unprovided female also, at 
 least to the lady of a merchant-prince like your- 
 self I should seem penniless. Well, through the 
 kind interest of my late father's good friend, the 
 Bishop of Algoa, I was appointed companion and 
 
THE EXECUTOR, 87 
 
 chaperon to two charming girls of fortune and 
 distinction, with whom I have been travelling 
 through France and Italy for the last two years, 
 the Misses Catchpole. They are the orphan 
 daughters of an eminent shipowner, who left 
 them very well off — in short, wealthy. The 
 appointment was a very good one. We saw 
 something of society, and I flatter myself I was 
 of great use to the dear girls ; but young people 
 are apt to be influenced by evil example, and 
 though they have not behaved to me exactly as 
 — well as I should to them were our positions 
 reversed, I shall always take an interest in them. 
 Of course one cannot expect the refinement and 
 high-mindedness of real gentry from these sort 
 of people, ahem I " — clearing her throat as she 
 remembered the bourgeois character of her en- 
 tertainers — " at the same time I am well aware 
 that the middle class, I mean the upper middle 
 class, is quite the bulwark of the nation." 
 
 " Keal gratitude is rare in all grades," said 
 Mrs. Harding, as Miss Stretton paused at the 
 end of this long harangue. " Try another cutlet 
 and a little more hock. The ice to Miss Stretton, 
 Jane." 
 
88 ■ THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 '^ You are very kind. I idll take another 
 cutlet ; they are exceedingly nice. After all, one 
 finds nothing abroad to make up for the comfort 
 and elegancies of an English house." 
 
 " You look thoughtful — you do not eat," said 
 the Syrian in a low tone to Stasie. " Has any- 
 thing distressed you ? " 
 
 " Who, me ? oh, I have eaten very well, and 
 I was only thinking." 
 
 " A penny for your thoughts," said Johnnie, 
 who sat at the other side of Stasie. 
 
 " Dear little fellow, how clever and original," 
 exclaimed Miss Stretton, who was evidently bent 
 on making herself agreeable. " What do you 
 think she was thinking of ? " 
 
 *' Oh, I am not sure ; perhaps of those pretty 
 things I saw Mr. Kharapet putting into a box 
 just as we came down to dinner." 
 
 " Or of my dolly ; isn't it finished yet ? " said 
 little Ethel. 
 
 " Were you trying to remember your lesson, 
 Stasie?" suggested Willie. *' Johnnie always 
 forgets his." 
 
 " A house never can be dull with these trea- 
 sures in it," cried Miss Stretton. '' It is indeed 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 89 
 
 a treat to a wanderer like myself to get a peep 
 at such an interior. I do not wonder that my 
 dear niece dislikes the idea of quitting it for the 
 monotony of existence at school." 
 
 " Oh, I am not going to stay there long, am 
 I, Hormuz? Mr. Kharapet and Mr. Harding 
 are to arrange some other residence for me." 
 
 " Ah, indeed, and soon ? " 
 
 " As soon as circumstances permit," returned 
 Mrs. Harding. " It is not easy to find a suitable 
 home for a young lady, even though the world's 
 before her where to choose?" 
 
 " Ah ! very true, dear Mrs. Harding, very 
 true," said Miss Stretton, with an air of profound 
 conviction. Then turning to Kharapet, who 
 was nearly opposite her, she addressed him with 
 a fascinating smile and slight inclination of the 
 head to one side, "I am sure you must feel ex- 
 hausted ; reaction must have set in after the 
 excitement of yesterday. I assure you, Mrs. 
 Harding, Mr. Kharapet's speech excited the 
 greatest enthusiasm. The picture he drew of 
 Eastern life and — and society, expanding under 
 the influence of England, of intercourse with 
 Englishmen, the spread of Evangelical truth 
 
90 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 under the glorious sky of Syria, the — tlie spiritual 
 and temporal benefits which would flow from a 
 union such as he described, was thrilling — touch- 
 ing. I observed several of the gentlemen on the 
 platform were much aflfected." 
 
 Kharapet accepted the compliment gravely. 
 It was hard, he said, to find language sufiiciently 
 forcible and expressive for the magnitude and 
 importance of his subject. 
 
 *' You managed to find it, nevertheless, my 
 dear sir. And Stasie, he quoted some beautiful 
 little bits of Arabic poetry that sounded quite 
 charming." 
 
 " How thrilling it must be to address a large 
 crowd, and feel that you hold the people spell- 
 bound ! " cried Stasie, with an admiring glance at 
 Kharapet. " Were I a man I would rather be an 
 orator than anything ; being a woman, I should 
 like to be a great actress ! " 
 
 ^' Stasie ! " exclaimed Kharapet, with a gesture 
 of horror, quite real. 
 
 " Ah, there spoke the innocent enthusiasm of 
 youth," said Miss Stretton. 
 
 " Does it frighten you to hear me talk of going 
 on the stage ? " cried Stasie mischievously to 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 91 
 
 Kharapet. " As soon as I am one and twenty I 
 shall make my debute 
 
 Kharapet smiled, and was about to speak, but 
 checked himself ; and Mrs. Harding filled up the 
 pause by advising Miss Stretton to try some cream 
 with her gooseberry tart. 
 
 " Are you coming with us to the flower-show ?" 
 she then asked Kharapet. 
 
 " If you will permit me — yes. When I was 
 in London before I once saw one of those lovely 
 shows, and I know not which were loveliest — the 
 garden or the human flowers." 
 
 "Ah, Mr. Kharapet is, I see, an admirer of 
 beauty," said Miss Stretton ; " but I suppose our 
 ladies must pale beside the greater loveliness of 
 your Eastern Houris." 
 
 Kharapet laughed softly. " We Christians of 
 S3n:ia do not believe in Houris, as you must be 
 aware," he said ; " and in beauty, as in most things, 
 England is pre-eminent. Women in the East are, 
 alas ! degraded by ignorance — kept like children." 
 
 " But do you not consider learning — I should 
 say instruction — waste of time for girls ? " said 
 Mrs. Harding quietly. *' I think I heard Mr. 
 Harding and yourself come to some such con- 
 
92 THE EXECUTOR, 
 
 elusion the other day h ^ropos of Stasie and 
 school." 
 
 "Nay, Mrs. Harding, you unintentionally mis- 
 represent me. I do not think that charming 
 young ladies should be turned into learned pro- 
 fessors, and their bright eyes dimmed by over- 
 study. I should like them to be neither more nor 
 less instructed than my dear niece there," a car- 
 essing prolonged glance from under his long 
 lashes at Stasie as he spoke. 
 
 "Poor things," returned that young lady, 
 laughing and colouring ; " theirs would be but a 
 short measure of learning." 
 
 " I don't think there is much good in lessons. 
 I hate going to school," remarked Master Johnnie, 
 who was painfully idle. 
 
 " I can read all Andersen's fairy tales," said 
 Willie with some pride. 
 
 " Oh, you are a baby ! " cried his brother con- 
 temptuously. 
 
 " I am sorry to disturb you, Stasie, but you 
 had better go and dress ; I should like to see the 
 flowers while we can get near them," observed 
 Mrs. Harding. 
 
 Stasie rose, looked at Miss Stretton, and hesi- 
 
THE EXECUTOR, 93 
 
 tated. " May I come with you and assist at your 
 toilette, my dear," she said, in reply to the look. 
 '*I delight in seeing nice young creatures well 
 dressed ; and for the daughter of your dear mother 
 my interest is tenfold. Moreover, I am not with- 
 out taste, I flatter myself. May I come ? " 
 
 " Oh, certainly. Miss " 
 
 " Pray call me auntie ; there is something 
 touching in the appellation," interrupted Miss 
 Stretton ; "and I imagine we two are the sole 
 surviving members of a once numerous family ; " 
 she put her handkerchief to her eyes, and Stasie 
 heartily responding to the appeal, exclaimed — 
 " Come then, auntie, and thank you. I am sure 
 some fairy godmother has been in a good humour 
 with me of late to send me a nice auntie and a 
 kind delig^htful uncle " — a smile and wave of the 
 hand to Kharapet, as she left the room preceded 
 by her new-found relative. 
 
 Kharapet, who had risen with the rest, stood an 
 instant silent, his hands pressed over his heart, a 
 look of rapture lighting up his sallow face and 
 deep eyes. 
 
 Mrs. Harding smiled as she assisted little Ethel, 
 from her chair, and let her run away after her 
 
94 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 brothers. Kharapet caught the slightly cynical 
 expression, and exclaimed, " Ah, madam, I fear I 
 have never succeeded in winning your friendship, 
 highly though I would value it ; you do not, I 
 fear, look favourably on the deep, intense affection 
 which woke in my heart almost at the first sight 
 of that sweet but friendless girl. Providence has, 
 I believe, guided my steps to be the fond protector 
 of her and of her property, which will be precious 
 to me because it is hers. Why, my dear Mrs. 
 Harding, does not your husband's trusted friend 
 find favour in your eyes ? " 
 
 " My favour is of small importance, Mr. Khara- 
 pet ; and as to Stasie, young ladies with good 
 fortunes seldom lack either friends or lovers. 
 She, however, is fair enough, and I think good 
 
 enough, to deserve both for herself alone, yet " 
 
 she paused. 
 
 " Yet," repeated Kharapet, I pray you, con- 
 tinue ; you have stopped some word that would 
 enlighten me as to your real views. I do beseech 
 you, speak ! " 
 
 Mrs. Harding's pale cheek flushed faintly ; she 
 hesitated, and then said, " I am very foolish to 
 give an opinion on what does not concern me, and 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 95 
 
 if Mr. Harding knew it he would scold me ; never- 
 theless, I will say that I think Stasie would be 
 happier as the wife of an Englishman, and you as 
 the husband of one of your own countrywomen, 
 notwithstanding your admiration for the learning 
 and accomplishments of ours." 
 
 " You are wrong, dear lady, you are wrong ; 
 my life's devotion will secure your young friend's 
 happiness, and — you do not for a moment think 
 I would betray a confidential word ? " 
 
 " My opinions are of little moment," she re- 
 plied ; '' only I warn you not to be too confident 
 — too secure of success." 
 
 She bowed and left the room. Kharapet looked 
 after her, the words " an enemy — an obstacle," 
 forming themselves in his brain. 
 
 While Mrs. Harding, slowly mounting the 
 stairs to her dressing-room, murmured to herself, 
 '' Betray ! Yes ; in the very first tete-d-tete 
 with a full exposition of how I tried to make 
 him understand he was not to tell my husband. 
 Shall I always be an outspoken fool ! After all 
 these years of bitter training !" 
 
 Meanwhile no misgivings or distrust darkened 
 the joyousness with which Stasie attired herself. 
 
96 THE EXECUTOR, 
 
 She was greatly attracted by the sympathy her 
 aunt evinced, and the pleasantly-implied admira- 
 tion of herself and her belongings which that lady 
 contrived not too openly to convey. I will not 
 say much about her toilette, because some, if not 
 all, my young readers might shriek if I described 
 too accurately a blue-and-white French muslin 
 dress, flounced, but not draped, worn over a 
 crinoline, with a handsome sash tied behind ; a 
 very small bonnet of lace and forget-me-nots 
 resting on her wavy, abundant hair, which was 
 not cut in a fringe, but simply parted and 
 smoothed back as well as its rebellious richness 
 would permit ; and a black lace mantlet, shroud- 
 ing, but not hiding, her pliant figure. Stasie, 
 however, was highly pleased with herself and 
 her toilette. Never had she possessed anything 
 half so smart before. 
 
 << Very nice, indeed ; most becoming," said 
 Miss Stretton. " I shall really be quite proud of 
 my niece ! You will come and see me, dear, 
 will you not ? After all, it is pleasanter for near 
 relatives like ourselves to meet uninterrupted by 
 comparative strangers. I have a very humble 
 little lodging, though not ungenteel, in Stafford 
 
THE EXECUTOR, 97 
 
 Place, Wesbourne Grove, where I shall be happy 
 to receive you ; and it may be a comfort to you 
 to discuss your plans with one who would fain 
 be a second mother to you, my poor lonely 
 child." 
 
 " Thank you. How good you are ! I will 
 come the day after to-morrow." 
 
 " Very well, dear ; the day after to-morrow, 
 then. Come early and share my simple fare. 
 A hearty welcome must atone for the absence of 
 luxuries such as you are accustomed to here." 
 
 " Oh, I don't care a straw about them. I 
 only care to have just one or two people to love 
 
 me. 
 
 " Ah, my dear Stasie, you will find plenty 
 whose fair seeming may deceive and flatter. 
 Youth, good looks, a fine fortune — these things 
 command success ; but I trust the instinct of a 
 noble heart will teach you whom to trust." 
 
 ^^ I don't think people are so bad after all, 
 auntie. And have I a fine fortune % How much ? " 
 
 *' My dear, don't you know ? / haven't an 
 
 idea ! It is a shame to keep you in the dark. 
 
 You really ought to be informed. You are quite 
 
 old enough to understand your own position. 
 
 VOL. I. 7 
 
98 THE EXECUTOR, 
 
 Now those beautiful things on the sofa which 
 Mr. Kharapet covered over so carefully as I 
 came in, were they his gifts or your own pro- 
 perty?" 
 
 '' They are mine — some of what were left me 
 by poor Papa Kharapet." 
 
 " Why don't you wear some of them to-day ? 
 I see you have no jewellery ?" 
 
 " No, I do not care for it in the morning ; 
 and as Mr. Kharapet did not absolutely give 
 me the box, I do not like to send a servant 
 for it." 
 
 "I see you are ready. Shall we come down- 
 stairs % I must say adieu to Mrs. Harding 
 before I go. You find her a pleasant friend, 
 eh?" 
 
 *' Oh, she is delightful, and so kind !" 
 
 " That's well ; and this Mr. Kharapet — ivhat 
 a handsome man ! He seems quite devoted 
 to you, dear ! I could not believe he was brother 
 to your good stepfather. Why, he is young 
 enough to have been his son ! Ah, my dear 
 Stasie, what a sacrifice your precious mother 
 made for you in marrying that poor old Turk ! 
 I mean, not a Turk exactly — that would have 
 
THE EXECUTOR, 99 
 
 been too improper. I am sure you ought to love 
 any one belonging to ber after all sbe went 
 through for your sake ; but she has had her 
 reward. Let us go down, dear. Trust me. I 
 shall never rest until I find out all about every- 
 thing, and let you know." 
 
CHAPTEE y. 
 
 The flower-show was very brilliant, both as 
 regarded flowers and company. Stasie was 
 exhilarated and excited ; the delicious perfume of 
 the trodden grass, the soft rustle and continuous 
 murmur of the well-dressed crowd, the stirring 
 sounds of the Guards* band, made her feel as 
 if suddenly lifted into a region of beauty 
 and elegance worthy the romance in which she 
 always vaguely anticipated one day to play a 
 part. 
 
 The fact that a hundred lovely toilettes 
 eclipsed her own caused her no discomfort — 
 she felt so happy, so hopeful, that she could 
 afi'ord to be disinterested. 
 
 " Who is that beautiful woman in fawn satin, 
 with poppies in her bonnet, Mrs. Harding ?" she 
 asked presently. 
 
 "I don't know, Stasie. I know very few 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 101 
 
 people. Mr. Kharapet can tell us more — lie is 
 quite in the gay world." 
 
 " Mr. Kharapet has stopped to talk to a lady. 
 Why, it is Lady Elizabeth Wyatt!" 
 
 " Is it ?" said Mrs. Harding, turning to look. 
 " I have never met her ; she seems most gracious." 
 
 While they looked, Kharapet, who was speak- 
 ing with an air of the profoundest deference, 
 made a slight wave of his hand in their direc- 
 tion, and Lady Elizabeth walked over to where 
 they stood. 
 
 *' Allow me to present my good friend, Mrs. 
 Harding, to your ladyship," said Kharapet with 
 a deep bow. *' You are abeady acquainted with 
 Liiss Verner, I believe." 
 
 " Very happy to make your acquaintance, 
 Mrs. Harding," said Lady Elizabeth politely, but 
 with a slight tinge of patronage. " I have heard 
 Mr. Wyatt speak of your husband as having 
 been most useful to him during his Oriental 
 wanderings. Mr. Wyatt, you know, has made 
 the cause of India and our Eastern fellow-chris- 
 tians his own. Miss Verner ! It is some time 
 since I had the pleasure of seeing you ; and 
 really you have grown — grown considerably. 
 
102 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 You are quite a young lady. Pray, how old are 
 you % I presume I may ask ?" 
 
 " Oh yes, Lady Elizabeth. I shall be eighteen 
 next month." 
 
 *' Eighteen ! Why, it is time you should be 
 introduced into society. I am sure your kind 
 friend Mrs. Harding will undertake that task. 
 By the by, I have a conversazione on the 20th. 
 I will send you cards. Mr. Kharapet is coming, 
 of course. Mr. Kharapet is quite Venfant gate 
 of our set just at present ; and I shall have the 
 pleasure of calling on you, Mrs. Harding. Is 
 Miss Verner going to reside with you ?" 
 
 " There is nothing decided as to Miss Verner's 
 future abode," replied Mrs. Harding. ''Mr. 
 Wyatt's approval is requisite before any final 
 arrangement be made." 
 
 " Of course, of course ! I assure you, Mr. 
 Wyatt takes a warm interest in his young ward ; 
 but as you can imagine, with such numerous and 
 important claims upon his time he has not much 
 to spare even for those with whom he is person- 
 ally Lie. Shall we move on ? there are some 
 lovely azaleas and pelargoniums in the larger 
 tent. Tell me, my dear Mr. Kharapet, is it true 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 103 
 
 that you are to be presented to the Prince of 
 Wales on Tuesday ? It would be most desirable 
 both as a means of increasing your importance 
 in the estimation of the various meetings which 
 I hear you are to address, and also it will be to 
 the credit of the Prince to interest himself in 
 your project." 
 
 With another reverence Kharapet explained 
 that the rumour was quite unfounded, — adding 
 with much humility that he did not look for 
 such distinction. 
 
 '^ But why not, my dear sir ? Why not ?" re- 
 turned Lady Elizabeth, who hardly stopped to 
 hear his answer. " Highly esteemed as you are 
 by Mr. Wyatt, and that dear, good Lord Saints- 
 bury ! though I regret that my husband and 
 myself do not quite agree with him on the ques- 
 tion of this rapprochement of the churches. My 
 views are — though I say it myself — wider ; and 
 I do not see how any form of Protestantism can 
 suit the climate, soil, and — and — natural produc- 
 tions of the East I You want something gorgeous, 
 glowing, and all that sort of thing. / am for 
 Protestantism 'pure et simple' The merest 
 whitewashed barn vivified by the inspired elo- 
 
104 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 quence of a preacher ! the deep faith of a con- 
 gregation 1 hut in Europe — Northern Europe ! 
 Whitewash will never do in the East, will it, Mrs. 
 Harding?" 
 
 Mrs. Harding said she supposed not, and 
 Stasie kept her countenance with some difficulty. 
 
 " And pray, my dear Miss Verner, have you 
 made great progress at school \ Have you any 
 idea of going in for these new examinations 1 
 Do you take to music or to art ?" 
 
 ''Neither, I am afraid. Lady Elizabeth. I 
 have not made much progress in anything." 
 
 *'How is that? You really don't look by 
 any means stupid ! You must come to lun- 
 cheon with me some day, and I shall soon find 
 out what your abilities are in the musical and 
 other lines." 
 
 ''I am sure you will very soon," said Stasie 
 good-humouredly. 
 
 Lady Elizabeth had a way of talking herself 
 out of breath, then making a little gasp and rush- 
 ing on again. She now took up the thread of 
 her discourse by exclaiming : '' There is Lady 
 Loftus, one of the most energetic and benevolent 
 women in London. Come, Mr. Kharapet, I must 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 105 
 
 introduce you to Lady Loftus. Au revoir, Mrs. 
 Harding ; I will not forget the cards for my con- 
 versazione." So saying, she hurried away on 
 Kharapet's arm. 
 
 Mrs. Harding and Stasie passed on slowly, 
 enjoying the beauty and fragrance of the flowers. 
 
 " I think a back-bone must have been omitted 
 when Mr. Kharapet's mortal frame was put to- 
 gether," said Mrs. Harding with a smile. " I 
 never saw anything like his bows." 
 
 " I suppose Eastern politeness is very punctili- 
 ous," replied Stasie thoughtfully; "but he cer- 
 tainly bows gracefully." 
 
 " You think so ? I am not a fair judge. I do 
 not like any thing * Oriental.'" 
 
 '' I have observed that," returned Stasie; " but 
 why ? You give me the idea of being too calm 
 and reasonable for prejudice." 
 
 "I wish I were, Stasie; but I am afraid you 
 have not yet had a key to the enigma of my pro- 
 found character." 
 
 "Yet I fancy I know you pretty well, dear 
 Mrs. Harding. Do you think we shall dance at 
 Lady Elizabeth's party ?" 
 
 " I am afraid not." 
 
106 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 " Wliat is the use of giving a party if there is 
 to be no dancing ?" 
 
 " There are heaps of parties in London where 
 people don't dance." 
 
 Here some other acquaintances spoke to Mrs. 
 Harding, and they mixed with the crowd. 
 
 It was some time before Kharapet joined 
 them, but when he did, there was an air of 
 exultation in his look and bearing, though he 
 tried hard to suppress it. 
 
 " I have been detained," he said to Stasie in 
 a tone of apology, " longer than I expected ; but 
 Lady Loffcus was pleased to interest herself in 
 my project. And, moreover, she addressed some 
 flattering observations and queries to me respect- 
 ing yourself. Her words were precious " 
 
 " Oh ! what did she say, Hormuz ? Do tell 
 me, it is so nice to be praised." 
 
 " She said, ' Is that Mr. Wyatt's ward ? She 
 is handsome, very handsome, and really looks 
 like a gentlewoman.' And then she added some 
 words which I will tell you another time, if 
 I may." 
 
 " Ah ! that is because they were not pleasant ! 
 I do not want to hear any more." 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 107 
 
 "I trust you will not think them un- 
 pleasant." 
 
 But Stasie's attention was now attracted in 
 another direction. " Isn't that waltz delicious ?" 
 she exclaimed. "I wish I could dance to it. 
 Do you like dancing, Hormuz?" 
 
 " Dancing ? no. That is not our taste, and it 
 is one of the few points in which I cannot agree 
 with English ideas. It would be agony to see you 
 whirling round in another man's arms — agony ! " 
 
 "What nonsense 1" said Stasie, colouring 
 deeply, with an odd sensation of offence, of being 
 revolted. " Why do you say such disagreeable 
 things ? If we should dance at Lady Elizabeth's 
 party you will have to undergo a good deal of 
 agony, for I shall dance every time I have a 
 chance ! " 
 
 " You are a true woman, Stasie — loving power 
 and using it to torture !" 
 
 Stasie looked straight into his face with her 
 frank, fearless eyes, and burst into a fit of natural 
 healthy laughter. "Well, Hormuz," she said, 
 " though you do not like the theatre, you are a 
 good actor ! " 
 
 "Actor!" repeated Hormuz, puzzled, "Do 
 
108 THE EXECUTOR, 
 
 you not perceive the difference between reality 
 and acting ? " 
 
 " Hardly," returned Stasie. " Come, we shall 
 lose Mrs. Harding." 
 
 The next morning brought a total change of 
 weather. Mr. Harding had an engagement at 
 home, and was glad to delay his departure till 
 the rain had somewhat cleared. He was certainly 
 in a bad humour — first evinced by finding fault 
 with his curry, rejecting the toasted bacon, and 
 denouncing the poached eggs. Then Johnnie, 
 who, as having reached years of comparative dis- 
 cretion, breakfasted downstairs, having eaten 
 plentifully, demanded more curry. His mother 
 refused it, whereupon Mr. Harding, with rough 
 impatience, exclaimed, " What bosh ! Let the 
 child have enough to eat. / don't want to see 
 him skin and bone to suit your refined taste! 
 Here, my boy, pass over your plate." He piled 
 it with rice and curry. " If you can eat that 
 stuff, eat it." 
 
 The boy chuckled. " It is very good, papa ! 
 quite as good as it was yesterday." 
 
 " WeU, eat it then, and hold your tongue ! 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 109 
 
 I am glad it will not all be wasted, as so much is 
 in my house ! Stasie, when you have a husband 
 and a house of your own, I hope you will not 
 let things run to rack and ruin." 
 
 " I hope not," said Stasie, with an uneasy 
 glance at Mrs. Harding. " But I am sure I shall 
 never manage better than Mrs. Harding." 
 
 The husband laughed a harsh scornful laugh, 
 and took up the paper. There was a few 
 minutes' silence broken by the entrance of the 
 parlour-maid with a note. " For Miss Yerner," 
 she said. " A young gentleman left it." 
 
 " It is from Ella Mathews," cried Stasie, with 
 much interest, after she had glanced at the con- 
 tents. " I suppose Bob left it. She wants to 
 see me very much ; she says she has a great deal 
 to tell me. Something has evidently happened ; 
 I must go to-day. There is nothing particular 
 to be done, is there, Mrs. Harding ? " 
 
 " I think not," replied that lady. 
 
 " You will not go in such weather," said Mr. 
 Harding, looking up from his paper. " And who 
 the deuce is 'Bob'?" 
 
 *' Oh ! he is Mrs. Mathews' second son ; the 
 one that is to be a doctor." 
 
no THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 "Hum, a medical student! The biggest 
 scamps out." 
 
 " I am afraid lie is not very steady," said Stasie ; 
 " but I believe he is better than he used to be." 
 
 "Not a very nice acquaintance for you," 
 growled Mr. Harding. 
 
 " Acquaintance ! " echoed Stasie, laughing. 
 " Why, he is like a brother to me ; not a 
 favourite brother, I confess. You forget that I 
 know no other home than Mrs. Mathews' ! " 
 
 "The sooner you forget it the better," said Mr. 
 Harding, resuming his paper, " or you will find 
 the whole party a millstone round your neck." 
 
 '' You are not in earnest," cried Stasie, open- 
 ing her eyes with amazement. " You can't think 
 I could be so worthless ! " 
 
 Mr. Harding made no reply, and Stasie caught 
 a warning look from Mrs. Harding, which sug- 
 gested the prudence of dropping the subject. 
 After a few moments' uneasy silence she said, 
 *' I promised Ethel and Willie to read to them, 
 as they are not able to go out ; I daresay they 
 are waiting for me," and left the room unheeded 
 by her host. 
 
 Mr. Harding's tone chafed her beyond what 
 
THE EXECUTOR. Ill 
 
 liis words seemed to merit. " Is it possible," she 
 asked herself, as she mounted the stair, that 
 under his good humour and honhommie lurks an 
 ill-tempered brute ? that is the reason perhaps 
 that Mrs. Harding is so pale and quiet ! Perhaps 
 it is only a passing fit of irritation. Men have a 
 great deal to trouble them out-of-doors. Still, 
 worries or no worries, I am afraid I should have 
 a bitter battle with a husband who spoke to me 
 like that." 
 
 Meantime Mr. Harding threw down his paper 
 and drummed for a minute with his large heavy 
 fingers on the table; then, addressing his wife, he 
 burst out — 
 
 " You are about as great a blunderer as ever 
 lived, in spite of your education and refinement, 
 and all that bosh ! " looking at her while he 
 spoke with fierce anger, which he evidently did 
 not take the trouble to conceal or to control. 
 
 " "What has been my last blunder ? " asked 
 Mrs. Harding, a slight quiver moving her lips. 
 
 " Oh ! you need not try to bamboozle me; it's 
 not to be done ! I can see plain enough you are 
 going against me and Kharapet about that girl, 
 and it's all a — blank — blank nuisance." 
 
112 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 '^ Mr. Kharapet has been complaining of me, 
 I suppose ? " 
 
 *' Not lie ! he never said anything about it. 
 Don't you think I can see for myself ? Now you 
 had better leave it alone. That fellow Kharapet 
 has taken a mad fancy to the girl, and we had 
 better not interfere with him. I confess I never 
 expected such an upshot ; but his position gives 
 him a good deal of power, and he might make 
 things disagreeable for us, and for her too. If I 
 hadn't put myself out of the running years ago, 
 he shouldn't have had it all his own way, by 
 Jove ! I'd have cut him out. You don't find a 
 fine girl with a fine fortune every day, and I am 
 pretty sure to have distanced him." 
 
 '* It is much to be regretted that you are not 
 free to try your chance," said his wife in a low 
 voice. 
 
 " Well, that can't be helped now. I know I 
 made a fool of myself, but I would not mind if 
 you would give that care to my comforts and 
 interests I have a right to expect." 
 
 Mrs. Harding folded up her table-napkin in 
 silence ; and after finishing the remainder of his 
 cup of tea, Mr. Harding resumed — 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 113 
 
 " So mind you don't make a fool of yourself, 
 but back up Kharapet all you can. Try and 
 put that obstinate girl off lier whim of going to 
 see those beggarly Mathews people ; there is a 
 blank cub of a son there, and they will be trying 
 to snap her up for him. Do you think she has 
 any hankering that way ? " 
 
 " I know nothing of Stasie's inclinations. She 
 seems to me too light-hearted — too frank — to be 
 troubled with any sentimental feeling." 
 
 " Hum ! women are so infernally cunning. 
 What's that?" The front -door bell sounded. 
 '^ I hope it's not that fellow Kharapet. I don't 
 want him here philandering every hour of the 
 day ; it's enough to make a dog sick." 
 
 Here the parlour-maid entered with a card. 
 *' The gentleman wishes to see you." 
 
 " Oh, Mr. Williams, the solicitor to the Sefton 
 Park Building Company. Have you shown him 
 into the library ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir." 
 
 " Mr. Harding rose, brushed the crumbs from 
 
 his waistcoat, twirled his moustaches, and walked 
 
 into the next room, whence Mrs. Harding could 
 
 hear him exclaim in his heartiest and most cordial 
 
 VOL. I. 8 
 
114 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 voice, "Williams ! very glad to see you, my dear 
 fellow." 
 
 Stasie liad finished the story she promised to 
 read to her little friends, and was in her own 
 room selecting a suitable present for Ella among 
 the treasures she had received the day before, 
 when Mrs. Harding tapped at the door; there 
 was a suspicious red recently-bathed look about 
 her eyes, which Stasie quickly observed, and 
 drew her own conclusions. 
 
 " Oh, Mrs. Harding, which of these brooches 
 do you think Ella would like ? " 
 
 " I cannot possibly say, dear. I never even 
 saw the young lady." 
 
 " Well, which would you like yourself? " 
 
 " I do not like either much, though they are 
 valuable ; still there is nothing prettier. I am 
 not fond of Eastern jewellery, or anything East- 
 ern indeed." 
 
 " Are you not ? I have rather romantic ideas 
 of the East ; there is something weird and mysteri- 
 ous even in the words Eastern and Oriental." 
 
 " Stasie, dear, I wish you would give up this 
 expedition to Islington. It irritates Mr. Hard- 
 ing, and would annoy Mr. Kharapet." 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 115 
 
 *' Mr. Kharapet, indeed," cried Stasie, putting 
 down the broodies with a slap on the dressing- 
 table. '' Tell me, does it vex you f " 
 
 " Me ? no. I am not at all opposed to your 
 going, but I have been sent to dissuade you." 
 
 " I thought so," said Stasie, sitting down and 
 beginning to put on her boots energetically. 
 " Well, I shall get off as fast as I can. Why 
 should Mr. Harding object to my going to my 
 oldest and, except yourself, my best friends ? 
 Does he think he will persuade me to cut 
 them ? " 
 
 ^'For one thing, Stasie, it is hardly right that 
 you should go alone all that way." 
 
 " Why not, Mrs. Harding % " — (diving into a 
 bonnet-box and taking out her hat) — " I am sure 
 I have gone often enough from Islington to the 
 Circus, and from Forest Hill home, before Mr. 
 Kharapet came here to make a fuss. I know 
 my way, and I am sure I am quiet enough." 
 
 " Yes, I know you are ; but if you wait for a 
 day or two I will go with you myself" 
 
 " No, dear Mrs. Harding, you will not : you 
 wouldn't be let, I see that ; and I should just be 
 drawn on from day to day, and have to go back 
 
116 THE EXECUTOR, 
 
 to school without seeing Mrs. Mathews. I should 
 be angry with you for coming here to prevent 
 
 my going, only I think I understand " here 
 
 Stasie broke off suddenly and kissed Mrs. 
 Harding. 
 
 "My husband is right, you are obstinate," 
 said the latter with a smile and slight increase 
 of colour. " Come back as early as you can. 
 Mr. Kharapet dines with us to-day, and you 
 must pacify both gentlemen." 
 
 "I think I shall manage Mr. Kharapet at 
 any rate," said Stasie, fixing on her hat with 
 some care. 
 
 " Take my advice on one point," resumed 
 Mrs. Harding; "take your gift to Miss Mathews, 
 but say nothing about it ; it will save talk and 
 trouble." 
 
 "But why? are not the things my own, and 
 can I not dispose of them as I choose ? " cried 
 Stasie, with an angry sparkle in her eyes. 
 
 "You are under age, dear, and you have to 
 deal with men who do not understand the joys 
 of giving.'' 
 
 " I am sure Mr. Kharapet does. What a 
 lovely gold bangle he has given me ! " 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 117 
 
 " True, yet " 
 
 " Well, dear Mrs. Harding, I will say nothing 
 now until I have talked more to you; but if 
 there is to be any difficulty about it I will take 
 Mrs. Mathews and Janet a present too. Why, 
 I shall never want half those things." 
 
 " Do not be so hasty : believe me, a woman's 
 only safe line is craft and conciliation. '^ 
 
 " Oh, Mrs. Harding !" indignantly, " I cannot 
 believe tliat ; it is too humiliating. What a 
 horrible idea of life. I may try to be conciliat- 
 ing, but I will never be crafty. Now, will you 
 help me on with my waterproof ? Is Mr. Harding 
 in the dining-room ? " 
 
 " No, he has gone out with a gentleman ; so 
 you are quite safe." 
 
 *'Safe!" cried Stasie, "I was just going 
 down to ask if he would come with me to find a 
 cab." 
 
 Mrs. Harding stared ; Stasie burst out laugh- 
 ing, gave her a hasty kiss, ran downstairs, and 
 soon the sound of the front door closing told 
 that she had left the house. 
 
 Mrs. Harding went to the window, and saw 
 the rebel step into a cab. She looked kindly. 
 
118 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 sadly, enviously, after the tall slight figure whose 
 springy step bespoke hope and energy. 
 
 Then the watcher's misty thoughts rolled 
 slowly away, leaving the background of the past 
 clear and sharp, like a distant landscape in the 
 intervals of sudden showers. Her own quiet 
 happy girlhood in a country vicarage came vividly 
 before her. Its homely pleasures, its poverty 
 and self-denial ; its hearty affection and passing 
 quarrels ; the first dawn of love for a student 
 cousin, obliterated first by separation, and then 
 by the ardent suit of her husband ; the bright 
 hopes, the warm liking and gratitude with 
 which she accepted him ; the contentment of 
 her parents, the exultation of her sister at her 
 promising marriage. How vividly it all came 
 back to her ! and also the quick, dreadful awaken- 
 ing — the rapidly -growing knowledge that she 
 was wedded to a human animal, to whom she 
 was a mere possession, with whom companion- 
 ship was impossible, and whom even tolerance 
 could scarce make bearable. In the familiarity 
 of married life it was hard to say which mood 
 was the most repellant — coarse good humour or 
 fierce and brutal anger. But the indissoluble link 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 119' 
 
 was securely forged, and Mrs. Harding knew 
 that in silence and endurance she must wear out 
 her life ! Then came the death of an old uncle, 
 from whom her husband, rather than herself, had 
 " great expectations," and whose will had disap- 
 pointed them, since which time Harding had 
 shown more and more clearly that he looked 
 upon his marriage as a sad mistake — the fatal 
 result of temporary weakness. 
 
 As to her own dear home, how rarely she had 
 been able to visit it ! and when she did, the impos- 
 sibility of speaking frankly, out of the fulness of 
 her heart, respecting her married life, robbed her 
 brief breathing space of its charm and healing. 
 How weary to look back at her ten or eleven 
 years of married life ; and if it was less weary to 
 look forward it was because that future had ceased 
 to be hers, and had passed into the possession of 
 her children, therefore a gleam of hope shimmered 
 over the dark cloudy abyss of coming years. 
 Ardently she wished that Stasie's might be a 
 different fate, and thought with satisfaction of 
 the girl's brave, if rather impetuous, spirit. " Yet 
 the bravest must give way to the wear of per- 
 petual opposition, continual detraction, if not 
 
120 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 strong enough to silence or trample it down, and 
 / am so weak ! " 
 
 No regrets or reminiscences, however, clouded 
 Stasie's heart as she sped onwards to Islington, 
 rather a sense of pleasant exhilaration at having 
 defied Mr. Harding, in which was quite as much 
 of girlish fun as self-will. 
 
 " Why should I trouble myself too much about 
 Mr. Harding ?" she thought ; " Hormuz Kharapet 
 will back me up, and I am not doing anything 
 out of the way or unreasonable. I will not let 
 him or any one else frighten me into a nonentity. 
 I am afraid Mr. Harding is not such a good fel- 
 low as he seems. If Mrs. Harding was quite 
 happy, would she recommend ' craft ' ? Pooh ! 
 / am not obliged to submit to any one." 
 
 Mrs. Harding waited with some anxiety for 
 her young 'protegees return, and as dinner hour 
 approached, became nervously fearful lest Mr. 
 Harding and Kharapet should arrive before her. 
 To her great relief she was informed that "Miss 
 Verner had come in and gone to her room at 
 once, just before a peal of the front -door bell 
 announced Mr. Harding's advent. Kharapet 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 121 
 
 came with liim, and no inquiries were made 
 respecting the rebel. 
 
 Although Stasie had carried out her own 
 desire, it struck Mrs. Harding that she looked 
 fatigued and depressed. Nothing, however, was 
 said on that or any other subject of interest until 
 the servants had left the room after dinner, when 
 Mr. Harding, who seemed to have completely 
 regained good humour and placidity, remarked, 
 while filling her glass with claret, " So you have 
 got back safe and sound, Stasie ? Did you meet 
 with any adventures ? " 
 
 " I must entreat you, Stasie," exclaimed 
 Kharapet, who had been remarkably taciturn 
 and grave of aspect during dinner, "not again 
 to go about in this independent manner. It is 
 not meet for a young lady of your or any 
 position to go forth quite alone, especially in a 
 great town. Had Mr. Harding informed me a 
 little earlier of your intention, I should have gone 
 to seek and bring you back. Surely there is a 
 want of delicacy in such daring ? " 
 
 Stasie flushed crimson. If she loved praise, 
 so she resented blame. "You know nothing 
 about English girls, Mr. Kharapet ! " she replied 
 
122 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 hastily, " nor English, life. I should be sorry to 
 think London was such an uncivilised place that 
 a girl could not go about alone ! Why should 
 you and Mr. Harding make a fuss noiu, when all 
 the years of my life before no one ever cared how 
 I came and went ? How often have I come here 
 from Forest Hill alone, or the greater part of the 
 way alone, and nobody ran away with me ? I 
 should like to see any one try ! " 
 
 Kharapet looked at her with a curious side- 
 long glance, half admiration, half alarm. 
 
 "Ah I youVe a spirit of your own, and no 
 mistake ; but if I were young and free I think 
 I'd try the running away. I am sure you are 
 well worth the trouble ! " cried Mr. Harding. 
 
 " I think you are very tired, Stasie," said Mrs. 
 Harding gently ; " you look weary." 
 
 " No, not tired exactly ; but I am a little cast 
 down, for I am going to lose my good friends ; 
 Mrs. Mathews is going away." 
 
 " How is that ? " said Harding rather eagerly, 
 while Kharapet looked up with evident interest. 
 
 " Mr. Baldwin — that is the gentleman Ella 
 Mathews is engaged to— has been appointed one 
 of the masters of a big proprietory school or 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 123 
 
 college at C , so they are to be married soon ; 
 
 and Mrs. Mathews is going to give up her house 
 
 and go to C too, where she intends to take 
 
 boys to board, and they are all in such good 
 spirits. I feel a wretch for being sorry ! and yet 
 I am very sorry, for they will be lost to me ! 
 Ella will, of course, be taken up with her hus- 
 band, and I can t say I should like to be in the 
 house with a parcel of boys ! " 
 
 " Ah ! that's capital for the Mathews family, 
 though," said Mr. Harding, with an air of satis- 
 faction ; " the old missionary didn't leave them 
 too well off." 
 
 '' Have you ever seen the j^anc^ ? " asked Mrs. 
 Harding. 
 
 '* Oh yes ! often before I went to school. 
 He was a great friend of Harry Mathews', and 
 used often to come in to tea and supper." 
 
 Kharapet offered a silent thanksgiving that 
 Ella Mathews " young man " did not know of 
 Stasie's fortune, as the Syrian never doubted the 
 result of fuller information. 
 
 There was a pause, during which Mr. Hard- 
 ing filled himself a glass of port, and pushed the 
 apricots towards Kharapet. Stasie meantime 
 
124 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 coloured, grew paler, and fidgeted with her 
 napkin. At last she broke out, " There is some- 
 thing I want to do so much, if you and Mr. 
 Kharapet will let me ; and I am sure you will, be- 
 cause it is only right ! " 
 
 Mrs. Harding smiled. " Come, out with it, 
 Stasie, I see you are half afraid of your own pro- 
 position." 
 
 " That is because I am a goose," she exclaimed ; 
 " I surely have a right to ask for something of my 
 own \ " 
 
 " My dear," said Mr. Harding, " you may as\ 
 anything you like." 
 
 " I understand," returned Stasie, with a smile 
 and nod. " Well, you see it will be very costly 
 to poor Mrs. Mathews this moving, though she 
 hopes to get on ever so much better when she is 
 settled; and then she has to give Bob money, 
 because he is to stay in London." 
 
 '' And who is ' Bob ' ? " asked Kharapet. 
 
 " Oh ! the second boy ; he is a medical student. 
 Now, as I lived so long with them, and Mrs. 
 Mathews was quite like a mother to me, I should 
 like to give her a little present — something 
 useful." 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 125 
 
 " Pray, what do you think of giving," asked 
 Mr. Harding in a peculiar tone, while Kharapet 
 kept profound silence. 
 
 " Well, there is nothing so useful as money, 
 and — and I think a hundred pounds would be a 
 great help." 
 
 Mr. Harding burst into a loud fit of laughter, 
 and Kharapet breathed the words " a hundred 
 pounds ! eighty-six Mohammed Shah Kerans," in 
 an awe- struck tone. 
 
 Stasie was dreadfully confused by this way of 
 taking her daring suggestion, but she was true and 
 staunch, and rallied her forces to repeat the attack. 
 
 " Do, dear Mr. Harding, tell me how much 
 money I have, and then I shall know what I 
 may give. Surely, if I am well oflP, and Ella tells 
 me I am, I can spare a hundred pounds ? " 
 
 " Miss Ella Mathews is a confounded chatter- 
 box," said Mr. Harding sharply. " I can tell you, 
 Stasie, you are not rich enough to scatter your 
 money about in that fashion, and, by Jove, you 
 shall not, while Kharapet and I have hold of it. 
 When you are your own mistress you may make 
 ducks and drakes of it, and you will too if you 
 haven't the sense to hear reason." 
 
126 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 " But a hundred pounds is not much, and as 
 it is my own money it can only matter to my- 
 self. It can make no difference to you ! and I 
 shall be so very very much obliged to you 1 " 
 
 Mr. Harding laughed again, but less un- 
 pleasantly. 
 
 "My dear child! you don't know what you 
 are talking about ! Why, I dare not give you 
 your own money — I'd have the guardian down 
 upon me ! We can do nothing without his con- 
 sent ; and he would think Kharapet and myself 
 off our heads if we proposed such a scheme. It 
 is simply and completely out of the question, 
 aint it, Kharapet ? " ^ ■ 
 
 "It is so utterly unheard of and foolish, and 
 — and wicked," cried Kharapet, almost stutter- 
 ing in his eager denunciation of poor Stasie's 
 outrageous idea, " that I doubt if it could have 
 originated with Stasie herself ! Confess now that 
 these good people suggested this liberality." He 
 bent his head slightly to one side, pressing his 
 hands together, and looking with a slow insinu- 
 ating smile into Stasie's eyes. 
 
 "They did nothing of the kind," she cried, 
 firing up. " How can you have such mean 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 127 
 
 thoughts ? Mrs. Mathews and Ella are incapable 
 of asking for money — quite as incapable as you 
 are yourself ! I wish you would remember the 
 Mathewses are my friends — my best friends — 
 when I had no one else to care for me." 
 
 " A care that was always well paid for," put 
 in Mr. Harding. 
 
 *' And what is the use of having money if I 
 cannot help them," continued Stasie, flashing just 
 one angry contemptuous glance by way of answer 
 at Mr. Harding. 
 
 " You will find the use of it all in good time," 
 he returned coolly ; '' but for the present what 
 you want is out of the question, and there is an 
 end of it." 
 
 ^' Do you not think that if it were possible 
 I should not try to meet your wishes ? " said 
 Kharapet soothingly. 
 
 Stasie w^as silent. In fact, anger and disap- 
 pointment were almost too much for her. She 
 felt the hot tears ready to fall, but fearing the 
 species of contemptuous indulgence with which 
 they would be received, she mastered her emotion 
 by a stout effort. 
 
 ''If it cannot be, why, I must say no more," 
 
128 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 said she, at last, with downcast eyes, crimson 
 cheeks, and throbbing breast, and kept profound 
 silence till Mrs. Harding made a move to leave 
 the room, when she escaped to her own, and en- 
 joyed the luxury of a good cry, calling Mr. Hard 
 ing by some very bad names in her heart. 
 
CHAPTER YL 
 
 Lady Elizabeth Wyatt's house in C Street, 
 
 Mayfair, was old-fashioned and roomy, but not 
 imposing, its furniture and decorations by no 
 means costly or elegant ; yet her rooms looked 
 like the dwelling of a gentlewoman, and had a 
 character of their own, from the number of curi- 
 osities and specimens of various arts and manu- 
 factures profusely scattered about. The aspect 
 of the company was equally cosmopolitan, for Mr. 
 Percy Wyatt was exceedingly liberal, both politi- 
 cally and socially, and all sorts and conditions, 
 both of men and women, were wont to assemble 
 at Lady Elizabeth's conversaziones. To Stasie, 
 however, all seemed very grand and a little alarm- 
 ing. The staircase was bordered with flowering 
 shrubs, and crowded with gaily -dressed people. 
 It was some time before Mrs. Harding and her 
 young friend could effect an entrance into the 
 VOL. L 9 
 
130 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 room where Lady Elizabeth stood to receive her 
 guests. Kharapet, who of course accompanied 
 them, was of little use in a crowd of this or of 
 any description. He was disposed to yield to 
 pressure, to bow and back, and make way for 
 every one, and it was by her own exertions and 
 quiet perseverance that Mrs. Harding at last 
 reached the lady of the house. 
 
 '' Ah ! Mrs. Harding — Miss Verner ! very glad 
 to see you. Are you not late ? and where is Mr. 
 Harding ? " 
 
 ^' He rarely goes out of an evening. Lady Eliza- 
 beth, and we have been some time making our 
 way so far." 
 
 " No doubt ; we are rather crowded to-night. 
 Have you had tea ? Mr. Kharapet, the Duchess 
 of Pembroke desired me to present you to her ; 
 she heard you speak at Lord Saintsbury's meeting, 
 and was quite pleased : she is in the next room. 
 Mrs. Harding, we must find a seat for you, or 
 would you like to look at some very curious 
 specimens of Lapland work with fish-bones and 
 dried sea- weed ? They were presented to Mr, 
 Wyatt by those most interesting people who were 
 here last autumn. Mr. Metcalf," to a pale, slim, 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 131 
 
 typical evening-party young man, "Mr. Metcalf 
 — Mrs. Harding — Miss Yerner ; pray take these 
 ladies to see the Lapland work, and those new 
 photographs. I congratulate you on your dress, 
 Miss Verner," — coolly viewing her through her 
 eye-glass ; " it is in good taste ; you are looking 
 very nice — really very nice 1 " 
 
 " Thank you," said Stasie, laughing. 
 
 " Come, Mr. Kharapet," continued her lady- 
 ship, ''the Duchess will be going immediately, 
 she only looked in en route to the Princess's con- 
 cert;" and Kharapet, bowing profoundly, fol- 
 lowed her with a bland and beatific expression 
 of countenance. 
 
 " If you wdll take care of Miss Yerner I will 
 follow you," said Mrs. Harding, as the pale young 
 man hesitated how to divide himself, and they 
 proceeded slowly in the opposite direction to that 
 in which Lady Elizabeth had carried off Kharapet. 
 
 The loud buzz of conversation, the warm per- 
 fumed atmosphere, the multitude of strange faces, 
 produced a bewildering effect upon Stasie ; she 
 fancied every other person against whom they 
 brushed must be a celebrity, and she burned to 
 know who was who, but hesitated to ask her 
 
132 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 cavalier, to whom she felt by no means attracted. 
 Meantime J he seemed somewhat at a loss for con- 
 versation. He asked if she had heard Trebelli 
 in Lucrezia, or Giulini in Martha? or if she 
 had attended any of Dickens's readings ? to all of 
 which Stasie replied in the negative, whereupon 
 a pause ensued, broken at length by Mr. Metcalf 
 remarking languidly, " Wonderful woman, Lady 
 Elizabeth ! she collects the largest amount of curi- 
 osities, animate and inanimate, to be met with 
 anywhere." 
 
 "Yes, I should like to know who they are," 
 said Stasie eagerly. *' I have never been here 
 before. Do tell me who some of them are ? " 
 
 "I do not know the half of them ; but there, 
 that lady with the towsled hair and a red velvet 
 bodice is Miss Malcolm, the famous women's 
 rights woman, and the bald man in spectacles is 
 the celebrated Tomkins, the philanthropist," etc. 
 etc. ; and he continued to pour forth a large amount 
 of information which yet did not greatly enlighten 
 his hearer, who felt a not unusual degree of dis- 
 appointment at the aspect of the various '' famous" 
 and ^^ renowned " individuals pointed out. 
 
 " But are there no other really remarkable 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 133 
 
 people here ? " said Stasie at length, after they had 
 inspected some queer, dingy-looking, oddly-shaped 
 garments, covered with a kind of entangled pattern. 
 
 "I should like to see some of the great writers 
 or artists, or Lord Lytton or Millais, or JeafFerson 
 the actor. Oh, I sliould like to see him — shouldn't 
 you, Mrs. Harding ? " 
 
 But Mrs. Harding had turned to speak to an 
 acquaintance and did not hear. 
 
 " I don't think you meet so many literary and 
 artistic people here as you do travellers and dis- 
 tinguished foreigners, and — and starters of new 
 movements and all that sort of thing," returned 
 the pale young man vaguely. " Here is a seat Miss 
 — a — two seats, and I am afraid I must wish you 
 good-evening ; I am going on to Mrs. Parkins de 
 Parkyns's dance. Know the de Parkynses ? 
 Charming people — enormously rich — sorry I am 
 engaged — a — good- evening." 
 
 Stasie sat down, feeling a little desolate for 
 the moment. 
 
 Mrs. Harding seemed absorbed in her con- 
 versation with a white-haired, dignified, clerical- 
 looking old gentleman, and for the moment obli- 
 vious of her charge. 
 
134 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 Looking round for some object of interest, 
 Stasie's attention was arrested by a gentleman 
 near the door, who was speaking to a fat old lady 
 in a towering head-dress of lace and feathers. 
 
 A tall gentleman — tall and large framed, 
 though spare. A well-shaped head, short wavy, 
 almost black hair, a dark complexion, a firm chin 
 clean shaved, long moustaches, heavy eyebrows, 
 and somewhat sunken temples. These do not 
 sound like the items of a handsome whole, nor 
 was the object of Stasie's notice a handsome man, 
 yet he interested her more than any of the cele- 
 brities who had been pointed out. 
 
 There was a composed steadfastness in his 
 look — an air of repose in his attitude that pleased 
 Stasie's rather vivid fancy ; and she amused her- 
 self by imagining to what class of celebrity this 
 tall gentleman might belong. He was not a 
 poet, she felt sure ; there was nothing at all 
 dreamy in his aspect. If a litterateur^ he must 
 be a historian, an essayist, or a political econo- 
 mist; perhaps he was an explorer of strange 
 lands, or a " war correspondent." Yes ! the last 
 fitted him best. He had quite a soldierly look 
 and bearing. Perhaps he was a soldier, and had 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 135 
 
 been in a dozen fights during the Indian Mutiny. 
 She wished she had noticed him in time to ask 
 Mr. Metcalf who he was. Then she began to 
 think how different his swarthiness was to that 
 of Kharapet ; though nearly as dark, his dark- 
 ness was distinctly European. " I wonder what 
 his eyes are like," thought Stasie lazily. She 
 was beginning to feel bored by sitting there 
 silent and unnoticed. 
 
 Even as she thought, the unknown, who had 
 been listening courteously to the fat lady's eager 
 talk, looked round as if a little weary. His eyes 
 met Stasie's, and dwelt upon her with quiet 
 scrutiny — a scrutiny that did not in the least 
 embarrass or disturb her ; but his eyes were dis- 
 appointing, of no particular colour, rather deeply 
 set, and decidedly too light for his general com- 
 plexion. 
 
 She looked calmly at the stranger with an odd 
 feeling of fascination, which yet seemed natural 
 and in no way oppressive. This encounter of 
 glances lasted perhaps a second or more — it 
 seemed much longer to Stasie ; then he shook 
 hands with the fat lady and walked away, pass- 
 ing Kharapet, who entered at the same moment, 
 
136 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 and came straight to where Mrs. Harding stood, 
 still conversing with her friend ; then perceiving 
 Stasie, at once took the seat beside her. 
 
 "You must forgive my prolonged absence/' 
 he said earnestly ; '^ but Her Grace was most kind 
 and condescending, and detained me to discuss a 
 plan for a meeting which she proposes to have at 
 Haverford House — a ladies' meeting — Her Grace 
 in the chair. She wishes to raise a fund to supply 
 the Christian women of Syria with straw hats to 
 supersede veils, and copies of two works which 
 seem to form the foundation of female education 
 in England — MagnalTs Questions and The Guide 
 to Knowledge — but " 
 
 Stasie interrupted him with a merry laugh. 
 " What nonsense !" she said. " Do tell me who is 
 the tall gentleman who passed you as you came in ? " 
 
 " I did not notice any tall gentleman," re- 
 turned Kharapet, looking round quickly. *^ There 
 are several about here." 
 
 " Oh ! he has gone away now, but he just 
 passed as you came in, and he is rather more 
 like a remarkable person than any of the others." 
 
 " Well, / did not remark him," said Kharapet. 
 " Tell me, Stasie, do these crowds please you ? or 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 137 
 
 would you not, like myself, prefer the happy 
 seclusion of a peaceful home with those you love 
 beyond all that the world can give of grandeur 
 and ambition ? " When Kharapet tried to be 
 charming, he was apt to use what he considered 
 fine language. 
 
 Stasie laughed again, and bestowed a mis- 
 chievous glance upon him. " No matter how 
 much I might love any one," she said, " I should 
 like variety sometimes, and a crowd occasionally ! 
 But tell me, are you going to translate Magnall 
 and The Guide to Knoivledgef I assure you 
 they are not worth the trouble ! You must tell 
 the Duchess that the march of intellect has left 
 them far behind. And do you believe your 
 countrywomen would wear the straw hats Her 
 Grace wishes to provide ?" 
 
 A curious smile glittered in Kharapet's eyes. 
 "We must try to gently guide this somewhat 
 ignorant zeal," he said. Here Mrs. Harding 
 brought her prolonged conversation to a close, 
 and approached them. Kharapet rose and offered 
 her his seat. She looked paler than usual, though 
 her eyes were animated. 
 
 " Excuse me for leaving you so long," she said 
 
138 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 to Stasie, " but I recognised an old friend of my 
 father's — the Dean of Llanmenai — whom I have 
 not seen for years, and we had so much to say to 
 each other. I fear you have felt neglected, dear." 
 
 ''Not at all! I have been amused looking 
 about and conjecturing who a tall gentleman 
 standing near the door might be. Did you see 
 him, Mrs. Harding?" 
 
 " No, my back was to the door." 
 
 " I must say, however," resumed Stasie, " that 
 I do not see the use of lighting up one's rooms 
 and decorating them with lovely flowers when 
 there is no dancing or music." 
 
 " But there will be music," said Mrs. Harding. 
 "Lady Elizabeth told the Dean that a new 
 American contralto was to make her debut here 
 this evening, so let us go into the farther drawing- 
 room. I caught a glimpse of a piano there ; 
 come, Mr. Kharapet." 
 
 They found places with some difficulty, and 
 the best part of the evening now came for Stasie. 
 The American songstress had a glorious voice, 
 and sang with passion and dramatic power. Soon 
 the present ceased to exist, at least for one of her 
 hearers. Other scenes rose up out of the realms of 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 139 
 
 imagination, and unrolled themselves to Stasie's 
 mental vision ; all that was sweetest and tender- 
 est in her memory awoke to the magic of the 
 music, almost melting her to tears. But suddenly 
 the spell was broken, the music ceased, and Mrs. 
 Harding was saying, '' Stasie, here is Mr. Wyatt." 
 
 It was so long since Stasie had seen her 
 guardian, she felt as if making his acquaintance 
 for the first time. He was a man below middle 
 height, but broad and stout, with a lion-like head 
 and thick beard which added to the likeness. 
 His eyes were kindly but somewhat unsteady, 
 and the impressiveness of his words was impaired 
 by a slight occasional hesitation. 
 
 " Miss Verner, ah ! indeed, to be sure ! Lady 
 Elizabeth mentioned you were to be here. Very 
 glad to see you ! quite grown up — quite a young 
 lady — a charming young lady, eh, Mrs. Harding ? 
 We must be making fresh arrangements for 
 you. Ah ! Kharapet, you little thought what a 
 precious charge your worthy brother committed 
 to our care," he said. 
 
 " I am deeply impressed by the sense of my 
 responsibility," returned Kharapet. 
 
140 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 " Have you had a — sandwich — or anything ? 
 Allow me," resumed Mr. Wyatt to Mrs. Harding, 
 offering his arm, and leading her towards the 
 wide landing, where light refreshments were laid 
 out. '^ I have really been so much occupied and 
 overworked/' he went on, after he had adminis- 
 tered to. the wants of his guests, "that I have 
 been quite unable to attend to my fair ward's 
 affairs. It is indeed time something definite 
 were arranged. Will you give my compliments 
 to Mr. Harding, and say I am quite at his service 
 (and Mr. Kharapet's) for any day next week they 
 may choose to appoint, excerpt Wednesday, when 
 I am on committee. I fear, my dear Miss Yerner, 
 you must think me very negligent of your busi- 
 ness, and a " 
 
 " I fear my affairs must be a trouble to you ; 
 but please, Mr. Wyatt, do try and arrange for 
 me to leave school." 
 
 " School ! yes, certainly, by all means : quite 
 too bad that you should be shut up at school 
 when you ought to be adorning society. Eh, 
 Kharapet ? we must see to this. Another glass 
 of claret, Mrs. Harding — no ? Kharapet, do look 
 for Lady Elizabeth. I am not sure what our 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 141 
 
 engagements are for the next week or ten days, 
 but — a — a — you must really give us the pleasure 
 
 of your company at dinner or luncheon, or " 
 
 he paused, fearful of committing himself. " Per- 
 haps," he began again more cheerfully and de- 
 cidedly, ''perhaps you might like an admission 
 into the ladies' gallery of the House of Commons. 
 There is not much going on at present, but next 
 week " 
 
 " Oh, thank you," cried Stasie, her eyes 
 sparkling ; " that will be delightful, will it not, 
 Mrs. Harding ? I should so like to hear Glad- 
 stone and Disraeli speak." 
 
 " Ah ! a young politician. But you will 
 excuse me ; I see Prince Zneezeouski is going, I 
 must speak to him ;" and Mr. Wyatt disappeared 
 just as Kharapet returned with Lady Elizabeth. 
 
 " Are you going, Mrs. Harding ? it really is 
 not late. What did Mr. Wyatt want ? " 
 
 " Something about me, I think," said Stasie, 
 colouring. 
 
 " Ah ! well, my dear Miss Verner, I shall send 
 you a little note when I know Mr. Wyatt's 
 wishes, and we must see you sometimes while 
 you are in town. Good -night, Mrs. Harding; 
 
142 THE EXECUTOR, 
 
 good -night, Mr. Kharapet. By the way, the 
 dear Duchess thinks of fixing the 30th for her 
 meeting. Eemember you must lunch here and 
 come with me. I am afraid Mr. Wyatt will 
 not be able to attend ; he has to support some 
 stupid motion about factory children. Good- 
 night." 
 
 » » » • • 
 
 The conversazione at Lady Elizabeth Wyatt's 
 was on the whole disappointing. Stasie had 
 met with no adventure, and received very little 
 notice. She had in an indistinct way, unacknow- 
 ledged even to herself, expected both. Khara- 
 pet' s undisguised admiration had raised her self- 
 estimate to undue proportions, and she had 
 anticipated she knew not what of triumph or 
 success. She dearly loved admiration and amuse- 
 ment, but fortunately for herself was blessed 
 with a certain amount of humour and a healthy 
 readiness to throw aside disagreeables. She 
 therefore told herself she was a fool to expect 
 special success in a London party, where so 
 many prettier, better-dressed, and more highly- 
 bred girls than herself were sure to be assembled. 
 "They are rather different from Miss Boaden's 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 143 
 
 young ladies," she thought, as she dressed herself 
 next morning. " But some of the people were 
 very queer. Hormuz certainly looked handsome. 
 What lovely eyes he has I He seems quite a 
 favourite with all the great people too. I wonder 
 why he has a sort of timidity in his manner. 
 What has he to be afraid of? That tall dark 
 gentleman looked as if he would have talked 
 coolly to an emperor." Then her thoughts 
 strayed to the cruel disappointment of her gener- 
 ous wish to help her friend Mrs. Mathews. She 
 knew that it took all that good woman's care 
 and forethought — a perpetual mental strain — to 
 make both ends meet, and keep a decent appear- 
 ance in the eyes of the world. Then she had 
 such a thorn in her side (familiar but admirable 
 simile) in Bob. Stasie recalled an ominous shake 
 of Ella's head when that young man was men- 
 tioned, for which she had had no time to ask an 
 explanation, and she feared Mrs. Mathews was 
 not quite aware of all the difficulties which lay 
 before her. What a dreadful shame it was 
 that she (Stasie) was not permitted to help her. 
 What if she spoke to Mr. Wyatt ? she would not 
 mind doing it a bit ; but somehow she could not 
 
144 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 hope much from him, or imagine him opposing 
 Messieurs Harding and Kharapet. "They are 
 all so smooth and civil, but somehow they don't 
 mind me in the least. I am fed and petted, but 
 utterly disregarded as a rational being, and this 
 is to go on for three years. I don't know how I 
 am to bear it. I begin to think I shall quarrel 
 outright with Mr. Harding if I live in the house 
 with him. I believe I had better stay with Mrs. 
 Mathews, boys or no boys. It would be nice 
 too to be near Ella and Mr. Baldwin. What a 
 kind, good little man he is ! I wonder, though, 
 she could ever fall in love with him, yet I believe 
 he is clever and learned." Here her meditations 
 were interrupted by the breakfast bell, and she 
 ran away downstairs, for unpunctuality was a 
 deadly sin in Mr. Harding's eyes. 
 
 In the afternoon of the following day Mrs. 
 Harding went out, as Stasie termed it, "in state," 
 to make several ceremonious visits — that is, she 
 put on her very best bonnet, and had a smart 
 hired brougham. 
 
 " I know I ought to go with you, for you will 
 be bored to death," said Stasie, as they rose from 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 145 
 
 luncheon. "But I do want to call on my aunt 
 or grand-aunt, Miss Stretton ; she will think me 
 remiss, and I feel drawn towards my only relative. 
 She amuses me too." 
 
 "Pray do not mind me," returned Mrs. 
 Harding, smiling. " I am too well accustomed 
 to be bored to shrink from any amount. I 
 will call with you on Miss Stretton and leave 
 you there." 
 
 " Thank you very much," cried Stasie, as she 
 went upstairs to make her outdoor toilette. 
 
 Miss Stretton's residence was in one of the 
 short streets leading out of Westbourne Grove, 
 which at that period was not absorbed in " White- 
 ley's" enormous "frontage" — a semi-detached 
 house of good size and appearance, with a rather 
 ragged garden in front, and a rail or two missing 
 from the ornamental fence. 
 
 Miss Stretton was at home, and they were 
 shown into a tiny little back parlour, overlook- 
 ing a garden festooned with clothes hung out 
 to dry, and furnished apparently with old, not 
 elegant, extracts from other and more favoured 
 rooms. 
 
 Having caught her foot in a hole in the carpet, 
 VOL. I. 10 
 
146 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 and stumbled against a rickety table which she 
 almost capsized, Mrs. Harding effected an en- 
 trance, followed by Stasie. 
 
 " This is a miserable place for my aunt to live 
 in," said the latter. 
 
 ''It is only a temporary abode, I suppose," 
 returned Mrs. Harding. *' She does not seem 
 sure of her future plans." 
 
 After a few minutes' waiting Miss Stretton, in 
 a rather worn black dress, but with a smart cap, 
 elaborate lace collar, unexceptionable cuffs, and 
 an air of haste, made her appearance. 
 
 " Dear Mrs. Harding — my sweet Stasie — ^how 
 good of you to come so soon to see a lonely in- 
 dividual like myself! How are the precious pets? 
 and you, Stasie ? I need not ask ; you are the 
 picture of blooming health." 
 
 Having received satisfactory assurances that 
 all was well. Miss Stretton drew forward the 
 least unsteady chair for Mrs. Harding's accom- 
 modation, rummaged out a moth-eaten hassock 
 for her feet and proceeded — 
 
 "I ought to be ashamed to receive you in 
 this poor little parlour after your lovely house, 
 but I know you are too high-minded to despise 
 
THE EXECUTOR, 147 
 
 those whose worldly goods are few and far 
 between ; and really I am fortunate in having a 
 landlady who permits me to receive my visitors 
 in her private sitting-room, — instead of dragging 
 them up to the top of the house, — for as I hope 
 not to be here long, it would be foolish ex- 
 travagance to indulge in more than one room." 
 
 *'Are you going away, aunt ? " asked Stasie, 
 who felt an indistinctive wish to keep her new- 
 found relative near her. " I hope not." 
 
 "You dear child !" effusively. ''I am quite 
 flattered, but what can I do ? I am obliged 
 to seek employment while yet I am active, and 
 provide for a rainy day ! " 
 
 '' Very sensible indeed ; and have you any- 
 thing in view % " asked Mrs. Harding. 
 
 "Yes ; that is, I have answered an advertise- 
 ment, w^hich may lead to something. You see," in 
 a severely judicial tone, " the present rage for 
 education puts me at a disadvantage ! I only pro- 
 fess to be a fairly-well-informed gentlewoman. I 
 might conscientiously undertake to prepare my 
 pupils for refined society, but I could not fit them 
 for learned professorships. So I am out of date, like 
 the lighter graces that lent such a charm to life." 
 
148 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 And Miss Stretton put her head to one side 
 with a little deprecatory smile, as if she embodied 
 all the graces that could charm drawing-room 
 or salon. She was unmistakably lady - like, 
 but her refinement was limp, as if damp and 
 hard wear had taken the curl out of it. 
 
 Stasie looked kindly down upon her from the 
 glorious heights of youth and strength, both 
 untried and unbroken, and thought how terrible 
 it must be to have lived through both, into 
 the dull cloudy autumn time, even beyond the 
 colouring of the changing leaf, almost into the 
 bareness and darkened days of winter, and to be 
 poor and alone, without the material solace, the 
 luxurious lodging, the delicate eating, the rich 
 clothing, the respectful observance, which waits 
 on wealthy age ! 
 
 " Surely I can be of some use to her, tnought 
 Stasie, as she beamed a bright kindly smile upon 
 her aunt. ** I am sure you look quite young," 
 she said, with the amiable thoughtless flattery of 
 inexperience. " You must not think of growing 
 old." After a little more conversation, in which 
 Miss Stretton bore the largest share, Mrs. Hard- 
 ing rose, saying she would leave Static with her 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 149 
 
 aunt to find her way home herself, a proposition 
 received with the greatest pleasure. 
 
 " You may indeed trust her to me, Mrs. Hard- 
 ing ; she will be precious to me as the apple of 
 my eye ! I so well remember her poor dear 
 mother on one of the few occasions on which I 
 saw her after her widowhood saying, ' There is 
 none to whom I should so readily trust my sweet 
 little Stasie as to you, Clementina.' We were so 
 near of an age that we dispensed with the for- 
 malities of aunt and niece." 
 
 When Mrs. Harding had been duly escorted 
 to the garden-gate, and seen off with many hand- 
 kissings and bowings. Miss Stretton returned. 
 "Now, dear, suppose we ascend to my small 
 chamber, en liaut!' (Miss Stretton liked to use 
 French phrases occasionally). I am in the habit 
 of indulging in a cup of tea at this hour, and I 
 make it myself. You will excuse the homeliness 
 of everything." 
 
 Stasie followed her aunt up three flights of 
 stairs to a front bedroom, where some sticks 
 and a piece of newspaper on the hearthrug 
 bespoke an attempt to light the fire. 
 
 The apartment was indeed homely, but neat 
 
150 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 and clean; a patchwork coverlet, a darned carpet, 
 and curtainless windows bespoke the poverty of 
 the land. Still Stasie rather enjoyed the task 
 of assisting to light the fire, and set the table, 
 while Miss Stretton from the depths of a painted 
 chest of drawers drew forth tea, sugar, and buns. 
 The whole thing savoured of a surreptitious feast 
 at school, and Aunt Clem (as she requested 
 Stasie to call her) was so kind and so flattering 
 that Stasie grew familiar and more and more 
 attracted to her aunt as the moments flew by. 
 She found herself describing her whole life, con- 
 fiding her hopes and fears, her likes and dislikes 
 to Miss Stretton, who on her side shed a few 
 tears over the memory of her late niece and the 
 sacrifice she had made for her child's sake ; she 
 described Stasie's mother to her in glowing terms, 
 but acknowledged with some reluctance that 
 her daughter did not in the least resemble her. 
 Then she dwelt on the loneliness of her own life, the 
 coldness and ingratitude she had met from so many 
 of those whom she had guided in the way they 
 should go, and led in the paths of propriety and 
 elegance. "And now," she concluded, "I have to 
 go forth again among strangers; it is a hard lot." 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 151 
 
 " Perhaps there is something better in store 
 for you/' said Stasie, as the idea began to form 
 itself in her mind, that it might be nice to live 
 with Aunt Clem. But, with unusual caution, 
 she kept it to herself. " I must be quite sure 
 what Ella and Mrs. Mathews are going to do 
 first," she thought. 
 
 " I leave myself in the hands of divine Provi- 
 dence," returned Miss Stretton, lifting her eyes 
 to the ceiling and then dropping them again, 
 with a quick side glance to see what effect her 
 words produced. 
 
 Stasie was silent, and after a pause her aunt 
 resumed. 
 
 ** What a very delightful person Mr. Kharapet 
 appears to be ! So interesting, so handsome, so 
 gentle ! He seems quite devoted to you, my 
 dear." 
 
 " I am not sure of that," cried Stasie discon- 
 tentedly ; " at any rate he would not oblige me 
 in a very small matter, and I feel very much put 
 out with him and Mr. Harding." 
 
 '' How so ?" asked Aunt Clem. 
 
 Whereupon Stasie told of the intended up- 
 rooting of the Mathews family, of her own great 
 
152 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 desire to help them, and of the unfeeling refusal 
 of Messrs. Harding and Kharapet to make any 
 advance — not even a poor hundred pounds." 
 
 " A hundred pounds !" cried Miss Stretton. 
 " My dear, I am not surprised. That is a quan- 
 tity of money. I don't think they would be 
 justified in advancing you such a sum. The 
 guardian could call them to account — and for 
 that matter so could you. They really must not 
 give you your own money while you are a minor." 
 
 '' "Well, they might have lent me some of their 
 own. I am sure they have plenty," said Stasie, 
 with a pout. 
 
 " My dear, sweet child," cried Miss Stretton, 
 *' you expect quite too much. It is out of all 
 reason to suppose that two men of business like 
 Mr. Harding and Mr. Kharapet would give their 
 money with so little hope of return, to say 
 nothing of profit. Ah, Stasie ! when you have 
 seen as much of the world as I have you will 
 understand the — the impossibility of such a 
 thing." 
 
 "Shall I?" said Stasie. '^But they would 
 have lost nothing. I should have paid them; 
 don't I look honest ? " 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 153 
 
 " Honest ! Yes, indeed, and charming too. 
 Still, you must put such ideas out of your head.'* 
 
 " I suppose so ; but it is very annoying not to 
 be able to help those who have been good to me. 
 And I am sorry, too, that Mrs. Mathews is going 
 to leave London and take boarders. I should 
 have liked to live with her — indeed, I still wish 
 to do so part of my time. 
 
 " Ahem !" Miss Stretton cleared her throat. 
 " Whereas, you will, I presume, continue to 
 reside with that very interesting Mrs. Harding, 
 eh?" 
 
 *' She is nice, isn't she ? But I am not sure 
 that she cares to have me with them ; nor am I 
 sure that I should care to stay." 
 
 " You surprise me ! I should imagine that 
 it would be just the place for you — a handsome 
 house and a pleasant companion like Mrs. Hard- 
 ing, and" — breaking off suddenly, and then 
 resuming — "What kind of person is Mr. Harding?" 
 
 '' Oh, he is very nice to me ; and he is tall and 
 rather good-looking, and sometimes very bright 
 and amusing, but — I don't think he can stand 
 being contradicted or interfered with, or put out 
 in any way.'^ 
 
154 THE EXECUTOR, 
 
 " No man can, my dear. They are all alike 
 in that respect. And what would you like best 
 yourself?" 
 
 " I hardly know. First, above everything, I 
 should like to travel. I have seen nothing — 
 nothing all my life but Islington and Forest Hill. 
 Then I should like to come back, and stay a while 
 with Mrs. Mathews, and move about, and all that, 
 till I am twenty-one. By that time I shall really 
 know what I want, and what is best to do." 
 
 " By that time, dear child, you will be mar- 
 ried," exclaimed Aunt Clem. " With your face 
 and your fortune you will be married — I hope to 
 some distinguished man. Meantime I am sure 
 your ideas are very sensible. How you would 
 enjoy the beauty, the sunshine, the art, the — the 
 general delightfulness of Italy — the gaiety of 
 Paris — the music of Dresden !" 
 
 " Have you enjoyed all this ?" asked Stasie, 
 with admiration. 
 
 " Yes, I have indeed — that is, I have to a 
 certain degree. It has not always been my lot 
 to travel with genial, sympathetic, kindly young 
 creatures like yourself, dear Stasie ; but too often 
 in charge of scornful misses, who showed me that 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 155 
 
 my superiority bored them, and my dependence 
 called forth disdain." 
 
 " What horrid disagreeable things ! " cried 
 Stasie. 
 
 " Yes ; my position did not permit me to 
 enjoy to the full the pleasures of travelling. My 
 digestion, too, is delicate, and foreign cookery 
 tried it much. Still — and this is strictly be- 
 tween ourselves, my love — should matters be 
 arranged according to your wishes, I should not 
 mind braving the minor discomforts of continental 
 life to be your ' guide, philosopher, and friend,' 
 if I may so express it. I feel sure that in you 
 I would have the kindest, the most interesting 
 companion." 
 
 " I don't think I should be disasrreeable," said 
 Stasie, reflectively. " And I am sure it is quite 
 a delightful idea — it would be so nice and natural 
 to travel with my own aunt. I will really speak 
 to my guardian about it. Would it be very 
 expensive ?" 
 
 " No, not by any means," replied Miss Stretton 
 quickly. " That is, with an experienced traveller 
 like myself. By the way, who is your guardian, 
 my dear 1" 
 
156 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 " Mr. Percy Wyatt. He is rather a grandee, 
 and his wife, Lady Elizabeth, is so funny." 
 
 '' Very distinguished people indeed, and very 
 enlightened. I am told that Mr. Wyatt is to 
 have a seat in the Cabinet. They are well known 
 in France and Italy, and might be most useful 
 to us. Alas, Stasie ! mine is a lonely and some- 
 what hard life ; nor is there much brightness in 
 my future." 
 
 " Perhaps there will be more brightness in it 
 than you expect," said Stasie significantly. " I 
 am sure I can feel for you, for I am often very 
 lonely myself, knowing that I belong to nobody 
 and nobody belongs to me — especially since I 
 knew Ella Mathews was going to be married." 
 
 '^ Ah, my dear, you are young and charming, 
 and rich. I was not a fright myself ; but, dear 
 me, money, money, was always the obstacle ; and 
 1 am lonely, poor, and growing old." 
 
 Miss Stretton pressed her handkerchief to her 
 eyes. 
 
 " I am sure you were ever so nice," cried 
 Stasie sympathetically ; " and as we are both 
 alone, let us stick by each other." 
 
 *'You dear, warm-hearted girl!" cried Miss 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 157 
 
 Stretton, coming over to kiss her brow. '' I feel 
 that a kind, a heavenly Father has sent you to be 
 a comfort and a solace to me ! — only, it would be 
 as well not to say that we discussed the question 
 until — until you can prepare those gentlemen 
 who have your affairs in their hands. They 
 might think / put you uj) to — that I originated 
 the idea, whereas it came from you entirely, my 
 love." 
 
 " Of course it did ; and I will take care. It 
 is too bad that I cannot have what I want, for I 
 am not unreasonable. Still, I think I shall 
 manage." 
 
 After this the conversation turned on dress, 
 and Miss Stretton gave her niece many excellent 
 and economical hints. Then it was time for 
 Stasie to return. Her aunt insisted on walking 
 part of the way and putting her into a cab. 
 
 *' I must take care of the only relative left 
 me, and one who, I am sure, well deserves it. 
 Good-bye, my dear child. "We must try and 
 carry out our little scheme of foreign travel, 
 only pray be cautious, my sweet Stasie — very 
 cautious. '' 
 
CHAPTEE VII. 
 
 It wanted yet an hour to dinner wlien Stasie 
 reached York Gate, and hearing from the servant 
 that Mrs. Harding had returned, she ran quickly 
 upstairs to the drawing-room, eager to take 
 counsel with her friend respecting the new and 
 delightful plan which she had just formed. 
 
 On opening the door she saw Mrs. Harding, 
 still in her bonnet and black lace mantle, sitting 
 on a sofa beside a small work-table, on which her 
 arm rested, a brighter and more tender expres- 
 sion than she usually wore lighting up her face, 
 and evidently in deeply-interesting conversation 
 with a gentleman who was reposing in a large 
 easy- chair, his feet stretched far out, and his hat 
 on the carpet beside him — a gentleman whom 
 Stasie immediately recognised as the possible 
 essayist, political economist, or war correspon- 
 dent who had attracted her attention the evening 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 159 
 
 before. Seeing her hostess thus engaged, she 
 made a movement as if to retire, but Mrs. Hard- 
 ing, perceiving her, exclaimed, '' Come here, 
 Stasie ; don't run away. My cousin, Dr. Brooke, 
 — Miss Verner." 
 
 Stasie came forward with a strange sensation 
 of shyness — of being supremely awkward. 
 
 Dr. Brooke rose very deliberately, made Stasie 
 a grand bow, and moved as though he would 
 have brought her a chair, but she hastily placed 
 herself on the sofa beside Mrs. Harding, and 
 began to untie her bonnet almost unconsciously. 
 " Dr. Brooke ! " — only a doctor, when she had 
 expected him to be a colonel or a correspondent 
 at least. 
 
 " Well, Stasie, have you had a pleasant visit 
 with your aunt \ " asked Mrs. Harding. 
 
 '' Oh yes ! very pleasant ; she is so kind. She 
 was telling me of her travels. It must be charming 
 
 to travel. I wish " Stasie stopped abruptly, 
 
 though brimful of her subject ; she remembered 
 it would not do to broach it before a stranger. 
 
 " Were you at Lady Elizabeth Wyatt's recep- 
 tion the night before last ? " asked Dr. Brooke, a 
 little abruptly, of Mrs. Harding. 
 
160 THE EXECUTOR, 
 
 l( T „T«« " 
 
 was. 
 
 " I wonder I did not come across you. I saw 
 Miss Yerner, who was, I suppose, with you ? " 
 
 " Yes ; and I saw you," cried Stasie, with a 
 little nod. She had quite got over her momentary 
 feeling of awkwardness. '' Mrs. Harding was 
 beside me, but her face was turned away." 
 
 " Ah ! had I seen you I should have recognised 
 you immediately. You are changed, of course, 
 yet still very much the same," remarked Dr. 
 Brooke to Mrs. Harding. But he gave Stasie a 
 quiet, contemplative look, as if she were an object 
 of philosophic interest. 
 
 " Yes ; it must be nearly twelve years since 
 we met," returned Mrs. Harding, with a pensive 
 smile and a far-away look in her eyes. 
 
 ''About twelve! "What antiquities we must 
 seem to your young friend !" rejoined Dr. Brooke ; 
 "yet it is but a short time to look back upon." 
 His voice struck Stasie as remarkably pleasant, 
 — deep, clear, refined, — what she was disposed to 
 think a '' sensible voice," as if the metal that 
 produced those full distinct tones must be of the 
 best quality. 
 
 ''Short! do you find the time short *?" Mrs. 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 161 
 
 Harding was saying ; while Stasie thought thus : 
 **I think it is a tremendously long period, a 
 cycle, a century ! " 
 
 " Well, it has been the most stirring period of 
 your life, the transformation from a schoolgirl to 
 the head of a family. Eh, Livy ? " 
 
 *' Yes, a transformation, indeed," returned 
 Mrs. Harding softly, thoughtfully ; then rousing 
 herself she exclaimed, ** Oh, Stasie, I forgot — 
 there is a letter for you from ' Forest Hill,' I see. 
 It is on the table there by the door." 
 
 " From ' Forest Hill 1 ' " cried Stasie, starting 
 up and walking to the other end of the room to 
 take it. "I wonder what Miss Boaden has to 
 write about ? " and she stood there for some 
 minutes, first reading her letter, then evidently 
 reflecting upon it. 
 
 ** What has become of the Falconers ? " asked 
 Dr. Brooke, after a short pause, during which he 
 looked in the same quietly scrutinising way after 
 Stasie. "They are distant relations, are they 
 not?" 
 
 " They are. Old Mr. Falconer is dead, the boys 
 are in Canada and New Zealand," etc. etc. ; and 
 Mrs. Harding plunged into family history for a 
 VOL. I. 11 
 
162 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 few minutes till interrupted by Stasie, who came 
 slowly back and stood by the sofa, the letter in 
 her hand, and a suspiciously moist look in her 
 eyes. '' Well, and what does Miss Boaden say ? " 
 asked Mrs. Harding kindly, seeing she was wait- 
 ing to be spoken to. 
 
 '' She wants to know when I am going back, 
 and wonders I have not written. She thinks I 
 have lost time enough, — so do I, but not for the 
 same reasons ! There is nothing to learn at Forest 
 Hill. If I might have some really good masters, 
 
 some " breaking off suddenly. " What ought 
 
 I to say, Mrs. Harding % I don't want to go 
 back. But I must not trouble you now." And 
 Stasie gathered up her gloves and parasol as if 
 going. 
 
 '' I am quite willing to be troubled, dear. 
 You must tell Miss Boaden that we cannot part 
 with you yet, and that I will write to her next 
 week myself" 
 
 " Oh, thank you, dear Mrs. Harding 1 I will 
 go and answer this at once." 
 
 " It will be time enough to-morrow." But 
 Stasie, whose perceptions were keen and sensi- 
 tive, fancied that Mrs. Harding and her cousin 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 163 
 
 would j^i'efer their tete-a-Ute unbroken by her 
 presence, said, ''I would rather write now," and, 
 with a slight bow to the doctor, left the room. 
 
 " Who is the young lady ? " asked Dr. Brooke. 
 
 Mrs. Harding briefly explained. 
 
 " She is a handsome girl," he observed criti- 
 cally ; " not pretty, but fine ; her honest, stead- 
 fast eyes struck me last night. I observe that 
 you rarely meet, except among Englishwomen, 
 girls who look straight and fearlessly at you, 
 yet without a tinge of consciousness or boldness. 
 She has a splendid physique too." 
 
 . " What a professional view of the subject! " said 
 Mrs. Harding, laughing. 
 
 "A rational one. What is so admirable as 
 perfect healoh and full development ? Well, Livy, 
 you seem to have changed for the better, from the 
 tumbledown old vicarage to this handsome house 
 and your present surroundings." 
 
 A faint colour rose to Mrs. Harding's cheek as 
 she replied — " No house can ever be more lovely 
 in my eyes than that sweet old home ; but you 
 are right — this is a nice house, and I wish the 
 children were in ; but I shall see you often while 
 you are in town, I hope. Do you make any stay ? " 
 
164 THE EXECUTOR, 
 
 " I am quite uncertain — in fact I am uncertain 
 about my plans altogether. I was in London 
 about a month ago, and then I went into Wales 
 to see an old acquaintance who is settled there. 
 Since I came back I have been trying to find you 
 out, for I had no idea where you were ; I have 
 scarcely had a correspondent in England." 
 
 *' No ? well, you certainly dropped us all as 
 soon as you went to India," replied Mrs. Harding 
 with an arch smile. 
 
 '* Much the wisest thing I could do under my 
 circumstances," said Brooke, returning her smile. 
 '' Ah, what jolly days we have had together in 
 old times. By Jove ! it brings back another and 
 a different stage of existence to see you again and 
 hear your voice telling of all our former friends." 
 He looked at her kindly, gravely, and very search- 
 ingly. 
 
 " Yes," she replied calmly, almost coldly, " the 
 present is widely different in all ways from the 
 past. Now tell me of yourself — what you have 
 done, and what are you going to do ? " 
 
 " On the whole, I have not done badly. You 
 know, though I was not the steadiest of fellows, 
 I could always work when I chose. You remem- 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 165 
 
 ber I was appointed assistant- surgeon to the 
 
 Dragoons just as the Eegiment was ordered to 
 India. Well, I saw a good deal of service there, 
 — I mean professional service, — for my superior 
 was old and lazy. It was a pleasant life too. I 
 got my share of tiger-shooting and pig-sticking. 
 Then came the Mutiny. I shouldn't like to live 
 through that time again ! I was twice hit when 
 looking after the wounded in action — rather badly 
 hit the second time. Then I held a pretty good 
 temporary appointment while matters were being 
 settled ; but having had a bad attack of fever, I 
 thought it better to take my leave, and come home. 
 So here I am, not knowing if I shall return to 
 India, or try and make a practice in some English 
 town. I shall look about me for a twelvemonth 
 or so and decide ; I really don't much care which 
 way, only I fancy I shall be better in health here." 
 
 '' Yes, I should think so," said Mrs. Harding, 
 " and I hope you will. You would be a friend to 
 — to my children, Jim ; for you know I have no 
 near relative — no man relative I mean." 
 
 " I trust you will never need my services," he 
 returned, looking keenly at her, for there was a 
 slight pathetic hesitation in her speech. " Mr. 
 
166 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 Harding, your husband, is in good health, I 
 hope, and seems to have plenty of this world's 
 goods." 
 
 " Oh yes, and is a most affectionate father ; 
 still it is always better for a woman to have a big 
 brother of some kind behind her." 
 
 " Perhaps it is," he said thoughtfully, dropping 
 his eyelids till nearly closed ; " perhaps it is, and 
 you were always a shocking little coward, Livy, 
 but a sweet little coward too — a sort of little 
 coward that generally finds men ready to work 
 for her, and if needs be die, for her. Eh, Livy % " 
 
 Mrs. Harding burst into a laugh — a harsher 
 laugh than might be expected from so soft and 
 gentle a woman. 
 
 " You must indeed have been living * far from 
 the haunts of men ' to have preserved such chi- 
 valrous ideas, Jim. I never expect any one to 
 work or die for me ; but if — if I wanted — — " 
 She stopped, and evidently changed her intended 
 speech — ''sound advice about the children, or — 
 or myself, you would take more interest in us than 
 a stranger." 
 
 " Oh, professional advice ! I assure you every 
 medical man takes an equally profound interest 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 167 
 
 in his cases, whether they are personal friends or 
 not." 
 
 " I cannot believe that," said Mrs. Harding 
 candidly. 
 
 " You may, I assure you. By the way, are 
 you sure you do not want advice now? You 
 have not developed as I always expected you 
 would." 
 
 " How ought I to have developed ? " 
 
 *' Into decided emhonpoint — into a sleek roly- 
 poly little woman, with very bright eyes and a 
 beautiful complexion, a little lazy and very merry. 
 Now you are thin and pale — too thin and pale. 
 How is that ? " 
 
 " How can I tell V said Mrs. Harding, laugh- 
 ing good-hum ouredly. " But I am very glad I 
 have developed my own way, not yours. I sus- 
 pect I am all the better for not being a rolypoly !" 
 
 " I hope so," said the doctor gravely. " You 
 have had no doubt some of the trials almost in- 
 separable from motherhood. Have you lost any 
 children ? " 
 
 *' Yes, one — a sweet little girl ! my second child. 
 It w^as a cruel blow." Her soft eyes were suflfused 
 with tears. 
 
168 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 " No doubt ; but these babies cannot make a 
 place in your life. It is a wound that heals 
 quickly." 
 
 Mrs. Harding shook her head. 
 
 " I should like to see your babies," continued 
 Dr. Brooke. " I shall come again soon, but will 
 bid you good-bye now. It must be nearly your 
 dinner hour ! " 
 
 Mrs. Harding flushed slightly ; she would have 
 liked to have kept him to dinner, but was not 
 sufficiently mistress in her own house to take such 
 a liberty. " You will leave your address, Jim ? 
 Mr. Harding would like to call. He will be very 
 pleased to make your acquaintance." 
 
 "I feel quite anxious to make his, I assure 
 you," he returned, taking out his card -case to 
 place a card on the table. '' What are you going 
 to do with your handsome young friend ? not to 
 send her back to school ? That would be cruel 
 and absurd." 
 
 " I should like to keep her with me. She is a 
 charming companion, but her fate is not in my 
 hands ! " 
 
 "She looks like a girl that would prefer 
 directing it herself. Well, good - morning, 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 169 
 
 Livy! I suppose it must be Mrs. Harding 
 before the general public \ " 
 
 " I suppose so — good-bye, Jim ! " 
 
 When Mrs. Harding was alone she took up 
 Dr. Brooke's card and stood for several minutes 
 gazing on it — but gazing with dry eyes and a 
 quiet set face — a face from which hope seemed 
 to have gone — utterly and for ever — so still and 
 cold did it look. She was roused by the door 
 opening to admit the children, fresh and rosy 
 from their afternoon walk. Her countenance 
 cleared, her lips relaxed, and, sitting down, she 
 took little Willie on her knee and began to ask 
 him about the boat he had been sailing. 
 
 Stasie, in the retirement of her own chamber, 
 lost no time in answering Miss Boaden's letter. 
 She did this with mixed feelings. She thought 
 from Mrs. Harding's manner that she was not 
 again to be imprisoned within the respectable walls 
 of Elm wood House, and she rejoiced at her prospec- 
 tive freedom. Nevertheless, she felt an un expected 
 tender regret at the idea of bidding a final fare- 
 well even to her enemy Miss Amelia. Still more 
 deeply did she feel that she was drifting away 
 
170 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 from her old friend Mrs. Mathews and her family 
 in spite of herself. " Yet I can go and see them 
 if I like," she mused ; " and by and by, when 
 everything is settled, for they must arrange for 
 me to live somewhere, and give me some money 
 for clothes and things " ('' they " meant Harding 
 and Kharapet), "I shall be able to pay Ella a visit, 
 and make her a present now and then ! How nice 
 it would be to travel with Aunt Clem ! to learn 
 to sing and to speak German, and see all the 
 delightful places she has seen. I suppose that Dr. 
 Brooke has travelled a great deal, but there is no 
 knowing. I thought he must be somebody very 
 distinguished, and he is only a doctor, after all." 
 
 Her letter finished, Stasie, who was violently 
 tidy by fits and staj-ts, applied herself to arrange 
 her drawers, and put fresh lace in the sleeves 
 and collar of a dress, speculating meanwhile if 
 she should ever rise to the dignity of having a 
 maid of her own. 
 
 Mr. Harding was a little late for dinner — and 
 somewhat silent thereat — and the repast was 
 nearly over before Stasie, who was generally the 
 principal talker, made up her mind how to open 
 the subject of her return to school. 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 171 
 
 " I had a letter from Miss Boaden to-day, Mr. 
 Harding. She wants me to go back," she said 
 at length. 
 
 " She does, does she \ and I suppose you are 
 very anxious to go — eh Stasie ? " 
 
 " You know about that ! Mrs. Harding said 
 I might write that I should not return just yet." 
 
 " Hum 1 so she is not tired of you ! Well, 
 Stasie, curiously enough, / have been writing to 
 Miss Boaden myself to-day." 
 
 " What about, dear Mr. Harding ? " 
 
 " Only to tell her that you will not return to 
 school after the holidays ; and as they are only 
 three weeks off, you may as well stay where you 
 are — so you can go to Forest Hill and pack up 
 your belongings as soon as you like ! " 
 
 " Oh, thank you, that is delightful ! And 
 you will let me live with you — that is to say, 
 when I am in England." 
 
 " When you are in England ! pray where are 
 you going to ? " 
 
 " I am sure I don't know ; only I am not 
 going to stay in London all my life ! " 
 
 " God knows what an enterprising young lady 
 of your sort may do ! At any rate you are 
 
172 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 welcome to stay here till you have a house of 
 your own ! " 
 
 " You are very good and kind/* said Stasie 
 warmly. " I should like a house of my own by 
 and by when things are settled, but above all I 
 want to travel." 
 
 " Well, you must just wait a bit," said Mr. 
 Harding a little impatiently ; and his wife, with 
 the watchful tact born of much experience in 
 the art of management, rose and led the way to 
 the drawing-room. 
 
 " Be satisfied with one step at a time Stasie," 
 she said, as she opened her work-basket. " You 
 may lose more than you gain by asking for too 
 much." 
 
 "It is rather hard to be obliged to beg for 
 what one has a right to," cried Stasie indignantly, 
 throwing herself into a large easy-chair. Why 
 should I not go abroad ? there is nothing un- 
 reasonable in the wish." 
 
 " Certainly not. And I daresay later you will 
 be able to carry it out ; but for the present 
 would it not be wiser to wait patiently for the 
 consent of those who are, I am sure, doing their 
 best ? Believe me, we are neither better nor happier 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 173 
 
 for having everytliing our own way, especially at 
 your age." 
 
 " Perhaps so. But it is very disagreeable to 
 be contradicted," replied Stasie, adding after a 
 pause. " I am sure, dear Mrs. Harding, I am 
 always very happy with you, and — and would it 
 bore you if I had music lessons ? I cannot be 
 quite idle ! " 
 
 '' It would not bore me in the least ! You 
 are quite right, Stasie ; there is nothing so dull 
 as idleness." 
 
 ^' And let me teach dear little Ethel and 
 Willie to read ! " 
 
 " That you are most heartily welcome to try," 
 said Mrs. Harding, laughing ; " you will not like 
 the task long." 
 
 *' I assure you I can be persevering I There, 
 there is the front -door bell. I daresay it is 
 Hormuz Kharapet." 
 
 ** Ah ! I do not think he would come in 
 the evening when he had not been invited to 
 dinner, unless, indeed, he has business with Mr. 
 Harding." 
 
 '* Why don't you like Hormuz % he is so nice 
 and gentle." 
 
174 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 " Why do you suppose I do not like him ? " 
 *' I cannot explain why, but I am quite sure 
 you do not." Mrs. Harding laughed, and Stasie 
 changed the subject by consulting her friend as 
 to what day would be best to fetch away her 
 things from Elmwood House. This interesting 
 discussion was interrupted by the entrance of Mr. 
 Harding, followed by Kharapet. Mr. Harding was 
 looking brighter than he had done at dinner. 
 Kharapet, having greeted: Mrs. Harding, drew a 
 chair beside Stasie. '' I have not seen you since 
 Lady Elizabeth's party," he said slowly, while 
 his glittering eyes, half veiled by their long lashes, 
 dwelt on her intensely, hungrily ; but Stasie was 
 so much occupied with the intricacies of a lace 
 cravatte she was making for Mrs. Mathews, that 
 she did not heed them, and he gazed to his 
 heart's content. 
 
 " No ? How fast time goes in London ! " re- 
 turned Stasie, a little irrelevantly. ''Do you 
 know I am not to go back to school, Hormuz ? " 
 looking suddenly in his face — an odd feel- 
 ing, partly surprise, partly nervousness, mak^ 
 ing her laugh as she met his eyes. "Are you 
 astonished?" 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 175 
 
 '' I am not, considering that I was the chief 
 cause of the change you so much desired. I was 
 determined, whatever the obstacles, that you 
 should not be sent back to the imprisonment you 
 hate." 
 
 While Kharapet was whispering assurances 
 that Stasie's wishes were his law, Mrs. Hardino^ 
 was saying, " I had a visit from Dr. Brooke to- 
 day. You remember hearing us speak of my 
 cousin Jim ? " 
 
 " Ay," taking up the card his wife held 
 out, " I remember. I fancy he must be the Dr. 
 Brooke old Pearson, our chairman, was speaking of 
 yesterday. He has just come back from India 
 hasn't he ? " 
 
 ^' He has." 
 
 " I'll call on him, and have him to dinner. I 
 dare say he could give me a wrinkle about " 
 
 What, did not appear, for Stasie broke in, ^' I 
 am sure that Dr. Brooke must have travelled a 
 great deal. He looks like it. He is the man I 
 asked you about, Hormuz, — at Lady Elizabeth 
 Wyatt's, I mean ; you had not observed him. 
 Pon't you remember ? " 
 
 Hormuz did remember ; and his face grew 
 
176 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 serious as lie asked, " Who ? who is this gentle- 
 man ? " 
 
 " A cousin of my wife's ! You must come and 
 meet him, Kharapet." 
 
 Stasie's next visit to her good friend Mrs. 
 Mathews was rather painful in more ways than 
 one. First, it was a farewell. The old house 
 was dismantled ; the rusty untidy little den 
 where she had often stolen away from her work 
 or lessons to devour novels, poetry, plays, any- 
 thing she could lay her hands upon, was abso- 
 lutely empty, as most of the heavy luggage had 
 already been despatched, and the family were 
 crowded into two or three rooms. Secondly, 
 Mrs. Matthews was not so cordial as formerly ; 
 she remarked that no doubt it was an effort for 
 Stasie to come all that way from the grand house 
 she was staying in now to their humble abode, 
 or she might have come oftener to see them, 
 though, perhaps, she (Mrs. Mathews) ought to be 
 thankful that she came at all, etc. etc., stings 
 which soon roused Stasie to indignant remons- 
 trance, and finally to a torrent of tears, when Ella 
 interposed, standing up manfully for her friend. 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 117 
 
 " You don't know how hampered and wor- 
 ried I am," sobbed Stasie ; " I cannot do as I 
 like ! Besides, it would not be civil to walk 
 out of the house when I chose, without caring 
 whether Mrs. Harding wanted me or not. But 
 if you think I would rather be sitting in her grand 
 drawing-room, doing crochet or wool-work, instead 
 of helping you to pack with my gown tucked 
 up, you are very much mistaken ! I wish you 
 would not be so unkind, Mrs. Mathews ! When 
 I am more my own mistress you will see I do 
 not forget all your goodness to me.^' 
 
 "Well, well, Stasie, I never thought you a 
 heartless child ! but law ! my dear, the world 
 soon changes the best of us ! There, dry your 
 eyes, and have a cup of tea. I would much rather 
 believe you to be kind and true than a weather- 
 cock." 
 
 " That she is not, I am sure," cried Ella 
 heartily. ** Do not mind mother, Stasie ! she is 
 tired and worried. We are very anxious about 
 
 Bob ! There is nothing for him to do in C , 
 
 so he will be sure to get into mischief, and he 
 ought to go on working for his diploma. Fortu- 
 nately, our old friends Mr. and Mrs. Deacon have 
 
 VOL. I. 12 
 
178 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 offered to take him in till he can look about him ; 
 still it will be money out of mother's pocket, and 
 I know he is in debt — not much, I daresay, but 
 always more than we can afford. If it were not 
 for Bob I declare we should be too happy ! " 
 
 " Well, well. Bob will come right yet,'^ said 
 the fond mother. " I can see the poor lad is 
 dreadfully down at the idea of parting with us." 
 
 Stasie opened her eyes at this, but wisely held 
 her tongue. A friendly cup of tea succeeded, 
 in which all bitterness seemed to be drowned, 
 and the future was fully discussed. 
 
 Ella was not to be married for a month or 
 two, as she wished to assist her mother in 
 settling in her home, so as to be quite prepared 
 for the October term, for which date they had 
 already secured one boarder, and had the promise 
 of another. 
 
 " It will make me quite independent and 
 comfortable if I can get four or five," said Mrs. 
 Mathews. "Janet is getting now to be a great 
 help, and, I will say, is a steady, industrious girl, 
 so she can do most of the housekeeping, but no 
 one will ever be to me what Ella is," etc. etc. etc. 
 
 Peace and good understanding being tho- 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 179 
 
 roughly restored, Stasie parted with her old and 
 valued friends not dry- eyed. After many hearty 
 hugs and kisses, promises to write, and assur- 
 ances of constancy, she was carefully put into a 
 cab by Mrs. Mathews herself, who demanded the 
 driver's ticket, and gave him the address, with 
 many injunctions to take special care of the 
 young lady. 
 
CHAPTEK YIII. 
 
 When Stasie returned to Mrs. Harding's, bringing 
 with her all her worldly goods, and having bade 
 a final adieu to school life, she experienced but 
 little of the exultant joy with which she was 
 wont to anticipate that event. 
 
 She was rather vexed with herself for feeling 
 pleased. She accused herself of being hard and 
 ungrateful to the Misses Boaden. After all, 
 their lives were far from easy : their task was no 
 child's play, and had they not done their best 
 for her ? Had she done her best for them ? 
 
 There is in young creatures of the higher 
 type an exalted idea of what life ought to be, of 
 which their elders, from whose hearts the rude 
 contact of the work -a- day world has brushed 
 these fair and delicate impressions, have seldom 
 any notion. A supreme sense of duty at all 
 costs — of self-devotion at any sacrifice — of con- 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 181 
 
 duct pure, graceful, self-restrained, which only 
 needs consistency and the power of resistance to 
 make youth more dignified than age. These two 
 essential ingredients are, however, what youth 
 generally lacks. Would youth be youth had it 
 the force to act up to its own ideal ? And so 
 the sweetest, kindest girls often walk unevenly 
 among the snares and pitfalls of their onward 
 path, with here a vista of pleasure too tempting 
 to be resisted, and there a stumbling-stone of 
 irritation too big and rugged to be surmounted, 
 while consciousness of the weak places thus 
 probed, the vulnerable points thus discovered, 
 galls and humiliates — not always strengthening 
 the spirit against the next encounter, save in 
 those rare instances where power is equal to 
 aspiration. 
 
 Few who have not been admitted into the 
 full confidence of higher-toned girlish hearts can 
 imagine how little pleasure, as mere pleasure, 
 enters into their scheme of life. 
 
 With all her vitality, her sense of enjoyment, 
 her little surface vanity, Stasie's was a nature of 
 this order. This necessity to be in sympathy 
 with and useful to her fellows gave poignancy 
 
182 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 to her regret at her own isolation. She owed no 
 particular duty to any one. She had nothing to 
 do but to please herself. 
 
 If she had a grumpy grandfather, a sickly 
 sister, an exacting father or mother, it would be 
 more satisfactory. As it was, the best thing 
 perhaps she could do was to adopt Aunt Clem. 
 She was the only person to whom she could 
 possibly be necessary, and, though a dear good 
 soul, would probably want bearing with and 
 humouring occasionally. To Mrs. Mathews 
 Stasie felt she could never be so essential. Mrs. 
 Mathews had her own large family to struggle 
 for and with, to love and to be loved by : a 
 little money help kindly and delicately admin- 
 istered was all she needed. But Aunt Clem was 
 like herself, utterly alone. She was also growing 
 old and very poor. Aunt Clem therefore, for 
 the present, must be Stasie's object. 
 
 Thus reflecting, Stasie dressed for dinner. 
 She was pleased at the idea of meeting Dr. 
 Brooke, who was expected, though he was only 
 a doctor. She hoped she would have an oppor- 
 tunity of talking to him. She wanted to put 
 many questions to him, and was determined not 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 183 
 
 to lose her chance. Stasie was not shy, but she 
 had too much natural taste and tact to be in the 
 least forward. 
 
 Having attired herself carefully in one of her 
 pretty new dresses of soft French gray and white 
 lace, and braided her light-brown hair into broad 
 plaits behind her little ears, looping them up to the 
 coil at the back of her head, she went downstairs. 
 
 The drawing-room was only occupied by the 
 children. Johnnie was in a rocking-chair, which 
 was a source of great delight ; Willie and Ethel 
 stood at a little distance watching him rock to 
 and fro with some violence. 
 
 " Stasie, he has been rocking himself ever so 
 long, and he won't give me a turn," cried Ethel, 
 running to meet her. 
 
 " No, I haven't," said Johnnie, " and I am not 
 going to give up to a bit of a girl like you." 
 
 " You are a rude selfish boy," remarked Stasie. 
 Passing him she took up an illustrated book, and 
 knowing it would create an ill-timed disturbance 
 if she tried to evict the tenant of the chair, she 
 called the two little ones to her. 
 
 " Come and sit by me on the sofa, and I will 
 tell you stories about these pictures." 
 
184 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 " We have seen all those," said Ethel discon- 
 tentedly. 
 
 " Well, bring me another book, Willie." 
 
 " We have seen them all," remarked Ethel. 
 
 " Never mind. Stasie, tell us about the other 
 sides of the pictures." 
 
 "Yes, I will, you dear little man," cried 
 Stasie, delighted with the child's quaint speech, 
 and taking the book he brought, she established 
 herself on a large sofa at the end of the room, a 
 small hearer at each side. Ethel knelt, resting 
 an arm on Stasie's shoulder, and gazing on the 
 page below. Willie sat beside her upon one leg, 
 the other hanging down, his elbow on Stasie's 
 lap, his eyes fixed on her face, absorbed in the 
 fairyland of wicked giants and lovely injured 
 fairy godmothers' children which she proceeded 
 to open up to him. It was a pleasant picture, 
 as the door opened and Dr. Brooke was an- 
 nounced. He advanced, grave, cool, a smile in 
 his eyes. Stasie put aside her encumbrances 
 and rose to meet him. " Mrs. Harding will be 
 here directly," she said, not quite sure if she 
 ought or ought not to give him her hand. He 
 decided for her by making a rather formal bow. 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 185 
 
 " I fancy I am too early," lie returned ; " but 
 I wanted to make my small cousins' acquaint- 
 ance, and feared they might not be visible after 
 dinner." 
 
 " I will present them," said Stasie. " Come 
 here, Johnnie," — to the " rebel of the family," 
 who had ceased to rock, and sat looking at the 
 new-comer with curiosity not untinged with awe, 
 — " This is Master John Harding, the eldest son, 
 and here is Willie, the youngest ; this young lady 
 is Miss Ethel Harding, who comes between them." 
 
 Dr. Brooke shook hands with Johnnie, then 
 placing his hand on the child's head put it back, 
 and looked earnestly in his face. " Glad to see 
 you, my boy. No trace of the mother or her 
 people here ! Ah ! Willie, you are of a different 
 brand ! You are not too old to be kissed. And 
 Miss Harding ! come here ! You have your 
 mother's eyes. I congratulate you." He kissed 
 the two younger ones kindly, and took Ethel on 
 his knee. Willie retreated to Stasie, and Johnnie 
 stood looking distrustfully at the stranger. 
 
 " I can remember Mrs. Harding about the age 
 of this child," said Dr. Brooke to Stasie, " a most 
 delicate little lady." 
 
186 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 " Papa says I am more like my Aunt Mills," 
 said Ethel with a pout. 
 
 " So much the worse for you," he returned. 
 '' "Who is Aunt Mills ? '' to Stasie. 
 
 " A sister of Mr. Harding's, I think." 
 
 "And you, my little man," stretching out 
 his hand to Willie. " So you make Miss — 
 Miss " he paused — 
 
 "Yerner," supplied Stasie, noting in her own 
 mind that he had forgotten her name — 
 
 " Thank you ! — Miss Verner tell you stories. 
 Are you not a lucky little fellow ? " 
 
 *' Yes ! Such pretty stories, all about fairies 
 in the woods, and sometimes poor peasants and 
 giants and even ogres." 
 
 " I don't care for them; they are all nonsense," 
 said John, who was in a contradictory mood. 
 
 *' What a wiseacre ! " replied Dr. Brooke. 
 " Why, if they do not take care, you will set the 
 Thames on fire. Do you like the stories. Miss 
 Curly Locks?" 
 
 " Oh yes ! And Stasie dresses my doll. Stasie 
 can cut out paper boats and crosses and " 
 
 *^What a clever young lady!" — a laughing 
 glance at her. " Do you think she would tell us 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 187 
 
 a story while we are waiting for mother ? — Is it 
 mother or mamma ? " 
 
 " Mamma, I am sorry to say," replied Stasie. 
 
 "Yes, * mother' is better. But will not Miss 
 Verner tell us a story ? " 
 
 " Do, do, do, Stasie, dear ! " 
 
 ''No. Dr. Brooke has been in Fairyland 
 himself; he ouglit to know beautiful stories, — 
 real ones, — not merely made up, like mine." 
 
 " I have no genius for story-telling ; I am too 
 matter-of-fact." 
 
 "Don't say that," cried Stasie impulsively. 
 " You do not look like it. I hate matter-of-fact 
 people ! " 
 
 "Indeed!" very gravely. "Then I retract 
 the statement." 
 
 Stasie laughed merrily. " I am glad you do." 
 
 "You have been away in India," observed 
 Johnnie, who was contemplating his new ac- 
 quaintance with profound attention ; " and papa 
 says you ought to have made heaps of money 
 there. Have you ? " 
 
 " I deeply regret to say I have not." 
 
 " Why not ? " persisted Johnnie. 
 
 " Go and tell mamma that Dr. Brooke is here," 
 
188 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 said Stasie, blushing at the boy's rude speech, 
 yet unable to subdue a smile at the characteristic 
 inquiry. 
 
 The doctor laughed mockingly. "By all 
 means send oflf the young gentleman, lest his in- 
 quiries should display my weakness too plainly." 
 
 " I don't want to go," said Johnnie, and 
 stepped out upon the balcony. 
 
 " Wont you tell us a story ? " persisted Willie, 
 slipping his hand into Dr. Brooke's. 
 
 " Mine would be too grim for a little man like 
 you," he returned. " Miss Verner's fancies must 
 be much pleasanter. You, too, have been in the 
 East, Mrs. Harding tells me," addressing her. 
 
 " So long ago that I cannot remember it ; but 
 I should like to go there again. Indeed I long 
 to travel an?/ where." 
 
 The doctor smiled upon her an indulgent 
 smile — " As if I were an infant like Ethel," she 
 thought indignantly ; and then their conversa- 
 tion was interrupted by the entrance of Mrs. 
 Harding. 
 
 Stasie remarked that she greeted her guest 
 with unusual cordiality, and that he, too, was 
 more animated in his manner than when speak- 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 189 
 
 ing to the children. In a few minutes they were 
 joined by Mr. Harding, who was loud and profuse 
 in his apologies for being a little late, and seemed 
 anxious to impress on his wife's relative that he 
 was particularly glad to see him. It had never 
 before occurred to Stasie's inexperience that her 
 friend and ally, Mr. Harding, was common or 
 underbred ; but contrasting the repose, the ease 
 of Dr. Brooke^s manner, with the kind of rough 
 cordiality assumed by her host, she felt his in- 
 feriority, and this added a shade or two more to 
 the half-unconscious distrust which was gradually 
 deepening in her mind towards him. 
 
 Mr. Williams, a gentleman who had more than 
 once dined at York Gate during Stasie's sojourn, 
 and the inevitable Kharapet having joined them, 
 they went down to dinner. 
 
 The conversation was unusually animated, as 
 the new guest's opinions were different on most 
 matters from those of his convives\ Nor did he 
 hesitate to show this difference distinctly, though 
 civilly. His way of expressing himself, too, 
 though j)lain and straightforward, bore the stamp 
 of thought and culture, and Stasie was well 
 content to listen, disregarding the whispers of 
 
190 THE EXECUTOR, 
 
 Kharapet, who sat beside her. He spoke little 
 to any one else, but at times listened to what was 
 going on with very close attention. When the 
 repast was over, and the servants had left the 
 room, something was said about Giulini in the 
 Trovatore, upon which Stasie exclaimed how 
 much she should like to hear an opera. 
 
 "It is not easy for us to go," returned Mrs. 
 Harding. "Neither Mr. Harding nor Mr. Khara- 
 pet like to face the discomforts of a theatre ; 
 and I think Stasie and I require an escort to 
 such a crowded place as the Italian Opera." 
 
 " Why do you not make use of me ? " asked 
 Dr. Brooke. " I am an idle man at present, and 
 though I should prefer a play, I have no objec- 
 tion to an opera." 
 
 " That would be delightful," cried Stasie. 
 " Do — do ^x a day, dear Mrs. Harding." 
 
 " Tell me what days you are disengaged," 
 said Dr. Brooke, " and leave the affair in my 
 hands" 
 
 " But you wrong me," exclaimed Kharapet 
 eagerly. ^^I should always be ready to go with 
 you where I could be of use, though I do not 
 pretend to enjoy these exhibitions ! " 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 191 
 
 " Then it is better to have some one who 
 does, for it is not pleasant to know you are in- 
 flicting a punishment," said Stasie gaily. 
 
 " No service I could render to you would be 
 a punishment to me," returned Kharapet. "But 
 I confess I neither enjoy nor approve these 
 musical and dancing entertainments. I am of 
 my noble and good friend Lord Saintsbury's 
 opinion, that it is derogatory to the charming 
 young ladies of England to witness such things. 
 In the East we take better care of our ladies." 
 
 " Do you never admit Nautch girls into your 
 houses in Syria ? " asked Dr. Brooke. " I had 
 some friends with Outram's expedition who gave 
 me curious accounts of the Nautch dances at 
 Baoiidad." 
 
 " They are never permitted in the houses of 
 Syrian Christians," replied Kharapet with some 
 emphasis. 
 
 " Oh, indeed ! " said Brooke. " I beg your 
 pardon. Well, Mrs. Harding, when shall we go 
 to this shocking exhibition ? " 
 
 '' Any day you like next week. To-morrow 
 will be Saturday, and of course there is no chance 
 of getting places." 
 
192 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 ** I hope you will see that my dinner and all 
 that is cared for," said Mr. Harding. " I need 
 not be uncomfortable as well as deserted." 
 
 '*You should dine at your club," returned 
 Brooke. 
 
 "I am so domesticated I do not belong to 
 one," rejoined Harding. 
 
 *^ A great mistake ! Mrs. Harding, you ought 
 to have him put up at the 'Keform ; ' every man 
 ought to join a club." 
 
 " You ought to join mine, the 'West Central.' 
 It is a capital club, — meet every body, — great 
 opportunities for discussing business matters, 
 and an excellent cook," said Mr. Williams. 
 
 " Well, I'll see about it," returned Harding, as 
 his wife rose to leave the room followed by Stasie. 
 
 " Come up here, doctor," said the host, making 
 a place by him after the ladies left, " and try a 
 glass of this port. It's not bad ; in fact, it's a 
 sin to throw it away on women." 
 
 " They seldom avail themselves of their 
 
 chances in that way," said Brooke, moving into 
 
 the place offered him. " It is rather a feminine 
 
 failing to be indifferent to the joys of the palate." 
 
 , " I am not so sure ! " replied Williams. 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 193 
 
 ** Some of tliem are a little too fond of alcohol, 
 if we are to believe all we hear." 
 
 '^ A small minority, I imagine." 
 
 *' Fill your glass, Williams," cried the host ; 
 *' don't mind Kharapet. It's his misfortune more 
 than his fault that he can't drink a decent glass 
 of wine." 
 
 '^ You are to be congratulated," remarked 
 the doctor gravely, ^' on having a necessity 
 the less — nevertheless — it is well to be able 
 to enjoy a firstrate vintage, such as this, Mr. 
 Harding." 
 
 '' Eight you are, doctor," he returned heartily. 
 Mr. Harding was rarely seen to greater advan- 
 tage than when entertaining his male guests — 
 pride in the excellence of his wine — both as a 
 delicacy and a representative of money's worth, 
 pleasure in the gustation, backed by the presence 
 and encouragement of others, and supported 
 under the extra expenditure by a subtile im- 
 aginative hope that in some indirect way the 
 outlay would bring forth profit, either in 
 extending his connection or securing similar 
 enjoyment at the cost of others, warmed him 
 into hospitality. At present, for some reason, 
 
 VOL. I. 13 
 
194 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 he was anxious to be civil to, and make a good 
 impression on his wife's cousin. 
 
 "And so, doctor, I hear you are nearly tired 
 of grilling under an Eastern sun." 
 
 " Not exactly. In some respects I like India, 
 but I begin to think I might do better at home ; 
 the career of a military surgeon is limited." 
 
 "No doubt," said Mr. Williams. " If you 
 could get a start in a new neighbourhood, it 
 would be the making of you." Dr. Brooke 
 looked at him, but made no immediate reply ; 
 the familiarity of the remark did not please him. 
 
 " As I do not drink wine, may I be allowed 
 to join the ladies ? " asked Kharapet, rising. 
 
 " To be sure," said Harding, laughing. " You 
 are not much good away from them — one of them 
 at any rate." An indescribable smile, self- 
 satisfied, sensual, overspread the Syrian's face as 
 he left the room — an expression that made 
 Brooke feel a strong desire to quench him with a 
 .sudden douche of cold water from the glass jug 
 which was temptingly near. " Well, well, we 
 all have our mad fits, as I dare say you both 
 know," continued Mr. Harding apologetically; 
 " but to return, as you are looking about you, 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 195 
 
 doctor, Mr. Williams will tell you about a 
 locality which is worth your notice — a very 
 rising place indeed." 
 
 " Yes ; as a connection of my worthy friend 
 Harding here, I don't mind putting you up to a 
 good thing, either as a residence or an invest- 
 ment. Two or three years ago a few sound City 
 men observed a property in Surrey, in a capital 
 situation, half an hour from Waterloo Station, 
 unoccupied and in the market. They thought it 
 a promising spot for villas, and they formed them- 
 selves into a ' Landed Estate Company,' bought 
 up the 2^roperty, advanced money to tenants who 
 wished to build, made roads and drains, put up 
 fences, and divided it into plots. So far we have 
 been very successful. (I am solicitor to the Com- 
 pany.) We have a splendid site for a church, 
 where there is a temporary iron erection, and 
 many of the houses are let to most respectable 
 people. All we want is a resident doctor of high 
 standing, and then having provided for the reli- 
 gious and bodily health of our tenantry we shall 
 do well. If you, my dear sir, will make a small 
 investment — say a couple of thousand pounds — 
 you can be your own landlord in a sense, or erect 
 
196 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 a mansion for yourself! I omitted to mention 
 that there is an affiliated company linked with 
 ours — The Sefton Park Building Company, Lim- 
 ited. This Company builds houses of a firstrate 
 order at wonderfully low terms, shares ruling at 
 seventy-five, and rising rapidly. I will send 
 you a prospectus. Mr. Harding is one of our 
 directors, and has purchased a good deal of land, 
 knowing its value, like a shrewd man of busi- 
 ness as he is." 
 
 " Thank you,'' returned the doctor, helping 
 himself to some olives ; "I don't fancy such a 
 neighbourhood would afford much of a practice. 
 Still, let me have the prospectus." 
 
 " I think you know our chairman," said Mr. 
 Harding — " Sir Frederic Pearson, an old Indian." 
 
 " I have met him, poor old fellow ! Does he 
 still dabble in shares ? He has been bitten too." 
 
 " Ah, well ! he is all right with us." 
 
 "No doubt." 
 
 Mr. Williams now turned the conversation by 
 asking some questions about Indian matters, and 
 having answered him, Brooke in his turn inquired 
 as to Kharapet's nationality. 
 
 " He is not a Mahometan, I see," he added. 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 197 
 
 " No ; he is a Syrian Christian — a Nestorian, 
 or some such thing. His brother was our Consul 
 at Mardin. A money-making old buffer ; scraped 
 a decent lot together, and left it all to that good- 
 looking girl upstairs. Our friend Kharapet is 
 co-executor with myself, and inclined to go in 
 for the property and the proprietress." 
 
 Dr. Brooke made no reply, but a look of dis- 
 gust crept over his dark grave face ; and Mr. 
 Harding went on, " Kharapet is not a bad fellow, 
 and a deuced sharp one ! He makes his way 
 wonderfully with my Lord Saintsbury and Exeter 
 Hall. A pious duchess pets him, and a couple 
 of countesses coddle him. In short, if my pretty 
 friend makes up her mind to give him herself 
 and her money, she may float into swell society." 
 
 ** I fancy she would pay a high price for it," 
 returned the doctor carelessly. 
 
 " Ah ! you Indian officers are a little too hard 
 on natives. Kharapet is a handsome fellow ; 
 Lord bless you ! a man is a man to most women, 
 no matter what his colour or creed. And Kha- 
 rapet is a hond fide Christian." Then, a propos 
 of this profound remark, Mr. Harding proceeded 
 with much chuckling and enjoyment to relate 
 
198 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 one or two ^^good stories," not too delicate in 
 their details, whicli Mr. Williams loudly ap- 
 plauded, while Dr. Brooke laughed a little 
 contemptuously, the conversation which ensued 
 being neither interesting nor edifying. Dr. Brooke 
 rose and said he would join the ladies; on his 
 departure Mr. Harding and his man of business 
 immediately plunged into serious and absorbing 
 conversation. 
 
 Brooke walked slowly upstairs, an undefined 
 sensation of uneasiness and disgust crisping the 
 current of his thoughts. He was himself above 
 the average in ability, and endowed with all the 
 qualities that fit a man for the profession he had 
 adopted : closely observant, with nerves of steel, 
 logical in thought, and possessed of an imagina- 
 tion sufficiently vivid to be the pioneer of dis- 
 covery. Though no saint, he was a man of clean 
 and active life. He had had a boyish fancy for 
 his pretty cousin, which absence and occupation 
 had so far obliterated that it pleased him to know 
 she was well married. He was half amused at 
 the tender gladness his meeting with her evoked. 
 He did not think there was so much sentiment 
 left in his practical nature. The first sight of 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 199 
 
 her face suggested doubt as to the happiness of 
 her prosperity, and now his interest in her was 
 rapidly deejDening as he reflected on the horror 
 of being indissolubly linked to such a man as her 
 husband. " Does she feel it ? Women are so 
 mercifully endowed with the power of self-decep- 
 tion, a compensation for the blindness in which 
 they grope about the world ! How can any girl 
 know the man she is going to marry ? Not if 
 she had been on speaking terms with him for 
 years. Livy ought to have had a gentleman and 
 a good fellow. This man is neither. I wish it 
 had been possible to have kept her for myself, 
 but of course the everlasting contradiction of 
 thinors forbade that." 
 
 So thinking, Dr. Brooke opened the drawing- 
 room door, and saw the object of his thoughts 
 sitting at a small table pouring out tea. Kharapet 
 Avas close beside her, speaking with earnestness in 
 a low tone, and the new-comer fancied he read 
 weariness and dislike in her cold, composed aspect. 
 
 At a little distance, comfortably ensconsed in 
 the corner of a sofa near the lamp, Stasie was 
 reading so attentively that she did not look up 
 when the door opened. Unconsciously piqued 
 
200 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 by this inattention, Dr. Brooke, after receiving a 
 cup of tea from his hostess, walked over to where 
 she sat, and with a civil "May I venture to 
 interrupt you ?" took a place beside her. 
 
 " "What is your study, Miss Verner V 
 
 " Such a delightful book — quite different from 
 anything I ever read before — Ruskin's Seven 
 Lamps of Architecture — do you know it V^ 
 
 " I can't say I do. I have seen reviews of it, 
 but that is all ; works of imagination are not 
 much in my line." 
 
 " But this is not a work of imagination," said 
 Stasie, laying it open on her lap. "It is all 
 about churches and cathedrals, and windows and 
 columns — real, solid things." 
 
 " Still I think, unless I have formed a very 
 false idea of the work, it is highly imaginative," 
 he returned, with a smile at her earnestness and 
 the slight hesitation that showed she was un- 
 accustomed to put her graver thoughts into 
 words. " Mr. Ruskin finds all sorts of meanings 
 and intentions and laws in these fine old build- 
 ings and their decorations, which I am quite 
 sure the builders were incapable not only of 
 expressing but of conceiving." 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 201 
 
 "I do not like to hear you say so," said 
 Stasie, slowly and thoughtfully. " I cannot tell 
 why, but I feel you are wrong. Perhaps these 
 old builders, without knowing or intending, just 
 w^orked their hearts and minds into the stones 
 they wxre cutting or fastening together." 
 
 " Very good. Miss Verner. I see you are quite 
 competent to understand and appreciate Euskin." 
 
 " If you knew the delight he has given me, 
 I think you would leave him alone." 
 
 *' I will ; he is sacred to me now," returned 
 Brooke, laughing gently, and looking down into 
 the soft, dark, pleading eyes so seriously raised 
 to his, with no small surprise that a mere school- 
 girl should put so much heart into such a subject. 
 " Nay, more, I will concede that there is always 
 some character, some individuality in the work 
 of men's hands, so that the work of a Persian, a 
 Hindoo, or a Chinaman, must differ widely." 
 
 '^ Well, that is just what Euskin says." 
 
 " He goes much farther, I believe." 
 
 '^ Do read the book ; I am sure you will be 
 delighted with it. Dr. Brooke." 
 
 ** Very well, I will read it." 
 
 A pause. Then Stasie began, with some 
 
202 THE EXECUTOR, 
 
 timidity, *' Did you ever hear anything about the 
 Eosicrucians when you were in India ?" 
 
 '* The Eosicrucians ? What do you know 
 about them?" asked Brooke, with increasing 
 surprise. 
 
 " Oh, next to nothing — only what I have read 
 in Bulwer s Zanonir 
 
 " Do they allow Bulwer at your school, or is 
 he a school classic ?" 
 
 " Ah, no. I read some of his novels before I 
 went to school. Are they not delightful ? " 
 
 " Before you went to school ! You must be 
 very precocious ! No. I am not very fond of 
 Bulwer. He is too stilted and unreal." 
 
 Stasie raised her eyebrows with a look of 
 mock despair, and persisted in her inquiry. 
 *' But did you ever hear anything about the 
 Eosicrucians in India ? " 
 
 " Nothing whatever. I cannot say I felt any 
 interest in the subject." 
 
 " But there was such a sect or order ?" 
 
 '* No doubt — something of the nature of Free- 
 masons or " 
 
 " Will you not charm us with some of your 
 sweet music, Stasie ? " interrupted Hormuz, 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 203 
 
 coming softly up to where she sat. " I have not 
 enjoyed it for more than a week." 
 
 "My music is not worth listening to, you 
 must know it is not ; and Dr. Brooke is just going 
 to tell me some things I want to know," returned 
 Stasie, wdth great candour and some impatience. 
 
 " I should much prefer listening to your voice 
 than to my own, especially as I can give little or 
 no information on the profound subjects which 
 interest you." 
 
 Stasie coloured vividly for a moment as the 
 idea that he was laughing at her presented itself. 
 " If I thought my music could give you any 
 pleasure I would play or sing at once ; but I am 
 a mere beginner " 
 
 "To me it is divinely sweet," said Kharapet 
 in a low voice. As he spoke the door opened to 
 admit Mr. Harding and his remaining guest. 
 " If you go and play now, Stasie, said Mrs, 
 Harding from the tea-table, ^' you will help con- 
 versation, and no one will listen to you." 
 
 "Very well," returned Stasie good-humouredly, 
 rising and moving towards the piano. 
 
 " What a curious incentive !" said Dr. Brooke, 
 looking after her. Hormuz followed, but did not 
 
204 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 attempt to open the piano or help her to find 
 her music. He stood leaning on the instrument, 
 gazing at the musician, who went quietly through 
 her simple pieces very contentedly, while she 
 observed that Mr. Harding and Mr. Williams con- 
 tinued some discussion begun before, coffee cups 
 in hand, and Dr. Brooke went over to Mrs. Hard- 
 ing and soon seemed absorbed in talk with her. 
 
 "What were you speaking of to this stranger?" 
 asked Kharapet at length, coming closer to Stasie. 
 He looked less mild and smiling than usual. 
 
 '' Oh, books and things you don't care about." 
 
 " I am not unlearned, Stasie. Do you know 
 that I am consulted by some of your greatest 
 men respecting Assyrian antiquities ?" 
 
 ''Oh, very likely ! But do not talk to me 
 while I am playing — it puts me out." 
 
 Hormuz's countenance darkened into a very 
 ugly expression as he stood contemplating what 
 was to his Eastern mind a problem not easy to 
 solve — a woman, a mere girl, with an independ- 
 ent existence, who could tell him to be silent 
 when he wished to talk — who was often quite 
 unconscious of his gaze — and to whom, how- 
 ever incredible it might seem, he felt he could 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 205 
 
 not communicate the flame that consumed him- 
 self. After all, the slumber of her unawakened 
 womanhood might account for this extraordinary 
 indiff'erence — northern women were slow to de- 
 velop. If once he spoke to her, and poured out 
 his love in the burning phrases he felt thronging 
 to his lips, surely she would melt and tremble, 
 and yield to his ardent afiection. 
 
 " AYas I very rude, Hormuz ?" said Stasie, 
 coming to the end of her piece and noting his 
 downcast looks. *' But I cannot play and talk." 
 
 She smiled sweetly, archly, as she spoke, and 
 before he could answer Mr. Harding called out, 
 " Give us a song, Stasie." 
 
 She complied at once, singing a Scotch ballad 
 which she knew by ear. 
 
 Dr. Brooke came across to the piano when she 
 ceased. *' You really have a sweet, sympathetic 
 voice," he said ; *' much might be made of it." 
 
 ^' I am glad you think so. I am going to 
 have lessons." 
 
 *' Good-night, Miss Verner. I will not forget 
 the opera." 
 
 • • « • 
 
 " I like your cousin Dr. Brooke so much," 
 
206 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 said Stasie to Mrs. Harding, as that lady turned 
 into her young guest's room on her way to pay 
 a last visit to the nursery before retiring for the 
 night. " I am afraid he is satirical, but I am 
 sure he is very clever." 
 
 " He is a man of ability, and used to he very 
 nice and kind, but the world changes men 
 greatly," returned Mrs. Harding with a sigh. 
 
 " At any rate he will take us to the opera, 
 and that will be delightful. Mr. Harding does 
 not mind, does he ?" 
 
 " He would certainly have said so if he did," 
 said his wife quietly. 
 
 Dr. Brooke, walking back through the dim, 
 quiet streets to his hotel, reflected on the drama 
 opening up to him in the glimpses he had caught 
 of under- currents eddying round his former 
 sweetheart. " Poor little Livy ! I am afraid 
 she is mated to a brute, and not even a straight- 
 forward brute ! I don't fancy the legal adviser, 
 either ; and as to the Exeter Hall pet, I'd like to 
 kick him when I see the fellow gloating over that 
 nice, bright girl as if she were his particular pro- 
 perty.^ They will never let her degrade herself 
 by marrying the hound ? Yet the fellow is good- 
 
THE EXECUTOR, 207 
 
 looking and soft-spoken ; and what can a creature 
 like Stasie Verner know of life ? She is very 
 handsome. What a sweet mouth ! — not too 
 small — and that look of perfect health in her fine 
 velvety skin is a supreme beauty. Blondes are 
 not much to my taste, but she is not insipid. I 
 am not sure she isn't troublesomely intelligent ; 
 girls that ask questions are rather a nuisance, for 
 it is ten to one if they understand your answers, 
 unless they have been exceptionally trained. At 
 any rate, it is pleasanter to go to the opera or 
 any other haunt of fashion with two nice, bright 
 women than alone, especially as I am quite free 
 to dispense with them when I choose. My poor 
 little Livy ! I Avish she could dispense with that 
 prosperous, ostentatious husband of hers ! " 
 
CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 The days that intervened between this evening 
 and the projected visit to the opera were both 
 happy and successful in Stasie's estimation. She 
 had broached the subject uppermost in her mind 
 to Mr. Harding and to Kharapet, and to her de- 
 light it was not violently opposed. They pro- 
 mised to consider it, and that she should have 
 an opportunity of speaking to her guardian — 
 without whose consent nothing could be done. 
 With this news Stasie flew to rejoice Aunt 
 Clem's heart, but that sympathetic relative was 
 "not at home," to her visitor's great regret. 
 Still Lady Elizabeth Wyatt's promised invitation 
 to luncheon did not come, though Kharapet, who 
 was in greater request than ever with the 
 fashionable religious world, brought numerous 
 messages from that busy philanthropist to Stasie. 
 But the chief ingredient in this pleasant time 
 
THE EXECUTOR, 209 
 
 was tlie frequent society of Dr. Brooke. His 
 conversation, his presence, acted like a delightful 
 tonic on Stasie's brain. His voice charmed her 
 ear ; his remarks, his incidental descriptions and 
 reminiscences sus^o^ested fresh and invio^oratinor 
 strains of thought. His manner, frank, kindly, 
 and utterly innocent of admiration or insinuated 
 comjDliment, was delightful after the sugary 
 sweetness of Kharapet or the rough adulation of 
 Mr. Harding ; nor was she piqued or offended 
 by finding herself unmistakably second to Mrs. 
 Harding in his estimation, but rather more at 
 her ease; she showed her pleasure in his presence, 
 her keen enjoyment in arguing with him even in 
 accepting defeat at his hands without an attempt 
 to disguise it. 
 
 It is not in male nature to be indifferent to 
 such subtile unintentional flattery ; and Stasie 
 was rapidly becoming a favourite in a sort of 
 careless, half-appreciative fashion with her hero, 
 though at times she unconsciously made his 
 pulses throb quicker than they need, by her 
 frank girlish playfulness — it could scarce be called 
 coquetry — with Kharapet. Often, after she had 
 been bored by the latter's persistent adoration, 
 VOL. I. 14 
 
210 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 which she scarce understood into impatience and 
 sharp speeches, she would try to make amends 
 by smiles and glances which both men misin- 
 terpreted, and which, with all his reason and 
 philosophy, woke murderous thoughts in the 
 cool self-possessed doctor. 
 
 He could not bear to doubt the straightfor- 
 ward earnestness which interested him so much 
 in this half-educated half-wilful girl ! 
 
 The opera was like an enchanted dream to 
 Stasia ; the only drawback was the presence of 
 Kharapet, who joined them at the last moment, 
 but that, too, was forgotten in the griefs of 
 Leonora — the love and sorrow of Azucena. She 
 would have liked Dr. Brooke's arm instead of 
 Kharapet's coming out, but of course he (Dr. 
 Brooke) took Mrs. Harding, and so darkness 
 and commonplace settled down over the glorious 
 revelation of beauty and melody, to be re- 
 produced by fancy in the silence and freedom of 
 her solitary moments. 
 
 The next afternoon's post brought her a note 
 from Aunt Clem, written from her bed. The 
 poor lady had been very ill with a bad feverish 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 211 
 
 cold. She was now better, and a visit from her 
 sweet Stasie would complete her cure. 
 
 " I can go to-morrow, Mrs. Harding ? there is 
 nothing to be done ? " 
 
 '' Nothing ! you had better see her at once, 
 for Lady Elizabeth's invitation may come any 
 day, and you would not like to refuse." 
 
 " Certainly not. And, Mrs. Harding, as you 
 are going to take Johnnie to the dentist, I will 
 stay at home and write a long letter to Ella 
 Matthews — she will be so pleased to hear about 
 the opera." 
 
 Stasie therefore settled herself to her letter at 
 Mrs. Harding's writing-table in the inner draw- 
 ing-room, but she did not get on. The music of 
 last night was in her ears, its scenes before her 
 eyes, and it seemed like a continuation of its 
 delights, when Dr. Brooke was announced. 
 
 '^ I am so glad you have come ! I want to 
 talk to you about last night ! " was her greeting. 
 " But Mrs. Harding is out." 
 
 "So I hear. Well, let us talk of last night 
 by all means," drawing a comfortable chair 
 opposite her, and disposing himself at ease. " I 
 am almost as new to such scenes as yourself. 
 
212 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 I have been occasionally at tlie opera long ago, 
 before I went to India. Grisi was at her highest 
 height then ! I do not think we will hear any- 
 thing like her for a long time to come ! '■ 
 
 *' Oh ! could she be finer than the Leonora 
 last night ? " 
 
 *' Yes ! infinitely, quite diff'erent." 
 
 '^ The only thing I don't think I liked was 
 the recitative. It seems rather silly to talk in 
 sing-song." 
 
 *' For that matter it is all silly enough ! yet 
 very delicious. I am fond of music in an 
 ignorant way, but I agree with you recitative is 
 a mistake. I fancy the songs would have more 
 efi'ect if the dialogue were spoken." 
 
 '' We must not quarrel though with what is 
 so charming ! How lovely that song ' II balen 
 del suo sorriso ' is ! '■ 
 
 *^ The lightning of thy smile," said Dr. 
 Brooke, musingly. *^ Yes, there are smiles that 
 flash upon one." 
 
 " They are not the best," returned Stasie. " I 
 like Mrs. Harding's smiles, they are so soft and 
 quiet, and — just a little sad — not sunny smiles ! 
 more like moonlight ! " Dr. Brooke looked up 
 
THE EXECUTOlt, 213 
 
 quickly, keenly, at her, but she did not notice 
 him. 
 
 " You describe her exactly ! '^ he said. "Where 
 IS she, by the way % " 
 
 *' She has taken Johnnie to the dentist." 
 
 '^ Ah ! she'll have a bad quarter of an hour ! 
 That young gentleman has not a heroic nature. 
 
 ^' I should think not," returned Stasie em- 
 phatically. "He is such a troublesome imp, 
 I do long to box his ears two or three times 
 a day." 
 
 " I doubt if the discipline would be judicious," 
 said the doctor gravely, while a smile glittered 
 in his eyes. 
 
 " I daresay not, but he deserves it ! I don't 
 think he cares one straw about his dear sweet 
 mother I " 
 
 " You are very fond of Mrs. Harding ? Do 
 you never quarrel ? " 
 
 '' Never, though I am rather quarrelsome. I 
 shall be so sorry to leave her." 
 
 " Are you going away?" asked Brooke quickly. 
 
 " Not immediately, but I have almost got Mr. 
 Harding's and Mr. Kharapet's consent that I 
 should travel on the Continent for some time." 
 
214 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 " Almost ! but a long way from ' altogether/ 
 I suspect." 
 
 " Why. do you think so ?" 
 
 ''Because that Eastern gentleman does not 
 intend to lose sight of you if he can help it." 
 
 " Why?" asked Stasie, opening her eyes as if 
 startled. 
 
 *' Oh ! for many reasons — lest you should 
 spend too much money, for instance." , 
 
 " But the money is my own, not his !" 
 
 "Well," with a smile and a curious look at 
 her, " I daresay he has an abstract objection 
 to spending, even though the money be hot 
 absolutely his. He is probably close-fisted by 
 nature." 
 
 " I do not think he is — ^not to me. He tries 
 to do every thing he can for me — pray da not say 
 anything against him. I believe he is one of my 
 kindest, best friends, though he has tiresome 
 ways." 
 
 '' That is an awful sentence ! How is he tire- 
 some ? " 
 
 '' I really cannot exactly tell, only he n^ver 
 seems to have much to say, and he does not care 
 to talk about wliat interests me. But I am very 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 215 
 
 ungrateful to say this ; pray forget it, and let us 
 speak of something else. I am very fond of 
 Hormuz, I assure you." 
 
 *' Very well, we will leave him. I am not 
 disposed to dwell on the subject, I assure you. 
 So you are not to go back to school ? Are you 
 not delighted V 
 
 " Yes ; but I feel curiously adrift. Now Mrs. 
 Mathews is gone, I seem to be quite alone." 
 
 Dr. Brooke looked at her to see if she thought 
 of creating any sentimental effect by this speech, 
 but her eyes were dreamy, with a sort of distant 
 outlook, and her tone was as if she spoke to her- 
 self. There was something soft and wistful in 
 her expression, an unconscious natural grace in 
 her pose that touched his heart. She was, he 
 feared, in the hands of unscrupulous men ; and 
 she was so fearless and confiding, so innocent 
 of guile. He did not admire fair women himself, 
 and yet it flashed upon him that a man might 
 love this unformed girl very passionately. " You 
 resided with Mrs. Mathews since you were cjuite 
 a child, I am told?" 
 
 " Oh, yes ! that is the reason I miss being 
 with them. But I have an aunt — that is, an 
 
216 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 aunt of my mother's — and I hope I may be let to 
 travel with her." 
 
 " I imagine you will always make plenty of 
 friends," said Brooke kindly. 
 
 "Do you think so?" with a bright, grateful 
 look. ''Thank you." There was a silence — a 
 pleasant, sympathetic silence. 
 
 Then the door opened, and Jane announced 
 very audibly, "Mr. Mathews," whereupon en- 
 tered a slight, short young man with a pale, pasty 
 face, ill- developed moustaches, and untidy hair. 
 He wore a light paletot, deficient in one or two 
 buttons and relaxed about the pockets. He held 
 a short stick and his hat in one hand, and made 
 his entry with an air of mingled awkwardness 
 and swagger. 
 
 Stasie looked up at him for an instant with — 
 what seemed to Brooke's fully roused curiosity — 
 not pleased surprise ; then her brow cleared, and 
 she started up exclaiming, " Bob ! why, what has 
 brought you here % I am very glad to see you !" 
 
 " Well, I thought I would just call round and 
 see you. I was not at home the day you were 
 
 over at our place, and " he stopped, with an 
 
 uneasy glance at Dr. Brooke, 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 217 
 
 "Sit down, Bob," resumed Stasie. ''When 
 did you hear from your mother, and how are 
 they getting on ?" 
 
 " I had a letter yesterday ; they are all stun- 
 ning, thanks, and awfully busy." 
 
 " And are you going down to C ?" 
 
 " I don't know — at any rate, not yet." 
 " Are you still with Mrs. Deacon ?" 
 " Yes ; it's cruelly slow. I wanted to tell you 
 about one or two things." 
 
 Here Dr. Brooke rose. Stasie had in her surprise 
 and confusion quite forgotten him. " I will wish 
 you good-morning," he said. " Tell Mrs. Harding 
 I shall look in to-morrow or next day to see how 
 she is after her trials of this morning." A low bow 
 to Stasie, a slight one to Bob, and he was gone. 
 
 " That is a good riddance," said Bob, with a 
 sigh of relief. " Who is he ?" 
 
 "Dr. Brooke, a cousin of Mrs. Harding's." 
 " Ah ! he is not to be taken alive, I should 
 say." Another pause. 
 
 "Now then. Bob, what is it?" You have 
 something to tell me ?" 
 
 "You are about right, Stasie; I am in a 
 regular hole." 
 
218 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 '' You generally are," she returned, leaning her 
 elbows on the table, and supporting her chin on 
 her hands. 
 
 ■ *VYes, but this is out and out the worst, be- 
 cause I was just going to be steady. I had just 
 got my first chance, and a couple of scoundrels 
 that hold some bits of paper of mine swear they 
 will nab me if I don't pay up, and they might 
 as well ask me for the, national debt !" 
 
 '' Tell me all about it, Bob, for I do not under- 
 stand." 
 
 Whereupon Bob did a tale unfold, -by which 
 it appeared that when the family exodus was 
 decided upon, there was a great difficulty what to 
 do with him ; and by his own account he began 
 at last to feel ashamed of being a drag and a 
 burden on his mother. He therefore bestirred 
 himself, and succeeded in obtaining an engage- 
 ment for a voyage to Shanghai and back. 
 
 Mrs. Mathews had managed to pay off a few 
 of her son's small debts, — all she was aware of, — 
 a great strain upon her slender resources. Bob 
 confessed that he had hoped to escape his larger 
 creditors, but unfortunately the date of the ship's 
 departure was postponed. The creditors got scent 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 219 
 
 of liis intentions, and informed him that they 
 were determined to have their money. 
 
 " In fact they never lose sight of me/' con- 
 eluded Bob. " I should have been in quod by 
 this time, only they let me go about to try and 
 scrape up the cash." 
 
 " This is dreadful ! " exclaimed Stasie, full of 
 warmest sympathy with Mrs. Mathews and Ella. 
 " Oh, Bob, Bob ! what a boy you are, and what 
 a trouble you have been ! oughtn't you to be 
 ashamed of yourself? What is to become of you ? " 
 
 *' That's just what I have come to ask you," 
 returned Bob, looking very straight at her. 
 " Don't you kick a fellow that's down, but help 
 to put him on his legs. You've lots of tin. 
 Couldn't you manage to lend me forty or fifty 
 pounds for my mother's sake ? You'd just save 
 me and make my fortune. I'll pay you again, 
 as sure as I am a living man ! " 
 
 *' / am not so sure, though," said Stasie, with 
 much candour. '' Not that I would mind much 
 whether you did or not — for your mother's sake 
 Bob^but I can't — I can't indeed. I have hardly 
 any money at all ; and I shall not have any till 
 I am twenty-one. " 
 
220 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 *' But, Stasie," urged the young man implor- 
 ingly, " you live among swell monied people, 
 couldn't you coax a trifle like fifty out of any of 
 them ? Don't be hard on me, Stasie. You and 
 I were always good friends. Many's the pound 
 of tofiy we have made together ; many a 
 bull's-eye I have given you ; and many's the 
 time I have pulled the swing for you till my 
 arm ached ! " 
 
 " And tried to throw me out, and break my 
 neck too," said Stasie, laughing. " No, Bob, don't 
 talk nonsense ; we never were friends ! You were 
 always selfish ; and, I must say it, rather un- 
 principled. Yet, as I said, I wouldn't mind one 
 bit if I could help you, and, after all, you may 
 come right yet. You have some good some- 
 where, I suppose, you manage to make your poor 
 mother love you so much." 
 
 " She does," said Bob, a little huskily ; '^ and 
 if I can get over this I'll be a good son to her ; 
 see if I'm not." 
 
 Stasie looked fixedly at him, and seemed lost 
 in thought. " If I thought you would be ! " 
 
 Bob broke out into the strongest asseverations, 
 and Stasie recounted to him the abortive attempt 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 221 
 
 she had made to induce the executors to give her 
 a hundred pounds of her own money. While she 
 spoke, and noticed the dull despair that crept 
 over Bob's face, her indignation against her en- 
 forced impotence, and a growing belief that Bob 
 was not hopeless, waxed strong in her heart, 
 
 " I think ril just go jump off Westminster 
 Bridge," said Bob despondingly. Stasie still kept 
 silence, but her face was beginning to brighten, 
 ** Bob," she said, at last, " if you will really try 
 to be a good son, and a well-behaved gentleman, 
 I'll do the only thing I can, I will give you some 
 of my trinkets," 
 
 '^ You are a real brick, Stasie," he returned, 
 not very cheerfully ; " but I am afraid a few 
 trinkets won't do much good." 
 
 '' I have more than you think ; stay, I will 
 show them to you ; but we must be quick, no 
 one must see them about." 
 
 She ran out of the room, and soon returned 
 with her jewel-box, the contents of which she 
 displayed to the admiring Bob. 
 
 " My eye !" said that young man, " you have a 
 heap of sparklers there. Why, Stasie, my dar- 
 ling ! you'll save me ; you'll make my fortune ; 
 
222 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 youll give me a chance for life if you let me have 
 some of these." 
 
 " Only some of them, then ! and, indeed, Bob, 
 I don't like to part with any of them ; they were 
 all my poor mother's." 
 
 " But you need not ! " cried Bob eagerly ; 
 " I'll pledge them with some highly respectable 
 uncle, and when I come back from Shanghai 
 I'll take 'em out, see if I don't." 
 
 '' You mean you will pawn them ? I remember 
 how you pawned Mrs. Mathews' diamond ring ! but 
 she had to pay for it before she got it again ! " 
 
 " And what a trump she was about it. I 
 got ten pounds on it — there's many ten pounds 
 there." 
 
 " I don't know," said Stasie, doubtfully ; " I 
 can't give this, or this, or this," pointing to the 
 gold ornaments, a bracelet, a clasp or two, etc. etc. 
 
 " Well," cried Bob, " I am sure there's sixty 
 or seventy pound's worth left if we go judiciously 
 to work. If you give them to me you'll see how 
 I'll manage, and I'll bring you back what's not 
 wanted, faith and honour." 
 
 " No, Bob," said Stasie steadily, " I will not 
 let them out of my own hands. I will go with 
 
THE EXECUTOR. ^23 
 
 you and see what we can get. If there is any- 
 thing over I want it for myself." 
 
 Bob coloured. " I think you might trust 
 me," he said, " and I don't think you will like 
 going into these kind of places." 
 
 " Why should I mind ? I am not doing wrong ! 
 I am only taking my own, though I shall keep it 
 secret as long as ever I can. Of course there will 
 be an awful row about it, for it will be sure to be 
 found out, but you will be away and the money 
 gone ; and. Bob, if you are not steady and in- 
 dustrious after this, I'll — I'll say you are no 
 gentleman, but a thief ! " 
 
 " Don't call names," said Bob, too infinitely 
 relieved to take ofience, " but how shall we 
 manao;e ? " Stasie thouo^ht for a minute. ** We 
 must try and do it to-morrow,^' she said ; '' I am 
 going to see aunt Clem — Miss Stretton, you know. 
 If you can meet me somewhere near these places, 
 we can dispose of the things, and I will go on to 
 her after." 
 
 " Capital ! first rate ; better meet as near as 
 possible, corner of Edgeware Eoad and Cambridge 
 Terrace ? You know the place. Will two o'clock 
 suit \ " 
 
224 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 *' Yes, quite well ; and go away now, Bob, 
 please. I want to put away my pretty things, 
 and I don't want you to meet Mrs. Harding." 
 
 " I suppose you're ashamed of a shabby friend," 
 said Bob. 
 
 '* If it was only shabbiness of clothes I would 
 not mind, but you know it has been shabbi- 
 ness all through. Bob. Yet, I begin to hope there's 
 more good in you than I thought. Oh ! if you 
 turn out well, how proud I shall be of you ! " 
 < » • • • 
 
 It was not without a struggle that Stasie 
 had made up her mind to part with her trinkets 
 even temporarily, but the hope of helping the 
 family through the family incubus was tempting ; 
 and though deeply distrustful of the erratic Bob, 
 he had on this occasion contrived to inspire her 
 with an unusual degree of faith. Moreover, it 
 was, as he said, his first chance, and if he lost it 
 he might never come right. 
 
 As to any doubt respecting the disposal of 
 what was her own, any hesitation as to the 
 propriety of walking about with Bob, to whom 
 she had been used all her life, such considera- 
 tions never crossed her brain, and she enjoyed 
 
THE EXECUTOR, 225 
 
 the idea of helping Mrs. Mathews indirectly, in 
 spite of guardian or executors. She sent off 
 her letter to Ella without saying a word of her 
 prodigal brother, and started next day as soon 
 as possible after luncheon on her circuitous route 
 to Aunt Clem. 
 
 Of course Bob was punctually in waiting, and 
 greeted her with a grateful exclamation of " Well, 
 Stasie, you are a trump ! " He further proposed 
 the darino: extravagance of a cab. *' It will save 
 time, and you will be seen less," he said. "" I sup- 
 pose the swells you live amongst would be shocked 
 to see you going about with a young man ? " 
 
 "Not a young man that is like a sort of 
 brother," returned Stasie, whose bourgeois up- 
 bringing left her in some ignorance of the con- 
 ventionalities of higher life. 
 
 " Still, it is as well to keep out of sight if you 
 want to keep this business dark," urged Bob, as 
 he hailed a four-wheeler. 
 
 He directed the driver to the Strand, and, ar- 
 rived there, he dismissed the conveyance. " There 
 are lots of first-rate ' uncles ' about here," he ob- 
 served, " and I will just put up my umbrella to 
 keep off this nasty drizzle, and curious eyes." 
 
 VOL. I, 15 
 
226 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 It was, as Bob remarked, a nasty, damp, op- 
 pressive day ; the streets were greasy, the foot- 
 ways dirty, a sort of atmosphere that suited their 
 shady proceedings, Stasie thought. She was not 
 prepared for the sort of shame and disgust which 
 abashed her, when she stood in one of those dingy 
 little sentry-box divisions by which the incognito 
 and delicacy of applicants for avunclar aid are 
 supposed to be preserved. A faint doubt as to 
 whether she was right presented itself, but was 
 quickly banished. By Bob's advice she had 
 made up her jewels into various small parcels. 
 '' It will never do to show all at once," said that 
 experienced youth. This compelled a prolonga- 
 tion of Stasie's discomfort, as they were obliged 
 to visit many establishments before they col- 
 lected the sum required by Bob, and a balance 
 which Stasie appropriated. 
 
 " I had better leave all the tickets with you," 
 said Bob considerately, when the last bracelet was 
 disposed of, and they stood in the entry of one of 
 the grandest institutions they had yet visited. 
 " I might lose them, you know, moving about. 
 Isn't this a swell place ? I might be buying a 
 suit of diamonds for my ' young lady,' from the 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 227 
 
 looks of it/' he continued, unable to repress the 
 bounding high sj^irits which this great deliverance 
 inspired. 
 
 . "If you ever did buy such things you would 
 be sure to pawn them next day," said Stasie. 
 She felt cross and vexed both with Bob and herself. 
 
 They stepped into the street as she spoke, 
 turning towards Westminster. 
 
 "I do not see why it should be more disgrace- 
 ful to raise money on rings and pins, or even a 
 tail-coat, than on your hereditary estate or your 
 scrip and securities," said Bob philosophically, 
 while he struggled to open his umbrella. But 
 Stasie neither heard nor heeded him. That un- 
 sheltered moment brought her face to face with 
 Dr. Brooke. They did not speak, and he passed 
 on without the slightest hesitation. Yet Stasie 
 saw that she was recognised, that her companion 
 was recognised, and that Dr. Brooke thought 
 it well not to see her. Bob, engaged with 
 his umbrella, saw nothing. Stasie, her con- 
 science clear of offence, was puzzled by this cut 
 direct. She would not have hesitated to give 
 the fullest explanation of her presence, — only for 
 Mrs. Mathews' sake she would not like to dis- 
 
228 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 play Bob's delinquencies too openly. Still, the 
 rencontre made her uncomfortable. She would 
 take the first opportunity to tell everything to 
 Dr. Brooke ; it would be a relief. She was de- 
 termined not to say a word to Mrs. Harding, 
 lest in the row which she fully anticipated she 
 should be in any way implicated. But would it 
 not be taking a liberty to thrust her affairs on a 
 stranger ? She would wait and see if an oppor- 
 tunity for speaking offered. 
 
 " Get me a cab. Bob ! " she exclaimed, inter- 
 rupting the flow of his talk. '^ I must go to Miss 
 Stretton's as soon as I can, or I shall have no 
 time to spend with her." 
 
 Stasie was feeling shivery and miserable, and 
 longed for her aunt's caressing words and tone 
 of admiration. 
 
 '^ All right ; and I will bid you good-bye now. 
 I daresay it won't break your heart not to see 
 me again. Wait a bit, Stasie ; Til show you Fm 
 not an ungrateful scoundrel ! Have you the 
 tickets safe ? " 
 
 ''I have. But stay. Bob; are we not near 
 some nice fruit shop, or Covent Garden ? I want 
 to get some fruit for my aunt ; she has been ill." 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 229 
 
 "To be sure, there is a fruiterer's over the 
 way." 
 
 " But what an awful place to cross ! " 
 " Stick to me. I'll take care of you ! " 
 
 There is no more desolate creature in the world 
 than an elderly decayed gentlewoman of Miss 
 Stretton's type. 
 
 Kindly, weak, vain, sensitive, and not over 
 brave, she was apt to irritate the young people 
 under her charge by pretensions she had not the 
 pluck to uphold ; to excite their mockery by 
 little transparent deceits, at which the cruel 
 hardness of youth will not smile indulgently, and 
 to " rile " them by cutting speeches for which she 
 was only too ready to apologise. In short, she 
 had not the knack of making friends, albeit cap- 
 able of much good nature as well as a little spite. 
 
 Being of an essentially religious caste of mind, 
 she was inclined to see the finger of Providence 
 in the misfortunes of those she disliked and the 
 success of those who had befriended her, and she 
 considered her introduction to Stasie the direct 
 guiding of a merciful Father. 
 
 The inopportune cold, which had been nearly 
 
230 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 a fever, and which interrupted her communica- 
 tions with her niece, was a great blow, as she 
 was most anxious to make good her footing with 
 the young heiress and her directors. Here, in- 
 deed, was a chance not to be neglected, ^ and she 
 was laid up helpless, unable to improve it ! 
 
 Trained as she had been, poor soul, — in the 
 conviction that young people were selfish, and 
 the only way to get on was to avoid troubling 
 or crossing them, it never occurred to her to 
 write to Stasie to come and nurse her, an em- 
 ployment Stasie would have rather enjoyed. So 
 when that young person beamed in upon her, on 
 the dull, damp, depressing afternoon we have 
 described, with a basket of grapes, apricots, 
 and a big nosegay of sweet flowers, she seemed 
 an angel of hope and deliverance to the poor 
 solitary woman. 
 
 Weakened as she was by illness, she thanked 
 Stasie with hysterical tears, which made a great 
 impression on her visitor. Had Miss Stretton 
 planned for a twelvemonth the best method of 
 attracting and attaching her young niece, she could 
 have hit on no device so certain of success as this 
 unmistakably natural outburst of feeling. 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 231 
 
 " Now, don't cry, Aunt Clem. I won't have 
 it. You are not going to be lonely any more. 
 I have spoken to Mr. Harding and to Hormuz 
 Kharapet, and they have all but consented to 
 my going abroad with you. Indeed they cannot 
 do more until I see Mr. Wyatt. He, you know, 
 must decide, and I don't believe he cares a straw 
 what becomes of me. So you must try and get 
 well, for we might go abroad this autumn. Let 
 me peel this apricot for you, and have you any 
 wine % I am sure you ought to have some wine." 
 
 " There is a little, dear, in the cupboard by 
 the fireplace. '' 
 
 Stasie had it out in a twinkling. " Why, 
 there is scarcely a glass left," finding one and 
 pouring out the muddy port, then colouring 
 from fear of seeming to presume, " Might I — ' 
 would you mind if I sent out for some more ? 
 you know it is a mere trifle." 
 
 " Ah, Stasie, you are your dear mother's own 
 daughter. The good God has sent you to con- 
 sole me for the sorrows and disappointments of 
 my life. Yes, love, I will accept your kindness, 
 and it is three-e-e and" — sob — "sixpence a 
 bottle." 
 
232 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 After this some deliglitful conversation en- 
 sued. An extensive tour was planned, a tre- 
 mendous scheme of study sketched out for Stasie, 
 and various details suggested and discussed, till, 
 to the surprise of the friends in council, they 
 found it was nearly six o'clock. "I must run 
 away," cried Stasie, '^ I shall be late for dinner." 
 
 "You take my sunshine with you, dear. 
 When shall I see you again % " 
 
 "Not for a few days. I am going to write 
 boldly to Mr. Wyatt and ask for an interview. 
 I get nothing " done unless I do it myself. Mr. 
 Harding promises everything and does nothing. 
 I suppose there is no harm in writing to my 
 guardian % " 
 
 "None whatever, and, Stasie, be sure you 
 get him on our side. I may say our side, my 
 love ? For, believe me that Mr. Kharapet will 
 make a determined resistance to your leaving 
 England." 
 
 "I don't think he will. Aunt Clem. He is 
 always ready to do what I wish, and really does 
 the things — not merely promises, like Mr. Hard- 
 ing." 
 
 " Nevertheless, when it comes to travelling 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 233 
 
 abroad, you will find him the greatest difficulty, 
 unless, indeed^ he comes with you " — a keen look 
 at her listener with these words. 
 
 But Stasie neither understood nor heeded. 
 " Oh, I should not care for that. He is very 
 nice and good-natured, but he would be rather 
 in our way. He — he does not understand 
 
 things, or care about art or But I must run 
 
 away. Good-bye, dear aunt ; I will come again 
 as soon as ever I can." 
 
 " God bless you, my sweet child ! I shall count 
 the days till we meet again.'' 
 
 It was late when Stasie drove up to Mrs. 
 Harding's, and she went straight away to her 
 room. She dressed quickly, thinking over her 
 day's work with delight and amusement. She 
 had helped Mrs. Mathews most effectually in 
 helping Bob ; she had secured nearly twelve 
 pounds for a wedding present to dear Ella ; she 
 had completely turned the executors' flank, 
 which was a glorious triumph, and, above all, 
 she had cheered and comforted jDOor Aunt Clem, 
 who was the only creature to whom she (Stasie) 
 could possibly be of importance and use. '' And 
 
^34 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 please God, I ivill help her and stick to her," 
 said Stasie to herself resolutely. There would 
 be a row, and a very big row, when her de- 
 linquencies were found out ; that she did not 
 care about, provided the discovery were not made 
 too soon. Once Bob was safe away, detection 
 might come when it would. But how if Dr. 
 Brooke, who would probably come to dinner to- 
 morrow or next day, made any uncomfortable 
 inquiries about her expedition to the Strand ? 
 that was a danger against which she must 
 guard. She stood still a moment lost in thought. 
 Would he not think her bold and unmaidenly 
 if she wrote to him, a comparative stranger ? 
 Very likely he would; yet she must stop his 
 mouth at all costs. By and by, when the 
 clearing-up came, she would explain all to him, 
 and he would quite understand. She would 
 not for worlds he thought ill of her, he was 
 such a grand, kindly man, worthy of being a 
 Kosicrucian himself. Now time pressed; she 
 must write shortly. She opened her blotting- 
 book, wrote a hasty line, signed, sealed, and de- 
 livered it to the nursemaid, whom she caught 
 going downstairs, who, noticing the address, and 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 235 
 
 being utterly devoted to Miss Yerner, scented 
 a prosperous love affair, and posted it with 
 the utmost secrecy, not even confiding a syll- 
 able of her conjectures to her ally the kitchen- 
 maid. 
 
CHAPTEE X. 
 
 This same dull drizzling day Dr. Brooke dined 
 with an eminent M.D. whose pupil he had been. 
 It was a man's party (the M.D. was a bachelor) 
 — and a very pleasant one — wit and humour, 
 culture, and knowledge of life, are splendid addi- 
 tions to a material feast, and Brooke returned to 
 his hotel, highly pleased with the entertainment. 
 He felt enriched and enlightened, his own powers 
 roused, his faculties put upon their mettle, as such 
 intercourse is wont to affect those who have been 
 for long strangers to similar influences. 
 
 London was certainly the most desirable field 
 in which a man of science and ambition could 
 labour. It was so crowded, though ! How could 
 he hope to secure a niche in a fane bedecked 
 with multitudes of striking figures ? Was there 
 an unoccupied spot left for him? Yes ! he might 
 find it if he could afford to wait ; he was still 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 237 
 
 young, but his capital was small ; yet give him 
 time, and he felt he would make a place for him- 
 self. He was sure of his own industry and con- 
 fident in his own power, with the calm of 
 certainty, which is so widely different from the 
 restlessness of self-conceit. 
 
 In this pleasant frame of mind he reached his 
 room, and putting on his dressing-gown resolved, 
 as he felt so wide awake, to write a long letter 
 to a regimental chum. He drew his chair to the 
 table, lit a cigar, and then proceeded to open 
 two or three notes given to him as he came in. 
 
 One was a bill ; in the next Lady Pearson in- 
 formed him she was at home on the evening of 
 the 30th, while ^* dancing," in diminutive letters 
 at one corner, indicated the amusement proposed ; 
 the last was a plain white envelope, directed 
 in large, clear, rather straggly, writing, quite 
 unknown to him, too bold for a woman, too un- 
 decided for a man. " Whom can this be from," 
 he murmured, gazing on the superscription — 
 " Dr. J. Brooke, Grosvenor Hotel." Then with 
 a smile at the stupidity of conjecturing, when he 
 had but to tear the envelope and know, Brooke 
 opened it and read, " Dear Dr. Brooke, please do 
 
238 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 not tell any one you met me in the Strand to- 
 day. Yours truly, Stasie Yernee." 
 
 Brooke threw down the paper impatiently. 
 He felt as if some discordant note had jarred 
 upon the pleasant harmony of spirit in which he 
 had sat down to peruse this brief epistle. 
 
 He had remarked Stasie and her companion, 
 but was not sure they had seen him. It had in 
 some way offended him to see her out alone with 
 so objectionable a young man as "Bob;" but he 
 did not think much about it, intending to give 
 Mrs. Harding a hint that she ought not to per- 
 mit her young friend to go about under such 
 escort. 
 
 Now, the matter took a different colour alto- 
 gether. There must have been some deliberate 
 purpose in Stasie's expedition, perhaps some old 
 entanglement. Good heavens ! what extraordi- 
 nary creatures girls are. What strange fascina- 
 tion he had known coarse, common, brutal men 
 exercise over gentle, refined, lady -like girls ! 
 Titania and Bottom in an ever-recurring drama ! 
 But somehow he had fancied that Stasie was of 
 different calibre; her tastes, her struggling desire 
 for higher things, seemed to point to a different 
 
THE EXECUTOR, 239 
 
 ending. To make clandestine appointments with 
 an unmitigated cad, and then to write coolly to 
 himself, a comparative stranger, to hold his 
 tongue respecting her doings, showed a mixture of 
 cunning and effrontery that — Pah ! why should 
 he think of it any more ? what was this girl to 
 him ? She was a thorough coquette, and the 
 memory of sundry soft glances and speeches to 
 Kharapet came back to him — speeches and 
 glances, by the way, generally bestowed after 
 having cut the Syrian short when he attempted 
 to interrupt her conversation with himself (Jim 
 Brooke). Yet what a fine creature she is ! was 
 Brooke's concluding reflection. " None of your 
 regular beauties — but lovely ! Such a figure ! so 
 rich and graceful ! and those clear, fearless eyes, 
 so unconscious and careless at times of self and 
 her own charm, though I daresay she knows 
 right well she is good-looking. She will be a 
 sort of woman that men make fools of them- 
 selves for. I am glad I have had a glimpse of 
 the under - current ! There is Livy, too, Mrs. 
 Harding ! How did she come to marry such a 
 clown ? but I fancy the old Eector had a hand 
 in that ! What an upside-down world it is ! I 
 
240 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 do not see why a fellow should not get on quite 
 well without a wife/' 
 
 Having come to this wise conclusion, he tore 
 poor Stasie's little note into minute fragments, 
 and settled to his letter, effectually dismissing 
 the matter from his mind. 
 
 The day but one after Dr. Brooke had made 
 these profound reflections, he left his club early 
 in the afternoon, and walked forth in some un- 
 certainty as to how he should spend the next 
 hour or two ; he found himself almost uncon- 
 sciously following the streets and turns which 
 led to York Gate. He was due there, he told 
 himself. He had not seen Mrs. Harding for 
 some days, and she was such a pleasant, quiet 
 little thing to talk to ! in fact his cousin and her 
 friend were rather amusing studies to him. Nor 
 need he renounce his study, because one of them 
 developed new and disagreeable characteristics. 
 
 Mrs. Harding was at home. She was teach- 
 ing her little girl to work a kettle-holder, the 
 little lady's first attempt at fancy-work. 
 
 The day was warm and sunny, so the transi- 
 tion from the sultry streets to a shady room, cool 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 241 
 
 and quiet, and sweet with ttie perfume of violets 
 and mignonette, was very grateful to the pedestrian. 
 
 "What are you doing, Miss Ethel?" said 
 Brooke after the first greetings were exchanged. 
 
 " Making a pretty holder for mamma," re- 
 turned the child, bringing it up for inspection. 
 " Shall I make one for you ?" 
 
 "Yes; I shall want it for my house when I 
 have one." 
 
 " When shall you have one V 
 
 " I don't know — by the way, your friend Mr. 
 Williams, Livy, is quite ready to settle the impor- 
 tant question of residence and practice for me. I 
 am to buy or build a house at Sefton Park, and 
 assume the sanitary direction of the inhabitants." 
 
 "At Sefton Park!" echoed Mrs. Harding; 
 " well, I presume you will look at the place first 
 before coming to a decision." She spoke with a 
 slight smile. 
 
 " Your tone is not encouraging. Pray what 
 is your opinion of the locality ?" 
 
 "It is not disagreeable in summer, but I think 
 you would like a wider sphere. However, you 
 will judge for yourself. We have a house there, 
 the original farmhouse, and will be going down 
 
 VOL. I. 16 
 
242 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 to it in a fortnight or three weeks. I hope you 
 will come and see us." 
 
 " I shall be delighted." 
 
 ''There is an orchard there, and I have a 
 garden of my own too," said Ethel. 
 
 " It must be an Eden," returned Brooke, tak- 
 ing her on his knee. 
 
 " I shall be glad enough to go out of town," 
 said Mrs. Harding. ''It is fresh and countrified 
 as yet at Sefton Park ; later it will be too much 
 of the suburban villa order." 
 
 Ethel continued to tell of ponies, cows, 
 and fowls, of nutting and blackberrying, while 
 Brooke played with her golden hair, when their 
 discourse was broken in upon by the entrance of 
 the eldest boy, followed by a staid, solid-looking 
 woman. "Mamma!" cried Johnnie, rushing up 
 to his mother, " must I go with nurse ? I want 
 to go with Harry Middleton into the enclosure. 
 He has a new boat, and " 
 
 " The last day as you went out with Master 
 Middleton, sir, you come in with your feet sop- 
 ping wet, and your clothes in tatters," said nurse. 
 
 "You had better go with nurse and the 
 children, Johnnie." 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 243 
 
 ''No, I won't! why should I? I'm not a 
 baby!" 
 
 " If he comes with us, I can have an eye on 
 him, ma'am." 
 
 " I don't want her eyes !" cried Johnnie. 
 
 " You really had better go with nurse, Johnnie, 
 and you must," said Mrs. Harding. 
 
 *' Well, I won't, there now ! Papa says you 
 never know what's best, that you blow hot 
 and cold, and he won't mind if I do go with 
 Harry." So saying, he darted away, slamming 
 the door. 
 
 " Never you mind, ma'am ; I'll see after him," 
 said nurse hastily, and she left the room fol- 
 lowed by Willie and Ethel. 
 
 There was an awkward pause. Mrs. Harding 
 had flushed crimson, feeling that her boy's words 
 were a painful revelation. Dr. Brooke felt as if 
 a panorama of his cousin's life had been suddenly 
 unrolled, and for a moment could find no words 
 wherewith to recommence the conversation. 
 
 Mrs. Harding was the first to speak. With a 
 slight smile curling her lips she said : "A speci- 
 men of judicious up -bringing, is he not ? We 
 must hope years will improve him." 
 
244 THE EXECUTOR, 
 
 *' Get him to school as fast as you can," re- 
 plied Brooke. 
 
 " Let us talk of some pleasanter matters," re- 
 joined Mrs. Harding, recovering herself. " Stasie 
 Yerner is out ; she is gone to luncheon with 
 Lady Elizabeth Wyatt — gone in high spirits, 
 poor child ! hoping to get her guardian's consent 
 to her scheme of continental travel under the 
 chaperonage of her aunt, Miss Stretton." 
 
 ^' Don't you think she will succeed V 
 
 " I doubt it. Mr. Harding and Mr. Kharapet 
 are, for some reason, not inclined to let her go,'^ 
 
 She paused as if expecting some question from 
 her companion, but he only said, ^' Indeed." 
 
 " I think it would do her a great deal of good. 
 I do not know that Miss Stretton is the best 
 person to be with her ; she seems very kind and 
 complaisant, and Stasie seems to have taken a 
 fancy to her. She has been ill, and Stasie spent 
 nearly all the day before yesterday in her dull room 
 — not a very enlivening occupation for a young 
 girl ! and Miss Stretton is almost a stranger to 
 her." 
 
 " It was remarkably kind," replied Dr. Brooke 
 drily. 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 245 
 
 '^ I think it was," said Mrs. Harding, a little 
 struck by his tone. He had generally spoken 
 of Stasie with a certain degree of interest, and 
 Mrs. Harding, whose heart had warmed to him 
 from the first time he had presented himself, 
 hoped he might prove a useful counterpoise to 
 Kharapet ; in short, she had begun to think it 
 would be a good arrangement if Dr. Brooke were to 
 marry Stasie. He seemed likely to make a kind, 
 husband, if any man could be steadily kind and 
 courteous when possessed of a husband's irrespon- 
 sible j)c>wer. And her money would be most 
 useful to him in the outset of his career. 
 
 Mrs. Harding was a woman of too much tact 
 and delicacy of feeling to show her hand in such 
 an afiair. She only held herself in readiness, 
 gently to fan any kindling spark she might per- 
 ceive on her cousin's side ; and something in his 
 voice to-day told her he was unsympathetic. 
 Perhaps he thought Stasie responded too readily 
 to Kharapet's unconcealed admiration, his sickly 
 but unmistakable passion ; so she continued quietly 
 keeping her eyes on her tatting. " I should be 
 sorry to lose her, yet glad if she did go abroad, 
 were it only to get her out of Mr. Kharapet's way. 
 
246 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 I suppose it is mere prejudice, but I have an unac- 
 countable dislike to him ; and it would grieve me 
 more than I can say if he succeeded in winning 
 Stasie — not that I really think he has much 
 chance ! " 
 
 " She does not seem inclined to be hard- 
 hearted/' returned Dr. Brooke in the same tone. 
 
 "You do not understand her as I do," said 
 Mrs. Harding earnestly. " She has some surface 
 vanity, and she is pleased and amused by Khara- 
 pet's flattering devotion, but utterly unconscious 
 of the reality of his plans and intentions. I am 
 certain his proposal, when it comes, will be a 
 surprise to her. Her mind is full of other things. 
 She has no idea of falling in love, and she feels a 
 certain superiority to him. Both these mental 
 conditions make her deaf and blind to what you 
 and I see. I only hope when she refuses him he 
 may not turn into a spiteful enemy ; so I should 
 much prefer her going abroad with Miss Stretton 
 out of harm's way." 
 
 "You are a very far-seeing observant little 
 woman," replied Brooke, laughing ; " and I con- 
 gratulate Miss Verner on having so faithful a 
 friend. I think you are highly imaginative, Livy. 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 247 
 
 AYere I you, I should not distress myself about 
 Miss Yerner ; she is a bright, handsome creature, 
 with a sufficient dash of coquetry; she will manage 
 Kharapet and two or three more, I daresay, before 
 she makes some fellow happy with herself and 
 her money." 
 
 Mrs. Harding was silent. She had too much 
 experience of what she considered the crookedness 
 of masculine nature to pursue the subject. Some 
 influence unknown to her was at work, and^ she 
 must watch and wait. Perhaps Brooke expected 
 an eager reply, for he looked at her attentively ; 
 but her shuttle was entangled, and when she had 
 put it right, she said in her usual tone — 
 
 ^' Are you going to Lady Pearson's on the 30th1" 
 
 " Are you ? " 
 
 " Yes, I am going to take Stasie, who never 
 was at a dance as yet \ " 
 
 " Then I will go, and you must dance with me 
 for ^ auld lang syne's ' sake ! " 
 
 " My dear Jim, I forget how to dance. I never 
 go to anything but dinners — stately regulation 
 dinners I" 
 
 *'Why not? Is Harding jealous? Doesn't 
 he like you to dance ? " 
 
248 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 "Jealous ! Mr. Harding j ealous ! " She laughed 
 quite merrily. " He never dreams of such fancies. 
 He is not imaginative enough. No ; he hates 
 evening parties, and does not like to be left alone." 
 
 " I fancy you give in to him too much, Livy.'' 
 
 " You will be quite as exacting yourself, Jim, 
 when you marry." 
 
 " Perhaps so," he returned thoughtfully; " and 
 I suppose I must marry \ " 
 
 *' I see no necessity — no urgent necessity if 
 you do not care about it." 
 
 " I am not sure that I do. It is very pleasant 
 to talk about oneself to a wise woman like you^ 
 but I have observed that wives are not always 
 interested in their husband's confidences." 
 
 " How do you know what husbands and wives 
 are tete-d-Utef' 
 
 " True. I think, by and by, when I have 
 amused myself and decided on my future plans, 
 I shall look out for a wife, a nice, sensible, prac- 
 tical woman with a little money." 
 
 " I suppose you would never be guilty of the 
 weakness of falling in love ?" said Mrs. Harding, 
 laughing. 
 
 " N — ; not if I can help it. Do you know 
 
THE EXECUTOR, 249 
 
 I was deucedly miserable when I bade you good- 
 bye, and felt it was final ! " He threw a wonder- 
 ful amount of tenderness into his eyes as he 
 spoke. 
 
 "Did you really?" and Mrs. Harding laughed 
 asain. " No one would have found it out ! and 
 it was just as well we were separated. You are 
 an ambitious man, Jim, and had you felt me or 
 
 any other woman a drag well, it would not 
 
 have been pleasant for the drag." 
 
 " You are wrong, Livy ! I hope I am strong 
 enough to bear the inevitable without whimper- 
 ing, and I do not think I should be a brute to 
 any woman." 
 
 " I don't think you would ; but I imagine you 
 might be bitterly indifferent." 
 
 " Indifference is not bitter," he said, with some 
 surprise at her tone. 
 
 '•' Bitter to bear," I mean. 
 
 Another silence. Dr. Brooke found himself 
 longing to say, " Livy, are you very unhappy ? 
 can I do anything to help you ? " but he dared 
 not. That she was not happy seemed clear enough ; 
 the only question was as to the degree of her 
 unhappiness ; her hint in their first interview 
 
250 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 that all married women were the better for a 
 '*big brother" relative of some kind was very 
 expressive — that and her eldest boy's insolence 
 told much. Jim Brooke had a kinder heart than 
 he himself knew. He had a large knowledge of 
 the world's seamy side, — none see so much behind 
 the scenes as doctors, for whom poor humanity 
 is generally in deshabille, — and he felt that his 
 years were too few, his relationship too remote, 
 to permit of his playing champion for his inter- 
 esting little cousin ; besides, until you knew them 
 well, it was not easy to fathom women. God 
 knows what was at the bottom of Livy's unhappi- 
 ness, yet he was inclined to believe her real, 
 simple, truthful, — as to her young protegee she 
 had managed to throw dust in her friend's eyes 
 very successfully. Mrs. Harding had evidently 
 no notion how she had occupied the hours sup- 
 posed to have been spent in Miss Stretton' sick- 
 room. " What a daring, cool hand she must be ! 
 fresh from school too ! The whole group at York 
 Gate was worth a little study, and amongst the 
 individuals that composed it how immeasurably 
 superior his former sweetheart appeared — so 
 gentle, so delicate, so composed, no unfeminine 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 251 
 
 darino' no bold stratao;ems, about her. What a 
 hicky fellow that Harding is ! " he mused, while 
 his comjDanion tatted in silence. " If he should 
 happen to break his neck I shall certainly try my 
 chance with his charming widow." 
 
 Still a sort of unrecognised regret that his idea 
 of Stasie Verner, as an original piquante speci- 
 men of girlhood, had resolved itself into a reality 
 of common-place intrigue and coquetry, irritated 
 and annoyed him more than he was aware. 
 
 *' I shall be going out of town myself soon," 
 he said at length. '' I suppose I shall find you 
 settled at Sefton Park when I return ?" 
 
 " Yes ; we generally stay there till November, 
 and hope you will run down and see us often. 
 We live somewhat in the rough there. We have 
 an old farmhouse to which Mr. Harding has 
 made a few additions, and it is very homely and 
 pleasant. Nothing to take care of in short, 
 which is an immense relief." 
 
 " I should think so. English women seem to 
 me rather heavily taxed for their high-toned 
 existence here. They lead gloriously free lives 
 in India — everything done for them." 
 
 " I should not object to a fair amount of care 
 
252 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 and trouble," said Mrs. Harding with a slight 
 sigh ; " but to pass one's whole time preserving 
 porcelain from chips and sideboards from scratches 
 is not exhilarating." 
 
 " I should think not," returned Brooke, laugh- 
 ing. '* Well, I suppose I must say good-morning. 
 I have been paying you a visitation." 
 
 " I am very glad to have a talk with you. If 
 you wait a little perhaps Stasie will return." 
 
 '^ Or, better still — put on your bonnet and 
 come out for a stroll in the Botanic Garden. 
 There is a cricket match or some such thing on 
 at Lord's, and we will have the place to ourselves." 
 
 " Yes, I will come, if you don t mind substi- 
 tuting the enclosure for the Gardens, and then I 
 can see the little ones." 
 
 " Your young barbarians all at play! Very 
 well, it is the same to me. I have not grown 
 used to this strange feeling of having no particu- 
 lar occupation, and I am very grateful when you 
 permit me to bestow my tediousness upon you." 
 
 Meanwhile Stasie had succeeded, as she thought, 
 remarkably well at the long-expected luncheon. 
 She was less overpowered by the consciousness 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 253 
 
 of her own ignorance and insufficiency than on 
 the occasion of her first visit, which she had so 
 feelingly described to Ella Mathews. To-day she 
 was in high spirits — she had had a bright, happy 
 letter from her friend and schoolfellow announ- 
 cing the delightful fact that Bob had succeeded 
 in finding emplo}Tiient, a great weight being thus 
 lifted from his mother's shoulders ; and winding 
 up with a full account of her own and hevjlance's 
 plans and projects. 
 
 Lady Elizabeth received her husband's ward 
 in her morning-room. She was writing busily 
 at a table covered with letters, papers, and pam- 
 phlets, and looked so pale and wrinkled that she 
 might have been at work all night from her 
 appearance. 
 
 " Ah, Miss Yerner ! Very glad to see you. 
 Are you not early ?" looking at her watch. " I 
 protest it is one o'clock ! I had no idea it was 
 so late. Sit down, my dear, and tell me all 
 about yourself. How is Mrs. Harding ? Very 
 nice woman indeed — so posee and well-bred — 
 quite wonderful ! Who was she ?" 
 
 '* She was a Miss Eivers ; her father was 
 rector of some place in Herefordshire." 
 
254 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 " All, indeed ! Then she was a gentlewoman. 
 And what have you been doing ? Any parties ? 
 I hope Mrs. Harding has taken you to hear some 
 of Professor Holzenkopfs lectures on Hiero- 
 glyphics. You really ought to hear him — (may 
 I trouble you to ring the bell) — the enormous 
 development of discovery in these days requires 
 
 the utmost Oh, Eoberts, has Mr. Wyatt come 
 
 in yet V as the footman appeared. 
 
 '' No, my lady. Lord Cecil Annesley is in 
 the drawing-room, my lady." 
 
 '' Oh, indeed ! We must go to luncheon, then. 
 I shall not wait for Mr. Wyatt, Eoberts." To 
 Stasie, *' He is so overwhelmed with work about 
 the middle of the session that he has hardly 
 time to eat or sleep. I tell him he undertakes 
 too much. Come into the drawing-room. Miss 
 Verner. Lord Cecil is a very interesting person. 
 He made a voyage down the Euphrates on a raft 
 with Mr. Wyatt at the time your friend Kharapet 
 was his interpreter — charming person Kharapet ! 
 He is engaged at present in translating a little 
 volume of poems I published about a year ago 
 into Arabic, for the use of schools we hope to 
 establish in Turkish Arabia. Such a universal 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 255 
 
 genius ! I told Mr. Wyatt to bring him in to 
 luncheon. Lord Cecil will be delighted to see 
 Imn." 
 
 '* But," said Stasie, snatching at a brief o]3por- 
 tunity when Lady Elizabeth paused to take 
 breath, '^ but I wanted so much to speak to 
 Mr. Wyatt and yourself alone. I want his con- 
 sent to a plan I have made to travel on the con- 
 tinent — to " 
 
 '' To travel abroad," interrupted her ladyship 
 as she walked quickly towards the drawing-room, 
 which was at the opposite side of a large lobby 
 or landing. " A very good idea ! It would im- 
 prove you immensely. Whom would you travel 
 with ? — that is the question. I should not mind 
 taking you with us to Eome next winter if we go 
 there. Your whole future dej^ends on being well 
 introduced." 
 
 Stasie's heart sank at this sentence. It would 
 be all very well for her, but how about Aunt 
 Clem ? Meantime, having reached the drawing- 
 room, Lady Elizabeth was rushing into a fresh 
 speech. 
 
 '' How d'you do. Lord Cecil ? How d'you do ? 
 Have I kept you waiting ? Mr. Wyatt will be 
 
256 THE EXECUTOR, 
 
 here directly. Let me present you to Miss 
 Verner, a ward of Mr. Wyatt's. I am sure you 
 must have known her father at Mardin — a de- 
 lightful old man from Mr. Wyatt's account. 
 Consul Kharapet — excellent, enlightened man ! — 
 left this dear child all his money. She ought to 
 aid us in our work of raising the women of Syria 
 in the social and intellectual scale. Take Miss 
 Verner down to lunch — it is quite ready." 
 
 Lord Cecil was an elderly young man, slight, 
 tall, a little stooped, a good deal near-sighted, 
 with a glass in his eye which was perpetually 
 dropping and interrupting him in the midst of 
 his most important sentences. 
 
 " Long since you left Syria ? " asked Lord 
 Cecil, as they descended the broad stair. 
 
 " About eleven or twelve years ago," returned 
 Stasie drily, a little provoked at being represented 
 as other than English. 
 
 '^ Ah ! oh, I see ! brought up here." 
 
 "I am not an Eastern, I am English 'pur 
 sang, " 
 
 " Yes ! Well, but Kharapet, nice old 
 fellow ! he was Eastern to the tips of his 
 fingers ! " 
 
THE EXECUTOR, 257 
 
 '' He was a dear, kind, good man, but he was 
 only my mother's husband." 
 
 *' To be sure ! I might have guessed it \ 
 Where shall we sit. Lady Elizabeth ? " 
 
 " Oh ! here on my right." And the occupa- 
 tion of eating caused a short cessation of Lady. 
 Elizabeth's endless talk. But she soon took up 
 her parable again, and plunged into the details 
 of a gigantic bazaar which she was assisting the 
 Duchess of Pembroke and the Ladies Lambton 
 to get up. 
 
 Lord Cecil did not seem too much interested. 
 He tried hard to talk with Stasie, who was amused 
 at his vain efforts to keep his glass in his eye, 
 and his persistent attempts to break away from 
 Lady Elizabeth, although she felt vexed and anxi- 
 ous respecting her interview with her guardian. 
 How could she speak of her own affairs before 
 Lord Cecil, and especially before Kharapet, who 
 would, she felt sure, oppose her ? 
 
 They had been but a short time at table when 
 Mr. Wyatt entered, followed by Kharapet ; and, 
 after a very polite greeting, and many apologies 
 for being late, he took his place at the end of the 
 table. Kharapet looked more than usually sleek, 
 VOL. I. 17 
 
258 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 handsome, and picturesque. He bent witli Ori- 
 ental grace and deference before the lady of the 
 house, and then passing on to Stasie took her 
 hand in both of his, and murmured a Syriac sen- 
 tence he had once explained to her, and which was 
 all glowing with adoration and flattering similes. 
 
 " You remember Lord Cecil Annesley ? " said 
 Lady Elizabeth. 
 
 Yes ; Mr. Kharapet remembered him vividly, 
 pleasantly, especially in connection with that 
 night attack by Arabs on the raft, when moored 
 at the river-side ; how his lordship's courage and 
 decision 
 
 " Gad, I was in a horrid fright ! " interrupted 
 Lord Cecil, " and blazed away in the dark, till 
 the enemy got into a worse fright than myself." 
 
 " 'Tis ever the habit of your countrymen to 
 disparage their own bravery, my lord," returned 
 Kharapet, dwelling on the last word as though 
 he loved the appellation. 
 
 Conversation now grew loud and general, and 
 Stasie feared for her opportunity ; but fortunately 
 Mr. Wyatt was more occupied with his luncheon 
 than the topics under discussion, and Stasie was 
 next him. 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 259 
 
 "I do SO want to speak to you," she said at 
 last, coaxinoflv, with her sweetest smile. 
 
 " Certainly, my dear young lady ! I am quite 
 at your service, only I must leave in half an hour. 
 Tell me what it is. Oh ! don't mind them ; they 
 won't hear a word we are saying." 
 
 " AVell then, Mr. AVyatt," began Stasie des- 
 perately, " I want your permission to go abroad, 
 — to travel, to study, to have masters and all 
 
 that. I am but half educated " 
 
 '* Very praiseworthy indeed ! an excellent idea ! 
 We must find you a good chaperon — and — I will 
 speak to Lady Elizabeth ; she always has heaps 
 of distressed gentlewomen on her list who would 
 be charmed with such an appointment. What 
 do Kharapet and Mr. Harding say ? I am really 
 so busy that " 
 
 " Oh ! tlieij refer me to you. Pray do not send 
 me back to them." 
 
 "No!" — smiling pleasantly on her. "There 
 can be no possible objection to your plan. Nor 
 need you make any secret of it. My dear," — 
 raising his voice to catch his wife's notice, — " here 
 is Miss Verner wanting my permission to go 
 abroad ! I have not the slightest objection, if 
 
260 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 we can secure a suitable companion for her. You 
 will, no doubt, know of some such person ? " 
 
 " I know of one myself," put in Stasie eagerly ; 
 but no one heeded her. 
 
 '' No doubt I can," returned Lady Elizabeth 
 amiably. '' But it is just possible we may be 
 going to Eome this winter ; why should not Miss 
 Verner come with us ? " 
 
 " I should be charmed," said Mr. Wyatt, help- 
 ing himself to some Stilton cheese. '' Very plea- 
 sant society in Eome — art, antiquities, studios, 
 and all that sort of thing. Miss Verner might 
 cultivate herself to any extent, and come on to 
 Florence in the spring." 
 
 " I am sure it would be a happy chance," 
 began Lord Cecil. Here his glass dropped plump 
 into his plate of strawberries and cream, and had 
 to be picked out, wiped, and refixed. Meantime 
 Lady Elizabeth had taken up the running, and 
 Lord Cecil's happy chance was lost for ever. 
 Kharapet kept silence, looking steadily at the 
 tablecloth, till Lady Elizabeth came to the end 
 of sundry proposals and suggestions. 
 
 "It would indeed be an enormous benefit to 
 my dear young charge to be with your ladyship," 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 261 
 
 he began, raising his eyes, from which he managed 
 to banish any special expression — ("Why will he 
 call her ' her ladyship,' as if he were a footman ? " 
 thought Stasie) — " and until Mr. Wyatt and 
 yourself decide on your plans it would be fruit- 
 less to arrange anything for Miss Verner. Such 
 an opportunity must not be lost." 
 
 " But, Lady Elizabeth ! " cried Stasie, in de- 
 spair at seeing how the current was setting, 
 " though it would be very nice to go with you, 
 I should like to go at once, and you will not go 
 till winter, and you may not go at all. Besides," 
 colourino: and hesitatinoj a moment in a little awe 
 at opposing the august assembly, " I have an aunt 
 — that is, my mother's aunt — who has travelled 
 a great deal, and she — that is, I said I would take 
 her with me if I were let to go. She is very 
 nice and kind, and the only relation I have, so I 
 thought it would be natural and pleasant to have 
 her with me." Stasie had talked herself into 
 calmness and courage. She would not allow her- 
 self to be overawed. It was a decisive moment. 
 
 "An aunt ! I had no idea you had any relations," 
 said Lady Elizabeth. " Had you ? " to her husband. 
 He shook his head, and sipped a glass of port. 
 
262 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 ''Well, I suppose it would be a natural arrange- 
 ment. In short, you might go to Switzerland or 
 the Tyrol with her during the summer and autumn, 
 and then send her back and join us at Rome." 
 
 Lady Elizabeth was always reluctant to give 
 up any scheme of her own when opposed, although 
 ready enough to change if yielded to. Stasie 
 
 shook her head. " If she comes with me " she 
 
 began, when Kharapet interrupted her eagerly — 
 
 '' I fear this good lady is by no means in inde- 
 pendent circumstances. Miss Yerner would have 
 to pay her expenses as though she were a stranger, 
 though perhaps, on account of the relationship, 
 she might not expect a salary." 
 
 Stasie darted a look of contempt at her friend 
 and ally. 
 
 *' Oh, that is of no consequence, provided she 
 is a proper person with whom to trust my ward," 
 said Mr. Wyatt easily ; people are so often liberal 
 with money that does not belong to them. 
 
 '' But," urged Kharapet, '' think of the great 
 advantage of being with Mr. and Lady Elizabeth 
 Wyatt. I do not think, my dear Stasie, you are 
 sufficiently aware of the value of such protection, 
 or grateful enough." 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 263 
 
 " Indeed I am grateful," said Stasie with sweet 
 frankness, " and I should greatly like to be with 
 Lady Elizabeth in Eome ; but as she is so kind 
 herself, she will understand that I cling to my 
 mother s only relative, — at least the only one I 
 know anything of, — especially as I may be of some 
 use and comfort to her." 
 
 "Very nice of you, my dear — very proper," 
 remarked Lady Elizabeth, carefully selecting an 
 apricot, and Lord Cecil having restored his 
 glass, said, with a laugh, '' I assure you. Miss 
 Yerner, you have only to announce ' a few rela- 
 tions wanted,' and an enormous crop will spring 
 up. I daresay I could prove that I am a first 
 cousin only once removed if you will permit me 
 to try." 
 
 " Thank you, I will not put you to the proof," 
 returned Stasie, smiling a nervous little smile ; she 
 felt in truth more disposed to cry ; her heart beat, 
 her lip quivered, as she perceived how helpless 
 she was among the contending wills of those who 
 had the disposal of her fate. She was indignant 
 too. Hormuz had no right to talk of Aunt Clem's 
 poverty before that grinning stranger lord. The 
 chatter to which she had listened had not im- 
 
264 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 pressed Stasie with any respect for the opinions 
 of those who coolly discussed what to do with her ; 
 she was rapidly growing too indignant for fear or 
 even prudence — her guardian did not care a straw 
 about her ! 
 
 '' Yes/' Lady Elizabeth was saying, when Stasie 
 again attended to what was going on; '' sentiment 
 and good feeling are all very well, but you must 
 be guided by what those older and wiser than 
 yourself think best for you." 
 
 " Just so/' observed Mr. Wyatt, rising. " You 
 will excuse me, Miss Verner; excuse me. Lord 
 Cecil ; my time is up. I have much pleasure, my 
 dear ward, in giving my consent to your making 
 some stay on the continent ; you can arrange the 
 details with Lady Elizabeth, who has a capital 
 head for business, and is truly interested in your 
 welfare. Good-morning, Kharapet ; om revoir, 
 Lord Cecil ; we meet at the Speaker s dinner 
 to-night." 
 
 " Good-bye !" said Stasie, standing up with 
 flushed cheeks, and giving him her hand, " I ani 
 very much obliged to you, but unless I can go 
 with my aunt I don't care to go at all. I shall 
 stay with Mrs. Harding." 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 265 
 
 "Very well, very well!" said Mr. Wyatt 
 hastily, and left the room, 
 
 Kharapet looked absolutely aghast, and Lord 
 Cecil fixed his glass a little more firmly, to ob- 
 serve the difi'erent faces. 
 
 This little ebulition rather amused Lady Eliza- 
 beth, and suggested the idea that Stasie might 
 not be a desirable companion, perhaps rather 
 difiicult to manage ; indeed the proposition to 
 take her with them to Eome had been a mere 
 passing thought, still she did not care to give it 
 up without a fair amount of resistance, but she 
 was in a hurry to go out, and had spent time 
 enouoii on her husband's ward. 
 
 " Come, come. Miss Verner," she said good- 
 humouredly, ''you must not take things awpied 
 de la lettre. Our movements are quite uncertain. 
 Suppose you make your arrangements with your 
 aunt, and leave our meeting in Eome to the chap- 
 ter of accidents." 
 
 " I should be charmed to meet you there," cried 
 Stasie warmly, but with an emphasis that showed 
 she stuck to her colours. "I have already pro- 
 mised my aunt she should accompany me, and I 
 do not like to disappoint her," 
 
266 THE EXECUTOR, 
 
 '^ The promises of a minor don't count/' re- 
 turned Lady Elizabeth* 
 
 " Still the minor may feel bound by them," 
 said Lord Cecil ; " I am sure Miss Verner is the 
 soul of loyalty." 
 
 '^ How can you possibly tell ? " exclaimed Stasie, 
 laughing. 
 
 Kharapet opened his lips as if to speak, and 
 then closed them. 
 
 Stasie's words revealed a new influence — a 
 fresh complication with which he had not reck- 
 oned. He recalled the lady-like, limp old maid 
 he had met at luncheon, and thought hard, how 
 best to manipulate obstacles to the furtherance 
 of his own schemes. 
 
 That Stasie should not leave England save 
 with himself he was firmly resolved, so he kept 
 silence and listened. 
 
 " Now," resumed Lady Elizabeth, " if you have 
 all finished luncheon, I must go out. Miss Verner, 
 would you like to go with me ? I am going to 
 young Leonardo Mel vin's studio; you know he has 
 been so shamefully treated by the Eoyal Academy 
 people ; every one of his pictures refused — every 
 one, so Lady Kilconquhar and the Duchess have 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 267 
 
 begged of me to take all the people T can find 
 to look at them in his own studio. Now, if 
 Miss Yerner chose to buy a few of his water- 
 colour sketches, just for her own morning-room 
 (when she has one), it would really be money 
 well spent, would it not Mr. Kharapet ? You 
 have the management of Miss Yerner s money, 
 have you not ? " 
 
 Kharapet turned pale at this appalling propo- 
 sition. *' I share that responsibility with Mr. 
 Harding," he stammered. 
 
 " I must wish you good-morning," said Lord 
 Cecil, " Miss Yerner, I hope I may have the plea- 
 sure of meeting you again, and proving that we are 
 cousins ! Shall you be at Mrs. Bernard's to-night ? " 
 
 Stasie disclaimed any acquaintance with Mrs. 
 Bernard, and Lord Cecil made his adieux and 
 departed. 
 
 *^ I shall not keep you a moment," said Lady 
 Elizabeth, ringing for the carriages ; *^ can we put 
 you down anywhere, Mr. Kharapet ? I presume 
 you will come with me, Miss Yerner ? '^ 
 
 " Yes, with pleasure ;" but Lady Elizabeth was 
 gone. Directly they were left alone Stasie opened 
 on Kharapet. 
 
268 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 " Why did you talk about Aunt Clem being 
 so poor — before total strangers ? It was not nice 
 of you, Hormuz." 
 
 '* You English are superior to that considera- 
 tion for wealth which affects other races/' said 
 Kharapet ; " and I was too anxious about you to 
 choose my words." - 
 
 " That is all nonsense ! You know we are most 
 shabbily ashamed of poverty in England, and I 
 don't want to go abroad with the Wyatts. . You 
 have been very unkind and disagreeable, Hormuz." 
 
 " How can I atone ? I was not aware I vexed 
 you." 
 
 '' I was in hopes I could tell Aunt Clem that 
 all was settled. It is nearly, if you will only 
 back me up with Mr. Harding. I would like to 
 go and talk to Aunt Clem ; but I must not refuse 
 Lady Elizabeth." 
 
 " Certainly not ! and Stasie — fair sweet Stasie ! 
 you do not want to buy pictures, do you, Stasie ? " 
 
 " Pictures ! no, where could I put them ? " 
 
 '^ That is well — that is very well ! Now, will 
 it please you if I go and see your good aunt ? 
 and tell her of this day's conversation, and how 
 you have won your guardian's consent." 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 " Oh, tliank you, Hormuz ! that will be so kind. 
 You think I have Mr. Wyatt's consent, then ? 
 they all seem so careless of what I wish." 
 
 " I think you may be satisfied. Give me Miss 
 Stretton's address, and I will go there." 
 
 " Give me your pencil, and I will write it on 
 one of your cards. Thank you ever so much, 
 dear Hormuz ! " 
 
 " beautiful hand ! lovely lips that speak 
 so kindly T' cried KharajDet with unguarded fer- 
 vour that startled Stasie with sudden frightened 
 prescience. 
 
CHAPTEE XI. 
 
 When Kharapet liad seen Lady Elizabeth, and 
 Stasie drive off, lie made his way slowly into 
 Park Lane — slowly and in deep thought. On 
 the whole, he was hopeful and content. He was 
 near the moment for which he so intensely 
 longed, and which he had postponed partly in 
 deference to Mr. Harding's advice, partly from 
 an unwonted distrust in his own fascinations. 
 
 The effect produced upon him by his brother's 
 step -daughter was something totally different 
 from anything he had ever before experienced. 
 
 The love of an Eastern is utterly dissimilar 
 from what we know or imagine of the feeling ; we 
 can scarce conceive the materialism of a passion 
 stripped of the delicate drapery in which fancy and 
 tenderness and chivalrous respect enshroud it. 
 To a man like Kharapet — in his natural normal 
 condition — love was the brief fierce fire of an 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 271 
 
 hour, a vivid blaze and tlien extinction, a 
 momentary necessity, apart from his real life, 
 pursuits, ambitions. 
 
 To accumulate wealth was the chief aim of 
 his existence ; to stand well with the powerful 
 the second, and the most powerful, the most 
 dominant, men, he had ever encountered were 
 the English grandees whom accident had thrown 
 in his way. 
 
 He was a clever, caj)able fellow, beyond the 
 average in intellect, and, given a chance, clung 
 to it with tenacious grasp. He had had a hard 
 struggle for existence in his boyhood. His elder 
 brother had given him little or no help, yet he 
 had hoped against hope that he might bequeath 
 him some of his wealth. Becoming interpreter 
 and secretary to Percy Wyatt, Esq., M.P., he had 
 guided that gentleman's steps to the Mardin 
 Consulate, and managed to establish friendly re- 
 lations with H.B.M.'s Consul there by appear- 
 ing independent and thriving. 
 
 He there saw Stasie as a little four-year-old 
 pet and plaything, and on a subsequent visit was 
 not inconsolable to observe her failing health. 
 From this time he never lost sight of his half- 
 
272 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 brother, and, having been called to Baghdad by- 
 business, proceeded farther to pay him a visit. 
 He thus happened to be at Mardin when the 
 elder Kharapet died. But his opportune pre- 
 sence brought him no good fortune. He found 
 that the late Consul had been for some time 
 transmitting all available funds for investment 
 in Enorland. Nor was he aware that he was 
 named one of the executors to his brother's will 
 till informed by Mr. Harding. The object was 
 obvious. Various sums were still due to the 
 estate by doubtful debtors in Bombay, and an 
 executor on the spot was useful. 
 
 . The disappointment w^as keen ; but Hormuz, 
 after an evil quarter of an hour looked round for 
 the next best means of securing some of the sup- 
 posed wealth bequeathed by his brother. The 
 way seemed simple enough. He would go to 
 London and marry the heiress. He did not 
 hasten his movements, however. She was safe 
 at school, and when a little older, riper, and 
 readier to stand up for her own rights and 
 wishes, he would *' come and see and conquer,^' 
 get the money, and lay the foundations of a 
 colossal fortune. 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 273 
 
 He did not calculate, however, on the effect 
 his step-niece (if such a relation exists) would 
 produce upon him. Her fairness, her tall grace- 
 ful figure, her pale golden brown hair, her dark 
 speaking eyes, seemed to him the perfection of 
 loveliness ; at the first interview he was lost. 
 If rich, he would even have paid out much 
 money to be the owner of such an angel ! 
 
 But, when added to her other charms, she was 
 possessed of something nearer twenty-five than 
 twenty thousand pounds, he was indeed ready 
 to fall down and worship. 
 
 Yet his position with her, though command- 
 ing, did not always seem to him secure. There 
 were looks and tones, and little speeches, and 
 even gestures that suggested to him at times 
 vague fears, undefined apprehensions. Though 
 a mere woman — an unformed young girl — to 
 whom man's love was a necessity so great, that 
 nature would compel her to grasp the first 
 offered, there was a nameless something, a 
 freedom, a careless unconscious strength, a self- 
 sufficiency impossible to define that warned 
 Kharapet to be circumspect, that conveyed by 
 some subtile electric intelligence the impression 
 VOL. I. 18 
 
274 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 of a spirit he could neither comprehend nor con- 
 quer, and which he might rouse to arms against 
 him by his too hasty action ! There were times 
 when this sense of impotence on his own part 
 weighed so forcibly upon him, that in the midst 
 of his most passionate longings, strange flashes 
 of fierce hate would dart through him and stir 
 his soul with murderous impulse. 
 
 But this bright afternoon no such unpleasant 
 sensations disturbed Hormuz Kharapet. Stasia 
 had been kind, and circumstances seemed setting 
 in a favourable current. 
 
 How fair and friendly life looked to him ! 
 When rich and wedded to Stasie he would do 
 something grand, something benevolent, that 
 would show gratitude to God, Fate, fortune — 
 whatever it is that orders our destinies, and 
 thus improve his position with his eccentric but 
 powerful patrons among the nobles of England. 
 
 Whatever of good was in his nature clung 
 round the idea of Stasie. Had she returned his 
 love, she might perhaps have raised him, or 
 satiety might have broken the spell, and he 
 might bring her low, even to the ground, with 
 the degradation of his rule ! 
 
. THE EXECUTOR, 275 
 
 A little flower-girl trotting by his side off'ered 
 him a bouquet of violets for a penny, a pinched 
 pale-faced hungry-looking urchin. His heart was 
 soft and glowing with anticipation of the great 
 joy almost in his grasp, — he paused, and nearly 
 j)ut his hand in his pocket, but a second glance 
 show^ed him that it was not a good pennyworth, 
 so he checked the rash impulse and hailed a 
 Westbourne Grove omnibus. 
 
 From the time her niece bade her good-bye 
 Miss Stretton had not ceased to dwell with 
 mingled anxiety and delight on the prospect 
 opened up by Stasie's ready acceptance of her 
 suggestion respecting foreign travel. 
 
 Nothing could possibly have offered, more 
 desirable or full of promise. The relationship 
 between herself and her intended 'protegee would 
 give her quite a different position from that of 
 merely a paid chaperon. " I will not stick out 
 for high pay either," she thought. "I see they 
 are inclined to keep her tight. Stasie is a dear, 
 generous, high-minded girl, just like what / used 
 to be when I w^as her aofe, and she will not let me 
 want for anything. I should not wonder that 
 
276 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 she made me a nice little allowance when she 
 comes into her property if she does not marry ! 
 Poor dear ! it would be much more for her own 
 happiness not to marry young!" and in a half- 
 unconscious way Aunt Clem resolved to do her 
 best for that happiness by keeping presumptuous 
 suitors at a distance. 
 
 Time had not robbed Aunt Clem of her im- 
 aginative powers, and the present being generally 
 dark, drear, or difficult, she never failed to deck 
 the future in the brightest and most charming 
 colours. Each fresh " dear young creature " she 
 undertook, was an angel, who would no doubt 
 prove a friend for life ; and as each cruelly and 
 heartlessly disappointed her, she set to work to 
 build new castles in the air. But a well-dowered 
 niece was something not to be had every day ; 
 and with what Aunt Clem (who was a very 
 religious woman) called pious gratitude, she 
 determined to be all that was affectionate and 
 complaisant to Stasie and those connected with 
 her. 
 
 The severe cold from which she had suffered 
 had weakened her considerably, and she felt low 
 and tremulously eager for news of Stasie's pro- 
 
THE EXECUTOR, 277 
 
 gress in obtaining lier guardian's sanction for 
 their scheme. " I must try and get up my 
 strength/' she thought, " for we may have to 
 start soon. It is very fine to-day ; I will go 
 out for a little walk, the air will do me good. 
 What a fright I look! rest and good food 
 would soon set me up. I almost wish that 
 dear child would be content to have a pretty 
 house in London or its neighbourhood. I don't 
 feel quite equal to trapesing about the con- 
 tinent, and eating those table cZ' li6te messes. 
 What is it ? come in," this in answer to a knock 
 at the door; enter the household slavey with 
 a card cautiously held in an interior fold of her 
 apron. 
 
 " The gentleman is below, shall I tell him to 
 come up, miss ?" 
 
 '' Up here ? into my bed-room ! You are in- 
 deed ignorant, Jemima ! I will come down ; 
 can I not see him in the back parlour ?" 
 
 "Yes, 'm,'* and the girl retired sulkily. 
 
 "It is the executor," said Miss Stretton to 
 herself. "It's a mercy I was dressed and had 
 my bonnet on ; I wonder what he has come 
 about % to say Stasie cannot be placed with 
 
278 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 me !" With an aching anxious heart the poor 
 lady descended the stairs. 
 
 Kharapet was in the sole possession of the 
 shabby little parlour — the infirmary for unsound, 
 halt, and maimed furniture, when Miss Stretton 
 entered. He was standing in the window, the 
 soft and rather picturesque felt hat which he 
 affected as a compromise with British head gear 
 in his hand, his attitude a very fair reproduction 
 of Mr. Wyatt's favourite pose when listening to a 
 crotchety constituent. 
 
 He greeted Aunt Clem with one of his best bows, 
 to which she responded by an elegant curtsey. 
 
 "Won't you sit down, Mr. Kharapet?" she 
 said sweetly. Mr. Kharapet bowed again, and 
 took a chair. " To what may I owe the honour 
 of this visit ?" asked Miss Stretton, as Kharapet, 
 according to his custom, left the initiative to her. 
 
 " I have come as ambassador from your niece. 
 Miss Verner,^' he replied in the most carefully 
 softened voice. '^ She begged me to explain to 
 you that she is obliged to go out driving with our 
 kind friend Lady Elizabeth Wyatt, and cannot 
 therefore call upon you as she wished. I am 
 also anxious to improve my acquaintance with so 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 279 
 
 near and valued a relative of my poor brother's 
 adopted daughter." 
 
 " You are very good/' murmured Aunt Clem, 
 still uneasy. 
 
 " More/' resumed Kharapet, " I am commis- 
 sioned to tell you that Mr. Wyatt — Stasie's 
 guardian — sees no objection to her going abroad. 
 My Lady Elizabeth suggested that her husband's 
 ward might travel under her protection, but your 
 niece bravely and resolutely declared that she 
 had promised to go with you, and would go with 
 no one else." 
 
 " Sweet child !" ejaculated Miss Stretton, her 
 handkerchief to her eyes. 
 
 " I need not say that I am anxious to carry 
 out her wishes," continued the Syrian, " but I 
 am not alone in my office of executor. I have to 
 manage as best I can with my colleague, Mr. 
 Harding, an excellent man of business, but less 
 sympathetic than myself with the natural desires 
 of a young and charming creature." 
 
 He paused and looked at Miss Stretton, not 
 knowing exactly how to shape his course. Time 
 was pressing, and he was engaged for five-o'clock 
 tea at the Dowager Lady Kilconquhar's. 
 
280 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 He had spent tlie moments while waiting for 
 Miss Stretton in looking at the books on a small 
 centre table, and had picked out a volume of 
 severely evangelical sermons, on the fly-leaf of 
 which was inscribed, "Miss C. Stretton, with 
 Christian greetings from the writer." 
 
 " Do you think, sir, that Mr. Harding would 
 object to my niece residing with me ?" asked poor 
 Aunt Clem tremulously, as he was thus reflecting. 
 
 " He can have no reasonable objection, my 
 dear lady. Still, I cannot answer for him. He 
 is my very good friend, and Mrs. Harding is also 
 good, very good ; but I venture to speak frankly 
 to you — there is no trace of devotion in the 
 household — the world and the things of the 
 world alone occupy them. I may seem too 
 severe in my ideas — ^they may not suit yours ; 
 but I cling to my faith, all the closer because I 
 have felt the whip of persecution." 
 
 " Indeed, I am rejoiced to hear you express 
 such opinions. They have long been mine. 
 They have been my support under many trials. 
 Yes, I quite agree with you ; that dear child 
 should not be wholly left to such guidance — 
 perhaps an absence from England — but," inter- 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 281 
 
 rupting herself, "Mr. Harding's opposition may 
 prove an insurmountable obstacle. What do 
 you think ?" anxiously. 
 
 " I hope not. In fact, I am not without in- 
 fluence, and I am prepared to use that influence 
 on your behalf. The strong attachment which 
 Miss Verner has conceived for you, the evident 
 similarity of our opinions on most important 
 points, disposes me to think you would be a kind 
 and judicious companion, especially if you would 
 condescend to be in some measure guided by my 
 counsels." 
 
 " I shall be most happy, my dear sir, to have 
 the benefit of your advice." 
 
 " Then, Miss Stretton, may I trust you not to 
 divulge to any one, especially not to Stasie, what 
 I am about to confide in you 1" 
 
 " Ah, you may trust me, Mr. Kharapet. I 
 have been the depository of many secrets." 
 
 " Then," said he, drawing his chair nearer to 
 her and lowering his voice, " I will trust you. 
 Miss Stretton, my highest hope is to call our dear 
 Stasie my mfe ! I am already connected with 
 her. I am of the same faith — of an older branch 
 of the Universal Church. I am the favoured 
 
282 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 guest of some of your greatest nobles. I state 
 these facts to show that I am not unworthy of 
 your niece ; but I am not quite sure that Mr. 
 Harding really favours my pretensions. He does 
 not openly oppose me, yet there is something not 
 quite friendly in his aspect. Dear Miss Stretton, 
 give me your effectual aid and you will find " — 
 slowly and emphatically — " that I am not un- 
 grateful." 
 
 ' ' What does he mean ? " thought Miss Stretton, 
 while she said, " Is Stasie, then, not aware ? Do 
 you think her well disposed towards you ?" 
 
 " How can I tell I" exclaimed Kharapet, clasp- 
 ing his fine brown hands together, and resting 
 them on the table near him. " She is so young — 
 so inexperienced, so unsuspecting. She thinks 
 she wants to study, to travel — a thousand things ; 
 but when I speak to her, when I tell her how 
 my life, my hopes, my all hang upon her, the 
 hidden springs of passion, of affection will rise, 
 and respond, and bless me. I am sure — at least, 
 I think I am sure — of her guardian's consent ; 
 but should I be accepted by your niece, the 
 marriage may not take place for some time. I 
 cannot tell, difficulties may arise ; and it is dur- 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 283 
 
 ing this j)eriod of an engagement that I should 
 like her to be with you, where I might have un- 
 restrained access to her." 
 
 " I feel a little bewildered, Mr. Kharapet," 
 returned Aunt Clem, still uneasy, yet ho23eful. 
 " I certainly do not know you much ; but from 
 what you say, and indeed my own observation, 
 I am sure you would make my dear Stasie happy. 
 Of course I have only found her to lose her, but 
 I must not think of self." 
 
 " No, madam. You must leave it to me — to 
 us, I hope I may say — to think of and for you. 
 If in this matter you befriend me, I will assist 
 Stasie to do that which I know she would wish 
 — that is, to ensure your future against the 
 necessity " — he paused and looked round — " of 
 living in an apartment so ill suited to a lady of 
 your condition as this'' 
 
 "You are too kind! too considerate!" cried 
 poor Aunt Clem, deeply affected. " Mine has 
 been a life of trial and — and privation ; and I 
 honestly confess that the prospect of a little 
 peace and comfort is as unexpected as it is de- 
 lightful. I know I have no claim on my dear 
 niece, but I am ready to do all I can for her, 
 
284 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 and for you. Your great kindness proves that 
 you are worthy to be her husband. I don't care 
 to go dragging about the Continent, though I 
 will go if necessary. I don't want much, Mr. 
 Kharapet ; a little ease of mind, now that I am 
 not so strong as I used to be, would indeed be a 
 boon." 
 
 " Trust to me !" returned Kharapet, rising, 
 his black eyes shining on her as he smiled a soft 
 caressing smile. " I will see that the future 
 shall have no terrors for you. Probably Stasie 
 will call on you to-morrow. Pray use your 
 influence against the Mathews family. I distrust 
 them. They have tried to get money out of 
 Stasie." 
 
 "How unprincipled!" cried Aunt Clem in- 
 dignantly. 
 
 " Let us say nothing against them," returned 
 Kharapet, " for Stasie is very tenacious of her 
 likings. They have left London. Might I sug- 
 gest that when Stasie comes you do not oppose 
 her schemes ; let her talk of plans and arrange- 
 ments — a few days may bring a change. Above 
 all, do not permit her to think we have entered 
 into this little compact. It would injure you in 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 285 
 
 her opinion — very unjustly — yet it would so. I 
 am disposed to have unbounded confidence in you. 
 I am by nature deeply grateful to those who assist 
 me ; but, as is usual with such natures, perhaps 
 a little unforgiving to those who cross me. We, 
 however, are sure to act in unison, for we have 
 the same motive — the welfare, the happiness of 
 our dear Stasie. Your excellent tact may suggest 
 little words of sympathetic goodwill which will 
 help me in her estimation, for she thinks much 
 of you." 
 
 ^^I feel I can most conscientiously forward your 
 wishes," replied Aunt Clem with some solemnity. 
 
 They shook hands cordially, and with some more 
 complimentary speeches bade each other adieu. 
 
 " Well ! " thought Aunt Clem, as she slowly 
 climbed to her bedroom, ^' I am thankful I was 
 not out when he came. It has not been a bad 
 day's work for me ! I would rather have had the 
 dear child all to myself, but that would not last 
 long ; some greedy fellow would be sure to pick 
 her up. Now, Mr. Kharapet is a truly religious, 
 sensible, superior man, in the very best society, 
 — and so handsome ! Then we know who he is, 
 and that is a great comfort. He is a sort of man 
 
286 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 one can trust, and I feel tliat Providence lias 
 directed the whole thing. I can really hardly 
 believe that I can face the future with hope I — A 
 cup of tea will be a great refreshment. Ill ring, 
 and give that disagreeable girl a shilling ; then 
 she'll be more civil and boil my kettle for me." 
 
 Nor was Kharapet less content. He had a 
 vague suspicion that there were difficulties to be 
 overcome before he could call Stasie his own ab- 
 solutely, and he felt that in Miss Stretton he had 
 secured a useful, pliable tool. He had not com- 
 mitted himself to anything definite ; yet had 
 raised hopes which he could fulfil cheaply, in the 
 letter ; as to the spirit, each was free to form his 
 or her theory ; for the rest, the excellent lady 
 was rather agreeable to him, her tone of admiring 
 amiability was very soothing and acceptable to a 
 man who was perpetually in the presence of those 
 to whom he felt obliged to pay the same tribute 
 himself. 
 
 '' She has evidently gained a strong hold on 
 Stasie," he thought ; " and even after she has 
 accepted me it will be well to have her aunt's 
 friendship and help." 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 287 
 
 While these schemes revolved round the un- 
 conscious Stasie, she went her way bright and 
 unruffled. A little note from Aunt Clem thanked 
 her in elegant phraseology for sending so charm- 
 ing and agreeable an envoy to tell of her success 
 so far. She described her delight in looking 
 forward to companionship with her dear Stasie, 
 and promised to come and see her soon. This 
 missive put Stasie in the highest good-humour 
 with Kharapet, although she did not quite forget 
 the startling effect of his parting words at Lady 
 Elizabeth Wyatt's. 
 
 She was so accustomed to his flattering 
 speeches, so used to account for them in her own 
 mind as Eastern hyperbole, so amused at his 
 empressement, that she was blind to the reality 
 beneath it all. 
 
 Moreover, she was deeply impressed by Dr. 
 Brooke. He filled her mind, to the exclusion of 
 Kharapet and his sugary compliments. 
 
 She was unconscious of the hold Brooke had 
 upon her imagination, because there was some- 
 thing fresh, something legitimately interesting, 
 in their conversations, which were always free 
 from the least approach to what could be called 
 
288 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 flirting. She, therefore, never hesitated to let 
 her thoughts dwell upon him. She compared 
 him with all her favourite heroes in history and 
 fiction, and found that, although inferior in some 
 respects, he was undoubtedly equal in others, 
 and so struck a satisfactory balance. 
 
 The few days that intervened between her 
 luncheon at Lady Elizabeth's and the dance at 
 Lady Pearson's were actively and agreeably em- 
 ployed in preparing for her first ball. 
 
 The delights of such an occupation have been 
 often enlarged upon, and to none could it bring 
 greater pleasure than to Stasie. She knew, in a 
 large-minded way, that she was handsome ; but 
 she did not dwell upon the idea, only she found 
 herself unusually anxious about the fit and 
 becomingness of her costume. However, Mrs. 
 Harding employed a good modiste, and the result 
 was successful. 
 
 A diaphonous cloud of white gauze, its dra- 
 peries caught up with ferns and wild roses ; her 
 abundant hair, arranged with cunning simplicity, 
 produced an effect which elicited some very for- 
 cible expressions of admiration from her host 
 when she presented herself in the drawing-room, 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 289 
 
 where Mrs. Harding was waiting for her. Her 
 figure and style were well adapted for evening 
 dress. The creamy fineness of her skin, the un- 
 conscious dignity which came from her height — 
 her natural carriage, and the setting on of her 
 head — srave her an air of distinction more suited 
 
 o 
 
 to the descendant of a noble line than to the scion 
 of a semi- genteel family. 
 
 " You look very nice indeed/' said Mrs. Hard- 
 ing kindly. 
 
 " I am sure, so do you," cried Stasie in frank 
 admiration. "I never saw you in full dress 
 before." Mrs. Harding's costume was of white 
 silk and black lace, with damask roses in her 
 hair. She looked as she generally did, graceful, 
 refined, complete. 
 
 ''She ain't bad; but she'll never be such a 
 stunner as you are, Stasie ! " said Mr. Harding, 
 turning his back on his wife. " Then you see 
 you are fresher by ten years at least." 
 
 Stasie looked uneasily at Mrs. Harding to see 
 how she took this speech, the brutality of which 
 seemed so unpardonable that for the moment it 
 chilled the young debutantes joyous mood. But 
 Mrs. Harding; looked serene and unmoved. 
 
 o 
 VOL. I. 19 
 
290 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 " I think Kliarapet will be at the end of his 
 tether in the way of compliments when he sees 
 you to night/' continued Mr. Harding, as the 
 carriage door closed on them, and they rolled 
 away toward the festive scene. 
 
 " He will be spared that strain on his re- 
 sources. He is not invited," said Mrs. Harding. 
 
 " How is that ? "Why did you not get him a 
 card \ " 
 
 '' He does not approve of dancing, and he does 
 not know how to dance." 
 
 " Excellent reasons," said Stasie, laughing ; 
 she was somehow relieved to find that for this 
 evening she should be free from the observation 
 of her Eastern friend. It seemed as if Mrs. Hard- 
 ing's words had filled up her measure of delight. 
 
 Lady Pearson's was a large house in the 
 then new district behind West bourne Terrace. 
 The ball-room and approaches were brilliantly 
 lighted and decorated with flowers in the usual 
 fashion. There was nothing more or less in the 
 arrangements than in those of fifty other parties 
 going on in London that evening, but to Stasie's 
 inexperience it seemed fairyland, a scene of en- 
 chantment. She felt tremulous with excitement 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 291 
 
 as she ascended the stair leaning on Mr. Hard- 
 ing's arm, and following closely on her chaperon's 
 footsteps. In truth, though she did not acknow- 
 ledge it even in " communing with her own 
 heart," she was nervously anxious to meet Dr. 
 Brooke. It was a week since she had seen him 
 — not since that disagreeable expedition of hers 
 with Bob Mathews to the Strand, when she had 
 encountered him so unexpectedly. 
 
 She had looked for him oftener than she would 
 have confessed, although she had once exclaimed 
 to Mrs. Harding, " I wonder what has become of 
 Dr. Brooke?" and had been satisfied with her 
 reply, " There are some Indian friends of his in 
 town, — the people he was staying with in Wales, 
 — and he is a good deal with them." 
 
 But now, in her new dress, and conscious of 
 looking well, she longed to hear his half-grave 
 half-playful comments on her first appearance in 
 public. His remarks generally had a tinge of 
 elder-brotherly superiority, with a strain of sup- 
 pressed warmth breathing through. She would 
 be able to talk to him too without being bored by 
 Kharapet, or feeling it necessary to atone for her 
 occasional, nay frequent, preference of Brooke's 
 
292 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 conversation. A quick glance, first round the 
 tea-room, and then at the groups, looking on 
 at the first quadrille just begun as they entered, 
 showed her he had not yet appeared. Stasie's 
 thoughts, however, were agreeably diverted by 
 Lady Pearson, who after greeting them at the 
 entrance of the ballroom, called up a slight gentle- 
 man-like well-set-up young man, with a correct 
 button-hole bouquet, and accurately parted hair, 
 " Let me introduce my son. Miss Verner," she 
 said, whereupon he immediately took the card 
 she had just received, and, saying, "May I ask 
 for two dances ? the next waltz, and the lancers 
 later on," began to inscribe his name. 
 
 " Oh yes, the waltz certainly ; but I do not 
 think 1 could ever manage the lancers ! " 
 
 " Permit me to be your pilot I " said the young 
 man, returning the card with a bow. " Meantime, 
 you are in a draught here ; will you come to the 
 other side of the room ? the quadrille is nearly 
 over ;" and he ofiered his arm. 
 
 Stasie, not quite sure of her ground, glanced 
 at Mrs. Harding, who, with a smile and nod, said, 
 " You will find me on the sofa there, near the 
 fireplace." 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 293 
 
 Stasie, therefore, accepted the oflPered arm, 
 and walked away pleased with her cavalier, who 
 was well supjDlied with small talk. " You were 
 not at Mrs. Broadhnrst's party last night. Miss 
 Verner? It was rather slow — a lot of singing 
 and fiddling first, and then a dance when one had 
 grown limp with heat." 
 
 " This is the first real party I ever was at," 
 said Stasie, '^ except one, and that was only a 
 reception." 
 
 '' I know ! awful concerns those receptions ! 
 I am proud to think I shall be your first partner 
 at your first dance." Stasie laughed, and soon 
 found herself asking and answering questions 
 resjDecting herself and her partner. He was in a 
 cavalry regiment he told her, and had a few days' 
 leave to run up for his mother's dance. " Very 
 lucky for him," he added with a complimentary 
 smile and glance. He was quartered in a horrible 
 place, Manchester, and hoped the regiment would 
 soon be sent to India, and so on. While they 
 talked easily together, another gentleman was 
 brought up by Lady Pearson, and a third was 
 presented by Stasie's own partner. 
 
 Her card was being rapidly filled, till she 
 
294 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 almost feared she would not have a dance left 
 for Dr. Brooke. " I suppose he dances," she 
 thought, never doubting that he would ask her. 
 
 But the first chords of the waltz were sound- 
 ing, and she glided into the delightful dance. 
 Young Pearson was an excellent partner, and 
 though doubtful of her own powers, Stasie soon 
 felt safe in the hands, or rather the arms, of her 
 guide. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Ix tlie lieiglit of lier enjoyment, flattered at 
 being so eagerly souglit (not dreaming tliat a 
 rumour had run through the room proclaiming 
 her heir to the untold wealth of an Eastern 
 potentate), hoping that Dr. Brooke might witness 
 her success, Stasie had paused for a few 
 moments' rest, and smiling not without some 
 coquetry on her cavalier, who was ready to pro- 
 claim her the j oiliest girl he had ever met — " so 
 bright and up to fun, none of your fast ones 
 either ! " when she saw Dr. Brooke come in by 
 a door exactly opposite where she stood. She 
 was quite sure, in some occult way, that he saw 
 her, yet he made no sign, and after looking 
 round the room, he walked over to where Mrs. 
 Harding sat engaged in intermittent talk with 
 a stout and gorgeous dowager. 
 
 Stasie's partner soon started her off again. 
 
296 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 "Don't let us lose the finish," he said. "They 
 will soon stop ;" but through the throng, and in 
 spite of her rapid gyrations, she could see Brooke 
 leaning on the corner of the chimney-piece, and 
 talking to his cousin, evidently with interest and 
 animation. Then just as the music ceased, Mrs. 
 Harding rose, took his arm, and went away. 
 "My chaperon has deserted me," said Stasie, 
 looking after her. 
 
 " "Who ? Mrs. Harding ? What a nice little 
 woman she is ! My governor is a great admirer 
 of hers. She has just gone out with Brooke ; 
 do you know Brooke ? I believe he is a very 
 clever fellow ; a brother officer of mine used to 
 be in his regiment, and " 
 
 Stasie was listening eagerly for the conclusion 
 of his sentence, when No. 2 on her card pre- 
 sented himself, and she was carried off for the 
 next polka, during which neither Mrs. Harding 
 nor Dr. Brooke reappeared. At its conclusion, 
 however, Stasie perceived her missing chaperon 
 talking in an adjoining room with a stately 
 gray -haired old gentleman who wore one or 
 two decorations, and whom she guessed to be 
 Sir Frederic Pearson. Thither, therefore, she 
 
THE EXECUTOR. ^^1 
 
 directed her steps, rejecting lier partner's sug- 
 gestions that it was probably cooler and quieter 
 in the conservatory, and dismissing him with a 
 slight bow, when she found herself beside Mrs. 
 Harding. No. 2 therefore departed with the 
 impression that the young heiress was already 
 beginning to give herself airs. 
 
 Mrs. Harding introduced her to Sir Frederic, 
 who, after a few pleasant courteous words, left 
 them to attend to his duties elsewhere. 
 
 '^Has Dr. Brooke gone away?" asked Stasie 
 as soon as she was alone with her friend. 
 
 " You saw him, then 1 Oh no ! He is only 
 gone to look for Mrs. Marsden's shawl. The 
 Marsdens are his friends from Wales. There 
 are two girls, one of them is rather nice. The 
 mother is very amusing. Jim took me away 
 to introduce me to her. I hope you are enjoy- 
 ing the dance, Stasie. Let me look at your card ; 
 why, it is nearly full." 
 
 " Oh, it is delightful ! " said Stasie, looking 
 down at the carpet ; but as she said it she felt 
 as if something like a cold mist had come over 
 her, and the lights had suddenly grown dim. 
 But this was absurd ; she roused herself ; of 
 
298 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 course Dr. Brooke must pay attention to liis 
 friends, and by and by he would come and talk 
 to her. It was not his momentary absence that 
 dulled her, but his curious cold look of recogni- 
 tion without acknowledgment, and that too 
 after the longest break in their intercourse, 
 which had occurred since the beginning of their 
 acquaintance. She was half ashamed of herself 
 for such morbid nonsense, only she thought she 
 was rather a favourite with the grave doctor, and 
 that he would have come at once to speak a con- 
 gratulatory word or two at this her first party. 
 Still she was resolved not to allow herself to be 
 ridiculous about such a trifle, and so went away 
 cheerfully and graciously with No. 3, a gaunt 
 pale young man, much given to music and high 
 art, which had not yet become sestheticism. 
 
 This time the dance was a quadrille, and just 
 as it was formed, Stasie saw Mrs. Harding come 
 up on Dr. Brooke's arm, followed by a rather 
 pretty red-haired girl, conducted by the son of 
 the house, and take their places vis-a-vis, 
 
 Stasie felt considerably cheered ; he had not 
 gone away at any rate, and after this dance he 
 would no doubt come and speak to her. But 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 299 
 
 no ! When the last notes of the last bar died 
 away, and the dancers turned to look for seats — 
 or ices — Dr. Brooke led his partner towards 
 the refreshment room, giving Stasie a perfectly 
 polite, but rather indifferent, bow, as he passed. 
 
 There was no use in thinking about it. In 
 rather less than a week her friend and ally, her 
 pleasant adversary, the only man of thought and 
 culture she had ever known, had nearly forgotten 
 her ! 
 
 This disappointment cut deeper than might 
 have been expected. It seemed to quench all 
 the innocent pleasure she took in her own ap- 
 pearance, to lower her in her own esteem, to 
 reveal to her the loneliness and isolation of her 
 position. Yes ! she was absolutely alone ; she 
 had not a natural tie in the world except poor 
 Aunt Clem, and no one cared for her save 
 Kharapet, and from him she shrank with an 
 instinct newly developed. There in her pretty 
 dress, in the midst of her little triumph, envied 
 by many a partnerless girl, she could have sat 
 dowTi and cried, even while she felt angry with 
 herself for her folly and weakness ! She felt 
 quite glad when Mr. Pearson, slightly out of 
 
300 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 breath, but bright and exultant that his turn was 
 come, approached, and she rose with a smile so 
 kind and sweet to take his arm as he said — 
 " This is our dance. Miss Yerner — the lancers " 
 = — that he was more convinced than ever that 
 " it will be a lucky fellow, by Jove ! that can get 
 such a girl, with all her money." 
 
 When they reached the ballroom, however, 
 and Stasie saw the confusion of even taking 
 places for the dance, her courage failed. " I 
 know I shall never get through it," she said, 
 " you had much better find another partner. I 
 shall be quite pleased to look on." 
 
 ''But I shall not be pleased to dance with 
 any one else," exclaimed young Pearson. '' Shall 
 we sit it out?" 
 
 " Oh yes, certainly ! I should like it ever so 
 much better." 
 
 " So should I. Let us go into the conserva- 
 tory, it is far cooler than this room." 
 
 In a comfortable, dimly-lighted nook Mr. 
 Pearson established himself and his companion^ 
 to whom he flattered himself he did the agreeable 
 very successfully. She was more silent certainly 
 than at first, but that allowed of his making more 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 301 
 
 play. So he favoured her with his ideas on many 
 subjects, and she occasionally asked questions 
 which started him off again when he came to a 
 pause. At last she exclaimed, " The music has 
 stopped, had we not better go upstairs ?" 
 
 *' It's a horrid bore. Look here. Miss Verner ; 
 will you give me the next dance but one ? I see 
 it's not filled on your card. It's a waltz. And 
 then we go down to supper. I'm engaged to 
 that little red-haired girl, Brooke's friend ; but I 
 will introduce another fellow to her." 
 
 <« Very well," said Stasie indifferently. 
 
 '^ Thank you," putting his initials against the 
 waltz, ^' that's all right. I protest it's a shame 
 to leave this quiet nook. Isn't it ?" 
 
 " Perhaps so. But one does not go to a dance 
 to sit in the corner of a conservatory all the 
 evening!" 
 
 '' Quite true ; but / would go to a dance any 
 night on those conditions, if you would sit it out 
 with me ! " 
 
 The compliment was so broad as to be nearly 
 rude, but the manner of saying it was frank, 
 almost boyish ; and Stasie took no notice, partly 
 because, as the words were spoken, she and her 
 
302 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 partner passed out of tlie conservatory on to the 
 first landing, and met Dr. Brooke face to face 
 going in with the before -mentioned little red- 
 haired girl on his arm. He must have heard 
 young Pearson's last words, as that gentleman's 
 voice was neither soft nor low. 
 
 Brooke gave Stasie a smile in passing, and she 
 returned it, thinking how terribly foolish she was, 
 for of course Dr. Brooke must be occupied with 
 his old friends. 
 
 It was not till after supper she found herself 
 again beside Mrs. Harding, who was sitting in 
 the smaller drawing-room beside an elderly lady 
 in a warlike -looking head-dress decorated with 
 red feathers. 
 
 '' It is getting late, Stasie," she said, '' and Mr. 
 Harding is impatient to go home, but I do not 
 like to take you away. Are you engaged for 
 many more dances ?" 
 
 "Only two or three more. Oh, do not go 
 away just yet ! Where is Mr. Harding ? I will 
 ask him to stay." 
 
 ''At present he is in no hurry; he is in the 
 supper-room." 
 
 Stasie looked at her card. The next dance — 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 303 
 
 a quadrille — was free, and then came three names 
 in succession ; then she must go. How soon it 
 would all be over, and to-morrow would be here, 
 cold, prosaic to-morrow ! Could she ever be quite 
 the same after the experience of to-night ? — the 
 revelation of her own importance in one direction, 
 her insignificance in another? For a moment 
 she was lost in thought, the next she was recalled 
 to the living, vivid present. 
 
 " I suppose you haven't a dance to spare for 
 me. Miss Verner?" said Dr. Brooke, coming up 
 from behind her. 
 
 '' Yes, I have just one," holding out her card, 
 and S23eaking with her natural frank ease, " and 
 you do not deserve that one for being so tardy 
 in asking for it !" 
 
 "Am I tardy?" he returned, taking the card 
 to write his name; "modest, you should say. 
 What am I, a mere tyro in ballrooms, that I 
 should presume to thrust myself among the 
 splendid youths who dispute your favour ? That 
 is the correct three-volume style, isn't it?" 
 
 " I think you are very ill-natured not to have 
 asked me before this if I am enjoying my first 
 party 1" 
 
304 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 *'A most unnecessary question/' said Dr. 
 Brooke laughing, ^^ when I see what I see ! You 
 look like the spirit of the ball — an unrelenting 
 spirit I suspect — ready to devour victims of high 
 9-nd low degree." 
 
 "Do you mean that it is all fish that comes 
 to my net," asked Stasie with spirit, for some- 
 thing in his tone, though light and pleasant, 
 struck her as different from that in which he used 
 to address her ; ''if so, why, thank you !" 
 
 " Well parried," said he, with mock gravity. 
 " Miss Yerner, you improve rapidly." 
 
 " Improve ! " said Stasie, looking straight into 
 his eyes with^a serious puzzled expression ; " you 
 mean something quite different !" 
 
 Here the music struck up ; Brooke offered her 
 his arm to join the couples already assembling, 
 and as they passed a long mirror he paused, and 
 pointing to her reflection in it, said, laughing, 
 " A creature like that need not fear much fault- 
 finding !" There was real admiration in his eyes 
 as he spoke, yet Stasie felt wounded, disappointed, 
 indignant, and for once too perplexed for a ready 
 reply. Brooke, thinking she had taken in the 
 flattery, which had a certain amount of surface- 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 305 
 
 truth, made profound reflections on tlie intense 
 conceit of women in general ; of the terrible 
 counterpoise which it formed, even to intellectual 
 abilities beyond the average. Better a plain, 
 commonplace girl, not likely to be tempted into 
 forgetting the delicate timidity so essential to 
 female character, than a brilliant creature whose 
 vanity betrays her into clandestine meetings with 
 such a fearful cad as that Mathews I " And 
 with all my common sense I had begun to idea- 
 lise her ! At any rate she is far too attractive 
 to quarrel with." Dismissing his philosophic 
 thoughts, Brooke made himself very pleasant. 
 He could talk well when he liked, though slightly 
 sarcastic, and Stasie found him more amusing 
 than usual, but certainly not so nice. All through 
 the dance, Stasie did not know why, but his talk 
 oppressed her. There was a change in him which 
 she felt keenly, but could not define. 
 
 When the quadrille was over he led her back 
 to the place where they had left Mrs. Harding, 
 but she had disappeared. 
 
 *' She will return no doubt to look for you," 
 said Dr. Brooke ; and he sat down beside his 
 partner. There was a moment^s silence, when 
 
 VOL. I. 20 
 
306 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 sometliing prompted Stasie to speak of her note 
 to him ; perhaps an unconscious desire to pierce 
 through the screen of careless civility and light 
 bright talk, behind which his real self had re- 
 treated. 
 
 " I suppose you had my note, Dr. Brooke. I 
 was so afraid you might have mentioned having 
 met me with Bob Mathews." 
 
 '' Yes, I had it," he replied, looking Avith no 
 small surprise at her open, unembarrassed coun- 
 tenance. " Did you expect a reply ?" 
 
 ''Oh no ! it would have been awkward if a 
 note to me had been seen in your writing. I 
 daresay you thought it rather strange of me to 
 write to you, but you see it was the only means 
 I had of warning you not to tell !" Brooke still 
 looked and listened in surprise. She spoke quite 
 easily without downcast eyes or blushes. "It 
 won't long be a secret, and then you may say 
 what you like ; but for the present I do not want 
 any one to know. I have not even told Mrs. 
 Harding." 
 
 '' In that I am sure you are wise," said Brooke 
 drily. 
 
 "Yes," said Stasie, misunderstandinoj him. 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 307 
 
 " It does not do to get her into a scrape with Mr. 
 Harding ; he will be awfully angry when it all 
 comes out, but then / am not his wife, so it does 
 not matter. He will never speak to me as he 
 would to her." 
 
 " Indeed 1" returned Brooke. " I do not know 
 which to admire most, your consideration for your 
 friend or the simple directness with which you 
 carry out your plans ! " 
 
 His tone was so unsympathetic, so hard, that 
 Stasie felt impelled to put herself right with him. 
 She had grown to believe firmly in his superiority, 
 in his sound judgment ; perhaps he thought she 
 was wrong to have written to him ! she would 
 tell him all. " I will tell you all about it," she 
 said, blushing now, and raising her dark eyes, 
 moist and entreating, expecting an encouraging 
 smile. She met a smile, certainly, but not an 
 encoura^ino: one. 
 
 " Pray do not confide any romantic secrets to 
 me. Miss Yerner ! I am far too commonplace a 
 fellow to be worthy of them ; besides, I have no 
 shadow of right to any explanation from you. 
 Of course your commands as to secrecy will be 
 implicitly obeyed ; " and Brooke paused, thinking 
 
308 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 liow well lie had kept himself clear of Miss Yer- 
 ner's schemes and coquetries. 
 
 She looked at him in surprise, then flushed 
 crimson, and said, '' You are quite right, I will 
 not trouble you !" 
 
 " Here comes one of your cavaliers!" exclaimed 
 Brooke, ^' eagerly searching for his lost princess ! 
 I must resign you, and bid you good-night too. 
 I see Mrs. Marsden is looking for me ; I promised 
 to see her and her daughters home." 
 
 ** Good-night," said Stasie, mastering as best 
 she could a horrible choking sensation in her 
 throat, while an overwhelming sense of shame 
 and degradation made the blood tingle in her ears 
 and quiver in her lips. To have offered her con- 
 fidence and have it rejected with such polite mock- 
 ery ! What a fool she was, and how ignorant of 
 the usages of society! How was she to learn 
 them ? who would teach her ! 
 
 Her new partner found her silent and distrait, 
 and by no means so fascinating as young Pearson 
 proclaimed her to be ; and, the dance over, Stasie 
 declared she was quite tired out, turned a deaf 
 ear to Mr. Pearson's entreaties that she would 
 wait for one more waltz, found out Mrs. Harding, 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 309 
 
 who was rather anxious to return home, and 
 finally unearthed Mr. Harding, who was dosing in 
 the card-room. 
 
 The sense of deep mortification still clung to 
 Stasie when the morning light broke in upon her 
 slumbers next day. It was none the less deep be- 
 cause it was modified by the introduction of a new 
 ingredient. She was angry with herself, but still 
 more so with Dr. Brooke ; she was also alarmed 
 and ashamed to perceive, in the introspection 
 which the change in his manner induced, that 
 she had grown quite fond of him — on the verge of 
 fallino^ in love with him ! A man who had never 
 sought her, — who had never shown her the slight- 
 est lover -like attention, — only a quiet, gentle, 
 almost condescending interest in her crude ideas. 
 She might well be ashamed of such weakness ! 
 she had always despised and pitied the women 
 she had read and heard of who had given their 
 love unsought. It was always incomprehensible 
 to her that such a thing could be, and here she 
 was almost over the precipice herself. Is it pos- 
 sible that Dr. Brooke — exjDerienced man of the 
 world as he was — perceived what she now began 
 
310 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 to suspect, and took this method to save her from 
 throwing herself at his head ! It was too madden- 
 ing ! She wished she could scourge herself with 
 scorpions ! She would have willingly seared her 
 heart with hot irons could she thereby have 
 obliterated the consciousness of this degradation. 
 That she could surmount and subdue it she did 
 not doubt ; but how should she prove her strength 
 and indifference to Dr. Brooke ? Time would 
 show. 
 
 She must be up and doing ; she would not be 
 idle any longer ; she would press on Mr. Harding 
 and Kharapet the necessity of preparing for her 
 travels with Aunt Clem. She would see her aunt 
 that very day, plan out their tour, and make an 
 estimate of its cost, so as to be ready for all 
 objections. It was too bad that she should be 
 thus obliged to fight for her rights ! iliat came of 
 her loneliness ; but she would show them {i.e. 
 Messrs. Kharapet, Harding, and Wyatt) that she 
 could hold her own, and if she could not get her 
 own way quite, at any rate she would make 
 herself supremely disagreeable. In this irritable 
 and belligerent mood she descended to breakfast, 
 which she found half over. 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 311 
 
 "So here you are at last!" exclaimed Mr. 
 Harding, who was looking thundery. " You'll 
 find the tea cold, and the butter hot, for the ice is 
 all melted!" 
 
 " I don't care in the least," said Stasie. " How 
 are you, Mrs. Harding ? I hope you are not very 
 tired " 
 
 " I am sure I am!" exclaimed Mr. Harding. 
 '*How rational beings can encourage such fooleries 
 and waste their money is more than I can under- 
 stand 1 I cannot put up with any more of it. 
 These cursed dissipations which interfere with the 
 comfort of the family bread-winner ought not to 
 be encouraged. I had to wait nearly half an 
 hour for Mrs. Harding this morning before I 
 could get a cup of tea !" 
 
 " And could you not pour it out yourself for 
 once 1" cried Stasie. " I protest if I ever marry 
 I will marry some poor man, and then according 
 to your theory, Mr. Harding, he will have to 
 get up and pour out my tea, because my money 
 will buy the bread." 
 
 " I think your head has been turned with all 
 the damned nonsense of last night," returned Mr. 
 Harding rather testily. 
 
312 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 Mrs. Harding looked surprised. 
 
 " Not at all, I am quite logical — the toast, 
 please,^' said Stasie. 
 
 Mr. Harding took refuge in the Times, Stasie, 
 being really independent of him, and, moreover, 
 that sacred thing, " a woman of fortune," he did 
 not feel disposed to bluster and swear as usual. 
 
 After a few minutes' silence Mrs. Harding 
 began to talk of the people they had met the 
 evening before, interrupted now and then by 
 inarticulate growls indicative of disapprobation 
 from her husband. 
 
 At length he exclaimed, " "What a blank 
 nuisance that Mrs. Parker is dead — died three 
 days ago !" 
 
 ^' Who is Mrs. Parker?" asked his wife. 
 
 '* Oh, you never know anything," he said 
 roughly. '' She had agreed to take one of my 
 Sefton Park houses on lease, and everything was 
 ready for her signature when she came back to 
 town. She had gone to the Isle of Wight for 
 change of air, and now she is dead. I wonder if 
 her daughter will take it, or if she is in any way 
 committed. I must see Williams. I thought I 
 had a capital tenant. It's. a blank nuisance," he 
 
THE EXECUTOR, 313 
 
 repeated, and soon after he rose from table. '* If 
 Kharapet comes here to-day don't ask him to 
 dinner," he said. *' I want to have one evening 
 in peace. It's all very well now and then, but, 
 by George, the fellow lives here ; and," to his 
 wife, " you had better begin to think seriously 
 of going out of town. Look about you, and look 
 alive ; don't leave everything to be hurried and 
 scrambled at the last, as usual. Time is money 
 — you must never forget that',' going to the door 
 and opening it. " Hullo ! Here's a long scratch 
 on the panel — a scratch as if done with a pin on 
 purpose ! Look here ! Don't you care enough 
 about your house to get up and see the mischief 
 those blank, blank, careless servants do V 
 
 Mrs. Harding rose hastily and went to the 
 door. " Yes, it is provoking ; but the scratch is 
 not very deep — you can only see it in a particular 
 light." 
 
 " You would never see it in any light ! Now 
 I expect you to find out who is responsible for 
 that door by the time I return. I'd have the 
 servants up myself only I must catch Williams," 
 and he left the room, closing the door noisily 
 behind him. 
 
314 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 Mrs. Harding returned to her seat witli a slight 
 sigh, and Stasie looked at her in wonder, not 
 untinged with contempt, at her amazing patience. 
 It was a bright, warm, summer morning ; the 
 open windows admitted the perfume of the 
 mignonette in the flower-boxes ; the water-carts 
 went slowly past, making a momentary fresh- 
 ness ; that especially summer cry, " All a-blowin' 
 and a-growin' " came repeatedly from itinerant 
 florists. All seemed full of joyous, sunny life 
 thought Stasie, yet how bitter and disappointing 
 were the realities which lay beneath. She was, 
 as we know, in a state of irritation, and she felt 
 especially wrathful against Mr. Harding, because, 
 for his wife's sake and also from a natural sense 
 of good-breeding, she had suppressed more than 
 one sharp speech that rose to her lips. It was 
 this sense of irritation that prompted her to the 
 unusual imprudence of saying to her hostess as 
 the outer door was audibly shut, *'Is he ever 
 pleased?" 
 
 " Sometimes, I believe,'' returned Mrs. Hard- 
 ing with rather a sad smile. "But he rarely 
 betrays it." 
 
 *' I know it is very rude and wrong of me to say 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 315 
 
 it, dear Mrs. Harding ; but idiy are you always 
 so sweet and patient \ I am sure it would do you 
 both so mucli good if you fired up sometimes." 
 
 Mrs. Harding shook her head. *' I daresay it 
 would be better for Mr. Harding to have married a 
 woman of stronger character than myself, but as 
 for me, I shall never get out of my groove nowy 
 
 Stasie forced herself to be silent. She had 
 long perceived the bitter bondage in which her 
 friend was held, but to-day she was disposed to 
 champion all the oppressed, and hit the oppressors 
 hard. However, she contented herself by cross- 
 ing to where Mrs. Harding sat and kissing her 
 brow. " It is too fine to stay indoors," she said. 
 " I will go out with the children. Let me take 
 them into the Botanic Gardens. Nurse need not 
 come. I mean Willie and Ethel — I cannot quite 
 manage Johnnie." 
 
 '' Thank you, dear. I have some shopping to 
 do and will take him with me. After luncheon 
 I am going to call on Mrs. Marsden. Will you 
 come with me ?" 
 
 " No, thank you. I want to spend the after- 
 noon with my aunt." 
 
316 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 The open air, the bright sunshine, the neces- 
 sity of listening and attending to her young 
 companions did Stasie good. She returned to 
 the house graver, more composed, and most 
 firmly resolved to put Dr. Brooke out of her head 
 and heart. She was not, she flattered herself, 
 the sort of girl to sit down and mope ; she would 
 fill the empty chamber of her heart with nobler 
 guests than had yet dwelt there, and take up 
 her life in earnest. 
 
 As soon as luncheon was over Mrs. Harding 
 went away to keep her appointment with Dr. 
 Brooke, who was to meet her at his friend's 
 house, and Stasie went to her room to dress for 
 her expedition. She had scarce reached it when 
 the servant overtook her with a card bearing the 
 name of 
 
 Mr. A. Vandaleur Pearson, 
 
 — th Lancers. 
 
 "Did you say Mrs. Harding was not at home?" 
 asked Stasie, feeling vexed at this interruption. 
 
 "Yes'm, and then the gentleman asked for 
 you." 
 
 " I will put on my hat and go down ; he will 
 not stay long if he thinks I am going out.'^ 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 317 
 
 Mr. Pearson met Stasie with many apologies 
 for detaining her, but he was the bearer of a 
 note to Mrs. Harding, the contents of which 
 he knew — perhaps Miss Verner woukl open and 
 answer it. 
 
 "I don't quite like to open Mrs. Harding's 
 note,'' said Stasie, hesitating. 
 
 " You needn't mind, it is about yourself," cried 
 the young lancer eagerly ; whereupon Stasie 
 opened it and read. It asked dear Mrs. Harding 
 if her charming young friend would like to accom- 
 pany the writer to the opera on the following 
 evening, as she had a box and a place therein 
 very much at Miss Yerner's service, " if Mrs. 
 Harding would allow her to join their party." ^ 
 
 Youno; Pearson watched her as she read, think- 
 ing how awfully well she looked in a large gray 
 straw hat, turned up at one side, and lined with 
 velvet of the same colour, though she was so much 
 paler than last night. 
 
 " How very good of your mother ! " cried Stasie, 
 looking up from the note ; " pray thank her for 
 me. I should like so much to go, but I cannot 
 say yes or no till I have seen Mrs. Harding, 
 though I am sure she will allow me. I will write 
 
318 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 this evening directly I see her, if Lady Pearson 
 will be so kind as to keep the place open." 
 
 " Yes, of course she will ; I'll answer for that. 
 Ho]3e you are not very tired this morning, Miss 
 Verner ? " 
 
 "A little," said St asie; "but I enjoyed the dance." 
 
 " So did I ; never enjoyed a dance so much 
 before. I suppose I must not keep you — you are 
 going out ? " a little entreatingly. 
 
 " Yes, I am going to see my aunt, who has 
 been ill, and " 
 
 "Mr. Kharapet!" said Jane, throwing open 
 the door. 
 
 Mr. Vandaleur Pearson looked a little sur- 
 prised as Hormuz came in with his softly gliding 
 step and graceful bow. 
 
 A gleam of startled anger flashed in his eyes 
 when he found Stasie tete-a-tete with a fashionable 
 good-looking young man. 
 
 '' Oh, Hormuz," cried Stasie with easy famili- 
 arity, " I am going to Aunt Clem's ; will you come 
 with me ? " 
 
 " Yes, certainly ; I am at your service." Mr. 
 Pearson, not being asked to sit down, thought he 
 had best bow himself out. 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 319 
 
 " I will be sure to write this evening," said 
 Stasie, shaking hands with him. 
 
 " Pray do ; sorry not to have seen Mrs. Hard- 
 
 ing." 
 
 "Who is that young man?" said Hormuz 
 solemnly, as the door closed upon him. 
 
 " Mr. Pearson — Sir Frederic's son. I danced 
 with him last night. Isn't he nice ? He has 
 l)rought me an invitation from his mother to go 
 to the opera ! so very kind of her ! " and Stasie 
 went across the room to place it in Mrs. Harding's 
 blotting-book. 
 
 Kharapet felt giddy with a spasm of rage and 
 fear. If these insolent young swells and their 
 designing mothers had begun to gather round 
 Stasie, might they not rob him of what he looked 
 upon as his legitimate property — his undoubted 
 right. Deep in his inmost heart he vowed that 
 no one should take her or hers from him; all 
 hesitation — all memory of Mr. Harding's counsels, 
 were swept away by the wave of fear and passion 
 that swept over him. 
 
 " Stasie," he said. Something in his tone 
 startled her ; she turned quickly. He was standing 
 bv the sofa, his hand resting on the back; he 
 
320 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 looked deadly white, his large black eyes fixed on 
 her with an expression of pain. 
 
 " What is the matter ? are you ill ? " and she 
 came over to him in some anxiety. 
 
 ^' I am sick to death for love of you ! " he ex- 
 claimed in a hoarse voice, *' It kills me to see 
 other men near you." 
 
 Stasie stepped back in dismay — there was a 
 pause. 
 
 " Do you hear me," he began again almost 
 harshly. *^ I love you ! you must be my wife, 
 Stasie ! " then, as she stood overpowered with 
 averted eyes, blushing to the roots of her hair 
 with distress, nay, horror, at this unexpected out- 
 burst, Kharapet came nearer, thinking she was 
 only surprised, that after a few moments to take 
 in his words, she would confess that she now 
 knew she also loved him. *'You seemed an 
 angel to me," he went on, pressing his slender 
 hands together. "An angel of light and loveli- 
 ness from the first, and now ! I cannot live with- 
 out you ! You possess my soul ! And you do 
 not hate me, Stasie? You have always kind 
 words and looks for me ! Promise to be my 
 wife, my love, my rose ; give me those fair hands 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 321 
 
 and sweet lips and lovely eyes, and I will be 
 your slave. You shall do what you like I and 
 if you trust your money with me I will double 
 and treble it before long ! You shall have jewels 
 and beauteous raiment, for all that I have is and 
 will be yours ! Say you will love me, Stasie." 
 He stretched out his arms with a sudden pas- 
 sionate gesture, almost touching her. 
 
 Stasie, shrinking away, felt she must speak. 
 She was frightened, but also grieved ; there was 
 unmistakable sincerity in his voice and eyes. 
 
 " Oh ! I am so grieved, Hormuz. I wish you 
 did not care about me. Of course I like you, 
 you have been so good to me, but I always con- 
 sidered you a sort of — of uncle. I do not want 
 to marry any one ! I could not." 
 
 "Ah! sweetest! that is but a young girl's 
 unawakened fancy. Let me teach you, beloved, 
 how to love." 
 
 "You shall do nothing of the kind," cried 
 Stasie with a sudden sharp repulsion. "That 
 is," regretting her own abruptness, " I do not 
 think you could ! I don't mean to say I will 
 never marry, but 1 am quite determined to enjoy 
 a little freedom before I give it up. I am a 
 
 VOL. L 21 
 
322 THE EXECUTOR. 
 
 mere school-girl, too, and have to learn quantities 
 of things before I am fit to be married ! " 
 
 " Then let me hope/' said Kharapet, consider- 
 ably chilled by her firmness, and almost haughty 
 avoidance of his touch ; " I will wait for you ! 
 You cannot be so hard and cold as to turn from 
 the natural joys of woman's life ; let me be your 
 friend until I can win your love ! " 
 
 " I shall always be glad of your friendship, 
 Hormuz," she returned, growing pale, while her 
 manner became colder and more composed. 
 " But do not think of love ; there are differences 
 of nature between us. Why, you would not be 
 happy with me. I like everything you dislike, 
 everything that there " — interrupting her- 
 self — " there is no use in talking about it ! Be 
 my friend, my valued friend, but never think 
 of being more." 
 
 " You shall not kill my hopes ! " exclaimed 
 Kharapet. "Promise me at least, to atone for the 
 pain, the agony you cost me, that you will keep 
 this conversation secret from all — from your 
 aunt, from Mr. and Mrs. Harding — may I trust 
 you, Stasie ? " 
 
 "You may! Indeed I would much rather 
 
THE EXECUTOR. 323 
 
 say nothing about it, and you — will you promise 
 to put the thought of me out of your mind ? " 
 
 Kharapet bowed his head with an air of de- 
 spondency, which touched Stasie. 
 
 ''Is there then no chance for me?" he said 
 slowly. 
 
 *' I must speak the truth, Hormuz, there^ is 
 none." Without a word he turned and crept 
 noiselessly out of the room. 
 
 END OF VOL, I. 
 
 Printed hy R. & R. Clakk, Edtnbiirgh. 
 

Ar>; 
 
 1^ 
 
 Ld^^.