Part 41 (2/2)

”Yes Arirl's pale cheeks; her brown eyes expressed unadulterated joy Marguerite, as studying her closely, was conscious that her poor aching heart went out to this exquisite child, the far-off innocent cause of so much misery

Jeanne, a little shy, a little confused and nervous in her uerite to sit Her words came out all the while in short jerky sentences, and frolances at Arive uerite, whose sie's confusion; ”but I was so anxious about my brother--I do not knohere to find hi?”

”Oh, no! But what uessed,” said Marguerite with a smile ”You had heard about h whom? Did Armand tell you about ht, since you, mademoiselle, came into his life; but many of Armand's friends are in Paris just now; one of them knew, and he told me”

The soft blush had now overspread the whole of the girl's face, even down to her graceful neck She waited to see Marguerite comfortably installed in an armchair, then she resumed shyly:

”And it was Armand who told me all about you He loves you so dearly”

”Ar children e lost our parents,” said Marguerite softly, ”and ere all in all to each other then And until I married he was the man I loved best in all the world”

”He told lishland too At first he always talked ofthere with hiether”

”Why do you say 'at first'?”

”He talks less about England now”

”Perhaps he feels that now you know all about it, and that you understand each other with regard to the future”

”Perhaps”

Jeanne sat opposite to Marguerite on a low stool by the fire Her elboere resting on her knees, and her face just noas half-hidden by the wealth of her brown curls She looked exquisitely pretty sitting like this, with just the suggestion of sadness in the listless pose

Marguerite had coirl, who in a few brief days had stolen not only Ariance to his chief, and his trust in hiht, when she had seen her brother sneak silently past her like a thief in the night, she had nurtured thoughts of ill-will and anger against Jeanne

But hatred and anger had uerite, with the perfect understanding born of love itself, had soon realised the chare must of necessity exercise over a chivalrous, enthusiastic nature like Arest perhaps that exists in a good man's heart--would draw hireat, appealing eyes, and the look of pathos that pervaded the entire face Marguerite, looking in silence on the--dainty picture before her, found it in her heart to forgive Ar his chief when those eyes beckoned to him in a contrary direction

How could he, how could any chivalrouscrushed and drooping in the hands of e nor purity? And Armand had been more than human, or mayhap less, if he had indeed consented to leave the fate of the girl whom he had sworn to love and protect in other hands than his own

It seeuerite's gaze, for though she did not turn to look at her, the flush gradually deepened in her cheeks

”Madeently, ”do you not feel that you can trust irl, and Jeanne slowly turned to her

The nextthe beautiful kind hands that had been stretched out to her with such sisterly love