Prosper folded the letter. He was conscious of a faint feeling of

sickness, of fear. Then he heard Betty's step across the marble

pavement of the hall. She parted the heavy curtains, drew them

together behind her, and stood, pale with joy, opening and shutting

her big eyes. Then she came to meet him, held him back, listening for

any sound that might predict interruption, and gave herself to his

arms. She was no longer pale when he let her go. She went a few steps

away and stood with her hands before her face, then she went to sit by

the tea-table. They were both flushed. Betty's eyes were shining under

their fluttering lids. Prosper rejoiced in his own emotion. The mental

Advertisement..

fog had lifted and the feeling of faintness was gone.

"You've decided not to break away altogether, then?" she asked, giving

him a quick glance.

He shook his head. "Not if what you have written me is true. I've had

such letters from you before and I've grown very suspicious. Are you

sure this time?" He laid stress upon his bitterness. It was his one

weapon against her and he had been sharpening it with a vague purpose.

"Oh," said Betty, speaking low and furtively, "Jasper is fairly

caught. I have a reliable witness in the girl's maid. There is no

doubt of his guilt, Prosper, none. Everyone is talking of it. He has

been perfectly open in his attentions."

Every minute Betty looked younger and prettier, more provoking. Her

child-mouth with its clever smile was bright as though his kiss had

painted it.

"Who is the girl?" asked Prosper. He was deeply flushed. Being capable

of simultaneous points of view, he had been stung by that cool phrase

of Betty's concerning "Jasper's guilt."

"I'll tell you in a moment. Did you destroy my letter?"

He shook his head.

"Oh, Prosper, please!"

He took it out, tore it up, and walking over to the open fire, burned

the papers. He came back to his tea. "Well, Betty?"

"The girl," said Betty, "is the star in your play, 'The Leopardess,'

the girl that Jasper picked up two Septembers ago out West. He has

written to you about her. She was a cook, if you please, a hideous

creature, but Jasper saw at once what there was in her. She has made

the play. You'll have to acknowledge that yourself when you see her.

She is wonderful. And, partly owing to the trouble I've taken with

her, the girl is beautiful. One wouldn't have thought it possible. She

is not charming to me, she's not in the least subtle. It's odd that

she should have had such an effect upon Jasper, of all men...."




Most Popular