pied. It
was his pleasure, however, and his pleasure was law.
Mlle. Olympe de Caumartin was greatly surprised when by merest chance
she discovered Hepworth Coleman making himself quite at home in a remote
room of the house. We have seen how she showed her confusion as she
stepped into the doorway and found herself face to face with the young
man. The glance that passed between them wrought a wonder in the heart
of each. I shall not say that they fell in love at first sight. Love
cannot be so accurately traced that its origin can be exactly found out
in any particular case. It is enough to record that Mlle. Olympe de
Caumartin caught something new, something sweet from that momentary
gaze, and shut it up in her heart involuntarily, with a thrill that
never again quite left her breast. She was back through halls and rooms
to her own boudoir, her cheeks and lips rosy with excitement, and a
gentle tremor in her limbs.
That evening in the library the Judge told his daughter that he had
given a suit of rooms in the farthest wing of the mansion to a wealthy
young gentleman from New York.
"I have had letters from Mr. Cartwright, my banker there, asking me to
take care of him, and this seemed the best I could do under the
circumstances. I did not see my way to bringing him any nearer to us. We
don't care to have another member added to our family, eh, Olympe,
dear?"
Mlle. de Caumartin blushed. She may have felt a touch of guilt because
she could not muster courage to tell her father that she had already
visited Mr. Coleman.
"I have not seen him yet," continued the Judge; "I thought it best to
let him have some rest before calling upon him. Cartwright advises me
that he is of an excellent family--a man to be given the greatest
attention, and for my banker's sake, if for nothing else, I must meet
the demand upon my hospitality. He came a fortnight earlier than I
expected; but I had Jules watching for him, and you know Jules never
fails."
"But you should have told me before, father dear," said Mlle. Olympe.
"Only a while ago, while wandering through the distant wing of the
house, I invaded this young gentleman's apartment. It surprised him
evidently as much as it abashed me."
"The obvious moral of which is," replied the Judge quickly, "that you
are hereafter to be more careful about what rooms you are stumbling
into." As he spoke his dark oval face, with its fine, grave smile, was
almost like a boy's. The flush tha
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