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 SKC. 15. Books may be taken from the Library by the 
 iiH-mbi-r- <>f the Legislature and its officers during t he 
 session of the same, and at any time by the Governor and 
 the officers of the Kxecutive Department of this State, 
 who are required to keep their offices at the seat of 
 government, the Justices of the Supreme Court, the At 
 torney-General and the Trustees of the Library.
 
 ft
 
 LUCIA: HER PROBLEM 
 
 BY 
 
 AMANDA M. DOUGLAS. 
 
 AUTHOR OF " WITH FATE AGAINST HIM," " IN TRUST," ETC., 
 
 Jf all want sense, 
 God takes the text and preacheth patience. 
 
 GEORGE HERBERT. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 SHELDON & COMPANY. 
 
 1872.
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, In the year 1871, by 
 
 SHELDON & COMPANY. 
 In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 
 
 Novels by 
 Miss Amanda M. Douglas. 
 
 "WITH FATE AGAINST HIM. 1 Vol. \2rno, Price $1.50- 
 LUCIA : HKR PROBLEM. 1 Vol, Vlmo, Price $1 .50. 
 
 STEREOTYPED BT 
 
 WILLIAM McCREA & CO. 
 
 NBWBUBQH, H. T.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAS*. 
 A Mystery 5 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 Mr. Thorndike .16 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 What it cost . 27 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 The Dorcas 37 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 Afterward 51 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 Showing Hands 65 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 The Golden Side . 78 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 Summer 87 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 Among Shadows . .97 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 Taking Counsel 108 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 With the Tide 119 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 By Night . . 129 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 The Tree of Knowledge 141
 
 4 Contents. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Friend or Foe 150 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 Loitering on the Brink. 161 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 Through the Sea 174 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 In the Desert 185 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 Fighting Fate 197 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 Desperation 207 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 Crowned with Rue 219 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 Rest and Refuge 230 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 Facing Destiny 246 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 Girt by Fire 257 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 Against the Tide 268 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 Going Back .282 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 Out of the Shadow 293 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 The New Dawn 300 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIH. 
 Autumn Blooms .... . 307
 
 LUCIA: HER PROBLEM. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 A MYSTERY. 
 
 "M 
 
 IV J. here to supper. Rachel, I depend upon you to 
 have every thing in order." 
 
 Rachel Garth bowed her head at these words of her father. 
 
 " And you may as well have a fire built in the best room, 
 I think." 
 
 " The best room ! " exclaimed a young, fresh voice in 
 strong contrast with the other, for whereas his was cold and 
 leaden, without an atom of elasticity, hers had a ringing, buoy 
 ant sound. 
 
 " The best room, I said to your sister. " 
 
 There was a very decided rebuke in the tone, and some 
 thing more a kind of astonishment that any one, most of all 
 this child that Mr. Garth had striven day and night as it were, 
 to reduce to a state of passive obedience, should express the 
 slightest remark upon any command he chose to utter. 
 
 Mr. Garth had just risen from the dinner-table. He walked 
 to the fireplace now, and standing with his back to it, crossed 
 his hands in the warmth of the blaze, for it was a chilly No 
 vember day, and though he was not cold, he would soon have 
 to breast its inclemency. Then he glanced around and his eye 
 fell reprovingly upon his youngest daughter. 
 
 " Lucy," he said sternly, " you would commend yourself
 
 6 Lucia; Her Problem. 
 
 more to any proper and judicious person by keeping your hair 
 in better order. Those untidy ends flying about are very an 
 noying to me. How often must I speak of it ! The Apostle 
 Paul especially discountenances outward adornment and plait 
 ing of the hair " 
 
 Mr. Garth paused. In his zeal he had rather overstepped 
 the mark, becoming aware too late that plaiting of the hair 
 could not exactly apply to his daughter, who had allowed her 
 soft, golden-tinted curls to droop daintily behind one small ear 
 that looked as if it might have been sculptured. 
 
 Her quick brain caught at the blunder. She was in a 
 strange mood to-day, or she would not have dared to brave her 
 father the second time. 
 
 " I believe my hair is not plaited," she returned with an 
 almost flippant air. " Rachel's is. Turn round, Rachel, and 
 let father see the difference between braiding that you have to 
 do yourself, and curls that nature insists upon doing for you." 
 
 After Lucy Garth had uttered this she felt so thoroughly 
 frightened that she would have been thankful to have the floor 
 open and swallow her. In her childhood's days these out 
 breaks had been punished by being put in a dark room, sent 
 to bed supperless, or even the use of the rod. When she 
 thought of the blows he had given her, father though he was, 
 she hated him ! She used to set her little white teeth venge- 
 fully together at such recollections, and if she was a bitter, 
 faithless, satirical heathen, he had helped make her one. 
 
 " Lucy ! " 
 
 She could imagine the sensation of any one being shot 
 through with a bullet. She experienced a cold, terrible wound 
 somewhere that deprived her almost of breath. For disguise 
 it as she might, she still felt afraid of him. 
 
 " Will you never learn to show proper respect to your supe 
 riors, girl ? " 
 
 It would have done Mr. Garth a great deal of good if he 
 could have marched across the room and boxed his daughter's
 
 Lucia; Her Problem. 1 
 
 ears soundly. But the last time that he had indulged in this 
 parental liberty, nearly two years before, Lucy had turned 
 upon him with the passion of a tigress. 
 
 " If you ever dare to strike me again you will repent it. I 
 shall kill myself, and you will be a murderer ! How will you 
 answer that to my mother at the last day ? " 
 
 Her flashing eyes held him spell-bound. The threat possi 
 bly might have had some effect, for though many a time since, 
 the desire had been strong upon him, he had restrained him 
 self. 
 
 Lucy made no answer, but looked cold and sullen. Mr. 
 Garth turned around and warmed his face, which did not 
 need it, being hot and red with anger. 
 
 Then he gave some unimportant charge to his elder daugh 
 ter, who had risen from the table, and marched out pompously. 
 
 The room was large, but gray and cheerless looking. 
 Even the fire of logs blazing upon the hearth could not give it 
 a pleasant air. A dull hempen carpet covered the floor, and 
 this in turn was covered with a still more dismal square under 
 the table. The high mantel was surmounted with a pair of 
 brass candlesticks at the corners, and a snuffers and tray in 
 the centre. The wall was a hideous dingy yellow, the paint a 
 forlorn tint of drab, selected because it would not soil easily. 
 The window shades, and there were five in the room, were of 
 faded buff holland with faded drab trimmings. 
 
 If the master of the house inveighed bitterly against the 
 pomps and vanities of the world, he would have made but a 
 poor ascetic after all, for he was not given to stinting the inner 
 man. There was a remnant of demolished turkey upon the 
 table, flanked with oyster salad and various other delicacies. 
 The plates of pudding had been generous too, and the sauce 
 rich, if one could judge from that still floating on Lucy's al 
 most untouched plate. Mr. Garth liked good living, it must 
 be confessed. 
 
 I may as well pause here and describe these two girls.
 
 8 Lucia; Her Problem. 
 
 One was seventeen, the other seven-and-twenty. You woula 
 not fancy them sisters by any subtile trick of nature, though she 
 does sometimes indulge in far-reaching resemblances. They 
 had different mothers, which must account for the extreme dis 
 similarity, though there was much of the Garth about Rachel. 
 
 The first Mrs. Garth had been a hard-working, self-den) ing 
 woman, very religious also, of the severe type. Nothing ever 
 kept her away from church on Sunday mornings. In winter, 
 when the services were in the afternoon, she always went twice. 
 She read her Bible aloud in the evening, and there her outward 
 observances stopped. I think she meant to be honest and ear 
 nest, but her creed was narrow and her nature was narrower 
 still, if such a thing were possible. From Monday morning 
 until Saturday night she worked and saved. Not an idle mo 
 ment was allowed, not a penny, a candle end, or a pin was 
 wasted. Of course Mr. Garth prospered. He was one of the 
 proprietors of a large woollen mill at Dedham, a small, but 
 flourishing manufacturing town. 
 
 Perhaps in his early days he might have been made more 
 comprehensive and tender of soul, but he fell easily into his 
 wife's ways, and by practising them at the Mill, he considered 
 himself much the gainer. That he was a hard master I need 
 not tell you. 
 
 Four children were born to them. Mrs. Garth had peculiar 
 ideas about managing children. When she was through with 
 the most important of her morning's work she took up her babe, 
 washed, dressed and fed it, and deposited it again in the cra 
 dle. If it felt disposed to cry, it was allowed to cry until ex 
 hausted nature fell asleep. She would have no interference, 
 for she did not want her children spoiled. 
 
 Three of them found life too severe a struggle and gave it 
 up in mild wailing despair. This might have been Rachel's 
 fate, but her mother overworked herself too soon, and between 
 cold and fever, died. 
 
 Miss Garth came to keep house. She had never admired
 
 Lucia; Her Problem, 9 
 
 her sister-in-law, but in her way she was equally sharp and de 
 cided. Rachel was put out to nurse, as being the cheapest 
 way of solving the difficulty. 
 
 When the child was three years old her aunt married and 
 went West. Then arose strifes and heart-burnings, jealousies 
 and gossip in Dedham. Mr. Garth was a rich man, and not 
 too old to marry. Widows and spinsters were on the alert, 
 smiles, kind advice and attention were showered upon him, and 
 fondest love upon the child. 
 
 He surprised and angered the town very much by his sec 
 ond marriage. He went West to buy wool, and met with a 
 certain pretty Miss Mackenzie with whom he fell in love. It 
 must have been love, for he lost prudence, judgment, and 
 every quality that should be brought into requisition at such a 
 time. 
 
 He might have known that this gay, young thing would find 
 nothing entertaining or satisfactory in his dull life. He had 
 no right to ask her to share it unless he felt willing to make it 
 a trifle brighter for her sake. 
 
 She accepted him with a girl's romance. He was much 
 older, and therefore she could look up to him ; he was grave, 
 and it would be both a pleasure and duty to soothe and com 
 fort. His little girl was motherless, and her heart absolutely 
 yearned over the child, for she was fond of babies and childrea 
 Her uncle and aunt found that Mr. Garth was a well to do, re 
 sponsible man, and thought it a lucky chance for her. Six 
 months afterwards they were married. 
 
 To a girl who had done nothing for the first twenty years 
 of her life except to go to school, read, write letters, visit, attend 
 concerts, lectures and parties, make herself pretty and entertain 
 ing, and be petted on every hand, this was a great change. A 
 cheerless looking home, after all the old gayness and bright 
 ness, a cold, self-contained child whom no advances could win, 
 and a host of ill-natured critics that nothing could satisfy, bu/ 
 she never tried. 
 
 1* '
 
 10 Lucia; Her Problem. 
 
 Mr. Garth came to his senses and repented his marriage. 
 His home was not a comfortable one, contrasted with the past 
 reign. A servant was called in, and the ancient sisterhood 
 held up their hands in horror. " There had been no such thing 
 in poor Mrs. Garth's time ! " 
 
 Young Mrs. Garth longed to beautify inside and out. She 
 wanted the place newly furnished. She wanted pictures, and 
 vases for bouquets, and books. Mr. Garth would as soon havs 
 thrown his money into the sea. When she ordered the hired 
 man to uproot the rows of sunflowers and hollyhocks and lay 
 out regular flower-beds, he gave a doubtful and rather sneering 
 laugh, but it was never done. 
 
 Then she made another attempt at cultivating Rachel. She 
 had been used to happy, frolicsome children who did a hundred 
 naughty things, said they were sorry, and then straightway did 
 them over again. But they were loveable, had clinging arms 
 and soft, sweet lips, laughed and tumbled about and were a 
 constant pleasure and trouble. 
 
 . This precise little Rachel Garth was neither. A martyr- 
 faced child, who seemed a continual reproach, a being who 
 studied her catechism and psalms, went to church, and was 
 precociously religious. The sisters attended to her spiritual 
 welfare and pitied her for falling into the hands of such a hea 
 then as her step-mother. They even sympathized with Mr. 
 Garth, who was weak enough to concede that his marriage had 
 been a mistake. 
 
 So you may imagine that poor Mrs. Garth's days were mis 
 erable enough. She used to resolve sometimes that she would 
 run away, but she had no friends to shelter her now, and knew 
 not where to go unless she threw herself into the river, and she 
 fancied that she was much too wicked to die. Then her child 
 was born, and for awhile came blissful content 
 
 The first dispute was about the child's name. Mr. Garth 
 wished to call her Patience, after one of the earlier children 
 and his own mother. She insisted that it should be Lucia
 
 Lucia; Her Problem. 11 
 
 Mackenzie, and he declared that no child of his should have 
 such a name. Finally, after much disputing and tragic grief 
 on her part, a compromise was effected. The child was to be 
 called " Lucy Patience." 
 
 Mrs. Garth had learned to circumvent her husband. She 
 had been frank and open as the day when he married her, but 
 latterly she had gained some points in a less honorable fashion. 
 She gave in at last, and actually called the baby Patience in 
 its father's presence. 
 
 So they went to church. " Name this child," said the 
 clergyman. 
 
 She had slipped a bit of card in his hand before the cere 
 mony, and he had made himself master of the appellation. 
 Now she whispered it again. 
 
 " Lucia Mackenzie I baptize thee " 
 
 Mr. Garth was horror struck ! It was all over, and the 
 mother kissed her babe with devout thankfulness. That day 
 she asked her husband to give her enough money to support 
 herself and child and she would go away, for even purgatory 
 would be heaven compared with this place. 
 
 He actually hated her as much as his phlegmatic tempera 
 ment could be roused to hate. A mean, spiteful, underhand 
 way of thwarting and making her feel his power. She lived in 
 and for her child, and somehow he never dared interfere. 
 If he had ill-treated that in any way I am afraid she would 
 have murdered him, for her fury would have been like a tiger's. 
 
 The poor thing pined away, and no one ever saw it. At 
 last she died suddenly when Lucia was nine years old. God 
 was merciful to her, and kept the burden of her child's future 
 life from crushing her soul utterly at that moment. I think 
 He had infinite pity upon the warped and thwarted life that had 
 been made by man's cruelty to bring forth thorns instead of 
 roses. 
 
 Rachel was nineteen at this time, and her father's house 
 keeper. Rather above medium height, and not a bad figure
 
 12 Lucia; Her Problem. 
 
 if she had possessed a particle of taste. Her hair was dark, 
 soft, and very abundant ; her complexion decidedly good at 
 this time but at seven-and-tvventy, rough and sallow. Her 
 features were well enough, except that her lips were thin ; but 
 she had very peculiar and uncomfortable eyes, a sort of opaque 
 leaden blue, like her father's. 
 
 She was neat, energetic, without possessing quite the driv 
 ing spirit of her mother: economical, handy with her needle, 
 the pet of the Dorcas Society, and her father's pride, as far as 
 he could be proud of any thing that was not absolute gold. 
 She had never made any pretence of liking her step-mother : 
 and even before her death, could dissect her in a most admi- 
 r^ble way, for the entertainment of the sisterhood at the tea 
 drinkings. 
 
 But to Lucia, her mother's death was the knell of hope and 
 love. First, her long, golden ringlets were shorn but still 
 the ends obstinately insisted upon making countless curls, 
 which were an abomination. The dresses and aprons were 
 despoiled of their dainty ruffles, and a blue checked bib sub 
 stituted, for the child had altogether too much vanity. 
 
 There were some hard battles between her and her father 
 but she soon learned that there was no course save submission. 
 She was not conquered. She ground her teeth and waited. 
 For the las.t year she had been emancipating herself rapidly. 
 
 Her father had insisted now upon her being called Lucy. 
 She used to ridicule it with her keen sarcasm, and marked 
 every article of her clothing in full Lucia. There was a sort 
 of smothered, tacit war between her and the household. 
 
 After her father had left the room, she drew the next chair 
 nearer, and placing her small feet upon it, leaned back lazily. 
 A very pretty girl was Lucia Mackenzie Garth. Smaller and 
 slighter than her sister, and rounded with the perfection of Greek 
 sculpture. This coarse brown merino dress could not hide it ; 
 'and the plain linen collar was only a foil for the whiteness and 
 * graceful turn of the neck. She had one of those fair, flushing
 
 Lucia; Her Problem. 13 
 
 skins that was a subtle charm in itself. Her features were, 
 not altogether regular, but one only remarked the effect, which 
 was exquisite from the broad, low brow to the rounded dimpled 
 chin. Her eyes were very dark, and changed with every gust 
 of feeling. There was in them a wonderful capacity for pleas 
 ure or pain, an almost fierce hunger and a sort of caustic scorn. 
 It was a peculiar face, for it could soften radiantly or harden 
 to crystal coldness as the mood swept over her and it could 
 also flash and flame in a way that warned the beholder to be 
 ware of the volcano that might burst forth with a word. It 
 was this blaze that had cowed her father a time or two. 
 
 So you see she was not altogether defenceless and yet she 
 was one for whom you dreaded the battle of life. The rapid 
 manner in which she could traverse abysses of pleasure or pain 
 startled you ; for to such souls the strife is often fearful, the 
 victory and the crown come too late. 
 
 Rachel began to pile the plates together, and pack up cups 
 and saucers. She was quite thin now, which made her look 
 taller, and sallow, as I have said. Her really beautiful hair 
 was gathered at the back in a knot of braids, because it kept 
 smoothly and was less trouble. Her morning care of it lasted 
 the whole day. 
 
 She still retained much of the martyr-like look, and had 
 adopted a peculiar sniff caught at the Dorcas meetings. A 
 hard, cold, uncompromising woman, whose virtues were scarce 
 ly less exasperating than positive vices. 
 
 " Lucy," she said, with a certain asperity, " you had better 
 be carrying some of these dishes to the kitchen." 
 
 "What do we keep Hetty for? " 
 
 With that Lucy Garth took up her plate of pudding and be 
 gan to mince dainty little morsels. 
 
 "Lucy," her sister rejoined, in a tone of despair, "one 
 would think that you had been told times enough about that 
 habit. Father would not allow it even now." 
 
 " Well, he is not here," in a cool, indifferent voice.
 
 14 Lucia j Htr Problem. 
 
 " And you always were an eye servant" 
 
 Lucy's cheeks were scarlet at that. 
 
 " I am no one's servant ;" she flung out, angrily. 
 
 " No, you are a vain and indolent girl, disrespectful to fa 
 ther, and insolent to every one else. I have tried my best, I 
 am sure, to bring you up as a respectable girl should be reared 
 but you turn aside after evil continually. I've done my duty, 
 and I shall wash my hands of the matter. It must be settled 
 between you and father. 
 
 She gave her peculiar sniff, and turned away, with a tower 
 of plates and saucers surmounted by cups. The door being 
 shut, she had to set them down while Lucy trifled over her pud 
 ding, her eyes growing darker and darker. 
 
 " Yes, wash your hands," she returned, scornfully. " You 
 said once, Rachel, that my mother begged to go away, even if 
 it was into the cheapest retirement. I wish she had I wish 
 she had ! I think you and father both hate me for her sake ; " 
 wringing her hands. " Can I help being pretty ? and that's a 
 cause of offence to you and those maundering old women, who 
 are enough to set one's teeth on edge. Sometimes Tm tempted 
 to run away. I'd do well enough, I dare say ! I might marry 
 some one ! " 
 
 " Marry ! " With that there was a crash, and the steeple 
 of cups lay in fragments at Rachel's feet. 
 
 Lucy laughed. A provoking, elfish peal, that rasped Ra 
 chel's slow nerves. 
 
 " That's my fault, too, I suppose ? " 
 
 One peculiarity of Lucy Garth, was the readiness with 
 which her moods changed. A second ago, she was in a white 
 heat of passion ; now Rachel's woe-begone face, as she studied 
 the pieces upon the carpet, was too ludicrous. 
 
 " Laws a massy 1 Miss Rachel, what has that child been 
 doin' agin ? " 
 
 This was from Hetty, who put her head in the opening of 
 the door.
 
 Lucia; Her Problem. 15 
 
 " It wasn't me this time," announced Lucy, triumphantly. 
 
 Hetty began to scramble up the fragments. Rachel, with 
 out a word, carried the rest down to the basement kitchen. 
 Lucy rose and crossed to the window. 
 
 This fatal facility of change was her misfortune, perhaps. 
 Some days she worked herself up to that pitch of energy when 
 a different state of affairs brought about by her own will appear 
 ed possible. Then some trifling incident diverted her, and she 
 fell back into the restless, dissatisfied condition, where hanging 
 or drowning was an absolute temptation. And yet she was not 
 one of the kind who ever do commit suicide. 
 
 She drummed upon the greenish window-panes with her 
 slender, rosy fingers. The sky was leaden, the trees bare, and 
 some hard, round pellets of snow were blown about by the bit 
 ing wind. How miserable it was out there and how misera 
 ble it was within ! Life was a humbug, a flat, dreary, unevent 
 ful probation. Some girls married ; but here was Rachel, twen 
 ty-seven, and not one lover yet. Could she get out of this hate 
 ful round, by marrying? 
 
 What was Mr. Thorndike like ? He had been away five 
 years ; and she could hardly remember whether there was any 
 thing pleasant about him or not. He had an interest in the 
 business at least his father had left him some money invested 
 in it, but he had been out on Lake Superior, interested in a 
 copper-mine. What had brought him back ? Did Rachel like 
 him?
 
 16 Lucia : Her Problem. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 MR. THORNDIKE. 
 
 LUCY went up stairs presently, wrapped herself in an old 
 shawl, and curled up into a little round ball on the bed, 
 producing a surreptitious novel, and forgot her woes. Novels 
 were a rare luxury with her for Rachel's eyes were sharp at 
 discovery and then she had very few friends who indulged in 
 such questionable literature. This heroine was a very unwhole 
 some and unnatural specimen of humanity ; but the eyes of 
 seventeen are not over critical. Any thing of the kind was such 
 a treat to her, in her forlorn and solitary life. She had begun 
 to emancipate herself, it is true. With a father worth sixty or 
 eighty thousand, she had no fancy for toiling like a bond 
 woman ! 
 
 So while Hetty and Rachel scoured and moiled in the kitch 
 en she read, and dozed, and dreamed. Through it all, she 
 kept thinking " Mr. Thorndike is coming, and father has or 
 dered a fire in the best room." What did it mean ? How old 
 could he be ? Would it make any difference in their lives 
 hers and Rachel's ? 
 
 If she could have seen the difference that it was destined 
 to make ! I wonder but then we never can see, and we al 
 ways drift on to fate in a Mind, helpless sort of way. 
 
 She felt cold and shivering, so she ran down stairs. The 
 parlor door was open the merest space, for Rachel had found 
 it rather warm when the fire was once fairly going.
 
 Lucia; Her Problem. 17 
 
 Lucy ventured in. There sat Rachel, primmer than ever, 
 stitching wristbands for her father. Sewing-machines were her 
 abomination. 
 
 Rachel Garth looked neither young nor pretty. She should 
 not have been as old, hard, and weather-beaten for I know 
 of no other word to express the peculiar effects of sun, wind, 
 and toil at twenty-seven. Sitting there, she was the imper 
 sonation of an " old maid," with the absence of that grace and 
 tenderness which alone can bring the term into fair repute. 
 Lucy smiled in a little derision. 
 
 Ah, youth and beauty, you are too pitiless ! There are 
 cares and sorrows for you as well, trials and thorny paths, and 
 are you always brave, always wise ! 
 
 " I'm nearly frozen ! " 
 
 Lucy curled herself in the corner like a kitten. She 
 might have purred in content had the face opposite been a 
 cheerful one, for after all she was not hard to please. 
 
 Rachel sat uncompromisingly upright and sewed steadily. 
 
 " I suppose they will not be here until clear supper time ? " 
 
 This was so decided a question that Rachel answered stiff 
 ly, without raising her eyes 
 
 "You heard what father said." 
 
 Not minding, Lucy went on 
 
 " How old a man is Mr. Thorndike, Rachel ? " 
 
 " I don't know precisely'" she added" after a pause, for 
 she was conscientiously truthful where her feelings or judg 
 ment were not warped. 
 
 " Well, guess," rather impatiently. " Forty ? " 
 
 " I should think not so old." 
 
 " Thirty, then ? " 
 
 " Somewhere between. I am not sure." 
 
 "You are very provoking, /am sure." 
 
 " What is Mr. Thorndike to us, particularly ? " 
 
 " Oh, we might one of us want to marry him," in a flippant 
 manner.
 
 18 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 Rachel Garth turned pale when she was angry, and her 
 infrequent blushes were a kind of swarthy tint, as if her blood 
 could not be fine and clear. 
 
 " Lucy, you are growing too bold and forward. Father 
 would be shamed by your immodesty." 
 
 Lucy's cheeks were bright enough. 
 
 " Call things by their right names, if you please, Miss 
 Garth. A little girlish nonsense ! " 
 
 " I wish you were not so frivolous. The time may come 
 when your eyes will be clearer." 
 
 This with a sighing snifE 
 
 Lucy was getting not only thawed, but baked. She rose 
 suddenly and leaned her elbow on the mantel. Something 
 caught her eye, and she paused, her scarlet lips slightly apart, 
 and quivering with the unuttered retort. 
 
 Her father was coming up the garden path with the guest. 
 Mr. Garth turned to explain some matter, and Mr. Thorn- 
 dike stood quite still, so she had a fair view of him. 
 
 A rather tall man, moderately stout, with a fresh complex 
 ion, Jull, dark beard, and dark hair, worn quite long, inclined 
 to curl. Contrasting him with a few of the young men it had 
 been Lucy's privilege to meet at the Dorcas," he appeared 
 undeniably fine-looking. 
 
 "Oh! my goodness!" she exclaimed, in her girlish ex 
 citement ; "there they come, and I'm not dressed ! " 
 
 Rachel gave her a glance of stately reproof, as much as 
 to say "Whose is the fault?" 
 
 She flew up stairs, and then, tumbling in the middle of the 
 bed, burst into tears. It was only an ebullition of vanity. 
 For the last eight years of her life her father and sister had 
 striven with all their might to uproot it. They had cropped 
 her hair, made her wear the forlornest of old-fashioned gar 
 ments, preached and punished ; but, like a thistle root, here 
 it was firmly imbedded in the soil. 
 
 " If I only had any thing pretty to wear ! " she sobbed.
 
 Lucia; Her Problem. 19 
 
 It was a severe grievance to her. She liked beauty, and 
 sweetness, and grace. When she read of soft silks flowing 
 about some slender form, delicate laces, pearls, flowers in 
 one's hair, and all that, her heart was filled with longing. 
 And yet it was not all vanity. A rose or a bit of ribbon 
 would have answered her. 
 
 She dried her tears presently, and took down her two 
 last winter's dresses. A green and brown plaid delaine that 
 she hated, and a merino which had been dyed black. Be 
 sides, there was a shabby brown alpaca, and a faded drab 
 of the same material. This for a girl who might have forty 
 or fifty thousand in her own right ! No wonder that she 
 was angry ! Rachel had two silk dresses, a black and a 
 brown one. It was hateful and heathenish that she should go 
 so shabby ! 
 
 She basted a bit of edging at the neck and wrists of the 
 rather dingy merino ; but then the lace was real, and had been 
 her mother's. And this when she so loved dainty bits of 
 brightness and beauty ! After that she washed her face, and 
 let down her hair that had been confined in a thick net. 
 Rachel always bought them because they wore better. 
 
 And then a temptation flashed into her brain. Some 
 times, for pure pleasure, the forlorn child would curl her hair 
 in a mass of shining ringlets. It looked so lovely in its shim 
 mering golden sheen, and almost seemed alive. 
 
 She twisted the silken, soft mass idly around her fingers. 
 One by one she reeled them off, those lovely, graceful pen 
 dants. Her father had never tried the shearing process but 
 once, for while the effects of that lasted, the curls were a ne 
 cessity. No amount of brushing or soapsuds could subdue 
 the luxuriant crop. 
 
 " There's not one word said anywhere against curls," she 
 began, as if to fortify herself in her flagrant disobedience. 
 " And God made it if He made any thing " 
 
 She was beginning to doubt already; indeed, she had
 
 20 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 never believed in any thing but her dear, dead mother. 
 Heaven help and pity her ! 
 
 She put on her dress in a strange, defiant mood. Al 
 though she was chilly, and her small finger ends blue with 
 cold, her cheeks were in a glow of carmine, and her eyes like 
 deep wells, subtle, flashing, and dangerous. 
 
 Lucy Garth went straight down stairs and opened the par 
 lor door. Her father was not there. Mr. Thorndike was 
 seated in Rachel's vicinity talking quite earnestly, but he 
 paused, and looked. 
 
 " My sister," said Rachel, coldly. " Mr. Thorndike, Lucy." 
 
 He rose, bowed, and as a second thought, took her hand. 
 It was such a soft, tiny thing, and seemed to nestle like a 
 trembling bird in his. 
 
 " How cold you are ! " 
 
 " Am I ? " in the most musical of tones. " Oh ! only the 
 tips of my fingers. Do you know what I would do if I were 
 rich, Mr. Thorndike ? " 
 
 "No; what?" 
 
 " Have heaters, and all those lovely things for comfort." 
 
 She sighed, shook her ringlets with a sort of regal air, and 
 moved toward the fire. 
 
 Something else she did with those unfathomable eyes of 
 hers lured him across the wide room. Neglected Rachel 
 was nothing to her. 
 
 It was her first taste of a dangerous power, an intoxicating 
 draught that so many women drain to the bitter dregs, and at 
 last sit in the ruins of a heartbreak. 
 
 She came to her opportunity by a series of odd chances. 
 Her father, displeased at her absence, had gone to seek her. 
 Crossing the hall, he bethought himself of a charge to Hetty. 
 They must have green tea for the guest. While he was in the 
 kitchen, Lucy went down. Not finding her in her room, he 
 passed on to his, to put away some valuable papers. The key 
 to the small safe had been mislaid, and, after much searching,
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 21 
 
 he found it in his pocket, so it was not possible to take any 
 one else to task. 
 
 In the mean while Hetty had stuck her head in at the par 
 lor door, and summoned Miss Rachel. So Lucy and Mr. Thorn- 
 dike had the room to themselves. 
 
 He thought her wonderfully beautiful. The shabby merino 
 and real lace he never noticed, but the flashing hair, the beguil 
 ing eyes, the red and white of her bright young face was like a 
 picture. He had seen many pretty women too, but there was 
 an indescribable charm about this one. 
 
 Mr. Thorndike was a very commonplace man, and no hero, 
 though he appeared so to Lucy's inexperienced eyes. There 
 was not one noble or manly attribute in his whole soul. Still, 
 the world found no fault with him though he did make close 
 bargains. He was seven-and-thirty, and looked neither old 
 nor young He had a certain prompt business air that seemed 
 an indication of power to her and then she rather liked the 
 suggestion of mastery in his eyes. 
 
 Oh, youth, how credulous, how ready to venture the most 
 precious freight on an unknown sea without pilot or helmsman ! 
 Is it any wonder that wrecks are strewn along the shore ? 
 
 " So you wish you were rich ? " he said. " Why your father 
 has made a fortune." 
 
 "Does it benefit me any? Do you suppose that I shall 
 care for his hoarded-up thousands when he is dead and I am an 
 old woman ? Besides, my mother died young. Is a marble 
 tombstone the only glory, of life in death ? " 
 
 She said this with the air of a tragedy queen. Her face 
 was so impassioned, so full of expression ! 
 
 '* How strange you are ! " 
 
 " Oh, you judged me from my sister, I suppose." 
 
 I cannot describe all that she put in this short sentence. 
 Pity for him that he could see no more clearly a sort of sting 
 ing disdain for Rachel, and a sad isolation for herself. She felt 
 it all at the moment.
 
 22 Lucia : Her ProUtm. 
 
 "Oh, no ; you are very, very different." 
 
 " I wish I were like her," she began with a sudden fiery 
 vehemence. 
 
 " Do you ? I do not." 
 
 " As if it could ever make any difference to you. Mr. 
 Thorndike, such people are always the happier. They have 
 no yearnings beyond their commonplace life no fond tastes 
 to gratify, no ambitions. And they are always appreciated. 
 Rachel is father's favorite ; old Mr. Howe thinks her a saint ; 
 and the Dorcas Society fall down and worship her." 
 
 I am afraid much of the worship was because her father 
 was still a widower. 
 
 Half of Lucy's sentence was lost upon Mr. Thorndike. 
 Nevertheless, in return for the part he understood, he studied 
 her face, lovely and glowing as it was, in a vague way, and 
 asked, abruptly 
 
 " And you ? " 
 
 " Oh, I'm an inveterate heathen ! I have not a grace or 
 virtue in their eyes. Why, when I was a little girl, after my 
 own dear mother died, Rachel and father cut my hair close to 
 my head, to give it a religious tendency." 
 
 " A what ? " he exclaimed, in amazement. " Why I never 
 saw any thing so handsome ! " 
 
 " Then you don't think it wicked ? " 
 
 She asked this in an eager, heedless, childish fashion. He 
 twined one silken strand around his finger, and a thrill seemed 
 to quiver in every pulse. 
 
 " It was barbarous ! Cut it off!" 
 
 " It was poor mamma's pride," and her face saddened. 
 
 He wanted very much to take her in his arms and comfort 
 her so far had he gone already. And yet I don't know that 
 he was at all in love, only bewildered by the radiant vision. 
 . She possessed a peculiar magnetic power for so many of 
 her kind as could from any-occult cause be brought en rapport 
 with her. I do not say congenial spirits for these two found,
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 23 
 
 after awhile, that they had not the slightest feeling in common. 
 It was rather people whom she could influence. Perhaps the 
 dull earthworm feels the sunshine in a torpid way, though he 
 may not rejoice, gladsomely, as the butterfly. 
 
 Something of this crept over Mr. Thorndike, and with it a 
 consciousness that she was the injured party. 
 
 " Why don't they like it ? " he asked, in a wondering man 
 ner, as if he could not understand any one's objection to 
 beauty, since it could be had so cheaply. 
 
 " Oh, they all think it's wicked ! If I curled it myself now, 
 and spent hours over it, the case would be different. Are you 
 very religious, Mr. Thorndike ? " 
 
 There was enough in her face to tempt an anchorite. 
 
 " Why no not particularly. Of course I think it's a good 
 thing ; and my father, you know, was one of the elders. Yes, 
 it's a good thing " in a sort of hesitating way, as if he was 
 balancing his soul between her good opinion and some old 
 ideas that he was not quite ready to disavow. 
 
 " I liked mamma's. She used to teach me beautiful hymns 
 though I didn't go to church then. I hate those long prosy 
 sermons ! " and her eyes flashed. " It seems to me that 
 there's no love in it ; and somehow I don't believe St. John 
 could have loved the Saviour if He had been cold and cruel. 
 
 " No, of course ;" in a vague way, for it was like an un 
 known tongue to him. "But what's the old adage Love 
 begets love isn't it? That's my sentiments." 
 
 He gave a rather coarse laugh. It jarred upon her soul 
 but she was quite too heedless to attend to the admo 
 nition. 
 
 " Are you going to stay ? " she asked, after a pause, find 
 ing his stare somewhat uncomfortable. 
 
 " Stay ? " He had a great habit of repeating the last word, 
 as if he heard that the most clearly. " I've a lot of business 
 to do with your father. You know my father's money was 
 never taken out of the mill. To-morrow night I've promised
 
 24 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 to see a cousin at Fairfield yes, I suppose I shall stay for 
 some time." 
 
 " On Thursday there's to be a Dorcas meeting here," she 
 said slowly. " I wish you could come." 
 
 She felt impelled to attach him to herself in some peculiar 
 manner. 
 
 " Do you ? By Jove ! I'll come then. Excuse me," and 
 he flushed rather awkwardly ; that is, the sentiment and grace 
 of embarrassment were not there. 
 
 She was immensely flattered. That any man should apol- 
 ogiz2 to her for so mild a type of profanity seemed wonderfully 
 chivalrous. 
 
 " What do they do ? Let me see wasn't Dorcas a sort of 
 good woman who was followed to the grave by the clothes she 
 made I mean " 
 
 Lucy laughed. It was such an arch, beguiling laugh, that 
 it didn't hurt him at all. Indeed it seemed as if her rosy lips 
 had been made for sunny smiles. 
 
 She was rather delighted to find him going so easily astray 
 in religious biography. Why, the Dorcas women had every 
 thing at their tongues' end, from Eve's pomological experiment 
 to the brilliant and sinful attire of the Scarlet Lady. 
 
 " Yes I don't know but that it would be a gratification to 
 follow some of these to their graves. Oh, that's very wicked, 
 isn't it? Well, they sew together garments for the Feejee Isl 
 anders, and pull their neighbors apart. I don't believe the 
 first Dorcas did that. Then the gentlemen begin to come in, 
 and we have supper. After that it's a little gayer." 
 
 " Dancing and such, I suppose ? " 
 
 " Dancing ! " with a comical horror. " Oh, goodness, no ! 
 That would be going straight to destruction. But do you 
 dance, Mr. Thorndike ? It seems to me that it would be the 
 loveliest thing in the world. Tra la, tra la," she murmured in 
 her soft, untrained voice, exquisitely musical, and inclining her 
 nead until the shining curls were like a shimmering sea of gold.
 
 Lucia: Her Problem 25 
 
 "You'd like it," he commented, strangely roused. 
 
 " Like it ! Why, it would be a passion with me, and carry 
 away my whole soul ! " 
 
 Every nerve in her impulsive and vehement nature seemed 
 roused, her eyes were deep with some far light struggling to 
 the surface, her cheeks aglow, and her swelling lips quivering 
 with inward delight that was hardly anticipation. 
 
 The door opened and Rachel entered. She was shocked, 
 nay more, indignant. Half an hour ago it appeared to her that 
 she had left these two people in the same place, and here they 
 had laughed and talked, until now she dared to smile in his 
 face, and he took it approvingly. Like many another woman, 
 she did not blame him, it was Lucy's forwardness, her auda 
 cious boldness that she had tried to check at every turn. If 
 ever a sister had done her duty it was she, Rachel Garth ? 
 
 There was a deeper feeling than mere impropriety with her. 
 Five years before, when Warren Thorndike had come on to at 
 tend his father's funeral and look after the business, or the 
 money, he had been in the habit of dropping in quite fre 
 quently of an evening. Lucy in those days ate her supper of 
 bread and milk at five, and marched off to bed. If there was 
 company at any meal, she took hers in the kitchen. She 
 might have seen Mr. Thorndike, but he was as unfamiliar to 
 her as Adam. Rachel, however, had frequent opportunities. 
 She sat and sewed patchwork or knitted stockings, now and 
 then putting in a sage word. Her father considered her judg 
 ment remarkable. 
 
 She thought Warren Thorndike a very handsome young 
 man. If he had asked her, she would have been delighted to 
 marry him. He went away without asking her, however, and 
 though he seemed to take something out of her life, she worked 
 the harder to fill up the vacuum. 
 
 His coming back was most friendly. He shook her hand 
 in a very warm and earnest fashion, and began to talk of old 
 times. Lucy's thoughtless and unwomanly remark came back to
 
 26 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 her. Of course, if he married one of them, it would be her. 
 He was too sensible to take a wife twenty years younger than 
 himself; and then, too, she fancied that there was hardly a 
 man living who could make such a stupendous blunder as to 
 marry Lucy. All her faults, her indolence and frivolity, her 
 tempers, her impatience and utter lack of steady application 
 to any thing useful, were heinous sins in Rachel's view. I am 
 not sure but she considered her prettiness an evil and a snare. 
 All these things were so patent to her, her father, and the Dor 
 cas society, that she supposed all the world saw them with the 
 same eyes. 
 
 There was little love between these sisters, and none of 
 that tender grace that smooths over faults and failings. Rachel 
 would have considered that deception, and she prided herself 
 upon uncompromising truth. It never occurred to her that 
 some one, looking at her with similarly prejudiced eyes, might 
 work her woe as well. 
 
 "Supper is ready," exclaimed Rachel, staring at Lucy with 
 sternest disapprobation. " Where is father ? " 
 
 " I am sure I don't know," in a cool, insolent tone. 
 
 His step was heard at that moment. He had been lost in 
 a little business calculation, otherwise Lucy Garth would never 
 have gone to supper with the triumphant glory of those curls.
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 27 
 
 CHAPTER III. , 
 
 WHAT IT COST. 
 
 MR. GARTH glanced at his younger daughter with the ut 
 most incredulity, and for an instant forgot to say grace. 
 Even after he closed his eyes he could not collect his thoughts, 
 and groped and stumbled in a strange fashion for him. Then 
 Rachel began to pour the tea, and Mr. Thorndike passed the 
 bread. Rachel's housekeeping soul was delighted as she 
 viewed those thin slices of snowy bread with their crisp golden 
 brown edges. Hardly another woman in Dedham had such 
 luck, and everybody nearly begged a bit of her yeast cakes. 
 
 Mr. Garth felt strongly inclined to send Lucy away from 
 the table. He was afraid that she would make a scene, per 
 haps refuse to obey him, and he felt quite sensitive about his 
 authority. Then too he had been revolving another plan in 
 his mind, and he considered it wisest to be gracious. 
 
 They began to talk of the improvements in Dedham, the 
 rise in real estate, the new streets and factories. Now and 
 then Mr. Thorndike appealed to Lucy for the verification of 
 some statement. She felt herself quite extinguished, but she 
 still held a reserve card and a trump at that her beauty. 
 She warmed and glowed in the lamp light like some rare open 
 ing flower from tropical lands. Now and then she shook 
 a flood of golden waves over her drooping shoulders. Then it 
 was the gleam of her white, slender hand, the flash of her deep, 
 lustrous eyes. She felt in a mood of enchantment, as if indeed 
 she were acting a part, and so she was, early in life, poor child !
 
 28 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 Mr. Thorndike was by no means delicate or ethereal. 
 Every thing appealed in the strongest manner to his taste, the 
 preserves were richness, the cold tongue soft enough to melt 
 in one's mouth, the custard delightful, and the cake superb. 
 He allowed himself to be persuaded into a second helping of 
 fruit cake, it had just that damp fragrant deliciousness that he 
 liked. 
 
 Rachel watched him with a good deal of complacency. She 
 had a vague idea that the royal road to a man's heart was 
 through his stomach, and it did not lower him in her sight. 
 Lucy thought " if I should ever marry him, how nice it would 
 be to have Rachel come and keep house but I suppose she 
 wouldn't. I wonder if there are any splendid cooks to be had 
 in the world ! " 
 
 And then she smiled in that peculiar way as if richly satis 
 fied with some wandering fancy of her own.- 
 
 They rose presently, Mr. Garth seemed to grow pompous 
 and severe. 
 
 " Rachel," he commanded, " conduct Mr. Thorndike to the 
 other room. Lucy, I wish to see you a few moments." 
 
 She raised her eyes to Mr. Thorndike like some wild, shy 
 thing, haunted to the last covert. Her lips quivered, and her 
 eyes seemed fairly to throb, as if they were tremulous with a 
 distinct life. But he could not translate their meaning it 
 was so much Sanscrit to him. 
 
 Rachel cast a longing glance at her china, but she obeyed 
 with a feeling of gratification that Lucy was about to be taken 
 to task for her high crimes and misdemeanors. 
 
 Mr. Garth approached her, and his greenish eyes fairly 
 glared. He caught Lucy by the shoulder and shook her. 
 
 " How dare you ! " he began in a low hoarse voice, his face 
 white with passion. " How dare you, after what I said ? " 
 
 Her insolence and effrontery were gone. Her heart beat 
 with great frightened bounds, and every nerve shrunk from the 
 contact.
 
 Lucia : Her Prcblem. 29 
 
 "How dare you ! disobedient and ungrateful child. If the 
 Lord was just He would cut you off in your sins ! Beware, 
 lest at the last, like another evil-doer, you find no place for 
 repentance !" 
 
 "He is more merciful than you," she could not help 
 replying. 
 
 The eyes glared fiercely upon her again. He was amazed 
 that she ventured to speak. 
 
 " I tell you, Lucy Garth, that I'm master of this house, and 
 master of you until you are eighteen. I will be obeyed. 
 Brave me once again in this matter and you'll find that it is at 
 your cost ! You'll repent it bitterly ! " 
 
 Oh, she was sick at heart, weak, miserable ! She was pay 
 ing dear for her trifling bit of vanity. If she could run away 
 drown herself even ! 
 
 " You'll rue it, I tell you ! You're given over soul and body 
 to the evil one, and if no one stood by to pluck you as a brand 
 from the burning, you'd go straight on to destruction. No 
 child of mine shall walk in the broad path of evil without my 
 voice being raised against it ! You are stiff-necked and rebel 
 lious, full of sin to the core. I've prayed for you and with 
 you, and what good does it do ? " 
 
 " None," she might have said honestly. She wanted no 
 such prayers, she even thought, heathen as she was, that the 
 broad road looked inviting. 
 
 " Answer me ! " and his grasp on her arm tightened, while 
 his angry and cruel face was distorted by her mental vision. 
 
 She wrenched herself away with sudden courage, for her 
 arm felt nearly crushed. 
 
 " Don't touch me," she cried in terror. " Keep away, for 
 you make me feel savage. Say what you have to say, and let 
 me go ! " 
 
 "Hetty," he called, "bring a candle." 
 
 The maid obeyed the command. Mr. Garth took it and 
 motioned Lucy up the stairs to her room.
 
 30 Lucia : Her Problem. 
 
 " I advise you to spend the night in prayer on your bended 
 knees," he said in his most sanctimonious manner that made 
 her feel as if she should scream. " Think of your heinous 
 sins to your God and to me, your wicked vanity that is lur 
 ing your soul to perdition. And never, while you are in my 
 house dare to appear in this frowzy, ungodly manner. It is 
 a shame to any respectable woman. Remember this at your 
 peril ! " 
 
 " Oh, go ! " she cried in her anguish. " In mercy leave 
 me!" 
 
 He was not to be thus bidden away by his sinful child. 
 He exhorted, he even prayed, but she sat on the bed's side, her 
 dry eyes strained and wild with pain, and her scarlet lips curl 
 ed in scorn. 
 
 At last, when every nerve was stretched to the last point of 
 endurance, he bade her good-night, closed and locked the 
 door. 
 
 She flew to the window and raised it. Her first impulse 
 was to precipitate herself headlong at his very feet, a crushed 
 and mangled mass. Just so her mother had battled in impo 
 tent rage. And yet both were women whom a word might 
 lead. Oh, blind and cruel masters, are your eyes never to be 
 opened ? 
 
 Of course she paused. There is a sort of latent combative- 
 ness that hates to yield before it has made one good, fair fight. 
 She felt that hers was yet to come. 
 
 But the night air, chilly and piercing as it was, did her good. 
 It cooled the scarlet heat of passion in her cheeks, and the 
 throbbing fever of her lips. Clasping her hands, she looked 
 up at the pitiless sky, dark and leaden, and cried 
 
 "Mother! mother!" 
 
 I hope her mother's heart was not yearning and suffering 
 over her child, whom she was powerless to assist, even amid 
 all the glories of Heaven. 
 
 As Lucy became calmer she went back to her little cracked
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 31 
 
 mirror, the consolation of youth and beauty always. And then 
 she whispered to herself in a triumphant tone 
 
 " He did like me. It was because I am pretty ; and if 1 
 should see him again at the Dorcas for I can't well be shut 
 up then. I wonder if he would ever care enough to to marry 
 any one ! " 
 
 She hated them both for keeping her up here away from 
 Mr. Thorndike. If she had only made him promise that he 
 would surely come ! 
 
 Her candle was burning low, so she hurried into bed with 
 out the form of penitence her father had enjoined. In his 
 blind, arbitrary way he prided himself upon doing his duty to 
 his refractory child, just as Rachel did in her cold, methodical 
 fashion. That she had not been made a hypocrite, was owing 
 to her own sense of truth and honor; but they were doing their 
 best to crush it out 
 
 Mr. Garth returned to the parlor in evident discomposure. 
 His visitor was quite too obtuse to make fine distinctions how 
 ever. Rachel stole a few moments to attend to her beloved 
 china and damask napkins, and then she took out some of her 
 Dorcas work and sewed in a heaven of content. 
 
 Mr. Thorndike found it very dull after his talk with Lucy, 
 that seemed so sparkling by contrast. If Rachel could have 
 but known how immensely she was losing, as he compared her 
 with her absent sister, she would not have felt flattered. But 
 as she did not know, she stood the scrutiny with great compla 
 cency. 
 
 "I suppose they make her wash the dishes;" Mr. Thorn- 
 dike mused in his unquiet soul, her meaning Lucy; but when 
 he had waited an hour or more, he ventured upon a bold 
 step. 
 
 " Where is Miss your daughter, I mean ? " 
 
 " Gone to bed. She flagrantly disobeyed me and that no 
 child has ever done in my house, without punishment of some 
 kind. I hope it may prove a salutary lesson. Women, of all
 
 32 Lucia : Her Problem. 
 
 others, should be strictly obedient. If they do not respect their 
 parents, how will they honor their husbands ! " 
 
 Mr. Garth delivered this in a dictatorial tone ; and then 
 studied the pattern of the carpet, which was an ingrain, in ex 
 tremely modest hues, the device beginning one side of the room 
 and ending at the other. 
 
 " Stout old governor!" Mr. Thorndike commented inter 
 nally. " Wonder how she liked it ? " 
 
 She was crying herself to sleep in another paroxysm of 
 anguish. 
 
 " I guess I'll go ;" and Mr. Thorndike walked slowly to 
 ward the fireplace. 
 
 "Oh, no, Thorndike, don't be in a hurry. You can 
 go home when there's no other place, you know." And 
 Mr. Garth looked consciously elated at his second-hand face- 
 tiousness. 
 
 "I'll drop in to-morrow. After dinner I'm going down to 
 Cousin Hollisters. There's a mortgage to settle." 
 
 " You had better go in for some property here, Thorndike. 
 It'll be a good investment." 
 
 " Think so ? " 
 
 "Yes. Oh, Cunningham's place has been offered." 
 
 " Pretty grand, isn't it ? " 
 
 "Yes; but going at nothing. He's cramped as such a 
 man deserves to be. They've all been flying high, the Cun 
 ninghams ; and pride must have a fall." With which Mr. Garth 
 shook his head in extreme satisfaction. " The place can be 
 bought for half its value ; cash down. A good chance for 
 speculation." 
 
 Mr. Thorndike was tired and disappointed, and inclined 
 to be cross. What did he care about the Cunningham place, 
 or how many falls pride had ! 
 
 " Yes, I must go ; " almost abruptly. 
 
 He shook hands with Rachel, and said " good-night." 
 Ilis hcst followed him to the door.
 
 Lucia: Her ProbCem. 33 
 
 " It is very dark," said Mr. Garth. " You had better stay 
 and take a bed with us ! " 
 
 " Oh, no, thank you : I'm used to roughing it on cloudy 
 nights. I'll be in again, soon." 
 
 He went stumbling along, wondering a little if he could 
 have seen Lucy in the morning. 
 
 "A pretty girl, by Jove ! Garth has a nice pile, too. But 
 a fellow ought to have a good deal of money with Rachel ! 
 How she's faded ! Must be pretty hard on to thirty, though." 
 
 Mr. Garth came back to his seat, and presently began to 
 dilate upon Lucy's enormities. 
 
 " There's too much of her mother in her," he exclaimed, 
 with an ominous shake of the head. " No one knows the anx 
 ious hours and the prayers that unregenerate child has cost 
 me ! What.it will be as she grows older, I shudder to con 
 template." 
 
 And well you may, Mr. Garth. Her future that might have 
 been so bright and happy, was deeply shadowed by your 
 hands : and her salvation was worked out amid bitter suffering. 
 
 Rachel and her father were peculiar friends in a cold, rath 
 er repressed fashion. He told her many of his plans, and she 
 listened all he required of her ; he bewailed the sins of his 
 youngest born, and she sympathized, if the feeling had in it 
 warmth enough for that. Sometimes he touched upon busi 
 ness and the people with whom he came in contact. Still, he 
 was pompous and dogmatic even with her ; but she had no 
 nerves to be rasped. 
 
 " Thorndike has not changed much," he said, presently, 
 holding his slippered feet to the fire. 
 
 " No. I should have recognized him anywhere." 
 
 " A fine fellow. A good, sharp, energetic business man 
 Made a fortune out in the coppers. I heard. Rachel ! " 
 
 " Sir ? " as he paused. She, at least was respectful. 
 
 He was looking at the fire, not at her. The inattention 
 was of no moment.
 
 34 Lucia : Her Problem. 
 
 " Rachel," and he cleared his throat " I could not wish 
 a better husband for you." 
 
 Rachel Garth did not blush nor betray any surprise. 
 
 " I shall do handsomely by you. You were always my fa 
 vorite child. I'm not a poor man, Rachel." 
 
 " No, father." 
 
 She uttered this with conscious pride, and thought too cf 
 the piles of bed and table linen packed away in the press up 
 stairs, and the bed-quilts she could count by dozens. It was 
 all hers, of course. She would never have thought of sharing it 
 with her idle and foolish sister. 
 
 " I'd like to see you well settled, Rachel. You have 
 been a good daughter, and good daughters make good 
 wives." 
 
 He announced this in his inflated fashion, as if it had been 
 a grand discovery. 
 
 " I am sure I owe it all to my judicious training," she an 
 swered meekly. 
 
 " Yes, you deserve it, Rachel, you deserve it." 
 
 She thought she did also. Her humility extended only in 
 a limited range, and was oftener the outward form than the in 
 ward grace. 
 
 Rachel Garth sat and sewed complacently, while her father 
 figured up that Rachel's children would be worth a million at 
 the very least. 
 
 Lucy was called at the usual hour the next morning, for 
 the Garths were early risers. She heard the key click in the 
 door, and was no longer a prisoner. So she rubbed her love 
 ly sleepy eyes and wished she was a resident of that happy 
 land were people did as they liked. 
 
 One of the worst things was yet to come. Her father al 
 ways labored to make her express some contrition. As a lit 
 tle child she did it from very fear, but now she had gained suf 
 ficient courage to refuse. She hated the talk, the whining tone 
 and the eyes so keen and masterly.
 
 Lucia : Her Problem. 35 
 
 She entrenched herself behind a sullen dignity, and admit 
 ted nothing. As well talk to the wind. 
 
 " You will have nothing but bread and water to-day," was 
 her father's fiat. 
 
 Hetty received her orders, but then Hetty had a weak 
 point and could be coaxed. Lucy therefore did not starve. 
 
 " It's as much as my life's worth," she said. " Oh, child, 
 if you'd only listen to them prayers of your father's and repent. 
 He allus does it for your good." 
 
 Lucy, the little wretch, laughed and put her arms around 
 Hetty's scrawny neck. 
 
 " You're the best Christian of the lot, Hetty. You feed 
 the hungry and visit those in prison sometimes. I believe I 
 love you." 
 
 Lucy was on her good behavior that day and the next. 
 The obnoxious curls were hidden in the thickest net that she 
 could find. Cold as it was she spent much time in her room, 
 and any one with the least penetration could see that she carried 
 a mystery in her face. 
 
 Thursday was a bright, cheerful day. A fire was made in 
 the parlor again, and a great basket brought from the pantry. 
 The Dorcas people were usually very prompt. Rachel had to 
 look after the supper. She dealt the butter and biscuits out 
 to Hetty, sliced the ham and tongue in the merest wafers, and 
 then arrayed herself in a dress that was not her best by any 
 means. She never gave a thought to Mr. Thorndike during 
 these preparations. 
 
 " She looks like a fright," commented Lucy inwardly. 
 Oh, I wonder if he will come ! What did they tell him 
 the other night, and what did he think ? If I can make him 
 like me ! " 
 
 She had reached that climax of mental aspiration already. 
 If any one would like her and marry her, she would hail it 
 gladly as a means of escape from this galling serfdom. Some 
 way the chain must be broken.
 
 30 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 You could see a fine desperation in those deep eyes, one 
 of the resolves that wins or perishes in the attempt. 
 
 Poor child ! .how was she to know that it was but an ex 
 change of masters ? that hard as this slavery was, the other 
 could be still more intolerable ? No warning hand was raised, 
 alas ! most pitiful of all, there was not one soul who loved her 
 well enough to be solicitous for her welfare. They all consid 
 ered food and raiment sufficient, as if the soul could feast 
 upon that !
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 37 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE DORCAS. 
 
 IT was high tide with the Dorcas. Miss Kip had sailed in 
 with her, "Well ! I never was so beat in my life! " which 
 was a kind of streamer flying from the mast-head. A woman 
 of five-and-forty, with a very high forehead and very thin sandy 
 hair. She did not have the traditional sharp nose, but her 
 teeth were narrow and long, and gave you a sort of uncom 
 fortable feeling, as if in any emergency she might take to 
 biting. 
 
 There was a knot of middle-aged women around her, ea 
 ger for the dish of gossip. Then at one window a group of 
 younger ladies, who were still discussing Mrs. Freeman, the 
 missionary who had gone from their church to far Burrriah. 
 She had sent a letter home to Mrs. Howe, begging for a box 
 of different articles, and the Dorcas was trying to complete 
 them this afternoon. Three or four of these were envying 
 Mrs. Freeman in their hearts. Why couldn't they as well 
 have gone off in triumph, instead of wasting their sweetness 
 on the desert air of Dedham. 
 
 Lucy sat quite apart, sewing on a pinafore for Henry Mar- 
 tyn Freeman, aged four. The tricky Burman servants, the 
 snakes, centipedes, boiled rice, and journeys to the interior 
 were of no great moment to her, neither Miss Kip's strongly 
 seasoned dish. She was wondering for the hundredth time at 
 least whether he would come. 
 
 Presently there was a lull among the elders. Nearly ev-
 
 38 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 erybody's short-comings had been discussed, Mrs. Burnam's 
 turned alpaca picked to pieces, Mrs. Snow's new bonnet held 
 up to execration, the Cunninghams' extravagances severely 
 condemned, and Mrs. Deacon Peters " had told her husband 
 he needn't look for that last quarter's pew rent to be paid. 
 People who could flaunt around in silks and satins, and have 
 Pcrshy carpets, never gave much to the cause of religion." 
 
 There was a pause, and they all took breath. Their eyes 
 glared furtively round for the next bit of prey. 
 
 " So Mr. Thorndike's come back, Rachel ? " and Mrs. 
 Bowers slyly took a pinch of snuff. 
 
 " No, you don't say ! " 
 
 That was news to Miss Kip, for a wonder. 
 
 " Yes, he was here to tea on Tuesday evening." 
 
 Rachel Garth said this with a certain air of meek impor 
 tance. 
 
 " Why, where is he staying ? " 
 
 " He went to his cousin Hollister's on some business." 
 
 " Is he going in actively with your father, Rachel dear ? " 
 asked Mrs. Peters plaintively, as if the fact would aggrieve 
 her very much. 
 
 ' I don't know." 
 
 "Will he stay?" asked Miss Kip. 
 
 " I believe he intends to." 
 
 Rachel Garth was not much of a gossip. Being reticent 
 by nature, it was necessary to question her at every step. 
 
 " Now there will be a time. Girls, do you hear that ? " 
 and Miss Kip glanced toward the window circle. " Why, Mr. 
 Thorndike's come back ! Now I do hope there won't be any 
 goings on in this congregation. The way girls sometimes act 
 about a marriageable man is scandalous ! " 
 
 Considering that Miss Kip had " acted " unsuccessfully 
 from eighteen to forty-five, she was quite capable of judging. 
 
 " Mr. Thorndike is not a young man." 
 
 "I'm sure he's not an old one, snapped Miss Kip. His
 
 Lucia : Her Problem. 39 
 
 mother and my mother were bosom friends, and always wore 
 the same colored gowns. Many's the time we've played to 
 gether as children. Why, I wonder that he didn't call ! Poor 
 mother would have been so glad. She used to look upon 
 him quite as a son." 
 
 Some of the girls in their twenties tittered a little. Ah, 
 girls, when you are forty and single it will be no laughing 
 matter. 
 
 " He's made a fortin' off there on the Lakes, I've heard 
 say," Mrs. Bowers announced. 
 
 There was another onslaught upon Rachel. How Mr. 
 Thorndike looked, how much he was worth, where he expect 
 ed to live, what he intended to do, and every question that 
 ingenuity could invent. Rachel felt herself quite a heroine, 
 since she was the object of so much attention. 
 
 " I wish I'd asked him to the Dorcas," she thought within 
 herself. 
 
 Lucy smiled in her odd self-absorbed fashion. What if 
 she knew more about Mr. Thorndike's movements than all 
 the rest ? 
 
 It was five o'clock and beginning to grow dusky. He had 
 not come in the early train, but if he took the next one, she 
 might reasonably expect him at six. Rachel went to see 
 about the supper. Lucy brought some lights, and then ran up 
 stairs in the gathering gloom. Jerking off her net her beauti 
 ful hair fell to her waist. 
 
 " It's a shame I can't curl it ! They're a mean, hateful, 
 jealous set, every one of them ! " which included her father 
 and Rachel half a dozen times over. " Oh, wouldn't it make 
 them stare ! And he thought it so beautiful ! Just wait 
 till I have a chance ! " 
 
 She wet the comb and passed it through the long, silken 
 tresses ; then, instead of twisting it in the usual coil, she gath 
 ered it loosely, parting out a few ends, and took from her bo 
 som a net that she had been crocheting at intervals. It was
 
 40 Lucia : Her Problem. 
 
 made from fine black glace cotton, as glossy as silk, and with 
 large meshes. There would be a golden glimmer through that ! 
 And she knew well, cunning little minx, that when her hair be 
 came dry, it would be one mass of bewildering waves, and per 
 haps a few stray, suggestive curls. Then she tied a blue rib 
 bon about her shapely head. It had been washed once, already. 
 How she hated all these petty meannesses and uncalled-for 
 economies ! They did it to humble her pride ; but pride throve 
 like a giant, and was only waiting for an opportunity to rear 
 its head. 
 
 The gentlemen began to drop in. It must be confessed 
 that the old First Church in Dedham could not boast of very 
 decided intellectuality or progress. It was narrow in soul, op 
 posed to any innovations ; and when part of the congregation 
 had once undertaken some improvements, it became the cause 
 of a quarrel and division. The energetic ones branched out, 
 and were soon a flourishing society. It was a -power in Ded 
 ham had a reading-room, and young men's society ; and their 
 social circles were of the higher order, and really entertaining. 
 Consequently, these people kept more strictly to their old ways, 
 and indulged in sundry flings at the worldliness and pride of 
 the Shiloah Society. 
 
 There were very few young men among the First Congrega 
 tion, and these of the fledgeling order, but they were m^ide much 
 of, iievertheless. They seldom condescended to make their ap 
 pearance until eight or so in the evening. 
 
 Lucy went down again very quietly. Somehow she seemed 
 under a sort of social ostracism. Miss Kip had been her Sun 
 day-school teacher, and labored in season and out of season 
 especially the latter, for her conversion, and finally pronounced 
 her the most hardened child that she ever saw ; but latterly ; 
 Miss Kip had taken the office of Assistant Superintendent ; 
 and Miss Gorham, who wore gold-bowed spectacles, and was 
 less energetic about lost souls, had supplied her place. The 
 Sunday-school was more comfortable for Lucy therefor^.
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 41 
 
 At half-past six, the first table were invited out to supper. 
 These were the married people, and those who could not by 
 any possible stretch of the imagination be considered young. 
 The rest meanwhile had a good time in the parlor. Lucy al 
 ways helped wait upon the table. 
 
 For the last half hour Lucy Garth had been in the most in 
 tense state of suspense. With every knock at the door her 
 heart had bounded to her throat, and her pulses quivered. 
 What if he should not come ? In that case not only this even 
 ing, but all of life would be a blank. Courage, Lucy. Neither 
 pains nor pleasures are outlived at seventeen. 
 
 Mr. Howe said a grace as long as ordinary prayers. Lucy 
 began to carry the cups mechanically, gave Miss Kip's green 
 tea to Mrs. Bowers, and that lady's weak coffee to Miss Kip. 
 When mild Mr. Gorham, a bachelor of fifty summers, asked for 
 a glass of water, she brought him milk. 
 
 " Lucy," said her sister severely, " if you can't pay any bet 
 ter attention to your business, you may as well go to bed ! " 
 
 This covert threat roused her a little. Being sent to bed 
 was not a pleasant possibility. 
 
 At last, when they were eating and drinking and talking in 
 good earnest, she stepped into the hall for a breath of air. 
 What a miserable farce this life was ! Why were people born 
 into the world to be jostled about, starved, misunderstood, all 
 their best purposes turned to ill, their hidden fire warming no 
 one, and only scorching themselves ! What was the use of the 
 pain and anguish that no one ever knew or saw, save the one 
 wretched soul that was even forbidden to cry aloud ! Why was 
 she not like these other people ? Why did a word or a look 
 sink deep into her soul that every one pronounced shallow and 
 frivolous ? Why 
 
 A knock at the door interrupted her reverie. It was sharp 
 and decisive, and she opened it in the same manner, ready to 
 frown at the intruder. 
 
 It was Mr. Thorndike !
 
 42 Lucia : Her Problem. 
 
 " Oh, ah hillo ! " he said in his rather bluff fashion. " I'm 
 glad to see you. Show's under good headway, I guess." 
 
 A vague feeling of dislike and detestation sprang up in 
 Lucy Garth's heart. The man was coarse, without the graces 
 of either refinement or feeling. 
 
 " Did you think I wasn't coming ? " 
 
 Lucy started violently. If she had obeyed her impulse 
 and fled from this man, and fought her way up to the light 
 alone ! 
 
 " Why, how white and scared you look ! And your curls ! 
 By Jove ! I'll murder the one who's cut. them off! " 
 
 " They're not cut," Lucy returned in strange bewilderment. 
 " And I had giCen you up. Walk in." 
 
 " Did you care about my coming ? " 
 
 His eyes were fond and eager, his face handsome in a kind 
 of healthy animal fashion. Somehow it went to her heart. 
 
 " Because, I wouldn't give a pin for the rest 1 The train 
 met with a detention, but didn't I hurry along, and if you've no 
 welcome for me " 
 
 His voice and face had a curious effect upon her. And 
 then the exultant thought swept over her that she could make 
 this man love her, could leave this hateful life behind at a 
 bound. 
 
 She flushed deeply and then smiled, and with it the tears 
 came to her eyes. How very lovely she looked ! It moved 
 him strangely, and before either of them understood the import 
 of the caress, he had taken her sweet face in his hands and 
 kissed the soft, fragrant, trembling lips. 
 
 " Oh ! " she said with a little sigh which she hardly dared 
 utter above her breath, and though it was fright, the repression 
 toned it down and gave it a touch of longing and satisfaction. 
 
 " I could make her love n*e ! " he thought, and with it came 
 the resolve. 
 
 " You haven't said that you were glad to see me ! " 
 
 " Haven't I?" with a saucy smile that made her radiant.
 
 Lucia : Her Problem. 43 
 
 " Why, do you suppose I asked you to come because I would 
 be sorry to see you ? " 
 
 " Well, no ; " and he laughed. 
 
 " Was there an accident ? " 
 
 " Oh no, at least not much. A pipe or a pivot or a screw 
 I don't believe any one knew except the engineer. What 
 are they doing in there ? " 
 
 A Babel of voices issued from the room. The hall was 
 long and this little corner quite out of sight. The young folks 
 had shut themselves in the parlor, and were absolutely telling 
 fortunes ! 
 
 " Eating and drinking ! " with the utmost disdain. 
 
 " That coffee smells tempting." 
 
 " Will you go in and have some ? " 
 
 She raised her head haughtily, and her voice had an icy 
 crispness in it. 
 
 " Not now," and he smiled in a peculiarly satisfied man 
 ner. " Will they send you to bed to-night ? " 
 
 Lucy colored and gave a little vexed laugh. 
 
 " It was awful mean. By Jove, do they think you a child ?" 
 
 " I believe they do," rather dryly. 
 
 " I found it dull enough without you," he said, puzzled by 
 the changes in her manner. 
 
 "Lucy!" some one called. "Where is Lucy?" the last 
 in Rachel's voice. 
 
 " Oh, I must go. W T ait a moment. I'll send father out 
 Yes, it is better." 
 
 He clung to her hand, but she drew it away with seeming 
 reluctance. 
 
 " What is the matter with you, Lucy ? Why can't you stay 
 where you are wanted ? " 
 
 Rachel's tone was sharp and her brow drawn into a frown. 
 
 " Some one knocked at the door and I went ; it was Mr. 
 Thorndike I must tell father." 
 
 This in a low, hurried whisper, and she passed on to an 
 nounce the new arrival.
 
 44 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 Rachel smoothed her face, and wished she had \vorn a bet 
 ter dress or even put on her brooch. So you see she was 
 troubled with some small vanities as well. 
 
 Lucy had decided in a momentary flash of consideration, 
 that it would not answer for her to bring Mr. Thorndike into 
 the room. Those hawk-eyed gossips would pounce down upon 
 her too soon, and set themselves to work watching every word 
 and look. She was not quite sure of any thing, even her own 
 mind, and she had a fancy that it would not hurt Mr. Thorn- 
 dike to hold a little aloof. The idea of being kissed at the 
 second interview ! Why this corps of propriety would tear her 
 in pieces if they knew it. 
 
 Ah, Lucy, it was more the burst of honest admiration, than 
 any idea of impertinent freedom. And yet how strange ! No 
 one ever kissed her save old Hetty and motherly Mrs. Howe, 
 who had been kept home by the rheumatism. 
 
 Mr. Garth ushered Mr. Thorndike into the room ; and 
 great was the astonishment. The women took possession of 
 him immediately, and asked a thousand questions, uttered a 
 thousand wonders, and sighed profusely over his dear, dead 
 father, who was a pattern, and his dear, dead mother, who was 
 a saint. It was some time before he could get around to Ra 
 chel. 
 
 During this while, a host of feelings and impressions flitted 
 through Lucy's brain. Mr. Thorndike was much the finest- 
 looking man in the room, which perhaps was not saying a 
 great deal. His figure was stout, strong, and with a certain 
 harmony that cultivation might have moulded into manly 
 grace. His face was bright, cheerful, and healthy ; and the 
 majority of people would have pronounced him handsome at 
 once, those who were not on the keen scent for soul and the 
 higher attributes. But after all, this is what makes the true 
 man though with some the body counts for a great deal. 
 
 It was not wonderful that it should obtain with Lucy at this 
 stage of her life She certainly would never be ashamed of
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 45 
 
 Mr. Thorndike, she thought. Then she remembered that his 
 hands, as they touched her cheek, were soft, that his lips were 
 firm, and his breath sweet with health. A trifle coarse and 
 rude, but that had probably arisen from his mode of life. She 
 liked the geniality, the hearty voice, and she decided that he 
 was superior to those here, to all whom she was in the habit 
 of meeting. 
 
 By some accident he stationed himself at Rachel's side. 
 She poured his coffee with a slow smile, expressed her regret 
 that she had not asked him for this evening, and her pleasure 
 that he had happened in to surprise them all. There were so 
 many old friends. It must be very agreeable to meet them all 
 again. 
 
 This was quite an effort for Rachel. He discreetly kept 
 his own counsel, and glanced furtively at Lucy, who was most 
 intent upon the duties of her office. How provoking that she 
 would not even look ! But Lucy was taking in all this atten 
 tion and honor, and being won by it. It was a powerful ally 
 for him. 
 
 Presently some one remembered the second table, and the 
 leaders started reluctantly. Mr. Thorndike was not half 
 through of course, so Miss Kip came back from the hall, mar 
 shalling in the younger set, and began to wait upon them. 
 Mr. Garth remained too, and Mr. Thorndike grew restless. 
 How could he get away ? 
 
 " Oh, there's Kitty Forbes," he said. " Why she was only 
 a little school girl when I went away. I'll take a plate of 
 sandwiches over to her." 
 
 Miss Kip longed to follow, but here was such an excel 
 lent opportunity to have a little talk with Mr. Garth. She had 
 not quite given up all designs in this quarter. True, in one of 
 her sympathetic conversations on the subject of the "unfortu 
 nate Mrs. Garth'' " a lazy, good-for-nothing hussy," she termed 
 her elsewhere. Mr. Garth had said, with much decision and 
 solemnity
 
 46 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 " I confess that my punishment was just, Miss Kip. I had 
 no right to set such a woman over my dear Rachel, who has 
 never given me an -anxious thought in her life. But I hrm, 
 learned a lesson by this chastisement, which I hope the Lord 
 will sanctify to me. I never shall pain my daughter by a 
 similar trial ! " 
 
 But if the daughter married, perhaps Mr. Garth would 
 have no such conscientious scruples about Lucy's comfort ; 
 and Miss Rip almost ached to be her step-mother. She'd see 
 if the child wouldn't walk in the straight and narrow way ! 
 It was best, therefore, to pause and do the agreeable to Mr. 
 Garth, and learn what the prospect promised. 
 
 Mr. Thorndike marched over to Kitty Forbes, and block 
 aded Lucy in the corner. 
 
 " Come, you must take something, too," he said. 
 
 She picked up a sandwich in the daintiest manner possible 
 and gave him a smile in return. In fact, she was rapidly 
 developing a spice of coquetry. 
 
 " Don't you want some coffee ? " 
 
 "You could never get back if you went." 
 
 "Couldn't I? Why?" 
 
 He was not very sharp at discovering hidden mean 
 ings. 
 
 " Some one would keep you captive. There are so many 
 old friends, and I am quite a new one." 
 
 "But of more account than all the rest." 
 
 " Go for the coffee, then. Ten minutes from this, you will 
 see me wearing the willow." 
 
 "Orange blossoms are sweeter. Isn't that what they 
 wear ? " 
 
 " They ? Who ? " in the most charming state of innocence. 
 " For recreant Knights ? " 
 
 He looked puzzled and studied her face a moment. It 
 was so arch and fascinating that he smiled, while a brighter 
 flush came into his cheeks.
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 47 
 
 " Oh, you know what I mean." Then, lowering his voice 
 "I wish you did care enough to wear the willow for me." 
 
 "You are cruel ; " in a tone that was sweet, cunning and 
 pitiful, and ensnared him afresh. 
 
 " No, I couldn't be to you." 
 
 The dialogue had been carried on in the lowest of tones, 
 both feeling intuitively that it was hardly wise to proclaim their 
 interest in each other at this early stage. He went, but soon 
 returned, and she bestowed upon him a most beguiling smile. 
 Then they took up their by-play. 
 
 Lucy had to stop and help clear away the fragments. She 
 washed and wiped dishes that night with a fervor rarely dis 
 played in so distasteful a cause. She must see Mr. Thorndike 
 for a few moments. 
 
 Fortune favored her. It always seems so easy to take the 
 steps whereby one makes a wreck of life, so hard to climb the 
 higher and rugged path leading to safety. 
 
 It was nearly eight o'clock when the supper was finished. 
 For the next hour Mr. Thorndike was the hero of the evening. 
 There had not been such a positively gay " Dorcas " for a long 
 while. No one but he missed Lucy, and it would have fretted 
 him a good deal if it had not been for his vanity. He had an 
 inordinate share of that. To be made much of by these fool 
 ish girls and women was delightful. He liked to feel himself 
 of importance, and some of the slow going men asked him 
 about improvements and investigations in a way that was ex 
 ceedingly flattering. He was shrewd and clever. So he did 
 very well, despite the thought of Lucy washing dishes, or gone 
 to bed. 
 
 The doors were all open now. Some of 'the young men, 
 unusually hilarious, proposed a game of blind man's buff, 
 which would have been severely frowned down but for Mr. 
 Thornd ike's hearty approbation, for he thought the rest must 
 be having a dreadful dull time of it. 
 
 Lucy dried her hands, took off her big apron, and being
 
 48 Lucia; Jfer Problem. 
 
 sent out of doors by Hetty, ran around to the back hall way, 
 resolving that she had done her duty by the kitchen. Mr. 
 Thorndike stood by just as she opened it and caught sight 
 of the picture-like face. Instead of her coming in he slipped 
 out, and caught her with both hands. 
 
 " Oh," she said, struggling, " let me go ! Some one will 
 see ! Oh, please ! " 
 
 The voice was so deliciously entreating! He thought 
 he would like to be coaxed in this fashion every day of his 
 life. 
 
 "I don't mean that they shall;" ar.d before she hardly 
 knew where she was, he had whirled her down the path with 
 his arm around her. 
 
 " What have you been doing all the time washing dishes ? " 
 
 " Yes," with an indignant stamp of her little foot. 
 
 There was a moon, but the sky was partially filled with 
 drifting clouds. They broke away just at this moment, and 
 disclosed her in her radiant loveliness. A tiny fringe of soft 
 rings lay around the edge of her pearly forehead. 
 
 " Why won't they let you curl your hair ? " he asked. " It's 
 a shame ! " 
 
 " Oh, everybody thinks it wicked ! " 
 
 She thought her strongest point would be to make him 
 admire irreligion, for she knew well that she could lay claim 
 to none of its graces except in the natural way. At heart she 
 felt that she was really better than some of the women with 
 whom she came in contact. If left to herself she would have 
 been strictly truthful, noble and just in her dealings, warm and 
 generous in her temper, but she felt afraid that there must be 
 something more than this. Would such flimsy faith and prin 
 ciples give one the strength of a martyr ? 
 
 " What a set of humbugs ! You must have a gay time of 
 it!" 
 
 " Gay time ! Oh, Mr. Thorndike, many and many a night 
 I cry myself to sleep. Many a time have I wished myself
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 49 
 
 dead ! What was I born for ? No one wants me, no one 
 cares for me ! " 
 
 It was a very honest burst of feeling, without the slighest 
 thought of effect. 
 
 He felt her trembling against his strong arm. 
 
 " Yes," he said, " /care for you. It's abominable that you 
 should be so ill-used ! Those old women have made Rachel 
 as rigid and fussy as themselves. Why, your mother never 
 was ugly to her /" 
 
 " Mamma was a sweet angel. They hate me for her sake. 
 But oh ! let us go in. I am cold, and they will miss you." 
 
 There was another reason. She was not quite ready to 
 have him make desperate love to her. And yet his fond tones 
 and strong arm seemed so good. She might overlook all the 
 little things that were displeasing to her. 
 
 She did not understand then why these attractive and re- 
 pellant forces had been given. She was so very ignorant of 
 the world, of life, and most sad of all, her own soul. 
 
 Mr. Thorndike had received a check to his ardor, and would 
 not have plunged heafllong down the alluring stream, smooth as 
 the tide appeared. A question came in his mind as to whether 
 Mr. Garth meant to portion his daughters alike. 
 
 I told you in the beginning that he was not a noble or 
 high-minded man. How Lucy would have turned from him if 
 she could have read these sordid thoughts ! 
 
 She would not go in with him, but ran round the kitchen 
 way again and joined the party after the merriment had sub 
 sided, bearing with wonderful patience the many exclamations 
 of, " Oh, you should have been here ! There never was such 
 a nice Dorcas ! " 
 
 Mr. Thorndike managed to exchange several little sentences 
 with Lucy. At last the usual hymns were proposed, and here 
 he again distinguished himself. He had a fine bass voice. 
 He was besieged immediately to come to church and sit in the 
 choir.
 
 50 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 There was a prayer made by Mr. Howe, and then the dis 
 persion commenced. Miss Kip lingered, promising to come 
 over and help pack the box for Mrs. Freeman. The next 
 meeting was to be at Mrs. Bowers'. " Of course Mr. Thorn- 
 dike would come they had a good many gentlemen members, 
 even if they couldn't sew." 
 
 " But I suppose they pay ? " and Mr. Thorndike extracted 
 a bill from his waistcoat pocket. " I'll come till this runs out, 
 and then you must tell me." 
 
 Miss Kip simpered in a delighted state of mind, for her 
 sharp eye caught sight of a V. Rachel looked delighted with 
 her hero. 
 
 " I'm sure we're very, very grateful ;" and Miss Kip pressed 
 his hand with a sigh. If he were only a little older !
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 51 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 AFTERWARD. 
 
 MISS KIP went to the dressing-room with her arm around 
 Rachel. 
 
 " My dear," she said in a whining tone, which she meant for 
 sweetness, " he's a most worthy young man. His father was 
 the salt of the earth, and it will be your blessed duty and priv 
 ilege to bring him back to the covenant of grace. I see it 
 all, my dear Rachel, and you have my prayers for your happi 
 ness. It will be clearly a Christian duty, and he will make 
 an excellent husband. To think of his giving me five dollars ! 
 Why, we'll have to make him a life member ! " 
 
 Rachel Garth blushed in her swarthy fashion. It was not 
 ill-pleasing to know that some one had remarked his attention. 
 
 " Father speaks very highly of him," she said modestly. 
 
 " He's worthy of it, I'm sure. He lacks only the ' one 
 thing needful,' and you'll be the instrument of saving grace. 
 It's worth waiting for, Rachel. He is just about the right age, 
 and settled in his habits. I wish you joy ;" and yet Miss Kip 
 sighed as she enveloped her head in a gray Nubia, which 
 made it look higher than ever. 
 
 Rachel went down with her, leaving two lamps burning in 
 the room, in the height of her complacency. Lucy started from 
 the nook below the bedstead, where she had stooped to pick 
 up a stray shawl pin. 
 
 " I wonder if she thinks he will marry her ? " and the child 
 laughed scornfully. " Old as she is, and she never could have
 
 52 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 been pretty when he first knew her ! Oh, Rachel Garth, you 
 think you are keen and far-sighted you can stay at home and 
 drudge, since you like it so well, but /mean to ride in my car 
 riage. He almost said that he loved me ! " 
 
 The lights were out presently, and both girls dreamed of 
 Warren Thorndike. I'm not sure but Rachel thought the 
 most truly of his happiness, both temporal and spiritual. 
 
 Mr. Thorndike spent nearly all the following morning at 
 the mill. He had no fault to find with Mr. Garth's manage 
 ment of his capital, and he concluded that he would not with 
 draw it. Mr. Garth endeavored to persuade him to give up 
 roving, settle at Dedham and marry. 
 
 " You've done capitally, Garth ! This musty old pile of 
 wools and dyes is almost as productive as coppers. Your 
 girls will have a handsome start ! " 
 
 He thought that quite an adroit move. 
 
 " Yes, if they marry to suit me. Rachel has been an ex 
 cellent daughter, an efficient and economical housekeeper 
 and she will prove a treasure to the man who gets her. But 
 Lucy " and the father paused in perplexity. 
 
 "And Lucy?" said Mr. Thorndike, with more interest 
 than he cared to avow. 
 
 "The child is wayward and rebellious. Of course you 
 know, Thorndike, that my second marriage was not a happy 
 one. Lucy inherits her mother's fatal beauty and vanity. She 
 might easily become the prey of some designing villain, but so 
 sure as she ever marries against my will, not one dollar shall 
 she have 1 " 
 
 " Oh, she is not likely to," was Thorndike's careless re 
 sponse. He was quite satisfied, but he would win Lucy before 
 making the subject public. 
 
 They went on skirmishing in a light way, neither exactly 
 showing his hand, but when they parted Mr. Garth renewed 
 his cordial invitation. 
 
 " Drop in any time," he said. " You'll always be welcome.
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 53 
 
 Your father and I were good friends, and if it comes to any 
 thing nearer, I'd be proud to call you son." 
 
 " Thank you." 
 
 Thorndike wrung his hand. The matter was settled then, 
 only he had a vague idea that Mr. Garth much preferred that 
 he should take Rachel. He proposed to have all the good 
 things of this life, brightness, youth and beauty, since they 
 would be as well dowered. He had an idea then that he was 
 actually in love with Lucy. He liked to yield to that peculiar 
 and subtile sway of hers, he liked to watch her deep eager 
 eyes and see the smiles flit around her small scarlet mouth. 
 He determined now to see as much of her as possible. Being 
 wayward and rebellious did not in the least intimidate him, 
 brave man that he was. 
 
 That any person in the full possession of his senses should 
 prefer Lucy to Rachel never once entered Mr. Garth's mind. 
 He had daily proofs of her worth and ability, and knew that 
 she was her sister's superior in nearly every respect. He quite 
 forgot that he had once fallen in love with a pretty face, while 
 Miss Kip and several others whose sterling qualities were un 
 questionable stood by and sighed over the sacrifice. 
 
 So he said to Rachel that evening. 
 
 " I have almost persuaded Thorndike to take an active in 
 terest in the mill. He or some one is very much needed." 
 
 " Yes," was Rachel's quiet, approving response. 
 
 " And I think he will," rubbing his hands in the light of 
 the blaze, as if the idea afforded him great satisfaction. " I 
 think he will, and Rachel." 
 
 Rachel glanced up when the pause became unusually 
 long. Her father appeared to be studying her face intently. 
 
 " It is as good as settled, I may say. He spoke to me to 
 day. I shall be proud to give you to so worthy a young man." 
 
 Lucy, who sat quite out of range of these two, dawdling 
 over some sewing that she hated, felt every nerve tingle with 
 a thrill of surprise. The fair face was scarlet, and she bent it
 
 54 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 still lower to hide her confusion, and perhaps a little indigna 
 tion. 
 
 Rachel smiled complacently, that is, her severe look relaxed 
 a trifle, and a faint curve came to her usually straight, thin 
 lips. Somehow she felt very proud of this admirer. She, as 
 well as Lucy, fancied that he was superior to the men they 
 were in the habit of meeting. 
 
 Could it be possible that he had spoken ! Lucy thought. 
 What then was the explanation of his conduct toward her ? 
 Did he, like the others, consider her of small importance, to 
 be toyed with and set aside as the whim or prudence dictated ! 
 Perhaps that was it prudence. She gave her head an angry 
 toss and. ran the needle into her small, white finger. 
 
 " He shall see,'' she whispered to herself, " he shall see I 
 am not to be trifled with. A man would be base indeed to 
 say such things to a woman and not mean any thing ! " 
 
 And then Lucy remembered the kiss with a sensation of 
 shame. Surely it had not sprung from any boldness on her 
 part, for she could not have guessed that he meant to take such 
 a liberty. But she would be wary in future. If he married 
 Rachel he must be therewith content. She did not propose to 
 bestow any sisterly fondness upon Rachel's husband, no mat 
 ter who he might be. 
 
 For several days Lucy nursed her indignation and kept it 
 up at white heat. In the mean while Mr. Thorndike called 
 and spent the evening. She sat in the kitchen with Hetty and 
 darned stockings, listening with a very inattentive ear to the 
 old woman's gossip. 
 
 "I always knowed Rachel would marry well," was the 
 starting-point on which she rang the changes. " I've said a 
 many time don't you be in a hurry, Rachel. There's allers 
 as good fish in the sea as is caught, and if you get a good hus 
 band you won't be sorry for waiting ; and if he's a poor stick, 
 you'll have years enough to live with him. And she'll get a 
 good one ! she deserves it, too 1 "
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 55 
 
 She did not know whether it was Hetty's harrangue or the 
 sound of that strong, inspiriting voice sending a reminder 
 through chinks and crevices that so stirred the angry blood 
 within her. When the last stocking was finished she lighted 
 her candle. 
 
 " You're not goin' to bed ? " exclaimed Hetty in dim amaze. 
 
 " I am going to bed ! " biting off the words in a savage 
 fashion. 
 
 " Well, the dear bless us ! " muttered Hetty. " That child 
 has an uncommon temper. Why don't she snap off one's head." 
 
 The child crawled into bed without studying her pretty 
 face in the cracked mirror. What was golden hair or pearly 
 cheek if there was no one to please with it no one to admire ? 
 
 Mr. Thorndike's next advent was on Sunday. And so 
 when Rachel said " Oh, Hetty, I promised to send some of 
 this custard over to old Mrs. Bowen, will you take it after sup 
 per ? " Lucy offered to go immediately. 
 
 " She will be glad to have it, I know," returned Rachel, 
 amazed at the proposal. 
 
 So Lucy went and stayed to tea, a heinous offence in her 
 father's eyes, for which he called her to account. Had she not 
 been forbidden to do such a thing without permission ? 
 
 " I dare say Rachel was obliged," was the answer in a dry, 
 hard tone. " Perhaps it is not a bad thing for her and her lov 
 er to have a fair field." 
 
 Mr. Garth hardly understood this, and hesitated so long 
 whether to resent it as insolence or not that Lucy continued 
 
 " I am sure Mrs. Bowen needed a little company. You 
 praise Rachel for visiting the poor and the sick, and why is not 
 the deed as good when performed by me ? " 
 
 " You would do better to speak more respectfully," he re 
 turned with a lofty air. 
 
 But Lucy was very miserable it must be confessed. Not 
 that she was in love with Mr. Thorndike, though it stung her 
 keenly to think that she had been trifled with, and then neglect-
 
 56 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 ed. It seemed to her that she hated everybody. Her emo 
 tions varied as easily as her thoughts traversed space. A waft 
 of hope could transport her to the highest state of satisfaction, 
 and the next instant she could be plunged into the blackest 
 despair. 
 
 The despair predominated for the next few days. She was 
 captious, idle, refractory, and as great a torment to herself as 
 to any one else. So one clear, cold morning she went out to 
 do some errands and to walk off the nervous excitement that 
 was next to fever. 
 
 Crossing a street she saw Mr. Thorndike at the end of the 
 next square. The tall, full figure, with its brisk air was unmis 
 takable. Should she go on, or turn ? One moment she was 
 wild to meet him, at the next ruled by the utmost disdain. 
 
 He settled her doubt, however, for he came striding towards 
 her. She had an uncomfortable consciousness of looking shab 
 by and envied the bright girl opposite who tripped along in 
 ruffled skirt, velvet cloak, and dainty hat. If she only could 
 dress like other people ? 
 
 He had clasped the hands in their cheap worsted gloves, 
 and peered through the flimsy veil. 
 
 " I thought I was never to see you again," he began vehe 
 mently. 
 
 " As if it would have made much difference ! " 
 
 There was a fine, cool sarcasm in her tone, and she \voukl 
 have withdrawn her hands. 
 
 " What do you mean ? " he asked in dull amaze. 
 
 " What I said," and her laugh had a bitter, dainty flavor. 
 
 " Lucy, are you angry with me ? " 
 
 His tone was so downright honest and earnest that she 
 glanced upward involuntarily. 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " I have not seen you since that night, you know. I've 
 been to the house twice." 
 
 "To see Rachel. I understand it, Mr. Thorndike. I am
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 57 
 
 only seventeen, it is true, but I am not quite a child. I have 
 some pride and some feeling, and a good deal of respect for 
 myself, when you come to that ! " 
 
 Her face flushed a lovely scarlet he saw that through the 
 veil, also the dark eyes that looked as if they might fill with 
 tears the next instant, so tremulous were the lids. 
 
 " What do you mean ? " 
 
 " Oh, nothing," and she turned away. 
 
 He turned with her. Obeying an add impulse he drew her 
 hand through his arm, so tightly indeed that she was compelled 
 to keep step by the very power that he put into the mo'vement. 
 
 " What is it all about, Lucy ? " he began in a beseeching 
 tone. "Why did you hide away when I came? You must 
 have known that I wanted to see you." 
 
 " How could I know ? Mr. Thorndike, this is ungentleman- 
 ly, nay worse, dishonest, when you have as good as asked my 
 father" 
 
 Lucy paused. Up to this point her indignation had been 
 honest, but now she colored with a sense of shame. She knew 
 that -he liked her. This clasp of the arm, this warmth and 
 tremor of the voice, and these eyes devouring her with troubled 
 and questioning looks, all told it. To go any farther would be 
 like forcing him into an explanation. 
 
 " I had a slight talk with your father " and a light seemed 
 to dawn upon him, for the fresh face turned a deeper hue 
 " you can't mean you haven't misunderstood " 
 
 She held her breath. For which one did he care. It had 
 gone too far to remain unexplained. 
 
 " It is Rachel," she said, " and you have no right to please 
 to let me go," she begged almost piteously, her eyes downcast 
 and filled with strange tears. 
 
 " No, it isn't Rachel. You haven't much vanity, or pene 
 tration, I was going to say, or you would have guessed. Why, 
 I love you ! Zounds ! a man must be a fool not to choose youth 
 and beautv instead of "
 
 58 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 " But Rachel is good," she interposed, with a sudden twinge 
 of remorse. " She will make a better wife than I, Mr. Thorn- 
 dike. She loves to work, and I don't ; she understands house 
 keeping and cooking, which I hate. Then I'd always h'ke to 
 be dressed pretty but I'm afraid it would cost a good deal ; 
 and she is content with a little." 
 
 " I want to see you look like a real beauty ; I'm sure you 
 can be as grand as any of them ! I mean you to have silks, 
 and diamonds, and all that; and if you like, I'll buy the Cun 
 ningham place. What made you think that I was in love with 
 Rachel?" 
 
 A glimmering vision flashed before Lucy's eyes. Poor 
 child, caught as easily as the most brilliant butterfly of them 
 all ! 
 
 " And you don't love her ? " 
 
 She wanted to be sure. She was quite ready to crowd out 
 Rachel, and take the good things of this life that had been 
 dealt so sparingly to her thus far. Now that the alluring bait 
 was within reach, she could not let it slip through her fingers. 
 
 He was delighted, taking the question as if actuated by 
 pique or jealousy, or perhaps best of all, love. Clasping the 
 small hand fondly, he sai.l 
 
 " Set your heart at rest, inv darling. I don't love any one 
 but you ; and I've loved you since that first night when you 
 came and leaned your arm on the mantel, and your beautiful 
 curls were like a shower of gold. As if I could have cared 
 for" 
 
 " Hush," she said softly, touched by the tender flattery. 
 I believe with all her frivolity and ambition, she would have 
 been kinder towards Rachel than her sister to her, had the 
 case been reversed. 
 
 " How generous you are ! " he exclaimed in slow amaze. 
 " Why you know they say handsome people are always selfish 
 and vain : but, by Jove ! you're enough better than some of 
 them with their long faces and sanctimonious ways."
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 59 
 
 " But I'm not very good ; I don't want you to believe that 
 and be disappointed." 
 
 " I'm not afraid," was his confident reply. 
 
 Then they walked on in silence, neither heeding the direc 
 tion of their steps. 
 
 " But you haven't said that you loved me," he began, ab 
 ruptly. 
 
 Did she love him ? What was love ? She had a curious 
 feeling about it, a presentiment that if the matter was sifted to 
 the finest grains of truth, it would be impossible for her to 
 love this man beside her with a high and noble affection. It 
 was more for what he could give her and the pleasure of being 
 taken out of this miserable life, than any touch of earnest re 
 gard. 
 
 " I don't know," she said hesitatingly. " It is so sudden 
 and strange ! And I have never thought how it would be. 
 You are so much older " 
 
 " But you won't mind the difference ? " he asked, anxious 
 ly. If he could only go back to six-and-twenty for her sake ! 
 
 " I do not believe that it is so much the years as the the 
 love. Oh, are you sure that you will always be good to me, 
 and not get tired when you find me vain and foolish and full 
 of faults ? I believe that killed poor mamma ! She wasn't like 
 them you know, though she was good and sweet, and if any one 
 had only cared for her, it might have been so different." 
 
 It was very easy to promise there, with her trembling on 
 his arm. His slow and obtuse soul could no more take in the 
 full and fine nature of her demands than it could have soared 
 to the sun. He was thinking that to give her a pretty house 
 and elegant clothes, to pet and admire her continually, was 
 love in its breadth and fulness. 
 
 " Yes, I will always be good to you ; and you'll try to love 
 me, won't you ? " in a pleading tone. 
 
 " I'll try and I'm sure that I shall succeed some time. It 
 has only been a little while since we first met, you know ? "
 
 60 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 Her voice had such a soft, coaxing strain in it that it won 
 him entirely. 
 
 " Would you like the Cunningham house ? " with a little 
 hesitation, as if he was not quite sure of its being good 
 enough. 
 
 " Oh, it would be lovely to go and live there ! The grounds 
 are so beautiful in summer, and such hosts of flowers ! I love 
 them so much." 
 
 "It can be bought for a mere song, cash clown. Your fa 
 ther recommended it as a speculation. I think I'll look in 
 some day would you like to see it ? " 
 
 She blushed vividly and he, catching a glimpse of the 
 scarlet, laughed. 
 
 " Why yes, it will be your house so why shouldn't you see 
 it?" 
 
 " I am afraid father will think it too too expensive," she 
 said hesitatingly. 
 
 " Oh, I shall not ask him for any thing, you know," in his 
 commonplace way. " He has only you two and he said that 
 if you married to suit him, you should have your share, and that 
 he wouldn't object to me as a son-in-law. Rachel's name was 
 never mentioned." 
 
 " And you thought of me even then ? " she rejoined, clasp 
 ing his arm with a sudden impulse of tenderness, her heart 
 beating quicker at this proof of his regard. 
 
 Oh, Lucy, if you had known the mercenary depth of that 
 first impulse, you would not have clung to him so eagerly ! 
 
 He rather congratulated himself as being in luck all the 
 way round. 
 
 " Yes. And about the house ? " 
 
 " Oh, if it pleases you that will be enough ;" she made an 
 swer, bashfully. 
 
 He liked the manner in which she deferred to him, and he 
 resolved that she should have whatever pleased her, as well. 
 
 " Oh, where are we going ? '' and Lucy stopped suddenly.
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 61 
 
 " I was to do an errand for Rachel, the last of all and I've 
 rambled quite out of my way. It is almost noon." 
 
 " No matter, we will go back. And now I want to know 
 why you hid yourself when I called ? I expected to see you." 
 
 " I didn't hide. I've never been invited in the room when 
 there was company, unless it was old ladies or a Dorcas." 
 
 " But you'll come now ? " 
 
 That arrangement was difficult to make. When it came to 
 the point, Lucy was afraid to take a decisi/e step. She was 
 not sure that it was hardly safe to confess so soon ; and then 
 she had a young girl's foolish romance concerning the charm 
 of secrets. 
 
 " Let me think about it," she begged ; and finally he consent 
 ed, provided that she reached the conclusion speedily. 
 
 He would have accompanied her home, but this she posi 
 tively forbade. Dinner was nearly over, for Mr. Garth would 
 not have waited for the queen. Rachel had marvelled at her 
 sister's long absence, and now Mr. Garth had reached a very 
 exact and exacting mood. Where had she been ? Had she 
 made any calls ? Had she met any of those idle, trifling girls 
 against whom her father had repeatedly war ned her ? 
 
 Lucy was thankful that no questions were asked which she 
 could not answer with perfect truth. For the rest, she volun 
 teered no information, and, when her father questioned her 
 closely, took refuge in a rather haughty silence. 
 
 Rachel left her to herself and her thoughts. They were a 
 chaotic mass indeed. Her mind seemed to change with ev 
 ery varying mood, and withal her secret weighed upon her 
 spirits. Had the elder been keener eyed, she would have 
 found sufficient grounds for suspicion of some kind. 
 
 Matters were in this state on Sunday as the congregation 
 clustered around the old church doors for an interchange of 
 friendly or curious greeting. Mr. Thorndike was conspicuous 
 among them. He elbowed his way to Mr. Garth's vicinity, 
 hardly thinking of the watchful eyes that were upon him. He
 
 62 Lucia : Her Problem. 
 
 shook hands very cordially with Rachel, it must be confessed, 
 while Lucy drew back in confusion, and turned a trifle pale. 
 They all kept together until the groups thronged out upon the 
 sidewalk. 
 
 " Lucy ! " exclaimed her father peremptorily. 
 
 Lucy fell back a step or two beside him. 
 
 It was a proud moment in Rachel Garth's life. She knew 
 that dozens of envious eyes were upon her, and she also had 
 a consciousness that Warren Thorndike was held in rather su 
 perior esteem. As rich now, perhaps, as her father, in the 
 very prime of life, and really fine-looking who among her 
 
 juaintances had married as well ? So she held her head 
 Mnewhat loftily, admiring the man who walked beside her 
 with a feeling that surprised herself. 
 
 He meanwhile bit his lip, thinking of the fair face and 
 slender figure just behind, that he could not even see. Ra 
 chel's platitudes were wearisome, her very voice seemed harsh 
 and cold contrasted with the other. Marry her, indeed ! 
 
 He saw very little of Lucy, though he accepted the invita 
 tion to dine solely for that purpose. She was more than dis 
 creet, and Rachel bestowed upon her a grim smile that was 
 absolutely approving. The little witch enjoyed this state of 
 affairs as she saw the sharp frown cross her lover's brow, and 
 the gnawing of the lip indicating displeasure. 
 
 " He does love me ! " she thought exultingly. 
 
 Rachel spent but a very few moments in the kitchen. 
 Lucy assisted Hetty as usual, washed her hands and gave her 
 hair a little brush. Then she put on her hat and cloak, as the 
 hour for Sunday-school was at hand. 
 
 She began to feel somewhat disappointed. A brief sen 
 tence or a clasp of the hand would have satisfied her, but that 
 was quite impossible now. She must go away and l^t him be 
 lieve what ? 
 
 And then she bethought herself that she must make a 
 journey into his presence. Her father never allowed her any
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 63 
 
 money beyond the present needs, so she had to go to him reg 
 ularly for her small missionary stipend. She opened the door, 
 but her father was at the opposite end of the room, perusing 
 his religious paper. So she preferred her request in a 
 whisper. 
 
 "Where are you going, Lu Miss Garth?" Mr. Thorn- 
 dike asked, coloring and correcting the familiarity. 
 
 " To Sunday-school," announced her father in a pompous 
 manner. 
 
 " I think I'll walk down the street with you," he declared 
 in a very deliberate fashion. 
 
 Lucy trembled in every limb, and half expected that 
 father would command her to stay at home. The frightene 
 look rather won upon Rachel, who attributed it to surprise 
 and humility. And then, as he was to be her brother some 
 day, the freedom was quite allowable. 
 
 " No, don't go, Thorndike," exclaimed Mr. Garth. 
 
 " Indeed I must. I wish to see a person particularly ;" 
 and Mr. Thorndike rose. 
 
 " My friend," said Mr. Garth, " I hope soon to see you 
 lay aside worldly cares on such a day as this." 
 
 "I don't know that it can justly be called a worldly care," 
 Mr. Thorndike returned, with a little laugh at his fancied clev 
 erness. 
 
 Lucy's face was scarlet. She drew her veil down hurried 
 ly, opened the hall door, and was half way through the small 
 court-yard before Mr. Thorndike had said his adieus. 
 
 He soon strode up to her, but her heart was beating fiercely. 
 
 " This won't do, you know," he began in his abrupt way. 
 " I can't stand it, and I may as well ask your father at once. 
 To be put off with /^continually." 
 
 " Oh, if you do care for me, be patient," Lucy exclaimed pa 
 thetically. 
 
 " A man likes to see a little of the woman he loves," was 
 the grim reply.
 
 64 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 " It will come right sometime," she pleaded. " Only wait 
 until we are sure that we love each other ! " 
 
 " I am sure now." 
 
 Her list of arguments had not reached its end. Somehow 
 he could not resist her pretty entreaties. She begged for a 
 week or a fortnight) and promised to think of him every mo 
 ment, and he left her at the church door a good deal dissatis 
 fied, but more in love than ever on account of the obstacles in 
 his path, after the fashion of human nature.
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 SHOWING HANDS. 
 
 LUCY was late for Sunday-school, and Miss Kip e 
 her severely. That she should be absent and inatten 
 was not wonderful ; and she was glad at last to go up sta' 
 and take her seat in the quiet end of the pew and resign her 
 self to dreams. Little did Rachel or her father imagine the 
 worldly thoughts that held a carnival in the busy brain per 
 haps she hardly realized it herself. 
 
 She was honestly afraid of making her secret known. It 
 might be possible that her father would forbid any marriage 
 until she was twenty-one, almost four years. Did Mr. Thorn- 
 dike love her well enough now to remain true through such a 
 probation ? She was afraid not. With that grand house 
 looming up before her, and the promised luxuries of dress, 
 she hardly dared risk and lose. She knew so little of the 
 world and life. 
 
 Thursday evening of that week another Dorcas was held 
 at Mrs. Bowers's. Mr. Thorndike did not make his appear 
 ance until then. He meant to treat Lucy to a little show of 
 coldness, but fortunately finding her alone in one of the odd 
 nooks in which the house abounded, he could not resist the 
 temptation of stealing a caress. She was in a fond mood too, 
 a sort of tender, clinging passion, that won upon him im 
 mensely. And then he coaxed her into promising to walk 
 with him the next afternoon, as she had an errand to call her 
 out.
 
 GG Lucia : Her ProUem. 
 
 She saw the nods and winks, and the pointed sentences 
 with which Rachel was greeted. How she could take it so 
 calmly and complacently puzzled Lucy, who blushed when 
 ever any one gave her a sudden look, and found her heart 
 beating loudly at the slightest word. What this would event 
 ually prove to Rachel she did not pause to consider. There 
 was no fine tenderness between these two girls, no real love 
 indeed, though one possessed a fond and loving nature. 
 
 Mr. Garth, much to his dissatisfaction, was compelled to 
 escort home some ladies, so Mr. Thorndike took the two girls, 
 's soft hand lay in his, and received numberless tokens 
 ection. 
 
 " Write me a note for to-morrow," he whispered with his 
 good-by. 
 
 Lucy went straight to bed, but Rachel sat up for her father. 
 Some way he felt a trifle disappointed at not finding Mr. 
 Thorndike there, though he did not express this to his daughter. 
 
 I hardly know why Rachel Garth felt so secure, and placed 
 such perfect confidence in a man who had not as yet allowed 
 himself the first lover-like word or action, unless it chimed in 
 with some peculiarity of her nature. She would have been 
 astonished by the freedom with which he treated Lucy. Her 
 ideas ran in the old orthodox channel of propriety. And it 
 might have been because she never dreamed of a rival in her 
 sister. Her father's opinions about Lucy were hers ; besides, 
 she looked upon her as a hardly grown-up child, and little sus 
 pected that one step had taken her into womanhood. 
 
 Lucy met her lover, and during the walk they exchanged 
 notes. Hers had been a great source of perplexity, and was 
 brief as well as proper. She had no opportunity to peruse his 
 until after supper, when she made an excuse to go to her room 
 for a dress that needed mending. 
 
 A love letter in the fullest sense. An ardent, persuasive, 
 pleading missive, begging for her love, for liberty to speak, for 
 the privilege of seeing her openly, picturing their future happi-
 
 Lucia : Her Problem. G7 
 
 ness together, the impatience and tenderness of his regard, and 
 giving her pet names that were sweet to linger over. If it did 
 not reach the highest point of delicacy and refinement, she was 
 hardly able to perceive this. She had not attained to any of 
 the loftier summits of womanhood from whence she could look 
 down with clear eyes upon her own soul and its needs. The 
 love which he offered her was so above any thing that had 
 come in her narrow life, that she accepted it as a supreme 
 good. 
 
 The letters and stolen interviews went on for a few weeks 
 but though Warren Thorndike's conscience was not touc 
 his selfishness was, and he made so strong a protest that U 
 was forced into a reluctant assent. He could not end 
 being thwarted at every turn, starved and repelled, when the 
 magical land of love lay before him in all its alluring sweet 
 ness. If Lucy had wished to strengthen and deepen his pas 
 sion, she could have chosen no surer course ; but it had come 
 about more from her fear and the force of circumstances. 
 
 Mr. Thorndike was a trifle embarrassed when he had gain 
 ed his point. His conscience was clear about Rachel, for he 
 had never uttered a tender word to her, but he felt that these 
 attentions, and the familiar dropping in to meals, had misled 
 Mr. Garth. 
 
 Still, he was not a man to blunder over explanations. He 
 generally took a straightforward course, and after the Christ 
 mas dinner, which had been a rather unusual gala time, seeing 
 that Mr. Garth generally dismissed festivals of this kind with a 
 virtuous frown, he prepared himself for an explanation. Ra 
 chel had gone to make some changes in her attire. Since the 
 advent of her lover, as she esteemed him, she had begun to 
 take an almost worldly pleasure in dress, even going to the 
 length of a bit of modest colored ribbon. Lucy, Cinderella- 
 like, was still in the kitchen. 
 
 If Mr. Thorndike could have understood how strongly 
 the tide ran against Lucy, he might have hesitated a moment,
 
 C8 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 at all events he would not so soon have made an opportunity to 
 say, as the conversation was cautiously led to this subject. 
 
 " Mr. Garth, I fancy that there is some misunderstanding 
 here. It is Lucy that I care for, and not Rachel ! " 
 
 " Lucy ! " 
 
 Mr. Garth rose and approached his visitor to see if he 
 could discover any signs of mental aberration. " Lucy ! " he 
 repeated in an astonished and wandering manner. 
 
 "Yes, Lucy!" Mr. Thorndike was losing his patience. 
 He could see nothing so wonderful or reprehensive in what he 
 done. Did not men fall in love with pretty girls often 
 
 ugh to make it no marvel ? " And I ask you for the right 
 visiting her honorably and openly, with a view of making 
 her my wife ? " 
 
 All that was plain enough. Mr. Thorndike had risen in 
 his heat, and was pacing the room. He would not be an easy 
 man to go against, although Mr. Garth's first impulse was to 
 dismiss him upon the spot. 
 
 " Yes, I like your daughter Lucy," he went on in a decisive 
 way. " I am old enough to know my own mind, and when a 
 man resolves to settle clown, he generally takes a wife. My 
 means, I believe, are amply sufficient to support one." 
 
 Mr. Garth gasped in anguish. This handsome fortune 
 placed in the hands of a vain, ignorant child like Lucy ! This 
 man's comfort dependent upon an indolent and wayward girl, 
 who, if left to herself, would fill her house with servants ! He 
 thought of his own unfortunate experiment, and longed to warn 
 him. 
 
 " You will regret it," he said with a shake of the head, " you 
 will regret it ! " 
 
 " Like the boy, I want to see the folly of it for myself;" and 
 Mr. Thorndike laughed carelessly. 
 
 " Have you mentioned this subject to Lucy ! " asked her 
 father, somewhat sternly. 
 
 He had promised to shield Lucy from her father's anger as
 
 Lucia : Her Problem. 69 
 
 far as was possible. To confess every word and look seemed 
 absurd folly. 
 
 " We discussed the subject a few days ago," he said in his 
 firm, almost insolent tone, " and she was afraid that it might 
 lead to some difficulty. I don't see why, Mr. Garth, since you 
 do not object to me as a son-in-law. Possibly you may never 
 meet with a better offer for your daughter.'' 
 
 He uttered this last proudly. Mr. Garth knew it well. He 
 was not anxious to let Mr. Thorndike slip through his fingers. 
 
 " Thorndike," he said slowly. " I have your interest at 
 heart as well as hers. Lucy is too young and ignorant to be 
 come any man's wife. I could not so go against my conscienclj 
 as to consent without one warning. I am qualified to speak 
 from experience. Rachel is her superior in every respect." 
 
 " But the fact is that I do not want Rachel," was the impa 
 tient interruption. " You take me as Lucy's husband, or not 
 at all," 
 
 The latter contingency was not to be entertained for a mo 
 ment. Mr. Garth felt that he would give him Lucy rather than 
 lose him altogether ; but if he could be convinced of the folly 
 of this step. 
 
 " Have you any reason to suppose that Lucy looks upon 
 this matter with favor?" was the sharp question. 
 
 " I think she could be won. Girls are not usually obdu 
 rate where lovers are concerned." 
 
 Very few girls would object to this great, strong, manly fel 
 low, with a fortune to back him. Mr. Garth felt convinced of 
 that, and also that his favorite daughter's case was hopeless. 
 
 "This is so sudden, Mr. Thorndike, that I must have time 
 to consider. I wish to learn Lucy's feelings upon the subject." 
 
 " Will you summon her now ? " 
 
 This effrontery was astounding ! Mr. Garth was not used 
 to being thus bearded in his own castle. 
 
 " I wish to see her alone, first." 
 
 " Very well. When may I have an answer ? Pardon me
 
 70 Lucia: Her P/'oblem. 
 
 if I am impatient, for I fancy that I have put off this important 
 step long enough. Some of my new arrangements depend 
 upon its success." 
 
 That sounded almost like a threat to Mr. Garth. For 
 Thorndike to withdraw his money and interest from the mill 
 now, would be rather unfortunate ; but he did not mean to be 
 bullied into consent for all that. 
 
 " I must consider. No one shall say, Thorndike, that I 
 hurried you into an unwise marriage. Think of it seriously 
 yourself." 
 
 " I have thought and decided ! " rather moodily. 
 
 Rachel entered at this juncture. She saw that her father 
 was pale and discomposed, and Mr. Thorndike flushed as if 
 in anger. Half an hour ago they had been the best of friends. 
 What could have occurred ? 
 
 She drew her low chair near the fire and took up the inev 
 itable sewing. That exasperated Mr. Thorndike in his present 
 mood. Doubtless she would have to improve her wedding-day 
 by some such trifle. Why, she would never be able to devote 
 a moment to her husband ! 
 
 The three sat silent enough. Mr. Thorndike glanced out 
 of the window to the Southern sky, where the bright day was 
 clouding over. He felt undeniably cross. 
 
 "Mr. Garth," he began presently, rising as he spoke, 
 " when can I have an answer ! Excuse me if I think the case 
 somewhat urgent." 
 
 Rachel glanced up, startled by the sharpness of the tone. 
 Something in the eyes bent fiercely upon her chilled her to the 
 heart 
 
 " In a day or two," Mr. Garth responded meekly. " It is 
 best not to be too hasty." 
 
 Mr. Thorndike replied by a haughty stare, and m the door 
 way uttered a brief good-day. 
 
 " Father," Rachel asked in alarm, " what is the matter ? " 
 
 " He is in love with Lucy ! " groaned Mr. Garth.
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 71 
 
 Rachel's face turned ashen pale, and her lips quivered. 
 Her lover ! She could not believe it at all. 
 
 " But he asked you " and then she paused. 
 
 " It was a mistake. I thought he meant how could he be 
 so blind ! " 
 
 " Lucy ! " 
 
 She hissed this through her half shut lips that made a thin 
 blue line. 
 
 " I could not have imagined why, the man is surely wild ! " 
 
 " She did it that first night with her flaunting curls ! And 
 they have used me for a cloak false, deceitful wretches ! " 
 
 Rachel Garth was passionately angry. The blow had come 
 upon her so suddenly ; then, too, she thought of the mortifica 
 tion in store. 
 
 " Lucy ! " called Mr. Garth. 
 
 The culprit came slowly. She had a presentiment of im 
 pending evil, and feared to face it. 
 
 Mr. Garth seized her roughly by the arm, and for a mo 
 ment was too much enraged to speak. 
 
 " Miserable girl ! " he began at length, " how dared you 
 carry on this wholesale system of deceit in my house ? How 
 dared you brave my authority, and deal so treacherously with 
 your sister ? Had you no shame that you could thus engage 
 in a clandestine acquaintance with a man who " 
 
 Mr. Garth could get no farther. His face was of a dull pur 
 ple, and his lips quivered without sound. 
 
 Lucy looked at him and then at her sister. How much had 
 Mr. Thorndike confessed ? 
 
 Rachel was pale and stolid. She felt in some indescribable 
 way that Lucy wronged her at every turn. The beauty that 
 she had always despised stung her now, and she fairly hated 
 the sight of it. 
 
 " Yes, how dared you ? Answer me ! " 
 
 For a moment Lucy felt inclined to laugh at this bit of high 
 tragedy.
 
 72 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 " How could I help his loving me ! " she exclaimed with 
 sudden courage. " I'm sure I've not had half your chance " 
 to Rachel. " It's just been a moment now and then, and if 
 he cared " 
 
 She looked as if she could brave them both. She was 
 beautiful, and her very power seemed to hold them in awe. 
 
 " How long has this been going on without my knowledge ? " 
 Mr. Garth asked in a commanding tone. 
 
 " He was to tell you. I left it all to him." 
 
 She felt afraid to commit herself by any explanations. How 
 much or how little Mr. Thorndike had confessed she could 
 not know. 
 
 Her father meant to wrest the truth from her, but she en 
 trenched herself behind a cold and sullen silence, and listened 
 to his reproaches and questions with an unmoved face, know 
 ing well that this was her only safety. Rachel took no part in 
 the conversation. 
 
 " Go to your room," her father thundered at length. '' Go 
 to your room, you ungrateful and rebellious child, and pray for 
 a better frame of mind. Stay there until you have subdued the 
 evil spirit within you, and are ready to pay due respect to your 
 father ! " 
 
 Lucy left the room with a swelling heart. It was early in 
 the afternoon, and the sun shone pitilessly bright over the 
 broad sheets of snow. She heard the chime of merry bells ; 
 she thought of the delightful home festivals that so many happy 
 hearts were keeping, and she shut out of all she who could 
 have so enjoyed love, tenderness, and innocent merriment. 
 Why had this mark been put upon her ? Why must loneliness 
 and despair be her portion ? 
 
 It was very cold, so she wrapped herself in a blanket, and 
 sat by the window watching the travellers until she became 
 chilled, when she crawled into the bed, and sobbed as if her 
 heart was breaking. Was it any wonder that she should think 
 of Mr. Thorndike and a few sentences that he had uttered at
 
 Lucia: liar Problem. 73 
 
 their last interview ? He had said that he would marry her 
 anyhow, even if he had to run away with her. She felt ready 
 for any desperate step now, if it would but take her to happy 
 liberty. The life with Mr. Thorndike looked so bright and 
 alluring by contrast. 
 
 By-and-by twilight came on, but she still lay there in silence. 
 It was not mere stubbornness, though her father and Rachel 
 thought her strongly endowed with that quality. There was 
 nothing in the past for her to repent of, she believed, for she 
 could not feel sorry that Mr. Thorndike had loved her, or she 
 him. As to the secret meetings and little notes, she would not 
 have descended to them in preference to frankness. Indeed, 
 she thought it would be almost Heaven to live with some one 
 to whom she could confess all her faults and follies and long 
 ings without reserve. 
 
 She was not summoned to supper ; and after awhile she took 
 off her dress, groping around in the dark, and shedding a few 
 vain tears. I am afraid Mr. Garth would hardly have been 
 satisfied with her prayers, since she asked for happiness and a 
 way to be opened out of this miserable life. But then it was 
 just what she wanted. 
 
 Hetty came up with a little supper, but Lucy had no heart 
 nor appetite for a mouthful, although the kindness touched her. 
 Soon afterward she fell asleep, and there her troubles ended. 
 
 She came down as usual the next morning. Rachel's face 
 was grimly cold, her father's severe in the extreme. He read 
 her another lecture upon the enormity of her sin, but found her 
 still unrepentant, and predicted terrible judgments for her. In 
 bygone days these denunciations used to fill her with extremest 
 terror ; now she tried to shut her eyes to them. 
 
 It must be confessed that Mr. Garth rather dreaded the 
 coming interview with his proposed son-in-law. Mr. Thorn- 
 dike was a prompt man, and a fearless one. It was true that 
 he had comforted Lucy in the midst of her fear and unhappi- 
 ness, with the promise of an elopement, if it were necessary, 
 4
 
 74 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 but he did not mean that it should be. He wanted Lucy's fortune 
 as well as herself, and he intended to be received into the house 
 of Garth as an honored member. He fancied that the threat 
 of going away would bring Mr. Garth to terms, and in this he 
 was right, though the father was not lacking in the quality which 
 he so bitterly condemned in his daughter stubbornness. 
 
 He knew very well that morning that it would end by his 
 acceding to Mr. Thorndike's proposals ; but he went over with 
 the old arguments and warnings until Mr. Thorndike began to 
 lose his temper. Then he fell back upon the same excuse 
 time for consideration. 
 
 But shortly after the commencement of the new year Mr. 
 Thorndike carried his point, and the matter was settled with a 
 rather ungracious consent He was to be admitted to the 
 house as the lover of Lucy Garth, though her father reserved 
 the right to make the engagement as lengthy as in his judgment 
 it was proper to do. He still clung to a belief that when Mr. 
 Thorndike came to study Rachel, he would find her so much 
 her sister's superior that it might be made an excuse for break 
 ing the unwise bond. 
 
 Lucy's heart gave a bound of delight at this announcement. 
 She had not dared to seek an interview with Mr. Thorndike 
 through this trying time, so when he came to tea by special 
 invitation, though she did not know it, and Rachel had not 
 considered it necessary to take out the china, hope rose at 
 once in her mercurial temperament. 
 
 Mr. Thorndike's obtuseness stood him in good stead. A 
 more sensitive man would have found the interview very trying. 
 He had a great deal of rough good nature about him when he 
 was pleased or elated ; and in spite of Mr. Garth's lofty severi 
 ty and Rachel's obstinate silence, he made himself at home. 
 Lucy was extremely shy, and yet wonderfully enchanting. Hs 
 contrasted her grace and airyness with her sister's prim, cold 
 manner, and felt not in the least disposed to change his alle 
 giance.
 
 Lucia : Her Problem. 75 
 
 Mr. Garth had many strictures and much advice to give 
 with his concession. Lucy was young, totally ignorant, and 
 quite indifferent to the acquirements of a good housekeeper. 
 She had been an idle and wayward girl, and her father did not 
 consider it his duty to conceal any of her faults. Mr. Thorn- 
 dike should never feel that he had been deceived in the slight 
 est particular. And so on and on until Lucy's face was scar 
 let, and her blood at the white heat of indignation. 
 
 She went to the hall door with him he was her lover, and 
 she had not been vouchsafed the opportunity of exchanging a 
 single private word with him until now. 
 
 He put his strong arms about her neck and kissed the 
 throbbing lips. She seemed so small, so helpless, and most 
 unjustly used. 
 
 " Oh," she whispered, clinging to him as her only friend 
 " you don't believe all that miserable story. I would work, 
 I would do any thing for the one who loved me. I will try to 
 make you happy ! You are so good, so kind, and so much to 
 me. You won't let anybody come between us ? " 
 
 Her sweet face was full of tears. This, and the soft, pathet 
 ic voice, touched his rough heart. 
 
 " My darling, no. Don't let them worry you. It will all 
 come out straight. I've been to look at the Cunningham house, 
 and if it suits you, we'll go there in the spring." 
 
 " Oh, you are so good ! " 
 
 The promised change seemed almost like Heaven to her 
 narrow and material vision. 
 
 A few more tender words and the lovers parted. Lucy 
 came back and sat down by the fireside, while her father held 
 forth in one of his wearisome lectures. She gave small heed, 
 for in the blaze she seemed to see a soft-haired woman queen 
 ing it at the Cunningham Place.
 
 70 Lucia: Her Problem . 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE GOLDEN SIDE. 
 
 LUCY GARTH'S engagement did not long remain un 
 known to the gossips of Dedham. If it had depended 
 upon Rachel or Mr. Garth, they could have kept the secret up 
 to the hour of the ceremony. Mr. Thorndike had an idea 
 that publicity would prove his best ally. Why should he be 
 ashamed of it ? he argued. Lucy was a handsome girl, and would 
 make an elegant woman when she came to be dressed in style. 
 The Garths were a good old family, and could trace a pure de 
 scent back to the revolutionary times ; and best of all, there was 
 a fortune in prospect. 
 
 So Warren Thorndike marched proudly into church on 
 Sunday morning and took a seat in the Garth pew, though 
 prosy Mr. Howe bored him intolerably. After they were 
 married, he thought he and Lucy would go to the Shiloah so 
 ciety, for they had a brilliant young minister, whose courage 
 was not even intimidated by driving a fast horse, and whose 
 name was down upon some of the most attractive lecture 
 courses. To be sure, the Shiloah people paid three thousand 
 dollars a year for this luxury, and gave him a six weeks' vaca 
 tion, which was not high, all things being considered. 
 
 The elderly gossips exchanged sundry nods and winks. It 
 was all settled then. Rachel Garth would not need much tin ? 
 to prepare an outfit, for every one knew of the piles of bed and 
 table linen and store of blankets. Mr. Thorndike would go
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 77 
 
 to house-keeping, of course, and a vacancy would occur in the 
 Garth household, to be rilled by somebody. Lucy was passed 
 over as a very unimportant member. 
 
 But when Warren Thorndike drew Lucy Garth's hand 
 through his arm and walked home with her, the busy tongues 
 were half paralyzed. And to see this repeated again before 
 the day was over gave unmistakable force and truth to the 
 matter. 
 
 Miss Kip made her call early on Monday afternoon, for 
 the morning was devoted to washing. 
 
 " I never was so beat in my life," she began. " You 
 don't mean to tell me that he's to marry that child ! and 
 they walking out of church like husband and wife already ! " 
 
 Rachel Garth turned her dull, swarthy hue. The mortifi 
 cation had been very severe, and now to have to explain the 
 truth, when she had been congratulating herself, was humilia 
 ting. But she could not evade and patch up such an affair 
 gracefully. 
 
 " Yes. Father has consented against his better judg 
 ment. Lucy is a mere child ; and though I have done my 
 best, I am sure, I have not been able to make any thing out 
 of her." 
 
 " I dare say. If ever any one was marked in soul and body, it 
 is that girl ! She is her mother's own child 1 " 
 
 Miss Kip spoke with some asperity. Rachel had been so 
 used to hearing her step-mother condemned, and she thought 
 justly, that there was no feeling of honor about it. 
 
 " But when did it happen ? '' asked the eager questioner. 
 
 " He spoke on Christmas day. I must say that it would 
 have looked more manly and honorable not to have used me 
 as a cloak." 
 
 " And you' didn't suspect all that time ? " 
 
 " How should I ? We have never considered Lucy as at 
 all grown or mature. But she is very forward." 
 
 This was uttered in a sharp, spiteful manner.
 
 78 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 "The man must be crazy, my dear Rachel. He will live 
 to rue this day's work ! " 
 
 Rachel hoped in her heart that he would. It was something 
 deeper than the passing disappointment with her. She was 
 not discriminating or analytical, but she had a clear brain and 
 a good deal of common sense. She seemed to understand 
 Mr. Thorndike from the very first, and know better than him 
 self what manner of wife he needed. Just now he was very 
 much infatuated by Lucy's pretty face, but she could remem 
 ber a time when her step-mother had grown thin and wan and 
 plain. When that day came, Lucy's reign would be at an end 
 over such a man as Mr. Thorndike. 
 
 That day never came, but in its stead something that 
 Rachel little dreamed of now. 
 
 " It is a foolish piece of work ; but he is obstinate, and she 
 of course ready to marry the first man who asks her." 
 
 Rachel spoke with severity, as if she had refused scores of 
 lovers. 
 
 " How can men be so foolish, my dear Rachel ! " and Miss 
 Kip sighed over the time when she, too, had been set aside 
 for a pretty face. 
 
 " And with twenty years difference in their ages ! " flung 
 out Rachel. u However, I've washed my hands of the mat 
 ter. I told Lucy so. I've tried my best to do my duty by 
 her, and now she must work out her own salvation." 
 
 "I expected better things of Warren Thorndike! It's 
 enough to make his poor old mother rise in her grave. Ah, 
 she was such a house-keeper, my dear ! I've said many a time 
 that you were enough like her to be her own child. It doesn't 
 seem to me as if it could be true. When are they to be mar 
 ried ? " 
 
 " I don't know," Rachel said simply. 
 
 " It's my opinion that he will come to his senses some time, 
 and so I should be in favor of a long engagement. It would 
 be dreadful for them both to be dissatisfied afterward, and it
 
 Lucia : Her Problem. 79 
 
 doesn't seem to me that Lucy can appreciate a man like Mr. 
 Thorndike. 
 
 " That is just it," returned Rachel warmly. " All she will 
 care for will be dress and company, but he's been warned. 
 It's his own fault." 
 
 And so they groaned and predicted a dismal future for the 
 girl who was combing out her shining hair and singing a bit 
 of a forbidden love song in the room above. Perhaps both 
 women secretly hoped that Mr. Thorndike's safety would be 
 brought about by some interposition of fate powerful enough 
 to separate him from Lucy Garth. 
 
 I cannot say that Rachel had been disappointed in her 
 love, for the feeling had gone no deeper than a strong satis 
 faction with her ; then she was not the kind of a woman to 
 love entirely. Yet her practical good sense led her to see that 
 Lucy and Warren Thorndike were not suited to each other. 
 Could he understand Lucy's vague and dreamy moods, her ro 
 mantic tendencies, her strange sympathy for things and sub 
 jects that would interest no other person ? And when Lucy 
 neglected his house, left the meals to servants, fell into untidy 
 habits, as she surely would when this constant supervision 
 was removed, then would come his time of trial ; and Rachel 
 absolutely pitied this man of her vision, like a mother yearn 
 ing over a son. 
 
 The courtship was not a very satisfactory proceeding. 
 Lucy proposed to kindle a fire in the best room, but this 
 Rachel forbade except on Sundays. So the poor child had 
 recourse to stolen walks again, and brief, whisnered sentences, 
 when no sharp ears were listening. Mr. Garth discussed 
 business with Mr. Thorndike until Lucy felt as if she could fly 
 to the ends of the earth. 
 
 He came one day in a small wagon that he used for all or 
 dinary purposes, and announced that he wished to take Lucy 
 to visit the Cunningham place, as he was negotiating for it. 
 
 Lucy dropped her sewing in radiant surprise.
 
 80 Lucia : Her Problem. 
 
 " Of course she would go ! " 
 
 Rachel gave a sharp glance at the wagon and then at her 
 sister. It was evident there was no room for a third, and yet 
 she was not quite settled upon the point of propriety. And 
 while she was debating, Lucy had vanished. 
 
 " You don't mean to buy the place for " and Rachel paused, 
 not able to put the enormity into words. 
 
 " For myself and Lucy ? Yes, if she likes it ! " 
 
 Rachel gave a gasp of surprise. He took a rather mali 
 cious enjoyment in it. 
 
 " For you two ! It is an extravagant beginning. What 
 does Lucy know about the management of such a place ? " 
 
 " She can learn." 
 
 Rachel sniffed in disdainful silence. Then Lucy returned 
 flushed and happy, in spite of the dull, Bay state shawl and 
 faded brown veil. 
 
 He wrapped her snugly in the blanket, and drew the wolf- 
 robe over her lap, asking her if she were comfortable. It was 
 so delightful to have him glance at her with that sweet anxiety, 
 and for the first time she felt as if her lover was really her 
 own. 
 
 "It's good to have you here alone," he exclaimed, falling 
 into her train of thought, at which both laughed, and she shyly 
 confessed her satisfaction. 
 
 " I saw Cunningham yesterday. The family have all gone to 
 town, and he's anxious to get the place off his hands. It's proved 
 rather a heavy speculation for him. He wants to sell part of 
 the furniture." 
 
 " Do you really think of buying it for " and Lucy blushed 
 with his ardent eyes upon her. 
 
 " For the man in the moon ! " and Thorndike laughed. 
 
 " I don't deserve so much good fortune," Lucy said with a 
 sudden touch of humility. 
 
 " Oh, you don't ! Well, shall we turn back ? " 
 
 " No, no," and her face was more radiant than before.
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 8.1 
 
 " I shall be quite lost in such a grand place," she went on 
 slowly, with a lingering tenderness in her voice that was sweet 
 to hear. 
 
 " I mean you to be as great a lady as the best of them, my 
 darling," he said with a sort of rough pride. 
 
 She, who had never been cared for or held in any esteem 
 since the death of her poor, fond mother, thought this promise 
 a draught of golden wine indeed, and seemed touched in every 
 pulse r *y the subtle flavor. So they talked, and laughed, and 
 loved, or thought they did, which is the same while it lasts the 
 world over. Then they stopped at the wide gates. 
 
 There was a spacious lawn with a drive around, while the 
 house stood on a ridge of rising ground. In summer it was 
 beautiful, with the embowering shrubbery ; and even now the 
 clusters of evergreens kept it from looking dreary. An odd 
 place as to architecture, with a great variety of windows, angles, 
 verandas, and set off with a tower at one corner, whose eleva 
 tion was high above the gables of the roof. 
 
 The man left in charge answered the summons, and 
 ushered them into the spacious hall, which was covered with 
 thick, soft carpet. A handsome drawing-room and library on 
 one side, that could be shut off by ground-glass doors, on the 
 other a sitting-room, furnished much more elegantly than the 
 parlors Lucy was in the habit of seeing ; a large dining-room, 
 with its oaken and walnut floor, and appointments to corre 
 spond, and back of all two kitchens. 
 
 The chambers up above were quite in keeping. Lucy 
 could only exclaim in a delighted and astonished manner. 
 Her ignorance and pleasure were alike charming, and her 
 piquant gratitude the most fascinating of all. And then she 
 appeared so perfectly at home amid this luxury in spite of her 
 shabby dress. 
 
 " Then you like it ? " 
 
 " Oh, like does not seem any word for it ! I am afraid that 
 I am dreaming. Why it would be living in Paradise ! " 
 
 A*
 
 82 Lucia: Htr Problem. 
 
 "But suppose /didn't like it? w he asked with quick jeal 
 ousy, for the narrow soul could hardly bear to share her regard 
 with any thing beyond his own person. 
 
 He had thrown himself into a cushioned arm-chair, and 
 looked very handsome and lordly she thought, and somehow 
 she felt extremely proud of him and tender towards him. She 
 knelt beside him, laying her soft cheek on his knee. 
 
 " But you do like it," she said in her winsome voice ; "and 
 if you did not, I should still have you. It' seems to me that 
 any place would be delightful if you were only there and cared 
 for me as you do now." 
 
 He took her in his arms and kissed her times without num 
 ber. Ah, if they could have lived there unknowing and un 
 known ! If they could have believed always that this passion 
 they held for one another was love in its height and fulness ! 
 
 They rambled around gayly, she appealing to him now and 
 then in an ignorance so sweet that it was an exquisite pleasure 
 to be her instructor. And yet he felt in some vague way that 
 she made daring flights above him, and had glimpses of a 
 higher world, and that there was something in her aspiring and 
 passionate nature that he could not comprehend. But ho 
 could dress her handsomely and make her mistress of this sty 
 lish mansion. 
 
 He could not guess all that her fatal beauty was to cost 
 him ; and if she had seen, she would have shrunk back in dis 
 may and borne the old. hard life awhile longer. 
 
 At last they were ready to go. The visit had been a rare 
 holiday to her, and she could hardly realize that at no distant 
 day its beauty and luxury might be hers. She clung more 
 closely to her lover, feeling that all this happiness must come 
 through him alone. He was very tender of her, and the devo 
 tion touched her to the very soul. 
 
 Mr. Thorndike and Mr. Cunningham haggled for awhile 
 about their bargain, while Mr. Garth used his best efforts to 
 dissuade his son-in-law from ro wild a step. Buying a house
 
 Lucia : Her Problem. 83 
 
 to sell again at an advance of eight or ten thousand dollars 
 was one thing, but to live under all this expense was prepos 
 terous ! 
 
 Each day Lucy's home grew more intolerable to her. She 
 had no anxiety whatever to delay the wedding-day, indeed 
 when she looked forward sometimes to the prospect of a long 
 engagement, her heart sank within her. 
 
 It was not to be, however. Mr. Thorndike bought the 
 house, and his energetic manner soon brought matters around 
 to his views. They would be married in -May. 
 
 Rachel Garth declared the thing impossible. Lucy should 
 have a year's instruction at least in house-keeping ; her wed 
 ding outfit was to be made, her household linen prepared ; and 
 so it was folly to talk of May. 
 
 " Let her learn house-keeping by experience," laughed Mr. 
 Thorndike. " As for a wedding outfit and all that, it can be 
 bought in New York without half the bother. I have some 
 cousins there who would be delighted to take it in hand " 
 
 Rachel retired from the field in high disdain. Not a word 
 of advice and counsel would she give Lucy not that the girl 
 asked or desired any. She rather liked the new system that 
 her sister inaugurated, and appeared quite capable of looking 
 after herself. 
 
 So the gossips at Dedham had enough to occupy their 
 minds and tongues. The wildest stories were credited ; and 
 Lucy walked about with a haughty air as if she were already 
 queen. 
 
 She went to New York for her bridal attire. Mr. Thorn- 
 dike's cousin, a pretty and fashionable married woman of 
 thirty, came for her and marvelled not a little at the Garths' 
 frugal virtues. Lucy received a very moderate portion from 
 her father, though it appeared large to her inexperienced eyes ; 
 but Mr. Thorndike charged Mrs. Wilder to do all that was 
 befitting, regardless of expense. 
 
 It was a new and peculiar experience for Lucy. She took
 
 84 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 it in a most superb manner. She had been born \vith a rare 
 eye for beauty of the most perfect type, and one would hardly 
 have supposed from her selections that it was her first experi 
 ence in the world of fashion. 
 
 Of course Mr. Garth paid the bills. If he could have 
 dressed his child in sackcloth and ashes, and shut her in a con 
 vent, I am not sure but that it would have been a great gratifi 
 cation to him. But all of Dedham thought Lucy a lucky girl, 
 and congratulated him, so he bore it in grim silence. Rachel 
 was comforted by her dear friends, though I cannot say that 
 she envied Lucy any of her splendor ; but she groaned in secret 
 over the extravagance. 
 
 So Lucy Garth was married one bright May morning in the 
 dull parlor where she had first flashed the syren light of her 
 beauty upon Mr. Thorndike. As she said her vows over, she 
 meant to keep them every one "Love, Honor, and Obey." 
 It looked so easy. She was leaving all the misery and cold 
 ness behind and going to light, warmth, and tenderness. 
 
 As for Warren Thorndike, he was still deeply infatuated. 
 The opposition that he had met with had been just keen 
 enough to lure him on, the obstacles of a kind that he liked to 
 demolish. He had carried every point, and they were still 
 good friends ; indeed, Mr. Garth was secretly proud of him. 
 
 And yet it was a cold, sad bridal. No tender and loving 
 friends to wish the young wife joy and happiness for the years 
 to come, no sweet and gracious prayers, no warm smiles nor 
 fond tears. 
 
 " Suppose there should always be a shadow on my life ? " 
 Lucy Thorndike thought, with a frightened gasp, and her soft 
 cheek paled involuntarily. 
 
 Mr. Howe was giving Lucy some prosy but kindly meant 
 advice in the parlor, when Warren Thorndike found himself 
 quite alone with Rachel in the ordinary living room. Some 
 thing of the man's disposition to triumph flashed over him, and 
 turning his keen eyes full upon her, he said
 
 Lucix : Her Problem. 85 
 
 "You have not congratulated me yet?" 
 
 Rachel knew that he was studying her from head to foot, 
 and comparing her with his bride. She was neither young nor 
 pretty, and possessed no winsome, deceitful graces, but she 
 was, or honestly believed herself, an upright, truthful, conscien 
 tious woman, superior to her sister in all useful and necessary 
 qualities. 
 
 " Why should I congratulate ? " she asked, coldly. 
 
 " Because it's the fashion," and he laughed a little. " Be 
 cause I am going to be happy, also. You surely do not grudge 
 me your sister ? " 
 
 She was not complimented by this. Her leaden eyes were 
 still steady and cold, and her voice passive as she answered 
 
 " No, I do not grudge you Lucy." 
 
 " Nor our happiness ? " 
 
 She made a sort of bitter, disdainful gesture. 
 
 " I do not think you are going to be happy, Mr. Thorndike, 
 if you will have the truth." 
 
 " Not happy ? Why ? " he asked, in amaze. 
 
 " I need not tell you." 
 
 " Yes, you must. It is unfair to make such a prediction 
 without some theory to base it upon. Come, why not? " 
 
 " I never soften the truth, Mr. Thorndike. You have 
 chosen a woman with a pretty face, but who is frivolous, indo 
 lent, ill-tempered when controlled or annoyed, who thinks of 
 nothing but pleasure and personal adornment, and to whom 
 the slightest duties were ever irksome. I am sorry for this. 
 You deserve a better wife and Heaven knows that I have 
 labored to make my sister a more worthy woman. She has 
 been indifferent to all the pains taken for her welfare. An 
 undutiful and disrespectful daughter will not make a good wife. 
 But you have chosen and you must bear it." 
 
 "Yes I will ; " he returned angrily, with a flash of fire in 
 his eyes. Then he looked at her with an amused pity. She 
 was narrow and jealous ; and yet he rather liked her for having
 
 86 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 loved him, as he thought ; but Rachel Garth would have said 
 the same about her sister under any circumstances. Her love 
 for him had very little to do with it. 
 
 " We shall see ; " she went on in the same cold, calm 
 exasperating tone. " I am sure I wish her no ill. I hope 
 God will change her vain and trifling mind, and give her grace 
 to do her duty." 
 
 " Warren ! " called the, loveliest and sweetest voice in the 
 world ; " the carriage has come and here are your gloves. I 
 believe wives always have to be gathering up the little traps 
 their husbands leave around so you see I have begun ; " with 
 an arch, bright smile at Mrs. Howe. 
 
 She looked exquisitely sweet and dainty in her soft, silvery 
 wedding dress, " that never cost less than five dollars a yard," 
 Miss Kip declared. Her straw hat of a shade darker, had a 
 band of velvet and a cluster of bronzed ivy leaves, while just 
 underneath the brim was a cord of azure blue, that gave a seduc 
 tive softness to the young face. 
 
 Warren Thorndike thought the vision perfection., as he took 
 his mislaid gloves. Then he handed her into the carriage as 
 if she had been the greatest lady in the land as she was, to him.
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 87 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 SUMMER. 
 
 IT was the middle of June when Lucy Thorndike stepped 
 out of the carriage in front of her own elegant mansion, 
 where roses, honeysuckles, and blossoms of all kinds in the wild 
 est profusion were showering their beauty and fragrance on 
 every hand. 
 
 The month had been a gala time to her. She looked back 
 with a touch of contemptuous pity at the Lucy Garth who had 
 gone shabbily dressed through her coarse, common paths of 
 life. How much the ignorant child had learned in those brief 
 weeks ! How much enjoyment had been crowded into every 
 day ! Some of the rare wonders of the world had been unfold 
 ed to her gaze, the beautiful and the sublime. 
 
 When Tennyson said, in his grave, inspiring fashion, which 
 must touch many a human soul 
 
 " For I, myself, with these have grown, 
 To something greater than before," 
 
 he uttered the profound experience of others as well. There 
 had not been a moment, either sleeping or waking, but what 
 Lucy Thorndike's soul had grown. You could see it in her 
 face, and you could also see what would have pained a clear- 
 eyed, thoughtful person, that the lofty and spiritual part of life 
 would be on her side, the material upon her husband's. 
 
 He had grown stouter and handsomer, I was about to say, 
 but it was mere physical ruddiness and health, with the added
 
 88 Lucia: Her P/o^lem. 
 
 ease and enjoyment. He had a full, square lower jaw, which 
 gave him an expression of extreme satisfaction, but told also 
 that self predominated. He had given Lucy much pleasure 
 this month, but he had not gone one step out of his way for 
 any of it. That was never in the man, and human nature, I 
 believe, has but few century blossoms. 
 
 There was, with all the loveliness in her face, and it seemed 
 to have improved tenfold, a look of awe and wonder, as if she 
 was groping about after something that was not quite clear to 
 her own mind. A kind of newness, subtle and intangible, per 
 vading the atmosphere she breathed. 
 
 Now and then some human soul at this period of inception 
 comes in contact with the teacher or the influence that moulds 
 it aright, and goes on to a maturity as perfect as any this side 
 of heaven. But for the one so circumstanced, hundreds blind 
 ly grope along, betrayed by false guides, stabbed to the heart 
 by treacherous friends, or left by the 'wayside bruised and 
 maimed, and sore beset by foes. Is it any wonder that so 
 many are lost, that so many souls go down to perdition when 
 no ear listened to their cry save the God of whom they know 
 so little? 
 
 Lucy Thorndike was full of questioning surprise. The 
 world was so much wider and greater than she had imagined, 
 and human souls were capable of so much more than she could 
 have dreamed in her wildest moments. She looked back at 
 the old narrow life in sickening disgust, and daily gave thanks 
 that she had escaped it. 
 
 Of course her husband should have been her guide and in 
 structor. You know how thoughtlessly she married him, and 
 what she was herself the night she came down in her flood of 
 golden hair and took him captive. I don't know who was an 
 swerable for her ignorance it is one of those far-reaching, 
 subtle questions that can never be decided on this side of 
 eternity. Souls and bodies are continually going astray, you 
 know, and we ask, was it this man's fault or his parents ?
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 89 
 
 She took her husband for guide and instructor, for priest 
 and king. There is a little of the old leaven of heathendom 
 in most womens' hearts, and they are prone to make unto them 
 selves gods. She could hardly imagine any one more generous 
 or tender ; but he would have been a brute if he had failed in 
 this" during the first month the honeymoon. 
 
 And yet some things had pained her. He had laughed 
 over two or three pretty sharp business transactions, and when 
 she had flared up with her girlish ideas of honesty, he had 
 shown a touch of displeasure. He had not scrupled at an in 
 vention of the moment to serve some purpose, which seemed 
 to her an absolute falsehood. So she had found a flaw in her 
 henx' Perhaps the same things were in the old life indeed, 
 when she came to think of it, had she been quite fair and 
 open ? 
 
 Perhaps the humiliation did her good. It enabled her to 
 take a more just view and to be merciful. And yet, the guide, 
 the instructor was gone. The sweet blossoms were already 
 shadowed. 
 
 She did what most women do, I suppose, adapted her 
 self to the circumstances. There was so much left, you 
 know. Brightness, beauty, wealth and love. She resolved 
 to make her own soul pure and true, and keep it so, to 
 make her home lovely and attractive, and her husband's life 
 happy. 
 
 She paused a moment on the threshold and glanced 
 around. 
 
 " How very beautiful it all is ! " she exclaimed with childish 
 eagerness and enthusiasm. " I wonder if the Cunninghams 
 were not sorry to leave it ? " 
 
 Mr. Thorndike laughed. It was a kind of answer that he 
 had for a great many things, and expressed his mood very 
 thoroughly. 
 
 She did not quite like the habit. In her pretty, coaxing 
 wiy, she had dissuaded him from his usual expletive of "by
 
 90 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 Jove," and now she wished that the laugh was less coarse, or 
 that he would not use it so frequently. 
 
 " But he is too good to be found fault with continually," 
 she said to herself, with her own bright smile. 
 
 " Does it look just as it did last summer ? " he asked pres 
 ently. 
 
 " I don't remember " a little puzzled at the question. 
 " I used to steal down here once in a while to comfort myself 
 in the garden. I thought it very lovely then." 
 
 " They've been working upon it the whole month, outside 
 and in. It ought to be improved. I dare say the bills will be 
 large enough ! " 
 
 She wondered if he grudged any of the money ! He had 
 been very lavish on their journey, at least in some respects. 
 No dainties were too costly for his taste or appetite, and he had 
 bought her a set of diamonds, with many other luxurious ar 
 ticles. But one day he had refused to give even a few pennies 
 to a woman with a sick baby. 
 
 " They're a set of impostors," he had said roughly. " Come 
 away." 
 
 The poor pitiful face haunted her for hours afterward. 
 
 " Father thought it was extravagant, you know," referring 
 to the house. " I wonder how they are father and Rachel ? 
 It seems as if I was some one else." 
 
 " But you like it ? " ignoring the last part of her remark. 
 
 " Oh, so much ! I wonder sometimes how all these delight 
 ful things came to happen to me. If you had not loved me, 
 first of all " 
 
 That was what he wanted praise and admiration. When 
 Rachel Garth had enumerated her sister's vanity among her 
 other faults to this man, she did not realize that his was enor 
 mous in comparison. 
 
 Lucy had begun by being very demonstrative, but her fine 
 tact and fast-growing delicacy soon intervened. Even this 
 brief contact with the world imparted an air of high breeding.
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 91 
 
 The changes were not very numerous. The Cunninghams 
 had been glad to dispose of their furniture, with no better 
 home than a boarding-house in view. Lucy was pleased on sev 
 eral accounts. It relieved her from a world of perplexity, and 
 since Mrs. Wilder had declared it in charming taste, she was 
 satisfied. 
 
 That lady was staying in the house now to receive them. She 
 swept down the broad stairs in her flowing robes and greeted 
 her cousins warmly. 
 
 It must be confessed that she stared a little at Mrs. Thorn- 
 dike's newly-acquired style, which fitted her with the grace of a 
 long-used garment. 
 
 " A pretty enough girl;" she said to her friends, while des 
 canting upon the bride, " but without a particle of taste or style." 
 
 A radiantly beautiful woman, she was forced to admit now, 
 with the air of a princess. 
 
 Tired as the poor princess was, she ran around to explore 
 every nook and cranny the vases, the pictures, the brackets 
 with their rare article of virtu, hardly an atom of beauty es 
 caped her eager eyes. 
 
 " Does it suit your ladyship ? " inquired Mrs. Wilder with 
 a pretty, but rather set smile. 
 
 " It is very beautiful, only there are not half enough flow 
 ers in-doors. Don't you love them ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes. I'll send for some more. I have brought you 
 a treasure for an upper servant, Warren, a girl that has lived 
 with a friend of mine for several years. I know Mrs. Thorn- 
 dike will like Maggie." 
 
 Maggie was graciously introduced to her new mistress, 
 and the orde.r for more flowers given. 
 
 Lucy bestowed upon her an odd, indrawn smile. 
 
 " And what about a cook, Warren ? " 
 
 " I left these things to you, Kate. Lucy will not want to 
 be troubled with such matters right away. Give us a fair start," 
 and Warren Thorndike lounged back in his easy-chair.
 
 92 Lucia : Her Problem. 
 
 " I know of a magnificent cook, but she objects to doing 
 any thing else." 
 
 " In what way ? " 
 
 " Housework, to be sure. If you want to keep up a great 
 deal of stylish company, she would be just the one." 
 
 " With another servant to wait upon her ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " We're not going to be quite as grand as that." 
 
 " Oh, Warren, two servants will surely be enough," ex 
 claimed Lucy imploringly, frightened at her own grandeur. 
 
 " I think so." 
 
 " There is one here now that you may like pretty well, a na 
 tive, I believe. The minister's wife sent her over." 
 
 " Mrs. Howe ? " asked Lucy. 
 
 "No, Mrs. Glen field." 
 
 Mrs. Thorndike smiled dreamily again. Six weeks ago 
 Mrs. Glenfield would have stared at her. How odd it all 
 was ! 
 
 " Mrs. Glenfield called one morning, and I found her quite 
 invaluable. You don't go there to church, Warren ? " 
 
 " No, but I think I shall. Glenfield's a capital fellow ! 
 And, Kate, oughtn't we to have some kind of a fandango ? " 
 
 " Reception," corrected Mrs. Wilder, with elegant ease. 
 
 " Yes. Can't you stay and see it through ? " 
 
 " If you if Mrs. Thorndike desires it." 
 
 " Oh, Lucy will be glad to have you set her straight in 
 these matters," and he laughed. 
 
 Lucy sat as one in a dream. Was it her own house and 
 her own future that they were so coolly discussing ? 
 
 She was glad to get away at last to the quiet of her own 
 room. The soft carpet, with its bright clusters of flowers, the fall 
 ing curtains, the elegantly carven furniture and wide mirrors were 
 like a fairy tale. Hers, all of it. She, who used to be Lucy Garth 
 in faded stuff dresses, and hair tucked out of sight ! Its beau 
 ty clung around her shoulders now like a royal mantle.
 
 Lucia : Her Problem. 93 
 
 She dressed herself for dinner in white a soft India mus 
 lin with 3 trail sweeping over the carpet, and her husband's 
 rubies lending their glitter of an autumn sunset. It was quite 
 delightful to be waited upon in this fashion. 
 
 The next day Mr. and Mrs. Glenfield called. " They were 
 really within his boundary," the clergyman explained, " and he 
 should be glad to welcome them among his flock if. Mrs. 
 Thorndike desired to make any change." 
 
 " I think we shall. Howe's a good old soul, but prosy ; 
 and that tumble-down fabric is about as uncomfortable a place 
 as I ever was in. I suppose it was all very well in my father's 
 time, but these old fogies can't understand that the world 
 changes." 
 
 " Exactly," returned Mr. Glenfield, with his most gracious 
 smile. " This is a world of improvement and progress ; and 
 religion, to be of service, must keep pace. We don't want 
 these old effete systems, but something broader and more at 
 tractive." 
 
 Lucy was listening to Mrs. Glenfield's pretty talk of flow 
 ers and the grand harmonies of nature, with liberal quotations 
 from Ruskin, and pity for " those unfortunate .but rather impru 
 dent Cunninghams," and a great many kind wishes for herself. 
 She was a -very pleasing woman, this Mrs. Glenfield. 
 
 Now and then a sentence from the clergyman floated over 
 to her. Already she had come to have a strange, sensitive 
 feeling regarding her husband ; but Mr. Glenfield was bland 
 and courteous, and seemed to enter into the acquaintance with 
 hearty good fellowship. 
 
 Lucy contrasted this with the religious influences of her 
 past. That was narrow, rigid, and cold, repressing all the ten 
 der feelings, and too often degenerating into ill-natured gossip ; 
 but was this any more ennobling ? Did it supply the needs of 
 the longing, hungry soul ? 
 
 Afterward Mr. Thorndike took his wife home to her fa 
 ther's. He had met Mr. Garth at the Mill in the morning.
 
 94 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 Rachel was alone, cold and precise as ever. She had firmly 
 resolved to set her face against the rumored doings of her sis 
 ter. The grand house should have no enticements for her. 
 Indeed, it had not. She would have felt lost and miserable 
 amid the fashionable people with whom her sister had cast in 
 her lot. 
 
 Mrs. Wilder knew how to make that life very tempting to 
 Lucy. To tell the truth, she half envied her cousin's wife, 
 though she had never admired him very extravagantly. She 
 could see that he was deeply infatuated, and would make a 
 very indulgent husband if properly managed. Then she 
 smiled rather contemptuously at the idea of this foolish Lucy 
 managing any one. 
 
 " But she has so much in her hands," she thought, with a 
 touch of envy. "And yet in five years' time he will make a 
 perfect slave of her, I'll warrant. She loves him too much ! " 
 
 The reception proved a grand affair. Mrs. Wilder was in 
 her element here. The guests had been chosen with some dis 
 crimination. Mr. and Mrs. Thorndike had made their first ap 
 pearance at the Shiloah Church on Sunday morning. The 
 bride, in her elegant mauve silk, with gloves and parasol to 
 match, was considered the perfection of taste, and she cer 
 tainly did look very lovely. 
 
 So no one thought of declining an invitation. The Garths 
 and the Thorndikes both belonged to the oldest families in 
 Dedham if that was any warrant for gentle blood. 
 
 Warren Thorndike felt immensely proud of his position and 
 his success. He liked to be the great man anywhere. When he 
 found these people ready to do him honor, he accepted the 
 homage as so much due his worth. -Where his father had made 
 hundreds, he had made thousands. 
 
 And yet Lucy Thorndike had a vague consciousness that 
 she stood almost alone in her new life. She would have no 
 assistance in climbing any grand height. But was there not 
 enough here to satisfy !
 
 Lucia : Her Problem. 95 
 
 Her love for luxury developed rapidly her tastes, that had 
 hitherto been repressed in every direction, began to expand, 
 and blossomed fairer than the world would have supposed. 
 The past was like a distasteful dream to her, and she resolved 
 to make the future, that seemed to lie so entirely in her own 
 hands, brilliant and satisfying. She, too, had her ambitions, 
 though she understood many of her own wants and defects. 
 
 Warren Thorndike was quite content to see her elegantly 
 -dressed and the centre of admiration. She possessed a won 
 derful degree of tact and adaptation, and copied the small 
 ways of society with the utmost ease ; and when she had once 
 fairly plunged into the round of gayety, she found it very en 
 grossing. 
 
 Ah, why must there always be some fatal knowledge lurk 
 ing in the background to tempt human souls ? Why could 
 she not pause and be satisfied ? Some far-reaching chord in 
 her soul had been touched, and sometimes a word or a look, 
 that she alone of all, caught in her dim way and pondered, 
 roused her strangely and made her pulses unquiet for hours af 
 terward. 
 
 Mr. Garth proved less obstinate than Rachel. Condemn 
 though he might, he was secretly proud of his daughter's posi 
 tion, and the manner in which she graced it. He came to the 
 grand house for a quiet supper now and then for business 
 was prospering with them, and that softened his feelings some 
 what. Mr. Thorndike had infused new spirit and energy into 
 the Mill, and though Mr. Garth had frowned at some improve 
 ments in the beginning, he found their working decidedly ben 
 eficial. 
 
 But Rachel sat rigid on her throne. Her brother-in-law's 
 good-natured but rather clumsy overtures could not move her ? 
 and to Lucy's pleadings she turned a deaf ear. 
 
 " Take your own way," she would exclaim. " It is not my 
 place to advise Warren Thorndike's wife :" and a sniff of hu 
 mility always followed such a remark. With that she would
 
 96 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 look at her sister's silks and laces with severely condemnatory 
 eyes. 
 
 " But there are only two of us, and we might be friends," 
 Lucy would plead. 
 
 " I did not know that we were enemies. I am sure that 
 I did my best for you while you were under my care " with 
 a most exasperating resignation. 
 
 " If you would only let me do something for you now ? " 
 
 " What do I need ? I am content with my own life, I am 
 most thankful to say." 
 
 And then Lucy would glance around on the cold, bare walls 
 and dull carpet. Not a ray of brightness, not a flower not 
 even a warm and friendly smile. At such moments she would 
 only be too glad that she had escaped it all, and fly back to 
 to her own charming home with a child's eager delight.
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 97 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 AMONG S H ADOWS. 
 
 IT was September, and Lucy Thorndike had been married 
 nearly two years and a half. She lacked but a few weeks 
 of being twenty. A little less than three years before she had 
 shocked her father's sense of propriety by appearing in a cloud 
 of golden ringlets. She had changed somewhat since then, 
 and Dedham had changed also. A new railroad had given it 
 a wonderful impetus, not only connecting it with other cities 
 of importance, but opening up a large iron and coal district, 
 and also a new route for extensive grain operations. Mr. 
 Thorndike was early in the field of speculation. He had seen 
 enough of the world to understand these advantages, he 
 thought, and to turn them into money, his one idea. 
 
 Then a company came to build a large iron foundry and 
 rolling mill. This brought an influx of population ; new streets 
 were laid out and cottages went up as if by magic. The con 
 servative element seemed to fall farther into the background ; 
 and though the Dorcas Society were true to their colors and 
 old Mr. Howe, they felt that they were no longer a moving or 
 even a stationary power in Dedham. There had been a time 
 when a frown from Miss Kip and two or three of the severely 
 virtuous would have been sufficient to extinguish the volatile 
 spirits of a young woman, but now they bemoaned in vain. The 
 young people went to social gatherings outside of their own 
 immediate circle, and in some instances had been actually 
 known to dance ! 
 5
 
 98 Lucia : Her Problem. 
 
 Indeed, Dedham seemed just waking up and bestirring 
 itself. Indirectly Warren Thorndike and his wife had much 
 to do with this movement. She of course carried weight from 
 the old sphere to the new. Some of the ladies found her very 
 charming, and hesitated a little in endorsing either Miss Kip's 
 or her sister's verdict. Perhaps, too, these were a trifle less 
 severe. 
 
 Looking at Mrs. Thorndike you would hardly admit that 
 she had altered perceptibly. She was not a day older in 
 appearance, and then her manner of dressing was so much 
 more advantageous. Her house was admitted to be per 
 fection. She had improved somewhat upon the Cunningham 
 idea of beauty. And yet there were hours when she scarce 
 ly knew herself when she stood in perfect amaze at the re 
 membrance of Lucy Garth as she had been only a brief while 
 before. 
 
 Her marriage had taken her into an entirely new sphere at 
 the most important epoch of her life. The powers of her mind 
 were roused ; imagination, taste, love of beauty, and an exultant 
 sense of liberty, had crowded out the severe and distasteful les 
 sons of the past. She plunged eagerly into every enjoyment, 
 though at first her ideas were quite simple. But prodigality 
 grows upon one. 
 
 Her first keen mortification was at her own ignorance. 
 She knew nothing of music, of poetry, of intellectual pursuits. 
 Much as she loved dress and outward adorning, she saw that 
 some cultivation was necessary if she was to stand on a level 
 with those whom she most admired. Mr. and Mrs. Glenfield 
 had made much of her, it is true, and under their auspices she 
 had been introduced to the best society at Dedham. But she 
 learned thus early that there was a power besides wealth, and 
 this she began to long for, and debate how she might best ac 
 quire it. 
 
 So she attacked music indefatigably. She had a quick ear 
 and a fine voice, but her impatience bid fair to make sad work
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 99 
 
 of it at first. And when her ideals tormented her beyond en 
 durance, she turned to literature. 
 
 In this she ran riot, as is the case with most untrained minds. 
 She fairly revelled in romance of a much higher type than the 
 stories she used to smuggle into her bedroom at home, and 
 imagination held a daily feast. It might not have been healthy 
 food, but it was delightful, nevertheless, and there was no guid" 
 ing hand to restrain. 
 
 She made many attempts at first to charm her nusband by 
 beguiling influences. She was ready to love him very much at 
 this period of her life, feeling in the depths of her grateful heart 
 that she owed every thing to him. She longed to include him 
 in her ambitions, but his were of a widely different type. When 
 she read to him, he fell asleep in his luxurious easy-chair ; and 
 though he admired her singing, no tender depth of his heart 
 was touched. She would turn her lovely eyes to him, needing 
 but a sympathetic glance to make them swim in lustrous tears j 
 but the sentiment that had so stirred her soul had no subtle 
 meaning for his. And at such moments an awful sense of lone 
 liness would rush over her, a pain and despair that she could 
 not understand, but only suffer from. 
 
 By degrees her world of fancy narrowed. She would not 
 have excluded him from choice, but her fine sense of propriety 
 and harmony led her to see that he was not fitted for it. Per 
 haps men and women were different. He never wearied in dis 
 cussing the new road, 'the rise in property, the investments that 
 were likely to pay the best and all that, which tired her exceed 
 ingly. Sometimes three or four gentlemen dropped in of an 
 evening, and the talk was all on business, until it seemed to 
 her that half the world must be crazy about money. She 
 said so to her husband at length. He laughed in his coarse, 
 good-natured fashion, which seemed to rasp some sensitive 
 nerve. 
 
 " It is the great thing," he said. " Where would your fine 
 house and your silks and diamonds come from if there wasn't
 
 .100 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 any money? If men stayed in the house and read and sang 
 love songs, where would all your great enterprises end ? " 
 
 She glanced intently into her husband's face. It was stolid, 
 and yet with a certain shrewdness, not tender or sympathetic, 
 and with no fine lines. Where had she learned to be so crit 
 ical ? Was it not sufficient to have him kind, and both proud 
 and fond of her ? 
 
 This September day she was sauntering round the lawn in 
 a most restless and dissatisfied mood. She had spent two 
 weeks at Newport with Mrs. Wilder, and two weeks at Sara 
 toga with her husband. She had received much admiration ; 
 indeed, it had been a continual round of pleasure, and hers 
 was a nature to be warmly excited by it. The people with 
 whom she had been brought in contact were of a different type 
 even from those she had known at Dedham. So, coming 
 from pleasure, homage, delicate compliments and the beguil 
 ing delights of music, dancing and lovely, dressing, Dedham 
 seemed stupid. 
 
 True, she could drive around in her pony carriage; she 
 could fill her house with lovely flowers, alter the arrangement 
 of pictures or furniture, have the dressmaker in to freshen up 
 her attire, receive calls and pay them in return. She had been 
 doing this for just three weeks ; and looking at the future this 
 afternoon, seeing the thirty or forty years stretch out before 
 her, life appeared absolutely insupportable. 
 
 And yet there was Rachel happy and contented, with no 
 society or dressing or beauty of any sort. It would kill her to 
 be there. 
 
 " I must do something," she said to herself, stopping short 
 in her walk. " Why isn't there some one to teach me ? Mrs. 
 Glenfield " 
 
 Beside her parish duties Mrs. Glenfield had two babies. 
 And then she was not the teacher Lucy Thorndike needed. 
 A kind of fashionable minister's wife with some sweet and ad 
 mirable qualities, but little depth or strength.
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 101 
 
 " It's just as if I were hungry all the time," she went on, 
 pulling some late roses to pieces and scattering the velvety 
 leaves on the gravelled walk. 
 
 Her revery was interrupted by the click of the gate latch, 
 and she went forward mechanically to meet her husband. 
 Last summer this had been a joy now she did it from habit. 
 
 So she never raised her eyes until some occult action of 
 the mind told her there were more than two steps, and the 
 other was that of a stranger. 
 
 She came to a sudden pause. 
 
 " In a dream again, hey, Lucy ? " exclaimed her husband 
 with his cheerful jocularity. "My wife, Rutherford my 
 friend, Mr. Rutherford, Lucy." 
 
 Paul Rutherford had been glancing at her since the gate 
 opened. She looked so like a child, or rather hardly grown 
 girl, that he was a little surprised at the introduction, but re 
 sponded in a courteous manner. 
 
 Mrs. Thorndike gave him a startled look, and then color 
 ed deeply. 
 
 " See what it is to have a devoted wife, Rutherford ! " and 
 Mr. Thorndike laughed as he drew Lucy's hand through his 
 arm. 
 
 She glanced up again with a positive blush. Mr. Thorn- 
 dike had a way of perpetrating small and often execrable jokes, 
 though for a moment Lucy could not tell whether it was her 
 mood that made it sound so disagreeable, or whether she re 
 belled against the offence as a matter of taste. 
 
 Mr. Rutherford smiled gravely. 
 
 " What a charming lawn," he rejoined with graceful tact. 
 " Your selection of trees is admirable." 
 
 " It's what I call a handsome place," said its owner with 
 pride. " I bought it two years and a half ago for less than 
 two-thirds of its real value a lucky speculation." 
 
 Lucy was in a critical mood. Her husband's voice sounded 
 harsh contrasted with the finely modulated one of his friend.
 
 102 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 " Fortunes seem to be lost and won easily nowadays," 
 said Mr. Rutherford. " If I had ever owned a home like this 
 I should have been more than sorry to relinquish it." 
 
 Mr. Thorndike began to enlarge upon the circumstances 
 which had led to his buying the place, and they lingered 
 awhile on the porch for him to finish. Lucy stood a trifle be 
 hind the guest, and had an excellent side view of him. It 
 seemed to her that she already liked him. 
 
 Both face and figure were peculiar. There was a physical 
 and intellectual force that impressed you immediately, al 
 though it was hard to describe. You felt at once that he was 
 strong, a man not lightly to be set aside or easily thwarted, 
 cool, wary and patient. Two inches perhaps taller than Mr. 
 Thorndike, and yet he looked more than that. A compact 
 and well-proportioned figure, with a broad, full chest, and 
 rather sloping shoulders, his head set well back, and it might 
 have been this that gave him the appearance of more than or 
 dinary height. There was not a weak line or a weak move 
 ment, and yet a kind of sad, self-centred power, as if some 
 thing long ago past kept him from glorying in his strength. 
 
 The face was of the same order. Not one to be called 
 handsome at the first glance, although the brow was full and 
 broad, the hair a rich chestnut, and fine and soft in texture, 
 the nose straight, with flexible nostrils, the mouth good, and 
 the abundant beard a shade or two deeper than the hair. It 
 was the eyes that gave the face its power and peculiarity. 
 They were a bright, yet deep hazel eyes that could flash de 
 vouring flame or soften to the tenderest depths of pity. The 
 fire of life was burning steadily and strongly in his soul, re 
 strained by a master hand from any outburst that might scat 
 ter devastation in its track. He had learned the secret of 
 life, the art of keeping calm through stress of storms and 
 trouble that might have hurried another on to destruction. 
 The habit of restraint, growing year by year, had touched some 
 underlying chord of the inner life, and made him outwardly tran-
 
 Lucia : Her Problem. 103 
 
 quil, while his temperament was ardent and excitable in the 
 highest degree. Some men arm themselves for destiny long 
 before, and when the fatal hour comes they are prepared. 
 
 Lucy Thorndike did not understand all this now, nor for 
 long years afterward, yet she felt that the man before her had 
 been cast in an exceptional mould. The face interested her 
 strongly, the voice piqued her curiosity and lured her on to the 
 verge of discovery. 
 
 Mr. Thorndike ushered his guest within doors, but made 
 an abrupt pause in the hall. 
 
 "Lucy," he exclaimed, "I suppose the chambers are in or 
 der ? I brought Rutherford over for there was absolutely no 
 accommodation at the hotel. What Dedham wants is a first 
 class hotel something better than the small affairs in which it 
 abounds at present." 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 She uttered the word rather slowly ; but if there was any 
 suggestion in her mind, she left it unspoken. Now and then 
 Mr. Thorndike exercised his right of hospitality in this style, 
 a free and easy way contracted at the West. If the persons 
 thus invited were not to Mrs. Thorndike's liking, as it frequent 
 ly happened, she saw as little of them as possible. 
 
 So Mr. Rutherford was marshalled up the wide staircase 
 to a spacious and airy chamber, where all was in complete 
 order. 
 
 "Make yourself at home," exclaimed his host. "You 
 needn't wait up here until the dinner-bell rings, for it's quite 
 early. I have some papers to look over and send back with 
 the boy who brings your valise, but you'll find Mrs. Thorndike 
 in the library or parlor." 
 
 Paul Rutherford turned the water into the marble basin, 
 bathed his face and hands, and ran his wet fingers through his 
 hair. All this time, for he did it very slowly, a sort of brood 
 ing quietude being natural to him, he was thinking of Lucy 
 Thorndike. Lucy seemed a soft, characterless kind of name,
 
 104 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 not at all applicable to the being who bore it. The vision rose 
 before him, a slender, graceful woman in flowing white robes, 
 shining golden hair escaping from its net in two or three long 
 curls, her radiant complexion and deep eyes. Very lovely in 
 deed in spite of the expression of ennui that he had been so 
 quick to detect. Then the incongruity of her marriage flashed 
 over him. 
 
 " What could have brought it about," he mused. " Her fa 
 ther was rich, it seems, and she so young why she is only a 
 child now ! " 
 
 He did not admire Warren Thorndike. Circumstances 
 had compelled him to accept the man's hospitality, and much 
 of his business in Dedham was connected with him, so there 
 seemed nothing out of order in the proceeding. He had ex 
 pected to find a florid, over-dressed woman verging on towards 
 middle life, a counterpart of commonplace wealth without its 
 refinements ; and though she had only spoken twice, her air and 
 manner, the expression of her face and her soft, rich voice, set 
 tled her claim. 
 
 He was a very fastidious man about his womenkind, this- 
 Paul Rutherford, although he had much chivalry for the sex. 
 But the one who commended herself to his attention must pos 
 sess some peculiar grace or characteristic. Loud-voiced, dom 
 inant women, purse-proud vulgar ones, or the shallow dolls of 
 society were alike distasteful. Indeed, he rarely met one to 
 whom he gave more than a passing thought 
 
 ." I suppose the match was of her father's making ; " he 
 continued. " Sold for a little money perhaps, poor child ! 
 There is a tired yearning look in her eyes as if she had found 
 nothing to satisfy her." 
 
 He brushed his hair carefully, pulled his cravat straight and 
 walked to the window. A very inviting room and a very in 
 viting prospect. He felt strangely at home, it must be con 
 fessed. 
 
 Mrs. Thorndike had been to the kitchen to announce the
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 105 
 
 guest and give some orders. In spite of Rachel's dismal fore 
 boding, her house was very nicely conducted. She was fortu 
 nate in having efficient servants, but she was by no means an 
 ignorant mistress, neither was she unreasonable. 
 
 She walked back to the library and took up her novel at 
 the place she had left off an hour before. 
 
 " If there was any thing like it in real life ; " she said with a 
 sigh. " If one met noble and earnest souls, and found true 
 friends " 
 
 A face smiled in the doorway. There was something fresh 
 and strong and promising in the smile, and she half rose. 
 
 " Mr. Thorndike said that I should find you here," he be 
 gan, as if in apology for the intrusion. 
 
 " Yes. He is unavoidably busy. Will you be seated ? " 
 
 He crossed the room and placed himself by the opposite 
 window. What an atmosphere of rare grace surrounded this 
 woman, the innate refinement of a high soul ! 
 
 There was a soft sunset dying in the west. Through an 
 opening in the trees rays of gold melted into rosy haze, and the 
 tint of purple twilight loomed slowly upward from the distant 
 hills. 
 
 He followed her eyes. 
 
 " How very beautiful ! " he said ; " soft and tranquil as the 
 close of day should be." 
 
 " When it has been a satisfactory day." 
 
 " Are there not sometimes good endings to days that are 
 filled with trouble and perplexity ? " 
 
 He turned his keen eyes upon her so suddenly that she 
 flushed. 
 
 " But after all, the day has little to do with one's mood," 
 she made answer, disregarding his question. 
 
 "Are you subject to no such impressions ? I should judge 
 that you had a very susceptible temperament." 
 
 " Should you ? " with a bright smile of interest. " I did not 
 mean exactly that, Mr. Rutherford. A dull da}' often depresses 
 5*
 
 106 Lucia: He)' Problem. 
 
 one when there seems no other cause, but it is not always true 
 that one is happy on a bright day." 
 
 There was an expression of grave questioning in his eyes, 
 and yet he did not speak. 
 
 " At least I am not," she continued frankly. 
 
 " Did you ever decide just what was necessary for your 
 happiness ? " 
 
 " How odd ! No, I am sure that I have not. I do. not 
 believe that I could tell." 
 
 " Are you unhappy ? " 
 
 She flushed again and then she laughed, a clear, bell-like 
 sound that was enchanting. 
 
 " No," she made answer. " It would be folly to give it so 
 active a name. A little dissatisfaction and restlessness that 
 haunts me when I am idle." 
 
 " And idleness is the root of much misery." 
 
 " But what is a woman to do, Mr. Rutherford ? I don't 
 love to work. I never did." 
 
 " Honest, at all events ;" and he laughed this time. 
 
 It was a light, pleasant sound, and yet perplexing. She 
 glanced up as if she were studying it. 
 
 " Men can always find some business or some ambition to 
 gratify. But after a woman is married " 
 
 She made a long pause. 
 
 " After she is married '' he repeated, looking at her in 
 tently and compelling her to speak, as it were. 
 
 " If she is rich she has servants to do her work. There 
 are calls, shopping, driving for pleasure, the bother and ex 
 citement of having a dressmaker, gossip and parties, and a lit 
 tle reading when life grows too stale. I wish something 
 would happen" to me as it does to the book heroines." 
 
 " What ! to have a fortune left you ? " 
 
 " No, I should not care for that." 
 
 " To lose yours ? " 
 
 "That would be an excitement, but as I told vou be-
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 107 
 
 fore, I do not like to work. No, I think I will not take pov 
 erty." 
 
 " Do not wish for any thing else," he said suddenly, for he, 
 knowing the world, was aware of one more danger that might 
 cross a woman's path. 
 
 " Then I must be content with the small round that some 
 times wearies me intolerably," she said almost pettishly. 
 
 " Can you not enlarge that a little ? Has it so few duties ? 
 Does it not comprehend nearly all that a woman needs ? " 
 
 There was a shuffling step on the porch, and at the same 
 instant Mr. Thorndike ran clumsily down the stairs and gave 
 a loud greeting through the screen door, as the other had been 
 opened for air. 
 
 " Just ready for you, my lad ! Did you bring the valise ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir." 
 
 " And here are the papers. They're tied up so that you 
 can't possibly lose one. Be sure that you deliver them 
 rightly." 
 
 " Yes, sir." 
 
 As he turned, the dinner-bell rang, and he ushered his 
 guest into the dining-room with an air of pride, as if the latter 
 might reasonably be astonished at the display. Lucy flushed 
 and drew her brows together. She showed too soon where 
 the thorns wounded her.
 
 108 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 TAKING COUNSEL. 
 
 MR. RUTHERFORD was a critical man, and yet he 
 would not have guessed that Mrs. Thorndike had not 
 been born to this state and elegance. She presided so grace 
 fully, she had that half indifferent air as if she had lived so long 
 among luxuries that they wearied her, and in her conversation 
 she was choice and refined. She had another quality that he 
 remarked very soon, and honored her for it. 
 
 When Lucy Thorndike first began to shield her husband's 
 little faults, smooth down his roughnesses and cover his vulgar 
 commonplace with her fine tact, she hardly knew. At first he 
 had been strongly idealized, or rather, through their brief ac 
 quaintance, she had no means of understanding him thorough 
 ly. She was eminently loyal in her affections, and at that pe 
 riod of her life would have worshipped him as a god, had he 
 possessed any godlike attributes. 
 
 His ways did not jar upon her soul as keenly as her father's 
 and Rachel's, for here there was unlimited indulgence. There 
 fore, out of pure gratitude she made herself blind to his foibles, 
 and began the habit of covering them up to herself, which was 
 very easily extended to the rest of the world. So now she 
 made him appear at his best estate. 
 
 It was not much that she said, to be sure, for her husband 
 talked in his loud energetic way about some business advantages 
 into which he was endeavoring to persuade Mr. Rutherford ; 
 but her soft tones now and then seemed to restore an equilibrium.
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 109 
 
 They sat a long while over their wine, while she toyed with 
 her grapes and almonds, and dangerously contrasted the two 
 men. There was such a wide difference between them. She 
 had thought of this before, when she had seen him with others 
 who were his superiors, but to-night it gave her a peculiar sad 
 ness that rendered her the more lovely. 
 
 They had just risen from the table when a messenger came 
 for Mr. Thorndike. Mrs. Thorndike led the way to the draw 
 ing room, but was presently summoned by her husband. 
 
 ' Lucy !" he said impatiently, for he did not at all like be 
 ing interrupted, " look over my desk and find those Harvard 
 papers. Jim's sick with a fever, and can't start off to-morrow, 
 as I expected. Hang it ! Every thing always goes wrong in 
 a heap." 
 
 Her deft and dainty fingers found their way through the 
 numberless packages with which the desk was filled, for Mr. 
 Thorndike had a trick of keeping many of his valuable papers 
 at home. 
 
 " Here they are," she announced, glancing at the label. 
 
 " Now find but no, I'll do it myself. Lucy " 
 
 " Well," she answered, and a long pause followed. 
 
 He ran through the package and made several selections, 
 quite forgetting that she awaited his bidding. 
 
 " Lucy" 
 
 " What else can I do ? " 
 
 She looked as if she might fly to the ends of the earth at 
 his summons. 
 
 " Nothing but listen. Make yourself as agreeable as pos 
 sible to Rutherford to-night." 
 
 " Why ? " with her old arch smile. 
 
 " Because I want you to. Jim couldn't have done a worse 
 thing than to fall sick, for now I must post some one else off 
 to New York to-morrow, or what is worse, go myself. And I 
 wanted to get Rutherford to commit himself to-night. The 
 man has a mint of money to invest."
 
 110 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 " But I don't know any thing about the business," she said, 
 in a rather amused tone. 
 
 " Oh, I don't expect that of you. You're not as long head 
 ed as your sister Rachel, but you're a sight prettier, and that 
 takes wonderfully with us poor fools," and he chuckled. 
 
 She never felt angry when he compared her with Rachel in 
 this manner, or jealous, when he spent whole evenings at home, 
 as it always appeared natural to call the old place, discussing 
 business projects with her father and sister. She preferred 
 staying by herself and reading novels. 
 
 " I asked Rutherford here with a purpose," he went on. 
 " We may as well have the benefit of his money as any one 
 else. So you make it pleasant for him this evening. I'm sor 
 ry enough to go." 
 
 " I will do my best," she returned, rather gratified at the 
 idea of so great an exercise of hospitality. 
 
 " Run down now. I'd like Rutherford to stay a week at 
 least so don't be backward about inviting him." 
 
 She laid her hand on her husband's arm and looked stead 
 ily into his eyes. 
 
 " Warren," she said, slowly, " it is all right ! There is no 
 danger of your speculations going wrong, as sometimes hap 
 pens ! " 
 
 " Danger ! No ; " and his loud, unmusical laugh grated on 
 her ears. 
 
 She was barely seated when her husband entered, partially 
 explaining the sudden interruption, and excusing his absence 
 in a most profuse manner. 
 
 " And so I must leave you to the tender mercies of Mrs. 
 Thorndike ; " he said, with his adieu. " Lucy, don't let him 
 fall asleep. I'll not stay late." 
 
 Mrs. Thorndike was really glad to have him go. He al 
 ways seemed to make such a stir and confusion with his eager 
 bustling about. 
 
 As for Lucy Thorndike, she quite enjoyed the command of
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. Ill 
 
 making herself agreeable to such a man as Mr. Rutherford. 
 And yet a girlish sense of embarrassment seized her when she 
 was left quite alone. She did not feel half as free as she had 
 over in the library. 
 
 But Mr. Rutherford was not the kind of man to sit in awk 
 ward silence. Truth to tell, he was not quite sure but that he 
 should enjoy this quiet evening best. There had been an after 
 noon of rambling around and diving into every thing, added to 
 his morning's journey and altogether he felt rather fatigued. 
 
 How could they think sitting there comparative strangers, 
 of the influence they were to exercise over each other's lives ! 
 This careless conversation beginning with Dedham and its fu 
 ture prospects, she intent only upon playing hostess in a charm 
 ing manner and pleasing her husband, for then most of her 
 aims, so far as she had any, were his ; and Mr. Rutherford lis 
 tening in rather luxurious content, was destined to sway an 
 eventful future. 
 
 She did make herself very bewitching. Leaving the com 
 monplace topics at length she soared to flights of fancy which 
 opened the far regions of her soul'. It was so rarely that she 
 felt free to touch upon these hidden springs, so seldom that 
 she found a listener to her taste. 
 
 He saw the manner of life in which she might revel, he read 
 it in the flush on her brow, the quiver of her lip and the excited 
 breath that made her falter, or sent the words along with a pe 
 culiar rush and thrill. It answered to some dim dream in his 
 nature. 
 
 " And you have always lived in this little town ? " he asked 
 presently. 
 
 " I never was ten miles beyond it until my marriage." 
 
 " You are still in bridehood ? " 
 
 " Oh, no ! " and she laughed gayly. " I feel quite ancient 
 when I look back to that past girlhood." 
 
 " Childhood," he corrected. 
 
 " Yes, it was that."
 
 112 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 " You have a peculiar nature," he said with a grave half 
 smile. " When I first saw you, weariness and ennui were im 
 pressed upon your brow." 
 
 " You read that ? " 
 
 " I fancied that I did. Now you are like a changeful ray 
 of light ; first you dazzle over the water, making it sparkle with 
 gems, then you bring to view some dryad nook from far forest, 
 or haunt of fairies. Which am I to believe this mood or that 
 of a few hours ago ? " 
 
 "Believe both, Mr. Rutherford," she said, "believe both." 
 
 " I do desire to believe that you are happy," he said in an 
 earnest tone, for he felt that she was one who had better not 
 be roused to higher views. Let her go on like a dancing but 
 terfly. The cross of life in its bitterness would be too heavy a 
 weight for her. 
 
 She saw how she had misled him. What mattered his 
 opinion ? In a day or two he would be gone, and it was quite 
 possible that she should never see him again. She had enter 
 tained him and that was sufficient. He would remember her 
 as a pretty bright woman, fanciful, frivolous, leaving no perma 
 nent mark anywhere. 
 
 Then she glanced at that face of inflexible strength and in 
 tegrity. The man or woman who could of right call him friend 
 was doubly blest. She envied this fortunate creature. 
 
 Some wild, daring impulse urged her on. 
 
 " I do not think that I have ever known happiness in your 
 acceptation of the term," she exclaimed with sudden vehemence ; 
 " or if so for a brief moment." 
 
 Her words and tone startled him out of his composure, 
 and the resolve he had made concerning her. 
 
 ' Yet why should you not be happy ? " he said almost 
 coldly. 
 
 "True," and there was a light mockery in her voice and 
 smile. " 1 have all that wealth can bestow, a husband who 
 adores me in his fashion, which I dare say is as good as tlie
 
 Lucia: Htr Problem. 113 
 
 regard men usually give to that which is not gold ; youth, 
 health, beauty," and she made a short, abrupt pause. '* Yet 
 sometimes I ask myself what I am living for, and who is made 
 the better for my presence ? If I were to drop out of sight to 
 morrow, I should be covered by the next wave and forgotten." 
 
 " There is something better and higher," he said with the 
 tone of a man who knew. 
 
 " But how to find it ? " 
 
 Her deep eyes were turned full upon him, and he started 
 at the spirit that he had evoked. 
 
 " That ought not to be a difficult task for a woman." 
 
 " Don't treat me to platitudes, Mr. Rutherford. I used to 
 have them a year or two ago dinned into my ears until they 
 ached. It is harder for a woman to get into the right place 
 than it is for a man. He can confess to ambition,- love of 
 power, he can join in the exciting strife, and if he fails there is 
 always some friendly hand to raise him up and to enable him 
 to try again. But who would have confidence in a woman 
 after her failure? Who would fancy that it hurt her to be 
 laughed at for her want of success ? " 
 
 Her eyes were in a blaze of dangerous light, and her words 
 rang out crisp and sharp. 
 
 " Women rarely try in earnest, and are too easily discour 
 aged. And God made their sphere to differ." 
 
 " So we come back to our dressing and dancing. When 
 we want something a little higher and more ennobling we have 
 dreams." 
 
 Her beautiful scarlet lip curled in scorn. 
 
 " And you look down upon us from the shadow of your 
 broad, clear brains, smiling at our little failures and commend 
 ing us to the smaller graces of life." 
 
 " Are they to be despised ? " he asked. 
 
 " Heaven forbid. And yet if they are so lovely, why do 
 you not practice them ? There would be room for both, I 
 think."
 
 114 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 He smiled sadly. 
 
 " We are all at fault," he said in a low tone. 
 
 A step crunched on the gravel walk without. 
 
 " And I have been talking rank heresy," she exclaimed 
 with a gay laugh. " I will promise to give you a different 
 course at breakfast." 
 
 Warren Thorndike came up the porch and entered at the 
 French window. The room presented a very elegant appear 
 ance in the softened light of the chandelier, and his wife looked 
 very handsome sitting in her high-backed crimson chair, her 
 clear brow without the slighest mark of care, and her cheeks 
 delicately flushed. 
 
 Her reign was over, she well knew, but she abdicated 
 gracefully. Mr. Thorndike proposed an adjournment to the 
 library, and rang for wine and cigars. Mrs. Thorndike bade 
 them both good-night. 
 
 Paul Rutherford sipped at the edge of his wine-glass, but 
 did not smoke. Mr. Thorndike was loud and eager, and as 
 the other listened he wondered again and again what fateful 
 charm had brought these two together. 
 
 " For she has an impulsive and passionate nature," he 
 mused, ' quick to catch at any promise of beauty or delight. 
 Her dreamy and refined enthusiasms, her mysterious and unde 
 fined aspirations, her rare spiritual appreciation, crude as it 
 is, render her the more liable to temptation from without and 
 within. If she had but love for her safeguard " 
 
 Then he roused himself and attended to his host, but he 
 was thankful when he could retire with respectable grace. 
 
 As for Lucy, she went straight to her room, and as was her 
 fashion when strongly excited, buried her face in her hands 
 and gave vent to a flood of foolish tears. Some inward sobs 
 shook her slight frame, but they grew fainter and fainter. 
 
 " Of what avail is it ? " she began vehemently. " Was not 
 he right who said ' Eat, drink, for to-morrow we die ? ' Why 
 this continual longing for something beyond our reach ! If
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 115 
 
 fate had placed me elsewhere, I too might have come up to 
 some grand height, but Lucy Garth or Lucy Thorndike, the 
 weight of a millstone hangs around your neck ! " 
 
 The new life on which she had counted in her ignorant 
 girlhood had proved a failure. She was impatient with those 
 of her kind who were not congenial, and to-night she stood as fa 
 tally alone as in the dreary little bed-chamber at her father's. 
 She liked this better, because the luxury appealed to the sen 
 suous side of her nature, but she had no friend to whom she 
 could open her heart. 
 
 She had tried her husband. His coarse, good-humored 
 materialism was a trifle more endurable than Rachel's rigid 
 coldness, but it checked that source of highest and sweetest 
 confidence just as effectually. He could no more under 
 stand her than if she had talked Sanscrit. And the misfortune 
 was that every thing tended to spiritualize her. Certain pas 
 sages in music always moved her to tears, a sentence from a 
 favorite author stirred every pulse of her being, or the senti 
 ment of a poem roused her from earthliness, and moved her to 
 strange, high desires, quite unattainable, as she realized the 
 next hour. 
 
 There was a certain volatile essence in her composition. 
 If these moods had lasted, her wild struggles for light would 
 have brought about some result ; but at the most important 
 moment some incident diverted her. We do not all reach the 
 highest standard at twenty, you know. 
 
 And although Mrs. Thorndike had many admirers in Ded- 
 ham, she was not a general favorite. Mediocrity is always 
 startled at the word "peculiar," when applied to a woman. 
 It may include some hidden danger, an earthquake at one's 
 feet, to yawn frightfully at any moment. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Glenfield had first tried their hand with her. 
 They had been warmly welcomed among the Shiloah congre 
 gation, and Lucy was prepared to find something higher and 
 finer than all that had gone before.
 
 11G Lucia: Xler I'robtem. 
 
 A truly noble woman might have exercised a great and 
 beneficial influence over Lucy at this period. Mrs. Glenfield 
 was lady-like and superficial. She pretended to a certain in 
 tellectuality ; indeed, in her school days had quite signalized 
 herself by some literary productions, but now she rested grace 
 fully on her husband's laurels. Lucy amazed her by broach 
 ing bold theories, at which the soft, womanly woman recoiled, 
 and she found that she was trusting to a broken reed. Then 
 she tried Mr. Glenfield in all honesty. 
 
 She interested and amused him, nay more, unwittingly flat 
 tered his self-love, of which he possessed no small share. She 
 had come to learn, but the fact that she had come to him quite 
 overwhelmed the truth, and he fed her with sweet, tasteless 
 crumbs, such as men too often dole out to women. She was 
 so honest and earnest that she never understood what an object 
 of admiration she became to him. I do not mean that he 
 would have degraded his priestly office or his pride of position 
 by any unlawful love, but he did like to linger in her presence, 
 to drop in of an afternoon and run over a few duets with her, 
 to lunch or dine, as the case happened, when he could do so 
 alone. He fancied he enjoyed these little informal hospitali 
 ties so much better ; but the truth was he was more at liberty 
 without Mrs. Glenfield. 
 
 Lucy would have been shocked if she had known herself 
 the object of such a regard and such attentions. She was not 
 keen sighted in these matters. Mrs. Glenfield was not long in 
 making the discovery, aided by a little chronic jealousy. And 
 yet, inconsistent being, she could hardly forgive Lucy for being 
 so utterly unconscious of her husband's charms. 
 
 The warmer part of the friendship died out, as those things 
 usually do, when no strong feeling is enlisted. Mrs. Glenfield 
 smiled very sweetly, and said of her 
 
 " Mrs. Thorndike is peculiar, but what can one expect 
 of her youth and her training, and we must make allowance 
 for the great change in position that was brought about by
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 117 
 
 her marriage. I always hope for the best of every human 
 soul." 
 
 At which her listeners rolled their eyes and clasped their 
 hands. Such a lovely and charitable woman ! 
 
 So Lucy Thorndike, being insensible to the admiration of 
 the one and the graceful patronage of the other, was allowed 
 to wander out of the fold if she so elected. The ladies always 
 came to her for any charity they had on hand, and she gave 
 freely. 
 
 Then she turned her attention to the more worldly minded. 
 Fresh to the gayeties of society, she entered upon them with a 
 wonderful zest and eagerness that quite shocked the ancient 
 spinsters she had left so far behind. Warren Thorndike enjoy 
 ed the parties to some extent. He liked the suppers and the 
 wines and the business talk of the men, so Lucy danced and 
 laughed with others, some of whom were very attractive young 
 persons. 
 
 She was tiring of this second stage now. She had a sharp 
 tongue, and was too honest to be made the victim of foolish 
 flatteries, so some of those who had met with a decided rebuff 
 endorsed Mrs. Glenfield's verdict peculiar. 
 
 Not that she stood alone outwardly. Her dinners and 
 parties were too elegant to miss, and Mr. Thorndike was be 
 coming too much of a power in Dedham to affront, so if the 
 wives had any fault to find, the husbands invariably smoothed 
 it over. 
 
 She was a little proud of her power. It was something to 
 drive through the town in her pony-carriage and have hosts of 
 smiles and nods bestowed upon her. She possessed exquisite 
 taste in dressing, and though the articles might be copied, and 
 frequently were, her style was her very own and beyond reach 
 of imitation. 
 
 But the bitter hours of loneliness that her soul knew could 
 never be shared. Some fateful shadow stood between her and 
 happiness, and not unfrequently the cry for rest and comfort
 
 118 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 passed those brilliant lips that an hour before had been wreath 
 ed in gayest smiles. 
 
 It was this discrepancy in life that so tormented her, this 
 change of moods without any apparent cause. 
 
 " If I only had one true and tender friend," she moaned, 
 as she shook out the long golden curls that had first caught 
 Mr. Thorndike's eye and heart. " No, he could never like me,'' 
 she added as an after thought. " I am silly and weak, and turn 
 ed about with every mood. Oh ! mother, mother, why was I 
 born at.all ! "
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 119 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 
 
 WITH THE TIDE. 
 
 ^ I A HREE days had elapsed and Paul Rutherford was still 
 JL Mr. Thorndike's guest. Business grew upon him, and 
 every night left something to be undertaken on the morrow. 
 The investments promised very fair. He had become guar 
 dian for the child of a friend, and just now there was a consid 
 erable amount of funds lying idle, besides much of his own. 
 But he was a wary man, and wanted to be quite sure before he 
 risked much. 
 
 Mrs. Thorndike had seen very little of him. Her husband 
 took him off in the morning, and perhaps by accident they drop 
 ped in to lunch, and at dinner there was always company, 
 half a dozen men who were presidents or directors or secreta 
 ries, and who appeared to have the art of money-making always 
 at their tongue's end. They sat a long while at the table and 
 then adjourned to the library, where wine and cigars were 
 served, and no women were needed to grace this festal board. 
 
 Lucy Thorndike dressed herself with exquisite care every 
 day. She did not desire to attract any one, but simply to please 
 herself. At one time she made her hair a mass of silken waves ; 
 another, it was a coil of shining braids, with here and there a 
 stray curl escaped from bands. There seemed to be no end 
 to her diversity, and each new attempt rendered her lovelier. 
 
 To Mr. Rutherford her patient grace was something remark 
 able. She had not looked ennuied since that first night. In-
 
 120 Lucia: Her Problem, 
 
 deed, he began to question now whether this had not been 
 partly due to imagination. Still, she had confessed that she 
 was not happy ! How could she be ? 
 
 For that she had fine feelings, rare sympathy, and a tender 
 soul, he could not question. Each day he was drawn more 
 closely toward her. Not in any sense of love. The man was 
 too essentially noble to have one thought derogatory to her or 
 any woman. His was not a nature to love easily. He must re 
 spect and admire a long while before he could yield his soul, for 
 with it, -to him, went the larger part of liberty. 
 
 Unwittingly he endorsed the verdict against her. She 
 was peculiar. Sometimes as he watched her, for he had keen 
 eyes and saw what passed around him without much effort, 
 he really longed to rouse her soul and direct it aright as 
 the kindest of brothers might have done ; but prudence re 
 strained him. Would it be for the best ? Was wisdom such a 
 boon? 
 
 She was putting on her driving-gloves one afternoon, and 
 her pony phaeton stood at the door, when he sauntered up the 
 walk. She certainly could not accuse him of looking ill, so she 
 smiled in her radiant fashion, and said carelessly, 
 
 "Where is Mr. Thorndike? " 
 
 " He went to Graysburg an hour ago. I was to tell you 
 not to wait dinner for him, as he cannot be back before nine 
 this evening." 
 
 " And you ? " she continued, rather hesitatingly. 
 
 " O, do not disturb yourself about me," he answered in a 
 cheerful voice. " I thought I would give my brain rest for an 
 hour or two, as it has been rather overcrowded of late. I shall 
 do very well alone." 
 
 She knew by that his intention was to remain indoors ; and 
 thinking of what her husband had said in the beginning, she 
 almost fancied that it was her duty to stay at home and enter 
 tain him. And there was just the faintest tinge of disappoint 
 ment in his face.
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 121 
 
 Then she remembered that she had started to take some 
 word to Rachel, who asked a favor so seldom, that it would not 
 be wise to neglect this one. 
 
 " I wish you would go with me," she said earnestly. 
 
 " Do you? Is it just a mere pleasure drive?" 
 
 " We will drive for pleasure. Then I am going to make 
 one call on a lady." 
 
 There was a mischievous light playing about her eyes. He 
 drew down his brows. 
 
 " My sister," she pursued. " You have not seen her, I 
 think." 
 
 " No, though I have been in the habit of meeting your father 
 daily." 
 
 "Well, will you go?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 Something in his ready compliance rather piqued her. Did 
 he fancy that her sister might be like her ? she wondered. 
 
 She came down the steps, and was handed in with grave 
 courteousness. He took the reins. 
 
 " But you must direct," he said. 
 
 " We will drive straight down the street first. It is the 
 prettiest in Dedham, I think. These touches of autumn im 
 prove the landscape." 
 
 " But at what a cost ! " 
 
 There was a strange and sudden gravity in his voice. 
 
 " Don't you like autumn, then ? I think it glorious." 
 
 " It is that indeed, and yet it is so painfully suggestive of 
 change. From the glowing ripeness, it is but a step to decay, 
 dreariness." 
 
 " And you feel this dreariness, you, a man, who can mould 
 events to his liking ? " 
 
 " Can I ? " 
 
 He gave an odd, abrupt smile, and there was a far look in 
 his eyes that puzzled her. 
 
 "Perhaps you do not desire. You may be content." 
 6
 
 122 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 " You are laughing at me ; " for he was quick to detect the 
 light irony of her tone. 
 
 " No, I am not laughing at you. Look at this picture, Mr. 
 Rutherford." 
 
 He glanced in the direction that her eyes indicated. A 
 silvery river, winding round, and on the opposite shore the 
 gradual slope of gray and purple hills, for to-day the sun was 
 soft and hazy, and these were lying in the shade. Nearer there 
 was an emerald tint broken by clusters of late wild flowers, 
 among which the golden rod was conspicuous. A low, con 
 tinuous chirp of crickets and insects throbbed in among the 
 pulses of the river that gave slow, rhythmic beats. 
 
 He studied that for a moment, and then her face, which 
 was soft and dreamy as the brooding air. 
 
 " It is very lovely." 
 
 The words were not much, but the tone was deep and 
 heartfelt. She understood it so thoroughly. Here was the 
 kind of man with whom life would be a perfect enjoyment. I 
 believe she thought to herself a little sadly that his wife would 
 be a happy woman. Then she remembered that she knew ab 
 solutely nothing of his circumstances or situation. 
 
 She flushed and changed the tenor of the conversation. 
 He misunderstood the effort, and attempted to set her right. 
 He was not insensible to the beauty of nature, to such exquis 
 ite coloring and harmony. 
 
 " No," she said, " I should never fancy that you were. I 
 know that your soul is neither deaf nor blind." 
 
 Then she lapsed into silence, and though he talked, he 
 could not rouse her. Her eyes were fixed on the bit of road 
 before them, but her thoughts were upon him. Grave by na 
 ture and capable of suffering keenly, but with a deep, unwea 
 rying tenderness for all others in the depths of pain or care. 
 With such a guide one might grow pure and strong come up 
 to the grand heights of life. 
 
 " But it is quite impossible," she said in a dry, hard tone.
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 123 
 
 " What is ? " and he looked up in amaze, startled by the 
 sudden and incongruous outburst. 
 
 "The subject that I have been considering for the last five 
 minutes." 
 
 He felt a trifle displeased. 
 
 " You forget," he said, " that I really know nothing about 
 your thoughts." 
 
 She gave a weird little laugh. 
 
 "If you were wise you could guess them from my face." 
 
 She turned toward him as she spoke. He only saw the 
 dazzling complexion, the deep eyes, which were as mysterious 
 as an unseen world, the soft tint of the cheeks and the sculp 
 tured features. If she had not known that she could baffle 
 him she would not have dared. There are some secure mo 
 ments in all lives. 
 
 " No, I cannot guess," he made answer after a long pause. 
 
 "Will you turn this corner, then? And take the next 
 street. My father is a plain man, Mr. Rutherford." 
 
 She uttered the last almost sharply. 
 
 They stopped before the door. He fastened the horse and 
 she gathered her flowing skirts as she picked her way daintily 
 up the path. 
 
 Rachel received them with her usual severe countenance. 
 She had scarcely changed in appearance, and still sat with her 
 work-basket by her side. That would always be indispen 
 sable. 
 
 Lucy's message being of a rather private nature, she pres 
 ently withdrew Rachel from the room and delivered it. 
 
 " This Mr. Rutherford is staying at your house ? " Rachel 
 said. 
 
 "Yes. Warren went away this afternoon, and sent him 
 home for me to entertain, so I thought I'd bring him to call 
 upon you." 
 
 " And Warren approves of your riding round with any 
 picked-up acquaintance ! What do you know of this man ? "
 
 124 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 " Nothing. My husband brought him to the house that 
 is sufficient for me." 
 
 Lucy Thorndike's eyes flashed, and her words had an in 
 cisive ring. 
 
 " I never was taught to consider it respectable for married 
 women to be gallanted here and there by strangers ! " 
 
 " Rachel, you are a fool ! " 
 
 Rachel Garth bit her thin lips and turned pale. 
 
 " Go your own gait," she said, snapping off her words. 
 " Warren is blind, and you are a weak, silly coquette. He will 
 rue it some day ! " 
 
 " Oh, I'm not so far on the high road to destruction as you 
 think ;" and she gave a mocking laugh. " And I am going to 
 give a party. Will you come ? it is to be on my birth-night." 
 
 " I never go to parties, as you well know," was the frigid 
 answer. " But I have warned you ! " 
 
 " Yes, I never come here without a lecture ! " Lucy return 
 ed hotly. *' But you are an ungracious mentor, Rachel." 
 
 With that she led the way back to the sitting-room, and 
 signified to her attendant, in the most bewitching manner, that 
 she was ready to depart. 
 
 Rachel glanced after them. " I'll never utter another 
 word if she becomes the town talk," she said angrily to her 
 self. 
 
 It did fret her to see Lucy revelling in the luxuries of life 
 in this careless manner. And what was worse, Warren Thorn- 
 dike looked on and smiled. 
 
 They drove for some time in silence. Mr. Rutherford's 
 face wore a perplexed expression. 
 
 ' Shall I guess your thoughts ? " she asked gayly. 
 
 " If you can." 
 
 "You are wondering at the difference between my sister 
 and myself." 
 
 " Yes." He turned partly round, with an air of interest 
 that deepened into a smile.
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. "* 
 
 " We are sisters on my father's side only." 
 
 " I remarked her likeness to him." 
 
 He wanted to add that she was fortunate in not possessing 
 any more marked resemblance. 
 
 " She finds a work to do in this world, and I fancy dreads 
 the old couplet about idle hands. But I believe the lilies of 
 the field were not censured." 
 
 " There is such a thing as ennobling labor, Mrs. Thorndike," 
 he said gravely. 
 
 " But I like idleness. There are times when I could throw 
 myself on a mound of grass like that yonder, and quaff its damp, 
 delicious perfume, as if it were some rare wine. Or, stealing 
 into forest depths, fancy myself a dryad haunting mysterious 
 groves, ready to take shape of bird or bee ; or of a zephyr, to 
 float on the edge of a rosy cloud, drenched with the incense of 
 sweetest flowers." 
 
 Her eyes were dangerously luminous, and the scarlet lips 
 seemed to throb with inward passion, refined to a degree of 
 subtleness. 
 
 Why disturb her, sweet heathen that she was ! Let her go 
 on, and perhaps never awake to needs that might be madness. 
 
 Rachel's warning had the opposite effect upon her. Since 
 her husband had asked her to entertain his guest, she would 
 do it in a royal manner. As for danger, who dreamed of such 
 a thing ! It was a figment of- that fussy, over-scrupulous 
 brain. 
 
 They dined alone, and afterward she sang to him. Weird, 
 sparkling melodies, that were crisp and piquant, rather than 
 sentimental. And there Mr. Thorndike dropped in upon them 
 with his commonplace. 
 
 Her vague dissatisfaction reached a crisis that evening. A 
 great gulf seemed to yawn before her, cutting her off from her 
 kind. Not human kind there would always be some to ad 
 mire and applaud, but the pure, high souls, whose clear, stead 
 fast eyes glanced over to the other shore where they were to
 
 124 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 "crowned victors, when their good fight had been made in 
 : this. They would always stand aloof as this man had hours 
 ago. She was not worth the helping hand ! 
 
 She ran up stairs presently, tore off her jewels, and dragged 
 the flowers out of her hair. Oh, if she could go back, if she 
 could leave Warren Thorndike unwedded ! She had sold her 
 self soul and body to the liberty and gold that looked so tempt 
 ing. She knew now that she did not love him, never had, and 
 that life was a hideous mockery. So soon had she come to the 
 knowledge that Mr. Rutherford would forever have hidden. 
 
 Although it was late, she sat there at the window in the 
 floods of perfumed moonlight, for the falling dew had rifled 
 every shrub and tree of sweetness. Her husband had gained 
 his point and was coarsely good-humored ; and then too, she 
 looked very lovely, so he kissed her in his rough manner. 
 
 It seemed as if she could not endure it, and she raised her 
 hand to push him away. Every pulse of her body revolted at 
 the caress. 
 
 Then she remembered that she had become his wife of her 
 own accord. In his fashion he loved her. 
 
 " You'll be moon-struck sitting here," he said with a laugh. 
 
 " And lose my wits ? I sometimes think that I have lost 
 them." 
 
 She shivered visibly. 
 
 " Come, it's too cold," and he closed the window. " Do 
 you know how late it is ? Rutherford's won at last, though he's 
 a long-headed fellow. And now what about your party ? When 
 do you want it? I saw some fellows to-day that I'd like to 
 ask." 
 
 " Warren," she said, solemnly, laying her hand on her hus 
 band's arm, " there's no danger about this investment ? For it 
 seems to me that it would be the blackest of treachery to share 
 your hospitality with a man you might drag to ruin months 
 hence." 
 
 "Ruin!" he exclaimed, angrily. "Who thinks of that ?
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 127 
 
 Why, it's my own money as well as his. Do you suppose I'd 
 be fool enough to burn my own fingers ? " 
 
 No, he was in earnest, and believed what he said. And 
 then since he would be a sharer in any loss, she felt safe. 
 
 " The mine is to be opened just as soon as matters can be 
 brought into shape. It won't pay so amazingly the first year 
 or two, but there's a fortune in it. We have the capital now, 
 and can go on with a rush." 
 
 " Be careful ! " she entreated. 
 
 " Oh, you women had better not bother your brains about 
 such things. 'Tend to your laces and fol-lols." 
 
 She was his wife ! " 'Till death do us part." With a faint, 
 sickening sensation, Lucy Thorndike turned away and longed 
 for freedom in the little room that she had once despised. 
 
 The young feel keenly and suffer strongly, but they are 
 susceptible to so many influences. Circumstances bear so 
 strongly upon us all. What might in solitude become a mas 
 ter passion, is weakened and changed by the pressing cares 
 of life. 
 
 The following morning, Lucy Thorndike found herself a 
 good deal interested in discussing the party. Her husband felt 
 inclined to make a very splendid affair of it, and asked her to 
 write out a list of invitations, and also the more elegant kinds 
 of refreshments. 
 
 " Two weeks from Tuesday last night. Don't forget a 
 single thing." 
 
 They stood in the library, and he was waiting for Mr. Ruth 
 erford to come down. She felt a trifle ashamed of her tempest 
 of last night, and asked herself if she ought not to be thankful 
 that she had so generous and indulgent a husband. 
 
 " Warren, I took Mr. Rutherford out driving, yesterday. 
 He came in just as I was going down to father's." 
 
 "That was clever." 
 
 " And Rachel said that it did not look respectable for me 
 to be driving round with strange men."
 
 128 Lucid: Her Problem. 
 
 She glanced at her husband very earnestly, but no fine 
 sentiment stole into his face. 
 
 " What did you say ? " 
 
 She repeated her defence. 
 
 " Good ! You're a spunky little thing, and she's a fussy old 
 maid, according to the Kip training." 
 
 " He was your friend. I don't even know to this moment 
 whether he is married or single." 
 
 " Oh, he's single and it was uncommon kind for you to 
 give Rachel a sight at him. He's a nice fellow, too. She 
 needn't fret herself! " 
 
 That was all. A quick elastic tread came down the stairs, 
 and Paul Rutherford halted in the hall, a nobleman of nature's 
 stamp, a fine pure soul. She tried not to contrast them. In 
 deed, she turned rather coldly away from some remark he made. 
 
 She was soon deeply engrossed in party arrangements. 
 Her list of guests was made out, and then she bethought her 
 self of the delicacies that might grace her table. 
 
 Yet she was startled when the two came in to lunch, to 
 hear Mr. Rutherford announce his departure. 
 
 " You'll be back in a fortnight, Rutherford ! We're going 
 to have a sort of blow-out." 
 
 Lucy winced a little at this inelegant announcement. 
 
 " We expect to entertain a little company on the evening 
 of the twenty-third," she said quietly. We shall be most glad 
 to see you." 
 
 " Thank you. I have some business in Baltimore ; but if 
 it is possible, I shall be happy to come." 
 
 Their good-byes were quietly said. 
 
 Lucy Thorndike fell into a dreamy mood afterward. 
 " It would be just as well if I never saw him again," she 
 thought. " He represents a class and a type beyond my reach. 
 To awake to such a life and find myself chained here, would be 
 madness 1 "
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 129 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 BY NIGHT. 
 
 IT was the night of the party, and the Thorndike mansion 
 was ablaze with light. The evening air was crisp and cool, 
 but not damp, and there being no moon, the winding drive was 
 ornamented with colored lanterns, which lent a weird enchant 
 ment. The fountain in the midst of the lawn sent up jets in 
 rainbow hues that returned in soft spray of gold, crimson and 
 purple. 
 
 The drawing-room windows opened to the floor, so the or 
 chestra was stationed on the balcony. The room itself was a 
 palace of beauty with its lights and flowers. Opposite, the li 
 brary had been arranged for the card-players, while the spa 
 cious dining-room at the back was necessarily closed. 
 
 The second floor was devoted to dressing apartments. An 
 Abigail of the most elegant type waited upon the ladies, and 
 the gentlemen were by no means neglected. 
 
 Warren Thornclike had given this party with a purpose of his 
 own. He was not only courting popularity for himself, but he 
 wanted to draw within his circle men of means and influence. 
 He wanted money to develope his schemes, for he thought he 
 saw a very brilliant future. Before he had passed the prime of 
 life he meant to be a millionaire. He believed that he had the 
 energy and foresight to compass this. 
 
 So he had spared no expense. He might grumble a little 
 when the bills came in, as he was not above that infirmity of 
 husband- nature, but he would have nothing stinted now. 
 6*
 
 130 Lucia : Her Problem. 
 
 Neither had Mrs. Thorndike economized personally. Her 
 pale-blue silk was rich and soft, her point lace of the most ex 
 quisite quality, and her diamonds were the envy of Dedham. 
 She moved a miniature queen in this charmed circle, and was 
 startlingly beautiful. Mrs. Wilder had been asked for a week, 
 and as she always liked full scope for her executive abilities, 
 Mrs. Thorndike left much of the management to her. She 
 had only to smile and be enchanting. 
 
 She had been introduced to one and another until her brain 
 seemed in hopeless confusion. And yet one face that she had 
 rather longed for and expected was not there. The feeling 
 was hardly active enough to be called disappointment, still she 
 fancied that he would enjoy this gay scene with its fair women ; 
 and certainly the array of masculines was not to be despised. 
 
 Then came another, " Mr. Marchmont, Mrs. Thorndike." 
 
 She would not be likely to forget this man or confuse his 
 name with the others. At the first glance she thought him the 
 handsomest man that she had ever met. Many another wo 
 man had reached the same decision as rapidly. 
 
 If I said he was tall, with a fine figure, purplish black hair 
 and beard, a clear, but nther pale complexion, features that 
 might have been chiselled out of marble, indeed all that goes to 
 make up manly beauty, you would still have an indistinct idea 
 of him. 
 
 When you came to examine him critically, you found some 
 rather unpleasant combinations. The forehead was narrow at 
 the temples, the lips were thin, though of a brilliant ^carlet, 
 and wore a smile that the least change made sardonic or se 
 raphic as his mood might be. His eyes were quite light, a 
 kind of steely color, and gleaming through the long, black lash 
 es gave them a most peculiar expression and power. They 
 were merciless, and I was about to say treacherous, and yet 
 they could soften to the most bewitching tenderness. He un 
 derstood his power heaven knows he had tried it often 
 enough.
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 131 
 
 Lucy Thorndike gave him a careless glance it was not 
 her habit to inspect strangers minutely. Her indifference 
 piqued him, and then he smiled when she looked again. 
 
 " Mrs. Thorndike," he said, " you seem to have a palace 
 of enchantment here." 
 
 For answer she gave her clear, low laugh 
 
 " You are used to compliments, and perhaps flatter}', for 
 there is no lack of that coin. Excuse me for making such a 
 commonplace remark, I dare say you have heard it dozens of 
 times already." 
 
 " No, Mr. Marchmont, no one has made that particular 
 comparison. I am not sure but that I should delight to have 
 it true." 
 
 " And the power in your hands ? " 
 
 " In my hands, of course." 
 
 She made a very charming inclination of the head ; and 
 standing in the wake of the chandelier her hair seemed to be 
 transmuted to waves of molten gold, and there were soft, wan 
 dering lights in her eyes. 
 
 " Well," he went on with gay good nature " how would 
 you rule ? " 
 
 "Oh, mercifully, I think," in a slow, vague tone. "I 
 should want every one to be happy." 
 
 " In your way ? For I observe that seems to be the ideal 
 of all governments." 
 
 " I do not believe that to be the true method," was her 
 prompt answer. 
 
 " What then ? " 
 
 "Each one in his own way." 
 
 " Mrs. Thorndike you are Utopian, impracticable in short, 
 a woman." 
 
 He uttered this in a soft, musical tone, as if it were a com 
 pliment. 
 
 " Well, that does not distress me."
 
 132 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 There was so much piquancy in her manner that he felt 
 charmed and lured on. 
 
 " What is your idea of happiness ? " 
 
 " I confess I hardly know." 
 
 " Have you not attained it ? " 
 
 This was a bold question. A woman better versed in the 
 ways of the world would not have answered it frankly. 
 
 " I do not think I have," she said slowly. " I wonder if 
 it is always so as we go on with life. Three years ago a very 
 little would have satisfied me. I do not want you to fancy 
 that I am morbid or miserable now, far from it. I have a very 
 thorough enjoyment of life, and " a little proudly "a great 
 deal to enjoy. But it puzzles me why one delight should 
 always suggest a keener and higher." 
 
 " That is one of the mysteries of human nature." 
 
 " And yet that one can feel it without being wretched." 
 
 " Hope was at the bottom of the box, you know," and he 
 gave one of his peculiar, mystical smiles. 
 
 " Then you think we unconsciously hope for any lost or 
 missing joy ? " 
 
 She was not looking at him and he saw it. A brief mood 
 of thought was passing over her, as a light cloud drifts athwart 
 the summer sky. Did she hold any dim dream in her heart ? 
 
 " A peculiar and beautiful woman," he mused, " with the 
 heart of sixteen. I shall not be utterly wrecked on this narrow 
 and forlorn coast." 
 
 " I know we do. It is right that we should ; and who can 
 blame us if we take every method to compass it. Mrs. Thorn- 
 dike " in a peculiarly pleading tone " I wish I dared ask 
 you to go out to the fountain. This view is most tantalizing. 
 But I suppose it would be too great a favor." 
 
 There was such a longing loo* in his eyes that she smiled. 
 
 " I dare say no one would miss me for a few moments ; as 
 all the guests must have arrived. Were you very late, or was 
 it simply that I had not chanced to see you before."
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 133 
 
 " I was very late. Indeed, I considered some time whether 
 I had better venture or not being a stranger." 
 
 " Have you seen much of Dedham ? " 
 
 " No. I was here a month ago for a few hours, and came 
 in again yesterday. I owe this pleasure to the kindness of 
 Mr. Thorndike. But it is likely to be my home for the winter, 
 at least." 
 
 In the mean while they had gone down the steps. The 
 fountain was not far distant. Some curious spell had urged 
 him to detach her from the rest perhaps he fancied that he 
 could judge her more correctly. 
 
 The great waves of music surged upon the night air, almost 
 drowning out the soft, murmurous tones of the falling spray. 
 The beautiful blending of lights added to the picturesque scene. 
 So wayward and half fascinated was her mood that she almost 
 wished the crowd were gone, and he and she might linger there 
 undisturbed by any consciousness of duties. 
 
 He spoke presently. He had a subtle and dangerous gift of 
 language and now his thoughts flowed in a channel of exquisite 
 imagery. The light, half scoffing tone had vanished, and she 
 listened with the curious sensation of being charmed, if such a 
 thing were possible. 
 
 She was pursuing a train of reflection while her brain ap 
 peared to him simply receptive. 
 
 Why should she not make friends with some of these enter 
 taining and agreeable men ? No one questioned Mrs. Glen- 
 field's right so to do. 
 
 The weird notes of the Lava Strome floated down to them, 
 thrilling the soft air. She turned. Music like'this swayed her 
 powerfully. 
 
 " Oh, " he exclaimed," you waltz. One would know it 
 from your slender, swaying figure and such eyes. " 
 
 " And what else ? " 
 
 " The rest will keep. If I told you too much at a time, 
 you would soon tire of me. Let us go back to the dancers."
 
 134 Lucia: Ihr Problem. 
 
 He meant that she should waltz with him before the lights 
 were out, but he said nothing now. Quadrilles he set down as 
 stupid, and despised them. 
 
 It was nearly eleven then, and the dancing continued for 
 the next hour, when supper was announced. Mrs. Thorndike 
 had been wonderfully brilliant and fascinating. Now and then 
 the waves surged round bringing a face with a puzzling smile 
 and eyes deeply intent upon success. 
 
 " For it will quite enliven a winter in this dreary place," 
 he thought between the pauses of talk and music. 
 
 The supper-room lost nothing in comparison with the rest 
 of the house. As for the table, it seemed a shining mass of 
 glass and silver while fragrant flowers blossomed and drooped 
 from dainty or antique vases. Here a mound of purple grapes, 
 with the bloom still upon them, as if they were dreaming through 
 the long summer afternoon under golden suns, with festoons of 
 ivy and clustering roses, to make an agreeable contrast. There 
 the large oval Malaga, with their pale sea-green tint, lighted up 
 with sprays of scarlet flowers ; fruits from tropical shores, and 
 rare wines sparkling beyond on the sideboard. Captious in 
 deed must be the guest who could not find some pleasure. 
 
 They ate and drank, talked and laughed. Mr. Thorndike 
 grew rather boisterous, enjoyment was quite apt to bubble 
 over the brim with the man, but he was not alone. Here and 
 there some clear, fine brain, retained its cool self-possession. 
 "Lucy Thorndike noted them with an eye that seemed alive to 
 any defect, or any grace. Through it all Mr. Marchmont pre 
 served his high-bred demeanor and he in turn, watched her. 
 
 " What a dolt that Thorndike is ! Gad ! if a man could be 
 in his position ! " 
 
 He washed the thought down with a sip of sparkling wine, 
 ^nd then another " How had that lovely girl come to marry 
 him ? " 
 
 Some of the guests went away soon nfterward. Mr. Glen- 
 field lavghingly declared, after his wife had insisted upon de-
 
 Lucia: Her Problem: 135 
 
 parture, that it was very gay for sober people like themselves, 
 but he had no warning voice to raise. 
 
 The place was more comfortable after the thinning out. 
 The dancing went on, and Lucy, who had scarcely participa 
 ted in it during the earlier part of the evening, as her time and 
 attention had been devoted to her guests, gave herself up to 
 the alluring enjoyment. It was a passion with her pure, 
 though entrancing. 
 
 The lights, the perfumed air, the rhythmic pulses that blend 
 ed " viol, flute, and bassoon," seemed actual voices to her as 
 with half-closed eyes she floated dreamily from wave to wave. 
 Her first experiences of it had been almost overwhelming, but 
 since then a subtle refinement had set in, and now she had 
 grown exclusive. 
 
 Mr. Thorndike never put any check upon this pastime. 
 He had no fine sentiment to be pained and as yet he had 
 not reached the estate of jealousy. So Mr. Marchmont was 
 not haunted by any fierce, glaring eyes and if he had been, it 
 would have been characteristic of the man to go on just the 
 same. In fact, obstacles always gave a vim to success. 
 
 At last the good-nights were said. Some of the faces look 
 ed a little weary, flowers were faded, and dresses limp ; but it 
 had proved delightful, every one declared. Most of the wo 
 men envied Lucy Thorndike, for there had never been so el 
 egant an entertainment in Dedham. 
 
 Lucy had her room darkened, and stayed in bed until noon 
 of the next day. By that time the debris had been clear 
 ed away. She was fresh and radiant, and yet she listened to 
 her husband's gratulations that evening at dinner with an ab 
 sent air. Of course it had been a crush and a success, and 
 she wanted to hear no more about it through this coarse chan 
 nel. 
 
 Mrs. Wilder finished her visit and went away. There were 
 the usual calls, drives, and small breaks to wear away the 
 days. A vague feeling of unrest began to steal over her again,
 
 136 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 a perplexing and tormenting desire for something she had not. 
 What was it ? 
 
 Mr. Rutherford came in town and missed her by a few mo 
 ments. She felt deeply disappointed. 
 
 " And yet what does it matter? " she thought to herself, un 
 consciously contrasting him with Vaughan Marchmont, " It 
 is hardly likely that the friendship would raise itself above the 
 level of commonplace." 
 
 What was there in the mystical land beyond that presented 
 such alluring glimpses of a higher life than this she was lead 
 ing? But how should she aspire to it? 
 
 Perhaps it was not strange that Lucy Thorndike threw her 
 self into society with a greater zest than ever. It was very 
 agreeable and attractive this season, beginning with her party. 
 The men with whom Mr. Thorndike surrounded himself were 
 refined, accustomed to society, and to a wider range of thought 
 and conversation than the ordinary residents of Dedham. 
 There was a continual coming and .going, orders for dainty 
 lunches or more pretentious dinners. Lucy graced these in a 
 very charming fashion. Without understanding there might 
 be any possible danger, her husband approved, and that was 
 all which seemed necessary for her. 
 
 Of course there were not wanting jealous and grudging souls 
 to cavil at her course. Rachel groaned in secret over the dis 
 sipation, perhaps the most honest of them all. 
 
 As for Warren Thorndike, he fancied himself on the high 
 road to a most brilliant success. His schemes were working 
 well. Not only that, but he would be an actual benefactor to his 
 native town. He had hosts of improvements in his brain against 
 the time when gold began to pour a steady stream into his 
 coffers. 
 
 Mr. Marchmont was well pleased to be a welcome guest at 
 the Thorndikes'. He took the gentleman at a very true esti 
 mate, if it was not exactly complimentary. It did little harm, 
 since he proposed to keep it to himself. Mrs. Thorndike he
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 137 
 
 admired after the fashion of a man of the world. She was so 
 fresh and piquant, so frank and innocent withal. He knew 
 that she did not even understand herself, so there would be lit 
 tle fear of her penetrating his subtler plans. 
 
 Not that he meditated any wrong or harm that would low 
 er her in the eyes of the world. He esteemed himself a con 
 scientious man. He had also learned by experience that wo 
 men were not as tender of heart as poets suppose, and some 
 who had come under his observations were quite ready for a 
 small flirtation. Girls might become too warmly interested, 
 but a married woman was altogether safe. Such a one had a 
 position to maintain, and as he was never likely to persuade a 
 women to throw away " name and fame and all " for his sake, 
 his friendships were always perfectly respectable. 
 
 Lucy Thorndike was pleased with his delicate attentions. 
 She was not sure, after a month's acquaintance, but that she 
 liked him better than Mr. Rutherford. Mr. Marchmont gave 
 her no depressing idea of herself. She liked to be apprecia 
 ted. There was something exhilarating in a talk with him, 
 and yet she could rarely remember any thing that he had 
 said. But one evening they drifted to the verge of dangerous 
 ground. 
 
 They had fallen into a careless discussion of personal har 
 mony as affecting love and friendship. 
 
 " I am not sure that I ever had a real friend," she said slow 
 ly. " Is it because I am incapable of attracting one ? " 
 
 She glanced at him out of deep, restless eyes. She had 
 unconsciously taken up the habit of asking him direct questions 
 without much thought as to consequences. 
 
 He smiled curiously. The lights burning low in their 
 ground globes gave her a peculiar charm. He viewed her 
 critically, as a rare bird or plant would have been inspected 
 by some. 
 
 " I think you have never tried." 
 
 " Mr. Marchmont, how do people try ? "
 
 138 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 Her eyes were luminous with expectation, and a half smile, 
 wayward and wandering, crossed her lips. 
 
 " As if all women did not know ! " 
 
 " They do not. I have a fancy that some women always 
 stand alone." 
 
 " Because they are cold and self-centred. And that is an 
 anomaly. They should be tender, clinging." 
 
 " And you believe all that soft nonsense about women," she 
 laughed. 
 
 " Is it nonsense ? It seems to me that they are peculiarly 
 susceptible to the finer emotions, such as answer the call of 
 love and friendship. She who is not, would be a monstrosity." 
 
 Lucy Thorndike smiled in her abstracted way. 
 
 " Mr. Marchmont," she said suddenly, " I heard you dis 
 secting character with a great deal of nicety at Mrs. McLaren's. 
 You were describing all the qualities that made a perfect equi 
 poise. Can you do that with characters not properly or cor 
 rectly balanced ? " 
 
 " Why ? " with a quick look, like a flash from his light eyes. 
 
 " I was thinking as I listened to you that evening, what a 
 pleasure it would be to hear one's self mapped out in so con 
 cise a -manner. Take me for a subject, Mr. Marchmont." 
 
 He might have fancied her laughing at him, but for her 
 pleading tone and the warm color in her cheek. 
 
 " You understand your own capabilities too well," he said 
 evasively. 
 
 "No, I do not ; " and now she was grave. " Did you never 
 wish that you could go out of your own body for a brief while 
 and look at it from some unconscious stand-point while it talk 
 ed and went through with its brief play, peering down into its 
 soul ? " 
 
 A strange earnestness came into her eyes, and her scarlet 
 lip seemed to quiver. 
 
 He was not quite sure that he cared to inspect his own mo 
 tives with such critical precision, so he said carelessly
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 139 
 
 "You are in a strange mood to night." 
 
 " Then I can hardly fail to become a good subject. Begin. 
 What are my strongest characteristics ? " 
 
 " Love of enjoyment is one," he said slowly, and then 
 paused. 
 
 " Right," she answered, with a daintily-flavored laugh. 
 *' But, Mr. Marchmont, there ought to be something higher than 
 that to existence." 
 
 With that sentence her face became grave again. 
 
 " After all," he said in his low, musical tone, " enjoyment 
 is the great aim of every life. It is as various as human nature. 
 There have always been ascetics who mortified the flesh to 
 make martyrs of themselves, but what real good did they ac 
 complish for the world at large ? " 
 
 " Yet if they loved pleasure it was heroic in them." 
 
 " But I fancy they did not care for it, and did love notoriety. 
 That you know is heaven to some souls." 
 
 No, these were not her heroes. 
 
 " But it seems frivolous to waste days upon mere pleasure," 
 she said. 
 
 " Does it ? " and a faint flush mounted to his brow. " In 
 my experience I have found that those souls quick to take in a 
 scent or sound, the flash of a bird, or the ripple of a wave, are 
 the ones who minister delicately to the happiness of others. 
 They are not blind nor dumb, neither are they utterly wrapped 
 in self. And is not this a trifling good to say the least ? Shall 
 it be despised ? " 
 
 She paused in her iapid yet aimless thought. Perhaps her 
 life was not altogether wasted. 
 
 " And what then ? " she asked presently, going back to the 
 old, gay mood. 
 
 " You have been formed for enjoyment, for friendship, for 
 love." 
 
 He repeated each clause in a slow, distinct voice, and with 
 a peculiar emphasis.
 
 140 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 " Yes, I know about the last," she said impatiently, beating 
 imaginary time with her restless foot upon the carpet. " Tell 
 me what I must do to inspire friendship ? " 
 
 He looked steadfastly at her for a moment. Did she be 
 lieve that she truly understood any thing of love ? Ah, she 
 could be shown depths and heights which she had never imag 
 ined ! A warm, thrilling current started in his mind, and for 
 an instant he almost wished the power to teach her were in 
 deed his. 
 
 " You don't answer me," she went on with childish petu 
 lance. 
 
 4< I cannot now," he returned abruptly. " And do you know 
 how late it is? Ah, you need not ask any questions I think 
 you understand the fatal syren charm of beguiling the way 
 farer." 
 
 He rose and came nearer, but there was a strange haughti 
 ness in her smile and her next movement, so he said his good 
 night courteously, not being pressed to stay, as was sometimes 
 her eager wont.
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 141 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE. 
 
 LUCY THORNDIKE stood in the centre of the room 
 where Vaughan Marchmont had left her. Her cheeks 
 were flushed with a brilliant carmine, her lips slightly apart, 
 her eyes full of wavering lights. She was both annoyed and 
 pleased. Her sense of refinement and honor, which was in 
 nately high after all, had been touched, wounded. And yet it 
 was partially soothed by the half acknowledgment he had made 
 of her power. 
 
 Her husband came up the steps with a clatter. She drew 
 her straight brows into a little frown. 
 
 A ruddy, healthy man, whose mental status would al 
 ways be lamentably less in the scale than the physical. His 
 hands were large and coarse, his motions clumsy in spite of 
 the briskness. Every day this knowledge seemed to grow 
 upon her. 
 
 " I met Marchmont down the street," he said. 
 
 "Well?" She stood as if she were going to receive 
 sentence. 
 
 He laughed loudly. 
 
 " You didn't quarrel with him I hope ? You look as if you 
 were equal to any thing." 
 
 She softened a trifle, and made answer 
 
 " No, he did not give me any cause." 
 
 "Don't pick one then."
 
 142 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 "Warren," she asked, "how much do you care for me? 
 Half as much as for your schemes and your gold ? " 
 
 He glanced at her in astonishment, as if he was not quite 
 sure of her being in a right mind. 
 
 "Why, you have your share of the money," he said. 
 
 " Yes, you have been very kind to me, very kind. I have 
 had a happy life here contrasted with the old one, but I feel 
 sometimes as if I would like to make it better. And if any 
 one would help me " 
 
 There was a vague, puzzled look in her eyes that- he did 
 not understand. 
 
 " You took up the Glenfields and their church-going ways, but 
 that did not satisfy you," he said not unkindly, yet in a straight 
 forward manner, as if it was folly to clothe facts in soft raiment. 
 
 " No, that did not satisfy me," in a thoughtful tone, and 
 glancing to the far corners of the room. 
 
 She was so used to his plain manner of talking that it 
 seldom gave her any pain, even if she did sometimes long for 
 a little more tenderness. 
 
 " Are you not happy ? " he asked, thrusting both hands 
 deeply in his pockets, and lounging down until one shoulder 
 touched the mantel. 
 
 " Yes ; " she answered, sharply, though with a little twinge 
 of conscience. She could not confess as freely to him as she 
 had to others, and her cheek flushed at the thought. But it 
 appeared blackest ingratitude to find any fault with what he gave 
 with what she had once been so happy to take. 
 
 Warren Thorndike glanced at his wife in dull amazement 
 Every now and then she broke out into some wild dream quite 
 beyond his comprehension. It seemed to him that she was 
 not altogether a comfortable woman to live with in spite of her 
 beauty and grace and winsome ways. 
 
 " What do you want ? " he asked, with a kind of blunt good 
 nature. "A new shawl, or a silk gown, or laces and fol-cle- 
 rols ? How much money will it take ? "
 
 Lucia : Her Problem. 143 
 
 He pulled out his wallet as if he would settle it then and 
 there, and get it out of his mind. 
 
 She crossed over to him and laid her soft, white hand upon 
 his shoulder. Her eyes were bathed in a kind of appealing 
 tenderness, and her voice was almost hysterical as she said 
 
 " I don't want money, Warren. I want a love that can 
 come near to me in sad hours or joyous ones ; that can awake 
 better and loftier motives than any I have ever had, that will 
 give an impetus to life, and make me thankful every day that 
 I am here." 
 
 " Oh," he returned, half laughingly, " you get that out of 
 novels. I'm sure if I hadn't liked you, I should not have 
 asked you to marry me." 
 
 " No," and a faint, sad smile crossed her lips. " I am fool 
 ish, that is all." 
 , 
 
 But she turned away cold and heavy at heart. Most plainly 
 she saw the wide gulf between them the gulf that could never 
 be bridged over. Had her early fancy invested him with qual 
 ities that he did not possess? She had seen so few men at that 
 period. It seemed as if she Had been set in the wrong place 
 in life ; and now there was no getting out of it 
 
 She choked down a bitter, gasping breath that might have 
 been a cry of despair, had she allowed it a voice. And then 
 she tried to go back to the old belief. Why should she worry 
 herself about all these things ? Other women did not ! Mrs. 
 Glenfield accepted all Ihe homage that was laid at her shrine 
 with an air of perfect complacency. She made some distinc 
 tions to be sure she did not dance ; but then she walked with 
 other gentlemen, talked and allowed herself to be complimented 
 and was really the centre of attraction to the young men of 
 the Shiloah congregation. She loved her husband, and it was 
 no wonder that she was proud of him that was her safeguard, 
 perhaps. 
 
 Mrs. McLaren was a happy wife, too but if the whole 
 truth were admitted, she did flirt pretty deeply sometimes.
 
 144 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 There was no sentiment in it with her, but just a love of pleas 
 ure and excitement. She occasionally boasted of her petty 
 triumphs ; indeed, she fancied that if she were a widow, there 
 would be strifes, heart-burnings, and even duels. 
 
 But then Mrs. McLaren was very attractive had been to 
 Europe, could talk of art, music, and great people with perfect 
 readiness and a certain kind of familiarity that quite extin 
 guished Lucy's more moderate pretensions. 
 
 Why not enjoy the pleasures that other women found so 
 fascinating ? Of what avail was this unquiet longing ? Her 
 husband would never help her to any higher sphere ; indeed, 
 she had an awful presentiment that every step in this direction 
 took her farther away from him. 
 
 The result of her meditations was a deeper plunge into gay- 
 ety. She little fancied that Vaughan Marchmont, made more 
 careful by his slight rebuff, was watching h^r with a curious 
 intensity. He understood every phase of womanhood, save the 
 highest and best. I do not mean that he placed them on any 
 degrading level, he simply had no faith in the permanency of 
 any passion or affection. If it had been true for a lifetime, it 
 was because it had encountered no sufficiently strong tempta 
 tion. 
 
 * And so at thirty he looked at matrimony as a far distant 
 event. -When he began to grow old and wearied with excite-* 
 ments, he would marry some woman with fortune, position and 
 beauty. This great, stupid Thorndike had done much the same 
 thing. Then he would settle down into a steady-going life ; 
 but the vision had few charms for him now. In the mean 
 while he would now and then take a sip out of some other over 
 flowing cup. 
 
 He paid Mrs. Thorndike a good deal of outward deference. 
 He was not quite sure whether she blindly believed that she 
 loved her husband, or that knowing the truth she sedulously 
 concealed it from other eyes. As he came nearer to her soul, 
 however, be found that it was not superficial, that deep streams
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 145 
 
 ran underneath the current, streams that might have been 
 troubled by some passing emotion, but that had never been 
 stirred. A rare bit of satisfaction it would be to rouse the 
 swift tide of something that he called passion in its best sense. 
 
 They met frequently. Of all the men in her husband's cir 
 cle she was not sure but that she liked him the best. Long 
 quiet talks displayed his culture and refinement, and opened 
 to her the very world for which she had longed. She lingered 
 in delighted amaze at its fascinating brink. 
 
 She stood one morning studying a hurried message from 
 her husband. He was to bring Mr. Rutherford in to lunch, 
 and gave one or two special orders. 
 
 She started in surprise, and yet with a pleasurable emotion. 
 He had made two or three flying visits to Dedham, but she 
 had not seen him. 
 
 It was as if she looked to find him changed in those brief 
 months. The same steadfast face, with its kindly but search 
 ing eyes, the grave half smile and cordial voice. And some 
 thing above mere charm of manner, an earnestness of purpose 
 that she had hardly noted before. 
 
 She was lovely and graceful as usual. Her conversa 
 tional powers had been quickened by their constant use 
 of late, and he found her very entertaining, yet the contrast 
 between herself and her husband was more marked than here 
 tofore. 
 
 " I am glad I did not speak," he mused to himself. " To 
 rouse her energies would be fatal, unless there was some one 
 to direct their force. It is better that she should go on quietly 
 in the old life with only these little outbreaks of frivolity. 
 And yet what a possibility missed ! " 
 
 So they passed each other on the bridge of life. How 
 many times would it be thus ? 
 
 She spoke of it that evening to Mr. Marchmont. Mr. 
 Thorndike had been called away and was explaining some 
 of his schemes to the new-comer in the library. Occasionally 
 7
 
 146 Lucia : Her Problem. 
 
 his unmusical voice grated harshly upon Lucy's ear, although 
 the door was closed. 
 
 " He came to the meeting of the directors," Marchmont 
 replied ; " although my acquaintance with Mr. Rutherford dates 
 back years." 
 
 "Does it?" and a flash of interest passed over her face 
 that the other did not like to see. " Have you been friends." 
 
 " Circumstances never threw us into very intimate connec 
 tion, though I am not sure the touch of so divine a kinship 
 would have made itself felt." 
 
 He uttered this with a slightly cynical and yet very fascina 
 ting smile. 
 
 " I am afraid that you have not much faith in friendship ! " 
 
 " You are correct I have not. And yet I think it possible 
 when the right souls meet. 
 
 " It seems to me that Mr. Rutherford possesses some of 
 the requisites. He has so much strength and such a grand 
 patience." 
 
 " But is it not for himself alone ? Proud and self-centred 
 he is, I grant, yet is he ready to help any struggling soul ! " 
 
 Lucy started at this and flushed. Was it not what she had 
 experienced ? He had drawn back from her but then she 
 was a woman and a wife. Perhaps he was right. Somehow 
 she kept a stubborn faith in him, yet she was silent. 
 
 " Mr. Rutherford will always judge events merely as they 
 affect himself. He is not large and free of vision. If you 
 made a friend of him, you would find him attentive, courteous 
 but he would pause at a certain bound. He would not 
 pass it himself, nor allow another so to do. 
 " Are you quite just ? " 
 
 " So far as my experience goes," he answered, with assured 
 gravity and gentleness. 
 
 There were certain moods in this man which she distrusted. 
 At times he held her entranced by the subtle harmony of 
 thought and language, or a brilliant flash of intellectual ex-
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 147 
 
 citement but he never seemed to warm with the feeling he 
 roused. 
 
 " Mr. Marchmont," she began, with a peculiar smile, " how 
 much would you do for a friend, one who loved you with all 
 tenderness and loyalty ? " 
 
 " A man or a woman ? " he asked, startled by the question. 
 
 " A man I suppose," and she laughed innocently enough 
 at his confusion. " I fancy men's warmest friendships are with 
 men, and women's with their own sex." 
 
 *' Not necessarily," he returned, scanning her face in his 
 keen fashion to see the great want of her soul, " There have 
 been some noble examples to the contrary." 
 
 " It may be possible ; " a doubtful light playing about her 
 lips, like the breaking of dawn in rosy skies. 
 
 " Why do you doubt ? " and his tone passed the boundary 
 line of earnestness. 
 
 " Mr. Marchmont," she said, with a frankness peculiar to 
 her, and which sometimes betrayed her very soul, " Jt seems to 
 me that it would be dangerous for a young girl to have such 
 a friend. Every grace that he possessed would win upon her 
 heart. What would there be to keep her from loving him ? 
 Even the knowledge that he could never return it, might not 
 prove sufficient at the fatal moment, and it would bring her a 
 life-lohg misery." 
 
 " Then you believe in an eternity of and for love ? " 
 
 " Why not ? " 
 
 Her answer was so simply straightfonvard, so severely 
 honest, that he could but smile. This roused her a little. 
 
 " I believe when a women once loves truly and with her 
 whole soul, it is for life, death, and eternity. We judge too 
 often from the imperfect passions all around us." 
 
 Did she call hers imperfect ? he wondered. 
 
 " And I think it one of the fragile luxuries of life, not a ne 
 cessity by any means. Friendship is more satisfying. That 
 burns with a steady, not devastating flame."
 
 148 Lucia: Her . Problem. 
 
 " And to a married women her husband must ever be the 
 best friend," she continued, returning to the subject of which 
 they were losing sight. 
 
 " Ah, Mrs. Thorndike, you confuse the two. A friend's 
 vision is cooler and clearer than a lover's. And there might 
 be some points on which a friend's authority would be better, 
 perhaps, from this very reason." 
 
 A dangerous and subtle light played about his eyes, and 
 his voice was modulated to the finest touch of persuasiveness. 
 
 She was silent, revolving not only the idea, but Mr. March- 
 mont also in her mind. Though there might be moments of 
 fascination, she felt that she should never love him under any 
 circumstances. And yet he was pleasing. Could any harm 
 lurk in such a friendship ? 
 
 He saw his advantage, and was not slow to take it. 
 
 " You might go to your husband for affection, for tender 
 ness and all that it is his duly and pleasure, to give but if he 
 had no ear for music, and you were extravagantly fond of it, 
 would it be wrong to enjoy the pleasure given by a friend? " 
 
 " Not in so simple a thing, surely." 
 
 " A true friendship asks only the simplest of gifts. Wiser 
 than love it makes few demands." 
 
 She lapsed into a dreamy revery, and presently he contin 
 ued 
 
 " Mrs. Thorndike, let me be your friend, let me teach you 
 what the world really means for I think you are yet in igno 
 rance of its quiet satisfaction." 
 
 He might have pleaded more warmly, but he did not wish 
 to alarm. This foothold once gained, the rest could be ac- " 
 quired at leisure. 
 
 The bright, arch smile came back to her face, 
 
 " How have I won you ? " she asked. " You know I once 
 asked you what people did to inspire friendship ? " 
 
 She was like an eager, innocent child, and his soul warmed 
 strangely towards her.
 
 Lucia : Her Problem. 149 
 
 " I think you need a friend." 
 
 " But I will not be taken out of pity." 
 
 "Pity? Heavens; no. Surely you cannot be ignorant 
 that you possess many qualities requisite for the keenest enjoy 
 ment of friendship. I have watched your face as it warmed 
 with some far thought in a poem that missed other souls, or 
 with the fine touches half out of sight in a picture that few be 
 sides discerned. You have a quick and great capacity for 
 pleasure and pain, you suffer deeply, though to many you wear 
 a mask over the wound. You have a rich, full soul that no 
 one has fathomed no, not even yourself; but all your life you 
 have been kept close to a narrow bound shore, and not per 
 mitted to see the high mountains cloud-capped and marvellous 
 on the one side, nor the wide flowing ocean beyond and yet 
 this restricted vision might make shipwreck of your soul's best 
 life. Make one effort and bear out boldly to the open, bound*- 
 less sea ! " 
 
 His voice had been even almost to monotony until the last 
 sentence, when it rang out fine and clear as if he had beheld 
 a glowing vision of happiness for her. It moved her strange 
 ly, carried her out of herself. 
 
 " We will be friends," she answered in a quiet tone which 
 contrasted strongly with his latent vehemence. 
 
 Was she wronging the man across the hall ? He had bid 
 den her to be happy in any manner that pleased her. She 
 would try this, for balls and parties had begun to have a vap 
 id flavor. A friend to herself; what did it mean ? 
 
 Mr. Thorndike bade his business caller good-night, and 
 turned to his wife. Marchmont was in a revery,by the window. 
 
 " How dull you are," he exclaimed. " Lucy, why did you 
 not play for Mr. Marchmont ? " 
 
 " He did not want music to night," she answered, briefly. 
 
 Marchmont, glancing at this commonplace man, felt in 
 clined to laugh, but was too well-bred for any save the most 
 courteous demeanor.
 
 150 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 FRIEND OR FOE. 
 
 THE compact between Vaughan Marchmont and Lucy 
 Thorndike was kept rather more scrupulously in some 
 respects than he had intended. She was not quite sure of the 
 latitude the term implied. She had not been reared to a fine 
 sense of honor, but something stronger than training had im 
 planted it in her soul. Her husband was sacred to her, al 
 though she began to understand that she had never loved him, 
 and that each day the distance between them widened. 
 
 She was left so entirely to her own resources, you must re 
 member. The narrow, rigid creed of her childhood outgrown, 
 no other firm faith had taken its place. Her husband was so 
 engrossed with business that he found little time to devote to 
 her. He saw no harm in Mr. Marchmont driving her out, at 
 tending her to a party or spending evenings at home. Rachel 
 heard a bit of gossip now and then, but she shut her thin lips 
 firmly as she said, " She had washed her hands of the matter." 
 
 They read, sang, and talked together. He did rouse some 
 of the finer chords of her nature, and woke a new spirit of am 
 bition, a larger and more comprehensive feeling than her soul 
 had yet known. There were moments too when she lingered 
 on the verge of fascination. But just when she might have 
 been swept down the swift current a look in the light eyes 
 startled her, or half smile of complacency chilled with a faint 
 misgiving.
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 151 
 
 He had played the part so many times that it had become 
 mechanical. Of course the different natures gave it a flavor, 
 and he possessed an inordinate love of mastery and triumph. 
 His aim was to subdue, to make Lucy Thorndike feel that here 
 was a man whom she could love with her whole soul. 
 
 But Lucy Thorndike was unlike the women of society. 
 Small vanities she had in abundance, but the larger ones on 
 which he had counted for success, did not thrive in this soil. 
 She was too essentially honest. To love any man besides her 
 husband was a sin in her clear eyes, and she would not openly 
 walk into such a snare. 
 
 But most important of all,he was not the kind of man whom 
 she could thus have loved. She had little hesitation therefore 
 in accepting his friendship so freely. He had the taste and 
 culture which appealed strongly to her aesthetic sense. A talk 
 with him was much more satisfactory than an evening spent iu 
 fashionable gossip over the nothings of society. ; v . 
 
 And so the winter wore away. Spring began to make green 
 the hillsides and blossom in the woods. The heat, the glare, 
 the sameness of her petty round grew wearisome to Lucy, and 
 her restless impatience broke out into long rambles through the 
 woods. At first alone, but even here Mr. Marchmont soon be 
 came her companion. 
 
 She puzzled him more than any woman he had ever met. 
 Like many others he could make a liberal allowance for trifles 
 and superficiality, but simple truth was like an unknown tongue 
 to him. Her ignorance and charming innocence that he had 
 counted on at first, became strong barriers to oppose his pro 
 gress. 
 
 She entered the house late one afternoon with her hands 
 full of wild flowers, her cheeks flushed, and her deep eyes alight 
 with strong and earnest feeling. A figure just inside the libra 
 ry door caught her attention, and she took an eager step for 
 ward, expecting to see Mr. Marchmont. She looked very love 
 ly and girlish, her scarlet lips half parted with a smile.
 
 152 Lucia: ITe,* Problem. 
 
 " Oh ! " she exclaimed, coming to a sudden and rather con 
 fused pause. 
 
 "Am I an intruder? I finished all the business that I 
 could find to do, and then accepted your husband's invitation," 
 Mr. Rutherford said in his bright, pleasant tone. " The servant 
 assured me that you had only gone out for a walk." 
 
 " And I am glad to see you, even if my hands are inhospit 
 ably full, and perhaps not in the highest state of cleanliness." 
 
 She dropped the flowers on the library table and pushed 
 aside her dainty hat with its long, brown plume. 
 
 " I am only sorry that I did not come earlier," he said half 
 regretfully. " Nothing would have pleased me better than to 
 have shared such a ramble." 
 
 " And I had no companion. Mr. Rutherford, why did you 
 not have a presentiment ? " 
 
 She looked up eagerly. What was there in these eyes that 
 he had never seen before? A new depth and strength and 
 richness ! 
 
 " I am a dull hand at these things," he said in a slow tone. 
 " I wonder if any one ever came at an important moment when 
 he or she was most needed ? But excuse my taking up the 
 subject so eagerly," and he smiled. 
 
 " It would be a pleasant belief if the old charm were true 
 that thrice wishing could bring an absent friend. Only I won 
 der if our friends would not sometimes object to their summary 
 journeys ? " 
 
 " Every delight seems to have an uncomfortable side," he 
 said. " Perhaps, after all, a wiser hand rules even these small 
 events of our lives." 
 
 " Oh," she exclaimed, " you must let me run away a moment 
 and make myself a bit more presentable. And will you ques 
 tion my taste if I have a vase of wild flowers among these ex 
 otics ? " 
 
 " Indeed, no. They are too suggestive of balmy skies and 
 fragrant woody depths to cavil at"
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 153 
 
 She rang for a vase of fresh water, and arranged them in a 
 graceful manner, sending away the refuse. Then she disap 
 peared herself. 
 
 " Sometimes she spent an hour or two in the hands of her 
 dressing-maid, and emerged from thence in a state of splendor. 
 Now she smoothed her golden hair and donned a soft gray silk, 
 fastening a knot of pink ribbon at her throat. She could hard 
 ly miss looking pretty in any thing. 
 
 So she hurried back to her visitor and found him still 
 studying the flowers. 
 
 The day had been unusually warm and delightful, and the 
 grate fire was going sleepily to ashes. Through the open win 
 dow came genial airs of spring. Somehow she seemed to be 
 a part of the fast dawning season, soft, fair and fragrant. 
 
 " What a pleasure it is to see you here again," she exclaim 
 ed in her gay, glad voice. " I had begun to think you almost 
 as much of a business man as Mr. Thorndike, who never has 
 eyes, ears, nor time for any thing beside." 
 
 "I have been a good deal engrossed during the last 
 year." 
 
 " I think you are looking rather pale and worn," she said. 
 
 " Am I ? " Well, I am going to take a long holiday, and 
 a long journey." 
 
 " Are you ? Where are you going, Mr. Rutherford ? " 
 
 Her bright face was all eagerness and interest and she 
 questioned like a child. 
 
 "To Greece and afterward I shall take some rambles 
 along the shore of the Mediterranean." 
 
 She was silent with surprise ; and then a very curious feel 
 ing took its place as if she dreaded to have him so far 
 away. 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 His voice was very pleasant and invited some comment. 
 
 " It will be delightful ! I more than half envy you ; " in a 
 lingering tone. 
 7*
 
 154 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 " Your turn will come some day. There is a peculiar ro 
 mance lurking about the Orient. It is just as fresh now as in 
 my boyhood, when it was my one dream." 
 
 " No," she answered, softly, " I am afraid my turn will 
 never come for that. Mr. Thorndike is not fond of pleasure- 
 travelling it bores him." 
 
 " Mine is part duty though I mean to make it a source 
 of much pleasure. I am guardian for the child of a friend who 
 has lately lost her mother, and is left to the care of some 
 cousins. Her mother's family are anxious about her ; and as 
 I esteem them highly, I am the more willing to undertake the 
 quest " 
 
 " And after you reach them ? " 
 
 Somehow she half envied the party who should be under 
 his guidance. 
 
 " The child's health is not very firm so we shall linger by 
 the lovely sea of which poets and painters dream. In some 
 visions brighter than all the rest, I shall remember you." 
 
 " Still, I wish you were not going. I am very unreason 
 able, you see." 
 
 He had not the vanity to interpret the words into any pure 
 ly personal compliment. He thought of her rather as one who 
 fearing the path in which she must walk, stretches out timor 
 ous hands for courage and strength. This sympathetic read 
 ing of her vague mood touched her and imparted a still keener 
 regret. 
 
 " I shall be sorry to have you go," she said ; " and yet it 
 is a selfish sorrow. I cannot bear to think of friends as being 
 quite out of reach." 
 
 " Two or three years soon pass. I shall expect to find yoa 
 the wife of a millionaire on my return." 
 
 The money fell upon her ears with an empty sound. She 
 was thinking of some few things that were better than gold. 
 And especially that far land of song and romance. She had 
 spoken truly when she said travelling for pleasure bored her
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 155 
 
 husband. So she felt herself shut out of that source of en 
 joyment. 
 
 "Tell me about it," she exclaimed, "the land of citron 
 blooms and orange groves. You know you once described the 
 Alps for me." 
 
 Ah, she still remembered that one of their pleasant idle 
 evenings. 
 
 He possessed the rare faculty of making marvellous word- 
 pictures. She listened as the twilight fell softly about them, 
 and the gray ashes of the grate dropped in little mounds on the 
 fender. She heard the cool lapping of the waves in his voice, 
 she saw the dreamy shores, the groves, the mountains, the shep 
 herds with their flocks, the indolent peasant drowsing on banks 
 made white with the snow of orange blossoms. And she thought 
 what a companion this man would be for such a journey. 
 To have him wasted upon foolish, unformed children, was ab 
 surd. 
 
 Why had he never married ? She roused herself, and 
 glanced up in the shadowy light. 
 
 "I am tiring you." 
 
 " Oh no, Mr. Rutherford, I was only wondering " 
 
 Mary came to light up and receive some orders about the 
 table. Then Mr. Thorndike's step and breezy voice were 
 heard, and the dream of Grecian shores vanished. 
 
 The dinner was elegant as usual. Afterward some friends 
 Mr. and Mrs. Graham, and the lady's sister, a Miss Ronald, 
 dropped in. When the conversation flagged a little, and some 
 how Lucy could not come down to commonplace level easily, 
 cards were proposed. 
 
 Mr. Rutherford declined playing, and was meditating a 
 graceful departure, when another visitor was announced. 
 
 " Mr. Marchmont ! " 
 
 Mrs. Thorndike glanced up to watch the meeting between 
 them. It was eminently courteous, indeed if there was any 
 secret antagonism between the two, they had the good taste
 
 153 Lucia: Her P/'obler,i. 
 
 not to drag it into business relations or a chance encounter 
 like this. 
 
 " So you went to the woods ? " Mr. Marchmont said, in a 
 low tone, nodding to the vase of wild flowers. 
 
 " Yes, I waited nearly an hour for you, then I remembered 
 that Mr. Thorndike said at lunch, that there was to be a meet 
 ing of directors or something. But I was not to be cheated 
 out of my ramble !" 
 
 She uttered this with a kind of gleeful elation as if she had 
 achieved a victory. 
 
 He bit his lip. He had been trying to make himself abso 
 lutely necessary to this woman's enjoyment of such small pleas 
 ures, and occasionally she surprised him by a mood of bril 
 liant and aggravating independence. 
 
 " I dare say you never missed me. The sunshine was 
 brighter, the flowers sweeter, and the birds more joyous for the 
 solitude." 
 
 " Would it be so with you ? " she asked, archly. 
 
 " Not if I had a friend to regret." 
 
 The handsome face took on a half-sad expression. 
 
 " Well, I did miss you. Will that content you ? " 
 
 The voice and face were alike gay. There was no trace of 
 latent sentiment. 
 
 He knew she must have gone alone, yet he caught him 
 self wondering when Mr. Rutherford could have made his ap 
 pearance. A feeling of grudging jealousy stole over him. He 
 could allow no one to sway her but himself. 
 
 Low as their voices had been modulated, Mr. Rutherford 
 had caught every word. And now he glanced them both over 
 with a curious feeling. 
 
 A man of the world handsome, fascinating, and unscru 
 pulous, whose experience in society had been wide and varied, 
 and a woman with beauty enough to make her an object in this 
 man's eyes, but with no safeguard or security against his wiles. 
 Not that he meant positive dishonor. Mr. Marchmont was not
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 157 
 
 likely to throw himself away for the sake of any woman's love. 
 It was that more subtle destruction of faith and trust, of love 
 raised to a pedestal and then rudely plunged into the black 
 and bitter ashes of despair. 
 
 Warren Thorndike sat unconscious of the little tragedy 
 that might be played before him. He laughed boisterously 
 as he took a trick he was always delighted with triumphs, 
 large or small. How coarse and common the man was ! And 
 yet he was Lucy Thorndike's untrusty keeper ! 
 
 The two went on with their by-play innocent enough, and 
 not done by stealth on her side at least ; but Marchmont's 
 furtive glances were not pleasant things to encounter. 
 
 Miss Ronald, tired of being beaten in every game, and per 
 haps looking with longing eyes on the two marriageable gen 
 tlemen opposite, declared that she was weary of playing. 
 
 " Come, Marchmont, take a hand," said his host. 
 
 " Excuse me. Not after those tremendous columns of fig 
 ures which are still floating in detachments through my brain. 
 I should make statements instead of points." 
 
 " Ho !" laughed Mr. Thorndike, almost contemptuously, 
 " I don't let 'em trouble me afterward. They're all safe and 
 right. Lucy, you'll have to be Mr. Graham's partner." 
 
 '' No, I shall decline out of good feeling for Mr. Graham, 
 merely explaining an old fact to him that my partner is always 
 a most unlucky man. I have no charmed fingers for cards. 
 Let us go to the drawing-room and have some music. Miss 
 Ronald sings." 
 
 The young lady was delighted with this proposal. 
 
 " Oh, hang the music ! " burst out Mr. Thorndike. 
 
 His wife's fair face flushed the deepest scarlet. The small 
 refinements that she had tried to engraft upon her husband 
 had not taken root kindly, and occasionally were flung off with 
 a careless wrench. 
 
 Lucy recovered herself and smiled in a kind of royal 
 fashion over the wound in her heart. So, while timid Miss
 
 158 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 Ronald stood in indecision, she marshalled the way across 
 the hall. 
 
 '' Stay, Graham, and have some wine. Won't you join us, 
 Rutherford ? " 
 
 " I think I'll take the music as a first course," he replied, 
 rising. 
 
 Mr. Thorndike's prosperity, although much of it was in 
 prospective, was leading rapidly to indulgences. The bright 
 glow of health had changed to the ruddier one of stimulants. 
 Not that he had fallen into positive habits of dissipation, but 
 he was on a dangerous verge. 
 
 Mr. Graham loved wine, cigars and good cheer. They had 
 the library to themselves while the party in the drawing-room 
 sought a more refined manner of enjoymsnt. 
 
 Miss Ronald was delighted to have this elegant Mr. March - 
 mont turning music for her and joining in duets. She rather 
 envied Mrs. Thorndike's power of attracting gentlemen, and 
 perhaps would never have given it credit for a large element 
 of simplicity. 
 
 Mr. Rutherford, in the mean while, devoted himself to Mrs. 
 Graham, a showily, over-dressed woman, rather loud in all her 
 ways. Lucy gave him a grateful look. The friendly element 
 in him seemed to come out so strong and clear that again she 
 thought how one could trust him ! 
 
 So the evening drew to an end very pleasantly. Mrs. Gra 
 ham excused herself for giving a verbal invitation, but she was go 
 ing to have a small company at her house on Monday evening 
 next, and she should be so happy to have him join them. Mrs. 
 Thorndike had accepted. 
 
 " I expect to leave to morrow," he replied, " therefore I 
 shall be compelled to decline. I merely came to Dedham on 
 a matter of business." 
 
 " Mrs. Thorndike, won't you persuade him ? It's only to 
 stay over a day or two." 
 
 Lucy was very good-natured, and perhaps a trifle selfish.
 
 Lucia: ITer Problem. 150 
 
 Mr. Thorndike had told her to accept this invitation of the 
 Grahams, and in order to surround herself with some agreea 
 ble spirits she was ready to plea 1. 
 
 " You know the steamer sails on Wednesday," he said in a 
 low tone. 
 
 " And I also know that it is quite possible we may never 
 meet again," with something in her voice that sounded like a 
 smothered pain. 
 
 He started at that, then added 
 
 " But I really have not time." 
 
 " For my sake. I shall claim the Sunday." 
 
 Mrs. Graham's attention had been diverted for a moment, 
 but now she turned. 
 
 " Have you persuaded him ? " 
 
 " She has persuaded me," responded Mr. Rutherford with 
 a smile. 
 
 "And you will come on Monday evening? " 
 
 " I will come," for Lucy Thorndike's eyes were still upon 
 him. 
 
 Vaughan Marchmont had been a witness to the last of this, 
 and ground his teeth. He began to hate the other actively, 
 instead of the passive dislike he had hitherto entertained. 
 
 " Perhaps it wasn't quite right," Lucy said in a repentant 
 whisper, "but the temptation was great." 
 
 Mr. Rutherford gave her a kindly smile, showing that he 
 had not taken her teasirg amiss. 
 
 When Mr. Thorndike found that Mr. Rutherford was to re 
 main until Tuesday, as he announced it to that gentleman in 
 the course of his Saturday morning's conversation, an urgent 
 invitation was given for him to accept the hospitalities of the 
 Thorndike mansion. There were ample hotel accommodations 
 now, but Warren Thorndike was anxious to do the handsome 
 thing, as he explained to his wife, when he brought Mr. Ruth 
 erford home to dinner on the second day. 
 
 When Mr. Marchmont saw him step out of the elegant
 
 ICO Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 Thorndike carriage on Sunday morning, his heart was filled 
 with bitterness. The hours they would spend together rankled 
 thornily ; even the remembrance that they would be the last for 
 a long while could not soften the sense of personal injury. 
 
 They were simple enough, with but small chance for danger. 
 On Sunday evening as Mr. Thorndike, overcome with indo 
 lence and a good dinner, drowsed in his chair, the two ventured 
 upon a conversation that though it contained no word to which 
 the whole world might not have listened, was still a matter sa 
 cred between two souls. 
 
 Where had she gained this depth and richness, this power 
 to grasp finer truths, this insight into human souls? Once he 
 had stood aloof with a man's slow, undecided pity, thinking the 
 old groove the safest for her, but she had stepped out of it. 
 Here was the possibility of a noble woman, strong in faith, 
 truth, affection ! What master hand had thus tuned the 
 chords ? 
 
 He had known love to work this miracle ; but the man over 
 yonder, with his narrow, turgid brain, responding only to the 
 clink of gold, had no such power. Had she come up to these 
 heights alone ?
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 161 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 LOITERING ON THE BRINK. 
 
 MRS. GRAHAM'S party was in full blast. An inelegant 
 term I grant, but no other seems to express it perfect 
 ly. Although many of the guests were refined there was still 
 something vulgar and common about it. Mr. Graham had 
 owned part of the mining tract and sold it for a fabulous sum, 
 since copper as well as iron had been discovered. So he had 
 built an addition to his house and furnished it in most exag 
 gerated style. The carpets were painfully bright, the reps in 
 glaring flowers, and the cornices broader than any in Dedham. 
 
 The two things that gave Lucy Thorndike most pleasure 
 were the flowers and the music. Then the night was suffi 
 ciently pleasant to admit of rambling out on the wide balcony 
 where a glorious moon rivalled the glare within. Of late she 
 had declined large parties upon one plea and another, in 
 fluenced somewhat by Mr Marchmont. 
 
 Mrs. Graham and Miss Ronald were in their glory. It 
 elated her greatly to have Mr. Marchmont walk through a qua 
 drille with her and mark another on her card. 
 
 If he meant to pique Lucy Thorndike he failed signally. 
 He might have danced half the night with Miss Ronald, and 
 no cloud would have marred her fair face. 
 
 But he could not endure finding himself superseded. A 
 dangerous flame sped through his pulses. He would regain 
 his lost ground here before Mr. Rutherford's very eyes. He 
 would have no rival triumphing in secret.
 
 1C2 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 When Vaughan Marchmont resolved he could be very win 
 some. He beguiled Lucy Thorndike into dancing, and he 
 could render it a most fascinating amusement to her. Then he 
 took her to a quiet corner for an ice, and gave her no time for 
 reflection. He was in one of those subtle, magnetic moods 
 that had won him some difficult triumphs before, and he hur 
 ried her along on the swift, sparkling tide of excitement. His 
 voice was eagerly perfuasive, his eyes played in depths of 
 strange light, like some brilliant auroral gleam. 
 
 She had never been subjected to his full power before. He 
 kept that for women of the world, old campaigners. Now the 
 forceful flame stirred her blood, her brain seemed to swim in 
 languid mazes of satisfaction, forgetfulness. With another it 
 might have been love. 
 
 She made no resistance, because she saw no danger. He 
 had imbued her with his creed, or rather in some moments she 
 seemed to slip indolently into it. No one had ever raised a 
 warning voice against this lapse into heathendom. 
 
 " There is our waltz," he said presently, watching the slum 
 berous light in her eyes. 
 
 " Not now," she answered almost unconsciously. 
 
 Let her go back to Rutherford when this spell had but half 
 accomplished its workl A hard, haughty smile crossed his 
 lips. 
 
 " Yes, now. It's a long while since I have asked the favor," 
 in that half- sad, half-pleading, and wholly persuasive voice that 
 so often wins a woman. 
 
 They went out to the dancing-room, she moving slowly as 
 if in a trance. The lights dazzled, the-gales of melody were 
 wafted from some enchanting shore. Weird voices of mystery, 
 tender, passionate and alluring. Half a dozen couples had 
 joined the mazy whirl, and were keeping time with eager, 
 dainty feet. 
 
 Marchmont drew her in with the tide. Mrs. McLaren was 
 just in front of them with a friend, and Miss Ronald farther
 
 Lucia: .Her Problem. 1G3 
 
 on in her flowing white robes. She yielded to the swift cur 
 rent and floated on, her glancing feet scarcely touching the 
 floor, the strong arm encircling her rendering any volition of 
 her own unnecessary. 
 
 All the grace and perfection of her nature, the vague aspira 
 tions and enthusiasms, the ardent longing and keen wants 
 that sometimes tortured her were met and answered by these 
 wild, quivering strains of music. Life was an everlasting now ! 
 She forgot the unsatisfactory past, and the future with its 
 dreary level and arid wastes. The complete satisfaction blos 
 somed in her face like the glory of a new dawn. 
 
 Rutherford stood in one of the wide doorways. He saw 
 the light form swaying like a lily in the summer air, the droop 
 ing, large-lidded eyes with gleams of tropical fire kindling their 
 smouldering softness, the still scarlet lips, the sloping shoulders 
 through their veil of white, and the trembling, panting bliss 
 so near to exquisite pain. Why should he start at such a capa 
 city of emotion visible in every feature and movement. 
 
 Once or twice in his life he had attained to some rare pos 
 sibility in a day dream, of a woman whose nature might thus 
 be responsive to his own, in whom he could awaken different 
 feelings with his changing moods. For an instant he envied 
 Marchmont madly, and then he roused himself. 
 
 What right had he to think about this woman ? She was 
 not for him, nor for Marchmont. And then a black gulf 
 yawned before him, she treading carelessly on its verge, behold 
 ing no danger in the flowers that covered its edge. 
 
 In the course of his thirty-five years he had seen the trag 
 edy played more than once. He knew the swift way in which 
 souls were lured to destruction, the bitter depths to which they 
 were hurled. Was there no one to save her ? Would these 
 women look on and smile until the last fatal boundary had 
 been passed and then hold up their white hands, guiltless, and 
 only speak her name in derisive pity ? He studied the faces. 
 Happy wives perhaps, proud, fond daughters, each intent upon
 
 1G4 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 her own pleasure. Doubtless they could preach pretty moral 
 homilies in their serious moments, and with as much compla 
 cency watch the soul of their sister go down to perdition. 
 
 And then he glanced at her again. Months ago he had 
 discerned in her a vague, mental hungering after a higher and 
 more satisfying sustenance than she had yet known. He 
 dreaded these crude awakenings in women, and when he look 
 ed around on her barren life and saw the utter dearth and 
 poverty of true soul aliment, he shrank from bringing her face 
 to face with these cold bare facts. Had she strength to buffet 
 through dark waves of despair and at last sit alone on the dreary 
 shore knowing herself safe and in the right, and yet with a 
 mere negative satisfaction before her? The souls of women 
 needed warmth and love, and when she came to know truly 
 what she could give, would she not in some moment of fatal 
 weakness reach out her hand for forbidden fruit? 
 
 So he had left her safe in her ignorance, he thought, and 
 another was teaching her the dangerous lesson. In any case 
 the result must be misery. Should he save her even now ? 
 
 Paul Rutherford had received more than one hard blow 
 from adverse fate. He had been betrayed in matters of sacred 
 faith he had been wounded in the house of a friend and one 
 or two that he had plucked from the burning, had laughed him 
 to scorn. Would she? 
 
 After all, what was she to him ? The wife of a mere busi 
 ness acquaintance a young and pretty woman, on whom the 
 world would smile until the very day that she went down, be 
 cause her husband carried a golden key. Why should he save 
 her? 
 
 Oh, because Christ died for all ! Because the first brother, 
 unfaithful to his trust, had received a fatal mark, that all seeing 
 might know the fearful crime. Because in this world one was 
 to reach out a helping hand to another, and tide over the peril 
 ous places. 
 
 French horns blew out their last lingering sweetness. The
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 165 
 
 notes of the viol and flute dropped down to silence, and yet the 
 very air still quivered with melody. He saw the one face full 
 of impassioned beauty and languid grace, with the mist of gold 
 en curls lying bright about it. And then he drew near. 
 
 Vaughan Marchmont was wild enough to compromise her 
 in the eyes of this man. He wanted to rivet his claim so strong 
 ly that it could never be wholly broken again. He gave 
 Rutherford a haughty, supercilious stare, and she smiled dream- 
 ily. 
 
 " Oh, my fan, " she said in a soft breath. " I believe I put 
 it on the stand with that Marble Flora. " 
 
 He bit his lips fiercely beneath the jetty mustache. If 
 there had been a servant near but there was not and he 
 must leave her a brief moment. He whispered something in 
 her ear 
 
 " You are tired," Mr. Rutherford said, in his cool, clear 
 tones, that seemed to revive her like the plash of falling water 
 in a leafy covert. 
 
 " Rather yes ; but it was enchanting." 
 
 Her cheeks glowed, and a magnetic flame seemed hover 
 ing about the drowsy eyes. 
 
 " You danced too long. You will not waltz again to-night ? " 
 
 She roused herself a little and glanced at him. 
 
 "Yes, once, after supper I have just promised." 
 
 " Keep the first quadrille for me it is my secret." 
 
 He uttered this hurriedly, and it was all that he had time 
 to say. 
 
 Mr. Marchmont came with the fan and her shawl. 
 
 " Let us go where it is cooler," he said, and with a glance 
 the eyes of the two men met. 
 
 In some odd way the look crossed Lucy Thorndike's vision 
 as well. She smiled with a quaint piquantness and that pecu 
 liar inward knowledge that her senses were sometimes empow 
 ered to translate. They were enemies and why ? 
 
 Vaughan Marchmont shawled her and led her away. They
 
 166 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 sat by an open window watching the couples go by, and were 
 strangely silent. 
 
 A little while afterward supper was announced. They 
 trooped in two and two, chatting gayly amid the jam and crush. 
 Mr. Thorndike had a very showy young woman on his arm, 
 and nodded familiarly as he passed his wife and Marchmont. 
 Some of the women looked askance. What right had she al 
 ways to appropriate the most remarkable gentlemen ? 
 
 She was not in the mood for eating. Some wayward blood 
 was at Carnival tide in her veins. If life could be one long 
 revel forgetting that she had tired of it before. To-night she 
 felt inspired. Did she stand on the verge of some daring mys 
 tery? 
 
 An hour or two later they left the warm and crowded room 
 gladly. The musicians were making a hideous discord tuning 
 afresh. 
 
 " You must dance one quadrille with Miss Ronald," Lucy 
 said to her companion. 
 
 " Why ? " rather impatiently. 
 
 " Because I will not have such exclusive devotion," and she 
 laughed gayly. " You owe the hostess some attention." 
 
 " Suppose I pay her the kind I prefer ? " 
 
 "You will please to pay her the kind / prefer ! " with a 
 pretty imperiousness. " Dance this first quadrille, for I am 
 engaged." 
 
 " And for how many more ? " he asked moodily. 
 
 "None except your waltz " as an after -thought. 
 " Come, here is Miss Ronald." 
 
 They turned facing her. Mr. Marchmont would have let 
 her go again but for the calling of the quadrille. He secretly 
 hoped that some one had a prior claim. 
 
 It must have been of a very high order indeed had Miss 
 Ronald allowed it to stand in the way of such a splendid op 
 portunity. She thought it a decided triumph to deprive Mrs. 
 Thorndike of her cavalier right before her face, and was only
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 167 
 
 too happy and too ready to accept. Little did she dream that 
 she owed the honor to her calm and lovely rival. 
 
 Marchmont gnawed his lips spitefully. 
 
 " And you ? " he said, glancing back. 
 
 She smiled and nodded in reply, thinking she had kept the 
 secret in a most charming manner. But where was Mr. Ruth 
 erford ? 
 
 He came in answer to the unspoken question. 
 
 " We shall be late," she exclaimed, holding out her fault 
 lessly gloved hand. 
 
 " Do you care to dance ? I had another thought in my 
 mind" 
 
 Something in the slow moving eyes and grave face arrest 
 ed her attention. As if he had come to some perplexed strait 
 and hardly knew which step to take next. 
 
 " No," she returned with a short, forced laugh, " at least 
 not if you can offer any other attraction." 
 
 " I want to talk to you of yourself," he said abruptly. 
 
 She started at this and looked at him so sharply that he 
 flushed. Was this all ignorance or consummate acting ? he 
 asked himself. 
 
 " Will it be too cool to walk down the path ? I think I can 
 find your shawl." 
 
 "There is one in the room at the end of the hall. How 
 very mysterious you are ! Do you know I am quite afraid of 
 you?" 
 
 There was a solitary light burning in this small apartment. 
 The waves of music surged in more faintly, and gave a curi 
 ous impression to this scene of rather graceful disorder that 
 might have set itself up for a nameless tableau, so harmoni 
 ously were the rich colors blended. 
 
 " No, do not be afraid of me," in a husky tone, with the lips 
 growing a shade paler. " I wish I were your friend, your 
 brother. I wish I had some vital claim that might afford a 
 shadow of support for this this duty."
 
 168 Lucia: Her ProUem. 
 
 She was alarmed now. She came a step nearer, her deep 
 eyes glancing fearlessly at him. Her courage and truth and 
 purity impressed him strangely. There was more in her soul 
 and in her nature than he had ever credited them with, and 
 made her just so much the more worth saving. 
 
 " What is it ? " she said in her direct way, an air of surprise 
 lifting her nearly level brows. 
 
 Was not all the danger imaginary ? Would he dare point 
 it out to her ? 
 
 " But you are to waltz again with him," he said, following 
 out his own train of thought rather than addressing her. And 
 with it came back the vision at which he still shivered. Yes, 
 there was urgent need of his speaking, since it must be now or 
 not at all. 
 
 " Mr. Rutherford," and she made a pretty gesture of im 
 perious disdain, " you men are as hard, and little, and grudg 
 ing with each other as the most narrow of women are said to 
 be. Suppose I do dance with Mr. Marchmont have I not 
 accorded you the same favor? I am not a silly young girl to 
 be quarrelled about?" 
 
 Her voice, though low, had a steely', unflinching ring in it, 
 and with a brave expression she seemed to hold herself above 
 them both. 
 
 Oh," he said, " it was for your sake ; " and there was a be 
 seeching pathos in his voice such as a mother might have used. 
 " To-morrow I shall go away, and I should never want your 
 face to rise up in judgment against me ! " 
 
 " What bit of melo-drama is this, Mr. Rutherford ? " 
 
 Could he make her understand that she was dallying upon 
 the brink of danger ? Or was she one of those pure high souls 
 that at the important moment soar above pitfalls spread in the 
 way? For her almost scornful voice stung him. 
 
 " God forbid that I should wish to turn it into melo-drama," 
 he said earnestly. " It is because you stand so alone, because 
 when, you come to peril no warning voice might be raised "
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 169 
 
 She gave a sudden start as if a gulf had yawned at her very 
 feet. '*' Peril ! peril ! " she repeated, as if not half comprehend 
 ing, and then she looked long and keenly into his eyes. 
 
 What vision came to her through that deep patient endur 
 ance of her scrutiny ! Again the lights and the music wavered 
 before her, the almost fiery breath upon her cheek, the strong 
 arm encircling her. Yes, she saw his meaning now, and her 
 cheek was stained with deepest crimson. 
 
 " Oh, heavens ! " she cried in her wild confusion and dis 
 tress " you can't think no, it would be cruel ! " 
 
 " I think you a very child in your unwisdom, your eager, 
 joyous spirits, your love of amusement, and your occasional 
 spasms after a better and higher knowledge. But the world 
 will not let you stay here. You must go on in some fashion. 
 I hoped one dreamy day in the autumn past that the skies 
 might always be as fair for you, the way unruffled ; and since 
 for highest joys too many of us pay in keenest pain, I prayed 
 that the one might barely miss, the other never find you." 
 
 " Yes," she interrupted with scornful vehemence, " a man's 
 prayer truly ! And I tell you that I hate these narrow bounds 
 of ignorance. Do you suppose that dressing and dancing, eat 
 ing and drinking and gossip make lofty women? Yet you 
 thrust us back to that ! You ask for us vapid, stagnant lives, 
 and then expect us to be strong." 
 
 He folded his arms across his broad chest, and his face 
 wore an expression of pitying tenderness. 
 
 " You found a friend ! " 
 
 He would not answer her tirade in kind. 
 
 " Well," she said haughtily, " and what of him ? " 
 
 She possessed a certain inborn chivalry that would have 
 made her defend the absent to the latest moment. 
 
 " We have known each other in a casual way for years. So 
 far as the world goes, I believe Vaughan Marchmont stands 
 fair, but I think him a dangerous guide for a woman. Better 
 remain forever in ignorance, than be enlightened by him." 
 8
 
 3 70 Lucia : Her Prcblem. 
 
 " You misunderstand him and me also," she said proudly, 
 turning away. 
 
 " No. Listen a moment farther. He is agreeable, fasci 
 nating, versed in all the elegant ways of society, cultured and 
 refined. He seeks only the keenest and highest pleasures. 
 Common or vulgar amusements have no charm for him. I 
 have seen him meet with a young, fresh soul that, reaching out 
 for guidance, took him for a master. He opened worlds of 
 beauty and delight, he led it through flowery mazes, draining 
 drop by drop its sweetness. He liked the power to sway, with 
 out the responsibility of answering to a well-trained conscience. 
 And when he wearied of the blossom, it was thrown aside and 
 left to wither." 
 
 " He could not be so selfish, so heartless," she flung out 
 indignantly. 
 
 " And if he were true ? Child, look into the future. Would 
 it be wise to learn the lore of love from such teaching ? Think 
 of another claim ! " 
 
 She faced him with the courage of innocence and self-es 
 teem, that always feels itself secure. 
 
 " I am not afraid of love," she exclaimed scornfully. " You 
 pay me a high compliment, indeed, to think that I would fail 
 in the commonest virtue of life fidelity. Do I not know where 
 my duty lies, think you ? " 
 
 " Forgive me," he said. " I have wounded you unnecessa 
 rily. But you seemed to me like a little sister, too precious to 
 be brought to any pang. Forget all this when I am gone." 
 
 He opened the door and let in the blaze of light, the swells 
 of music and laughter. 
 
 " We will not need the walk now," he rejoined, and his face 
 was turned away. 
 
 " So longs the moth for the flame," he said sadly to him 
 self. 
 
 She remembered that in some unconscious way she was left 
 alone with a group of ladies, and that presently Vaughan
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 171 
 
 Marchraont came. There was a peculiar, questioning glitter in 
 his eyes, from which she shrank. 
 
 " You did not dance ? " he said abruptly. 
 
 " No. My cavalier fancied that he found a more delightful 
 entertainment." 
 
 There was a studied carelessness in her voice that did not 
 escape Mr. Marchmont, and he felt that she was ill at ease. 
 He could only guess that she had spent the intervening time 
 with Mr. Rutherford, or her husband, but they had left Thorn- 
 dike with a group of gentlemen over their wine, so the last sup 
 position was hardly probable. 
 
 " I am not sure but Rutherford has serious objections to 
 dancing," he said at a venture. 
 
 She flushed and bit her lip. This man was gifted with a 
 peculiar prescience. 
 
 <% He asked me to dance," she replied coldly, " but we talk 
 ed until the sets were formed. I do not believe that we were 
 missed." 
 
 " Yes," he said, pointedly, " I missed you." 
 
 She was in no mood for compliment, and received this si 
 lently. 
 
 So they sat through the Lancers, sustaining a kind of frag 
 mentary conversation, the greater effort on his part. Now and 
 then some one gave them a sharp glance that brought the blood 
 to her face. She was revolving the past warning in her mind, 
 angry at Mr. Rutherford, and ready to suspect every one else. 
 
 " There is the Esmeralda," he said. " Will you try it ? " 
 
 " No, I am too tired." 
 
 He turned abruptly. The beautiful eyes were drooping 
 and listless, and the scarlet lips wore a cold, resolute expres 
 sion. 
 
 " But I have your promise," he returned, the determination 
 for mastery showing in his voice. 
 
 She started at it. Had she given him any such right ? 
 Did she like the power ?
 
 172 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 " I think you must excuse me to-night ; " slowly, and in a 
 tone that she meant to have been careless, but it was not. 
 
 For a man with his suavity and patience, it was strange 
 how her words ruffled him. Interference was one of the things 
 that he could illy brook, and in his supreme selfishness he 
 longed to crush where he could not control. He might have 
 thought that Rutherford's reign ended with this evening, and 
 that at some other time he would be able to gain a more im 
 portant victory ; but he felt in a vague way that she had been 
 warned against him. 
 
 " Let us go out on the balcony," he said. " It is warm 
 here and you are looking pale." 
 
 She was really glad to get out of the crowded room. On 
 their way they passed Rutherford. 
 
 His grave, penetrating eye appeared to challenge her very 
 soul in that brief instant, and a tender, pitying, yet positive 
 strength seemed to invite her to lean upon his clear and pure 
 judgment. A moment ago she had hated him why this sud 
 den revulsion ? 
 
 Marchmont ground his white teeth together in jealous rage. 
 Careless friendship and liking to be amused, grew into a 
 deeper and more determined feeling. 
 
 " You shall rest here ; " he said, arranging a chair for her 
 with lover-like devotion, and seating himself so that she could 
 not be easily disturbed. 
 
 The night wind blew fresh about her fevered and throbbing 
 brow. She glanced in-doors at the throng, eagerly intent upon 
 passing pleasures, and then at the calm, still heavens above. 
 Were these souls fitting themselves for any of the grand du 
 ties of life ? Suppose sickness or misfortune came upon them, 
 were they learning to be patient and strong in such a school ? 
 Was it not all vanity and weariness ! 
 
 He studied her face by the faint light out here. She car 
 ried her pains, pleasures, and perplexities too readily upon it, 
 and he could read even now the defence she was meditating.
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 173 
 
 Every moment would give her strength, so he could hardly 
 speak too soon. 
 
 "Come," he said in his most winning voice, touching her 
 hand with the softest clasp ; this music is enough to inspire 
 one." 
 
 " No," she answered, in a weary yet decisive tone, for his 
 words had somehow jarred upon her soul. "Excuse me. I 
 cannot dance again to-night." 
 
 " I shall hold you to your promise." 
 
 The cool, bland voice, made her shiver with distrust. His 
 eyes were filled with a subtle light, and his lip wreathed itself 
 in smiles. In some moods this might have prevailed with her, 
 but she shrank now from these tokens of half suppressed pow 
 er. The man looked dangerous and merciless to her. 
 
 " I cannot," she exclaimed, with the old girlish spirit and 
 vehemence. " I am tired ! sick ! " 
 
 Her face attested it. Curious, flickering lines were settling 
 about her mouth, and gray, wan shadows haunted her eyes, 
 that seemed questioning for some means of escape like a wild, 
 frightened thing brought to bay. 
 
 He had seen such a struggle before, and knew that if he 
 could keep her from acting upon it immediately, the victory 
 would still be his. And as she rose he barred her with his 
 arm, fain to keep her in her shady corner, now that the crowd 
 was surging out for air. 
 
 " Let me go ! " she exclaimed, with flashing eyes. " How 
 dare you ! " 
 
 He had no fancy for a scene, though he would not have 
 hesitated to compromise her. But she threaded her way 
 through the throng and disappeared, while some one stopped 
 him with a chance word.
 
 174 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THROUGH THE SEA. 
 
 LUCY THORNDIKE went through the dancing room, 
 through the hall, and peered in among the card-players. 
 He was not there. Turning, she confronted Mr. Rutherford. 
 
 "Will you find my husband and bring him here ? " she ask 
 ed, sharply, her feeling of terror and longing for escape over 
 powering all else. 
 
 He went without a word. It seemed to her that she wait 
 ed an age. Her limbs smote together tremblingly, and her 
 brain was in a whirl of pain and confusion. 
 
 At last he came. The keen, far-reaching part of her soul 
 took in the whole at a glance, the face flushed almost to pur 
 ple, the eyes bleared and with a stupid stare. 
 
 " Warren, will you take me home ? I am tired, sick of the 
 heat and glare. And it is late nearly two." 
 
 He gave a coarse unmeaning laugh. 
 
 " What ails you ?" he asked. 
 
 " I want to go home ! " 
 
 There was a pitiful entreaty in her voice that would have 
 pricked any other man to the heart. 
 
 " By Jove ! Can't you go then ? I'm not ready. Why 
 can't you go back to your dancing ? " 
 
 Her face was growing frightfully pale, and she swayed as 
 if she would have fallen. That sobered him a little. 
 
 " Yes," he said, not crossly, but in a careless way that cut
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 175 
 
 her to the heart " you had better return. I'll order the car 
 riage. You won't mind being alone ! Hillo ! There's Ruth 
 erford ! " 
 
 Mr. Rutherford acceded to his host's request. He handed 
 Mrs. Thorndike into the carriage saw that she was sufficient 
 ly protected from the keen air, and took a seat opposite. His 
 manner was almost fatherly. 
 
 Neither of them spoke during the drive. He assisted her 
 out, and they entered the library. The light was burning low 
 the grate was half filled with ashes books and papers were 
 scattered about the table. The comfortless look struck a chill 
 to her heart ; or perhaps it was more the thought of the fearful 
 spiritual desolation that surrounded her. 
 
 " Shall I ring for your maid ? " he asked, in a solicitous 
 tone. 
 
 " No." She turned, weakly, throwing off her shawl, and 
 made as if she would have spoken, but her lips moved without 
 sound. 
 
 He wanted to speak, to comfort, but he remembered his 
 rash interference of a short time before, and gave her a look 
 of wise and tender pity. 
 
 " You see it all ; " she said, hoarsely, with strained blue lips, 
 and flickering shadows about the unnaturally bright eyes. " You 
 see the life before me perhaps better than I, for you under 
 stand more of the world. I don't know whether you were wise 
 or over hasty, but you have thrust my friend beyond the pale 
 of my faith. And yet it was only friendship believe that of 
 me, of him." 
 
 " I believe it of you ; " he returned, bowing his head. 
 
 She seated herself, and leaned her clasped hands on the 
 table. You could tell how strongly her feelings were working 
 by the nervous manner in which the ringers interlaced each 
 other. 
 
 " But it is dangerous. You are right enough there. Only 
 what shall I do, shut out of every thing ? My life went astray
 
 17G Lucia,: Her Problem. 
 
 at the beginning. How can one gather the confused and bro 
 ken threads and begin anew ? " 
 
 Her voice smote him with its pitiful entreaty. 
 
 " It is a dark and thorny way ; " he said, slowly. " This 
 was why it seemed better to my finite and narrow judgment, 
 that you should linger in the paths of negative content." 
 
 " It is too late ; too late ! " she cried, sharply. 
 
 " Yes, it is too late. You have tasted of knowledge even if 
 it turn to bitter ashes upon your lips. But why should it. Is 
 not your soul brave enough to dare it ? " 
 
 "What shall I do?" 
 
 Her voice was so earnest, and her pale face warmed with 
 an expression of eager interest. 
 
 If he could guide her ! If he dared to take this trembling 
 soul into his care as a brother might. If her husband but 
 counting upon him was useless so she must fight her way up 
 to the light alone. He experienced the most profound pity 
 for har. 
 
 " What shall I do ? " 
 
 Her eyes were strained and glittering. It seemed to her as 
 if her soul were vibrating between two unknown shores. 
 
 " It is a hard matter to advise. A mother or sister might 
 guide you aright, or a true and noble friend, but I think you 
 will find that men are apt to bring in themselves, and that the 
 simplest regard might warm into a snare and perplexity. Your 
 first duty will always be your husband." 
 
 She, shivered visibly. And yet once she was glad to have 
 him take her out of a life that looked so much more dreary 
 than this. But it was a farce to say that she had ever truly 
 loved him ! He had never been positively unkind but when 
 she contrasted him with those she had come to know and ad 
 mire now, her whole soul was filled with disgust. 
 
 "And after that some paths are open, which, if rightly fol 
 lowed, may be made to yield much satisfaction. I think you 
 women are too impatient for results. If you cannot make your
 
 Lucia: Her Problem 177 
 
 lives perfect and harmonious in a few months, you give up in 
 despair." 
 
 She answered with a vague, dreary smile of assent. 
 
 " The soul finds many paths of enjoyment. Literature and 
 music are open to you ; and highest of all, that of ministering to 
 others who are in trouble and suffering." 
 
 " I don't know any ; " she said, vehemently. " I sometimes 
 wonder, if in all the length and breadth of God's earth there is 
 so miserable a creature as I ! " 
 
 " You, with your youth and health, and your many blessings ! 
 Ah, you know little of distress, and grief, and shame, and the 
 black host of evils that follow in the wake of some lives ! " 
 
 She was abashed by his earnestness. 
 
 " You can raise yourself in the scale of humanity. You can 
 cultivate true and noble aims, you can keep your soul pure and 
 lofty and when you tire of the frivolous pleasure of society, 
 here will be a living fountain at which you may refresh your 
 thirsty lips. Gratification of every passing desire is not always 
 the way to happiness, as you will find. But it seems to me, at 
 times, that the consciousness of acting from pure and high mo 
 tives, proves more satisfactory than mere pleasure." 
 
 Something in his look and tone roused an undercurrent of 
 immortal longing in the keen yet deep-seated fibres of her soul. 
 A wild impulse to cling to him as to a rock of safety whose 
 foundation no tempest or perpetual surges can overthrow, 
 sprang up within her. It seemed as if a woman might blossom 
 into perfection with such a man for her guide and stay. 
 
 He struck the deepest answering chord in her nature. Had 
 she been free it would have proved a pure and irrevocable love ; 
 but she was not likely to think of this in connection with him. 
 She felt stronger for the glance of those open, honest eyes. 
 
 " I think you are right in many things," she said in a low 
 
 voice, that cost her a strong effort to steady. " I have devoted 
 
 too much of my time and energy to pleasure. I have fretted 
 
 against the bars to perfect happiness, forgetting whose hand 
 
 8*
 
 178 Lucia: Her Prollcm. 
 
 placed them there. My soul was dark and narrow and ill- 
 guided when I chose my destiny, but it was a free choice. 
 I see my duty clearer. Pray that I may have strength to per 
 form it." 
 
 " I will. I can trust you in God's hands. He hears those 
 who cry to Him out of deepest darkness and despair." 
 
 She rose, and obeying her first impulse gave him her hand. 
 
 " Good-night," she said falteringly. " I shall remember this 
 when you are away." 
 
 " May God watch over you and keep you," he returned 
 fervently. "When you find the way hard, be strong of soul. 
 The good soldier presses ever forward, you know." 
 
 She turned then and went to her room. Tired she was ; 
 nay, her physical strength seemed utterly exhausted, but the 
 fire and inward resolution shot up into a steady flame. She 
 would make her life of more worth than the course of sensuous 
 beauty and delight hinted at by Mr. Marchmont, and indol 
 ently followed by herself for the last few weeks, could ever bring. 
 There was something nobler. 
 
 And then she shuddered with a sickening despair. The 
 love that perfected and hallowed all true existences, must for 
 ever stand apart from hers. She did not deceive herself by 
 thinking that she could raise her husband to any higher sphere. 
 His passions were all of the earth, earthy. Love of money, 
 applause, and position, common endearments when he felt 
 good-natured, and if cross or unlucky in any move, his wife 
 was sure to feel it. Ah, how blind she had been in those days 
 when he seemed a hero ! 
 
 He came in an hour or two later, stumbling over the floor 
 with an unsteady step. What if to the rest he should add the 
 horrible vice of drunkenness ! She lay breathless in a spasm 
 of agony. Could she do nothing for him ? 
 
 Some traces of her vigil were visible the next morning. 
 Paul Rutherford noted them in silence. A pang tore his heart 
 as he thought of her fighting the hard battle without even a
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 179 
 
 word of commendation. For though her husband might be 
 pitiless to any open sin, after the manner of such men, he 
 could never understand the temptation, the struggle, and the 
 victory which ennobles some natures. To escape the danger 
 would be no great virtue in his eyes, for the subtler forms of 
 allurement were not palpable to his dull understanding. 
 
 Their parting words were uttered with a quiet dignity on 
 her side, and a sadness on his which touched her. A vague 
 impression haunted both minds that it might be for the last 
 time. 
 
 Mr. Thorndike was still hilarious, having hardly recovered 
 from his last night's revel. And it must be confessed that he 
 was not sorry at the prospect of Mr. Rutherford's long absence. 
 He dreaded to have the clear eyes pounce down upon any 
 scheme that was not quite perfected, or where a slight flaw 
 could be detected. Marchmont was not half as likely to keep 
 him in check. 
 
 Far days afterward Lucy felt languid and irresolute. The 
 main business of life seemed to go on as usual, but its aspect 
 had changed for her. She heard a little gossip about Mr. 
 Marchmont and Miss Ronald when Mrs. Graham called to ex 
 press her solicitude at Mrs. Thorndike's state of health. She 
 almost wished that it might be true. 
 
 And since she was neither well nor ill, Lucy excused her 
 self f rom gayeties. They had lost their flavor. Mr. March 
 mont held aloof in a curious state of mind. He meant that 
 she should summon him to her side again ; but there seemed 
 small probability. 
 
 The season was very early. By the middle of May the 
 days were long and warm, and the dense smoke from the fac 
 tories insupportable. Mrs. Wilder held herself in readiness 
 for an invitation to accompany her cousin's wife to some 
 fashionable resort. But it never came. Lucy went to a quiet 
 little sea-side place not many miles distant. Her husband 
 could come whenever he chose. She wanted to do nothing to
 
 180 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 widen the breach between them. Some new and finer ideas had 
 crept into her mind concerning her duty towards him. When 
 he was away she made noble resolves, but in his presence they 
 appeared so utterly impracticable. And then she remembered 
 with a discouraged feeling how her earlier efforts had been 
 frustrated by his indifference. 
 
 With herself she began at the foundation. She was a severe 
 censor as youth generally is when it takes up a theory in 
 earnest. Her littleness, her vanity, her wretched indecision, 
 her love of approbation, all passed in stern review before her. 
 
 It was a crude and spasmodic effort. Often did she feel 
 inclined to give it up and return to the old careless life, but it 
 seemed as if that had rolled away forever. 
 
 I think she did miss Mr. Marchmont's refined and delicate 
 attentions. The gayeties were of so mild a type that she did 
 not need to dread them. There were some pleasant people 
 here two or three elderly, motherly ladies, but she was in no 
 mood to tone herself to the insipidities of life. She needed 
 freshness and strength, the two things that seemed to have 
 gone out of her world, leaving the dreariness that it was so 
 hard to overcome. One week she thought she gained a little 
 in steadiness of endeavor, and the next it was lost 
 
 Yet unconsciously her communings with nature did her 
 good. She was learning to make some distinctions that would 
 stand her in good stead later, in the time of sorer trouble and 
 need. She returned home much improved in health. 
 
 Mr. Marchmont had just left Dedham to attend to some 
 important business connections. The rest of the little world 
 seemed going on the same as ever. Miss Ronald had capti 
 vated a dashing major of the regular army, and was preparing 
 to go off to the frontier. Mrs. Glenfield and some of the la 
 dies made their regular calls. Lucy went home and took tea 
 with her father and Rachel, and there outward excitement ap 
 peared to stop. 
 
 It was a very dull autumn. The air was rife with uncom-
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 181 
 
 fortable rumors and surmisings. Two or three large houses 
 went down with a crash, and dragged the smaller ones in their 
 wake. Mr. Garth shook his head mysteriously, and bemoaned 
 his son-in-law's extravagance to Rachel. 
 
 " It would have been different if he had chosen a prudent 
 wife," she would return with a sigh. 
 
 Lucy felt the change in her husband. He was growing 
 morose and impatient ; he flew into unreasonable passions at 
 the smallest trifles. Well for her that she had become in some 
 degree weaned from society. She could have her old dresses 
 made over in perfect security, she could sit at home and prac 
 tice her music, her only solace now, and not be disturbed by 
 the comments of her neighbors. 
 
 She might have heard the whispers, but all Dedham 
 thought she was holding haughtily aloof. Heads were nodded 
 and significant winks exchanged. There was nothing do 
 ing at the mines, the factories were discharging their work 
 men and contracting daily. The prospect of a hard winter 
 loomed threateningly on the horizon of the little town. 
 
 The crash came at last. Warren Thorndike returned home 
 one night much worse for the liquor he had taken to keep up 
 his spirits, and announced to his wife in tones of derision that 
 her grand reign was over. No more parties and extrava 
 gant dinners, no more diamonds and flaunting silks. She must 
 give up her servants and come down to the level of other wo 
 men ! 
 
 She glanced at him in utter incredulity and amazement, 
 not taking in the fact at all. Was it not some cruel taunt of 
 an overheated brain ? 
 
 "Well," he shouted coarsely, bringing his fist down upon 
 the table with a giant's strength, "don't you understand? 
 You've flown high my lady, but it's all come to an end. I'm 
 ruined do you hear ? " 
 
 " Oh, Warren ! " she exclaimed, obeying her first impulse. 
 " If you had not undertaken so many things ! The coal mine
 
 182 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 would have been enough, or the iron or even if you had gone 
 on with father " 
 
 " Much you know about it," he returned angrily. " All 
 that you women care for is fine clothes and parties, but there's 
 no more for you ! And I want to know if you're any better 
 than your sister ! " 
 
 " I never said that I was," and the fire flashed into Lucy's 
 eyes. "And the extravagance has not been altogether mine. 
 You invited your friends here and desired that they should be 
 handsomely entertained. I only did your bidding." 
 
 " And you were glad enough to come and live here in 
 grand style, to make a show and flaunt round in your car 
 riage ! " 
 
 Lucy Thorndike glanced at her husband in amaze. She 
 had been willing enough to share the good things of this life, 
 but they had been gifts from him rather than any demands on 
 her part. And now that he should taunt her with it ! The in 
 dignant blood rushed hotly through her veins. 
 
 Yet he was not master of himself, she saw that with a feel 
 ing of shame. Recrimination would only make, the matter 
 worse. 
 
 " I am sorry for your losses, Warren," she said, choking 
 down the anger and scorn that would rise. " And whatever 
 sacrifice you require of me shall be cheerfully made." 
 
 Her kind tone partially disarmed him. 
 
 " We must give up the house," he returned doggedly 
 
 " Is it so bad as that ? Is it a total loss ? And oh, Warren, 
 Mr. Rutherford is away ! " 
 
 She thought of that with alarm. 
 
 " Well, is it any worse for him than for the rest ? " 
 
 " Will he lose all that he has invested ? " 
 
 " The whole thing is flat, I tell you. Twenty cents on a 
 dollar couldn't be squeezed out of it ! " 
 
 " And you know that he invested the money of some ward. 
 It's not altogether his own loss. You were so sure, Warren ! "
 
 LuGia: Her Problem. 183 
 
 There was a strange, eager light in her face, as if she wish 
 ed to save Mr. Rutherford from the wreck ; at least, so her 
 husband interpreted it. A hateful, smouldering jealousy kin 
 dled in his soul. 
 
 " So, that is it ? " he sneered coarsely. " You can bewail 
 his loss. Perhaps your attractions kept him hanging here, 
 with his lordly ways and fine manners. I never did like the 
 man. And you " 
 
 " Don't say one more such word to me ; " and Lucy Thorn- 
 dike confronted her husband in fearless innocence, drawing 
 her slender figure to its fullest height. " He was your guest. 
 He came by your invitation, and to the very last he was a true 
 and loyal gentleman ! He would scorn to utter one wrong 
 word to any woman. And if I regret his loss it is that it seems 
 so like treachery when our hospitality has been urged upon 
 him." 
 
 The tone and manner cowered Warren Thorndike. The 
 truth that had been dimly forcing its way into his soul by slow 
 degrees seemed to stamp itself ineffaceably at that moment. 
 This woman was not on his level, and never had been. She 
 looked so simple standing there before him, her soft dark dress 
 clinging about her graceful figure, a white rose in her hair, and 
 a cluster of geranium leaves at her throat, that he could find 
 no fault with her attire. But the steadfast and almost scorn 
 ful eyes, the firm mouth, the flush of pride and indignation 
 angered him beyond control. She was his wife, and she should 
 not be lavishing her pity upon other men. 
 
 He told her so in not very choice language ; but before he 
 had finished his tirade she swept from the room and left him 
 alone in his unreasonable resentment. 
 
 He had dared to insinuate that this man had been swayed 
 by base and selfish motives ! Her heart swelled at the wrong, 
 and hot, passionate tears filled her eyes. It was well, perhaps, 
 that he was not here. 
 
 But oh, the forlorn and miserable life that stretched out be-
 
 184 Lucia : Her Problem. 
 
 fore her ! Still the clear low voice rang through her brain, 
 just as when it had said 
 
 " Your first duty is toward your husband." 
 
 Yes, it was true. And now it was time to practice the 
 lessons so sternly taught her.
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 185 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 IN THE DESERT. 
 
 DEDHAM was alive with gossip for the next fortnight. 
 Mr. Thorndike's downfall was commented upon in every 
 imaginable manner. There were meetings of directors and 
 stockholders, and censure flowed freely. 
 
 And yet it could hardly be said with strict truth that War 
 ren Thorndike was more to blame than many of the others. 
 There was money in the undeveloped resources of both mines, 
 but these panic-stricken men thought little of that now. Those 
 who had been induced to lend their money in the prospect of 
 large dividends were clamorous for half or quarter. Like the 
 majority of the great accidents of life, most of those engaged 
 lost their presence of mind and rushed madly about for any 
 remedy. 
 
 In one sense it proved the salvation of Warren Thorndike. 
 The shock sobered him effectually. He had a good, strong, 
 keen brain, and a sanguine temperament. On Marchmont's 
 return the two went over the matter with patient carefulness. 
 So unlike in nearly every respect, they still met on the strong 
 vantage ground of self. And when Marchmont said, " There 
 a fortune in it still, if matters could only be tided over," Thorn- 
 dike took heart. 
 
 The coal speculation was disposed of advantageously, con 
 sidering all things. Marchmont came forward with considerable 
 ready money and bought up the iron stock for almost nothing. 
 Warren Thorndike sold his grand house for a large advance
 
 18 G Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 on its first cost, and managed to come out of the general wreck 
 with tolerably clean hands. He was not dishonest nor a vil 
 lain. Lucy made her part of the sacrifice cheerfully. She 
 even gave up her diamonds, for somehow they seemed hateful 
 in her sight. 
 
 The next important question was what they should do with 
 themselves. 
 
 " I am not sure but boarding will be cheaper," Lucy had 
 said, and Warren repeated this to Rachel Garth. 
 
 There had sprung up a strange sympathy between Warren 
 Thorndike and his narrow-minded but clear-sighted sister-in- 
 law. She had taken it for granted that he meant to be scrupu 
 lously honest and pay his debts to the utmost, and her faith in 
 him when he was an object of general condemnation had given 
 her a stronghold over him. He fell into the habit of coming 
 to her for advice ; and when events turned out more prosperously 
 than any one had expected, her pride and triumph for him had 
 proved very flattering. 
 
 He had repeated Lucy's remark for her approbation or 
 otherwise. 
 
 " A very sensible resolre on her part," commented Rachel. 
 " She knows nothing about housekeeping, and you have had 
 enough of senrants' wastefulness." 
 
 She discussed the matter with her father. "We might 
 take them in here for the present," she said. 
 
 Mr. Garth did not object. By slow degrees Rachel had 
 come to be the ruling spirit of the small household. He would 
 not have believed that he was failing in strength or energy, but 
 the years began to tell upon him. 
 
 Rachel made the bargain with Mr. Thorndike. She fan 
 cied in her narrow but conscientious way that she meant to do 
 the best for them both. With a fair chance Warren might re 
 trieve the past. She would exercise some supervision over 
 Lucy and keep her from rushing into imprudent excesses. 
 Their house was large enough for both.
 
 Lucia : Her Problem. 187 
 
 It had been a dreary time to Lucy. Mr. and Mrs. Glenfield 
 had come with the usual condolence. Indeed, the lady had 
 improved the occasion as she did every one. It could never 
 be brought against her that she turned away from the poor 
 and unfortunate. 
 
 Yet the well-meaning platitudes roused a feeling of bitter 
 defiance in Lucy's heart. What did this woman's complacent 
 soul know of the keen stings of fate ? 
 
 She could blame none of her old friends for neglect. Some 
 came from curiosity some from the pleasure of triumph. 
 They questioned her about the future, mildly regretted the past, 
 and prepared to drop her out of their books until she could 
 reign again in purple and fine linen. 
 
 " It is the way of the world ; " Mr. Marchmont said, sitting 
 out one of these fashionable calls. 
 
 Circumstances had brought them together again. He 
 had been floating around Dedham society a little, but he had 
 not found her peer. He had been exceedingly dissatisfied 
 with the abrupt termination of their friendship, and was anxious 
 to renew it. 
 
 " I believe there is a very small amount of true sympathy 
 in the world," she made answer, drearily. 
 
 " It is so rare that it is often classed with the counterfeit." 
 
 " And so one comes to self-reliance, which after all, may 
 be the best." 
 
 " And yet do you harden yourself against the world ? Does 
 it not leave a sore feeling in the depths of your heart ? " 
 
 She glanced up with a faint flush. 
 
 " I was your friend once. I will not ask you to explain the 
 misconception that came between, for I think it was through 
 the influence of another. But if I can be of any service in the 
 future, command me." 
 
 He rose and left her at that, and she remembered, as he 
 meant she should, the pleading light in his eyes, and the per 
 suasive inflection of his voice.
 
 188 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 He had elected to remain in Dedham a year or two longer ; 
 for he felt confident that there was some money to be made. 
 He disliked business of any kind, although he had a natural 
 aptitude for it ; but he did mean to secure wealth with this 
 stroke. 
 
 Warren Thorndike informed his wife of his plans. They 
 would go home for the present, as it was almost impossible for 
 them to tell now what their future would bring. He had never 
 been in the habit of consulting her to any extent, and was sur-, 
 prised when she replied 
 
 " You might have inquired ' whether such an arrangement 
 would be pleasant for me." 
 
 He stared in blank wonder. 
 
 " Why should it not be pleasant ? " he asked. 
 
 " I married you to escape them ; " was on her tongue, but 
 she did not utter the sad truth because she felt it too true. He 
 had taken her part against them then had he forgotten all the 
 circumstances ? 
 
 Human nature is complex and inconsistent. He had en 
 joyed his triumph over the Garths at the time of the marriage ; 
 but now that it was to his interest, he was quite willing to ac 
 cept any favors at their hands. He had none of the fine, sen 
 sitive pride that characterized her. 
 
 " Well, we can try it ; " she said, drearily. 
 
 " I'm sure it's kind of Rachel." 
 
 He glanced sharply at her. She found now that she sel 
 dom gained the victory in these wordy contests. He had 
 grown very masterly in argument, and fallen into the habit of 
 treating her as if she were of no special importance. 
 
 She went home to talk the matter over with Rachel who 
 was quite condescending. 
 
 "I shall furnish my own rooms," she said, "and I 
 wish to bring my piano. There are some pictures and 
 articles that were not salable, and others for which I really 
 care."
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 189 
 
 "There's plenty of room I'm sure;" was the elder sister's 
 grim retort. 
 
 Lucy lingered until her father came in. He stooped in the 
 shoulders, and was a good deal wrinkled. Somehow this show 
 ed more plainly to-day than ever before. 
 
 Contact with the world, through the medium of his son-in- 
 law, had softened some of Mr. Garth's asperities. Perhaps, 
 too, since his daughter had come to have a distinct individual 
 ity of her own, he had respected her the more. 
 
 " I am coming home again, it seems ; " and she took his 
 hand in both of her soft palms. 
 
 " Then you've decided ? " with a wistful glance. 
 
 " I believe my decision was not needed ; " with a hard look 
 at Rachel. 
 
 " It will be a great change, to be sure," eyeing the plain 
 and bare-looking room. 
 
 " I shall bring some of my brightness," she said with a 
 smile. " You won't object to it now. We are all wiser than 
 we were in that old time." 
 
 In his heart he thanked her for the words and look. 
 
 Yet Lucy Thorndike shed many bitter tears at the prospect 
 of leaving her luxurious home. The diamonds, rich dresses, 
 and the parties would not be so great a sacrifice. She had test 
 ed them, and knew their hollowness and vanity. But the beauty 
 and grace, the large rooms and wide halls, the flowers, the el 
 egance and order, the ease and home feeling, could not be hers 
 in a house in which her sister was mistress. 
 
 Rachel stood aghast at the loads of things that were sent. 
 She ventured to remonstrate a little. 
 
 " Then we'll burn them up," declared Lucy in her desperate 
 fashion. " As well as to sell them for nothing ! " 
 
 Such a step would have been next to the waste of buying 
 them, and Rachel was silent. 
 
 The change and the excitement roused Lucy. She set her 
 self vigorously to work, and absolutely transformed the old
 
 190 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 house. Up stairs she had a sleeping and a sitting-room, and 
 though they were dingy, low-ceiled places, she made them little 
 nests of beauty. 
 
 Some of her friends followed her even here, and old ac 
 quaintances dropped in, rather curious to see if she fitted the 
 niche. Lucy was too young and buoyant of soul not to feel a 
 stir of pleasureable emotion at being thus made somewhat of a 
 heroine. 
 
 " In my opinion it's a good thing," said Miss Kip, whom 
 three years had made sharper of feature and sharper of tongue. 
 And then she had never cordially forgiven Lucy Garth for 
 spoiling her plans. 
 
 " She was going it with a high hand ! A fine thing to ruin 
 her husband in less than three years. If he'd had his eyes 
 about him, he'd never a' married her ! " 
 
 Of Mr. Thorndike's extravagance no one complained. His 
 ambitious schemes that had overreached themselves, his almost 
 prodigal use of money that was to bring him rich returns was 
 not to blame for the failure ! 
 
 Men and women denounced Mrs. Thorndike's wasteful 
 ness, though perhaps her own sex were the most unsparing 
 and bitter. She felt the injustice of it keenly. How could 
 she have helped or hindered? Perhaps such a woman as Ra 
 chel might have had some influence, but hers had ever been a 
 mere straw. 
 
 And so by midwinter Lucy was settled in her new home, 
 the excitement pretty well over. She had insisted upon her 
 position being well defined, for she knew there was not much 
 to expect from Rachel's sympathy. Her rooms were her cas 
 tle. She came and went as she liked, entertained her friends, 
 read, studied, or devoted her hours to music. Any thing to keep 
 from dwelling too keenly upon the dreary life before her. 
 
 Mr. Marchmont rendered himself a welcome visitor. 
 
 Mr. Garth admired the hearty manner in which he had 
 made a good fight against misfortune ; Mr. Thorndike had
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 191 
 
 come to depend upon him for a resolute carrying out of their 
 plans. Rachel tolerated him. She watched her sister nar 
 rowly, and if Lucy had been betrayed into any special admira 
 tion of this handsome man, it would have proved the signal for 
 her disapprobation. 
 
 If Lucy had been desperately in love, neither she nor he 
 would have proclaimed their secret upon the house-tops. He 
 brought her an occasional book or piece of music, and some 
 times sang with her, but never when they were alone. What 
 Rachel did not see was the tender, unspoken but respectful 
 sympathy, the accidental meetings elsewhere, and the infre 
 quent but always pleasant walks. 
 
 Perhaps if he had known that he was never again to exer 
 cise his olden fascination over Lucy Thorndike, he would hardly 
 have striven so ceaselessly. There had come a higher ideal of 
 manly perfection to her, and the sorrowful fact, in that it was too 
 late, steeled her heart against all lesser temptations. He was 
 a Hnk between this hard and stinted existence and the world 
 of refinement and culture for which she longed. She knew 
 now that money could not always bring it, and she felt that a 
 cruel fate had shut her out. Of what avail, she asked herself 
 daily, was the fitting her soul for this rare possibility that 
 might never come ! 
 
 And so she listened to him as one sometimes does to a 
 strain of music that must presently vanish. It was a pleasant 
 break among these commonplaces in which her life was set ; a 
 ray of light which served to keep endeavor alive. 
 
 He had begun the acquaintance simply from a spirit of in 
 dolence and a desire to be amused. When he had roused her 
 a little, and saw the fine soul ready to leap out of bondage, it 
 became the love of power. If she had yielded and paid him 
 the homage that so many women gave, he would have been 
 satisfied, and soon tired of the victory. Then had come the 
 break between them. He fancied that she understood him, 
 that she had been warned, indeed, and hating the one who had
 
 192 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 thus secretly baffled him, he determined some day to regain 
 what he had lost. 
 
 Was it the misfortune that had worked this change in her ? 
 Instead of the simply charming woman that she had been be 
 fore, she was surrounded now with an indefinable grace and 
 strength. As if from the old, eager, undisciplined girlishness a 
 higher womanhood had dawned. He was not insensible to 
 purity and goodness, and he experienced a kind of pitiful re 
 gret that it should be wasted upon such a being as Warren 
 Thorndike. 
 
 " Why did he not marry the other one," he mused, see 
 ing them together. " What soul has he for any thing beyond 
 money ! " 
 
 And as he watched more closely, he saw what he fancied 
 others had failed to note. Week by week Warren Thorndike 
 was yielding to a stronger influence than any his wife possess 
 ed. I am not sure but that she might still have made her beauty 
 a foil ; had she cared, but he had outgrown its first charm, and 
 her soul had gone so far beyond his that he had come to have 
 an uneasy sensation regarding her. 
 
 The man, too, was changing rapidly. From the free and 
 lavish manner of the last three years he made the not uncom 
 mon bound to penuriousness. He meant to retrieve the past 
 and become once more a rich man. Rachel seconded this en 
 deavor. 
 
 " As if money were all ! " Lucy said, with a scornful laugh 
 that angered him. 
 
 But when she found herself subjected to Rachel's careful 
 oversight and economy, every pulse within her mutinied. 
 
 " What is it to you ? " she said, one day, stung to an angry 
 retort. " Am I not his wife ? Is it I who will suffer through 
 his poverty, or you ? " 
 
 " You will be a foolish and wasteful woman to the end. 
 You care for nothing but to be dressed in silk and sit at youi 
 piano. What word of encouragement do you ever have for him,
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 193 
 
 when his toil is over ? What care have you for the future and 
 his old age ? " 
 
 " You should have martied him yourself, Rachel ! My 
 God, I wish you had ! " she declared, wringing her hands with 
 a sudden sharp pang. " And you thought once that he cared 
 for you. I know you did ! " 
 
 Rachel Garth turned pale with passion. 
 
 " Oh," her sister said, " what a wreck I have made of all 
 our lives ! God help me." 
 
 " Put away .these foolish tragedy airs ! " exclaimed Rachel, 
 sternly. "Act as becomes a prudent, married woman, and 
 study your husband's interests." 
 
 Lucy was awed a little by the tone. Her heart was too full 
 for a reply. And yet she would not have stooped to misjudge 
 her husband or her sister. 
 
 But that night she broached a subject which she had been re 
 volving all the afternoon. The spring was coming, and they 
 ought to be looking for a home of their own. This had been 
 merely a temporary arrangement. 
 
 He looked at her in stupid surprise. 
 
 " What fault is there to find with this ? " he asked. " It is 
 your father's house." 
 
 " But I should prefer my own." 
 
 " Has Rachel found any fault ? I am sure she has always 
 seemed satisfied ; " and he stared hard at the idea. 
 
 " It is not Rachel. I want the freedom of my own home. 
 It may be small and simple but I want room to breathe. 
 Here I am nothing ! " 
 
 " Oh," he said, with a coarse sneer, " you are longing for 
 the old extravagances ? I may as well tell you once for all, 
 madam, that they will never be had with my consent again. I 
 was a fool ! Those people who drank my wines and ate my 
 luxuries what did they care for me in the day of misfortune ! 
 And your grand ladies may put on airs they'll never darken 
 my doors again ! " 
 
 9
 
 194: Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 " Oh, Warren," and the tears were in her eyes, " it is not 
 that at all. I don't wish for that show and waste. I want 
 a pretty little home where we can care for each other " she 
 forced herself to say it " and study each other's happiness." 
 
 He looked at her sharply, as if he had come to distrust her, 
 and she felt it keenly. 
 
 " No," he said, decisively, " you can't wheedle me into that ! 
 I'm very well satisfied, and here I mean to stay while your fa 
 ther is willing. So no crying, if you please ; that won't move 
 me." 
 
 She was silent from amazement. Her very heart died 
 within her. 
 
 He tumbled into bed without another word. She knew this 
 decision was final, and that here she must remain, not only with 
 him, but Rachel for a jailor. 
 
 Was it any wonder she should sit there over the dying fire 
 and wish that she had never been born ! 
 
 She knew very well that Rachel had been informed of this 
 rebellious outbreak. It was Rachel who curtailed her pleas 
 ures, who criticised her friends unkindly until they became dis 
 tasteful to her husband. 
 
 She gave up with a passive' indifference that blinded Mr. 
 Marchmont. He understood the cause of her unhappiness and 
 ministered to her with rare delicacy and feeling. The danger 
 that Mr. Rutherford had dreaded might become a possibility 
 now. Many a woman, feeling herself neglected and tyrannized 
 over, had left the safe conduct of a husband's authority and 
 thrown herself into a lover's arms. 
 
 The business was coming up again rapidly. Every day the 
 stock increased, and those who had been wild to sell at so great 
 a sacrifice looked on with silent dismay. 
 
 Marchmont was high in power. His had been one of the 
 fortunate chances by which men go on to prosperity. Indeed, 
 by some prescience he had foreseen or expected this, and had 
 been holding back his money for the auspicious moment If
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 195 
 
 he could secure thousands by a sharp bargain, it was no one's 
 business. When it came to that he had hardly the honor or 
 honesty of Warren Thorndike. 
 
 At the next flood tide he would sell out with a competency. 
 He was very tired of Dedham. Miss Ronald, who had been so 
 ready to minister to his self-love, was far away ; and he had gone 
 as far as was prudent in two or three rather interesting affairs. 
 He really began to long for city excitements. Consequently, 
 Lucy became a more positive need to him. 
 
 And so he fanned the flame into a steady revolt. He min 
 istered to Lucy Thorndike as only a subtle and accomplished 
 man of the world could minister, and made the hours spent 
 with him seem the only pleasure of her life. That they should 
 not alarm nor pall upon her fine sense, he managed that they 
 should be infrequent. A word of sympathy, a look or tone, 
 and her heart went out in gratitude towards him. 
 
 And yet it was gratitude only. If he could have looked 
 into her heart he would not have felt quite satisfied with the 
 esteem in which she held him. "A friend, who seeing my 
 lonely life, pities me," she thought. 
 
 As for him he really had no plans for the future. When he 
 became necessary to her existence, circumstances would shape 
 his course. He was hardly aware how completely he was drift 
 ing into love with her, for the passion had heretofore been a 
 very manageable one with him. 
 
 Lucy Thorndike did not give up all the hopes of her life 
 without an effort. She roused herself to attract her husband's 
 notice. He had reached that state of indifference where it was 
 not an easy task to please. Her attempts at prettiness, whether 
 it were a ribbon, a brooch, or a flower in her hair, were extrav 
 agance and vanity. In the early days he had listened to her 
 reading, though he often went to sleep in the midst of it ; but 
 now he made no pretence to that much courtesy. " A sensible 
 man was not expected to cry over foolish novels." 
 
 " I will read any thing else," she said in her pleading tone.
 
 196 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 " I never did care for reading. I've too many things to 
 think of." 
 
 The tone was hard and indifferent, and like his face, with 
 out an atom of sentiment. 
 
 " But you used to like to hear me sing." 
 
 " I've other things to attend to. Don't bother me with 
 your nonsense." 
 
 " Warren, did you ever love me ? " 
 
 She looked him straight in the eyes now, a grave, beseech 
 ing expression, as if she could still plead for the affection, poor 
 in quality as it had been. 
 
 " Why, yes, I suppose so," in an uneasy, shuffling manner. 
 " But a man is a fool who marries a woman for her pretty face. 
 You can't live on beauty, and it won't help much in the way 
 of making money." 
 
 No, he could not coin her " hair's fine gold " into dollars ; 
 and though scarlet lip and pearly brow might have a value, it 
 was not in the soul of such a man. 
 
 " Oh ! " she exclaimed with a burst of passion, " you don't 
 know how hard life is to me, Warren ! It's like slow starva 
 tion." 
 
 " Hard ! What do you have to do, I should like to know ? 
 To sit dressed in your silks from morning till night, read nov 
 els and sing a little. And I'm sure there's no occasion for 
 your being starved ! I've never grudged you any thing ! " 
 
 A cold, stupid, material soul that could never be warmed 
 by any truly noble feeling. A block of wood, for it had not 
 the fineness of marble. And she was chained to him for life 
 for life ! A spirit bound by a fatal word spoken in ignorance, 
 with which its nature could never have the slightest corre 
 spondence. A wild, heaven-appealing cry rose in her heart for 
 freedom ; and the dreary years stretching out before her had in 
 them all the elements of a fruitless struggle. From negative 
 endurance she passed to a state of keen, sharp loathing for 
 this her detested bondage.
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 197 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 FIGHTING FATE. 
 
 WARREN THORNDIKE'S taunts filled his wife's soul 
 with some wild resolves. She was not tempted to fly 
 to the man who admired her, for she had discovered a fatal 
 lack in him as well. Flying elsewhere had crossed her mind. 
 
 She came down to breakfast in the plainest cambric dress 
 she could find, and her lovely curls put out of sight. It was 
 a May morning, clear and balmy. Birds were singing, and 
 great wafts of apple blossoms filled the quivering air. 
 
 " Rachel," she said, when her father and Mr. Thorndike 
 had gone, " can I do any thing to help you ? " 
 
 Rachel started in grim surprise. 
 
 Old Hetty's place in the kitchen had been filled by a 
 younger and stronger woman, and by degrees Rachel had giv 
 en up much to her. Since she paid her for her time she ex 
 pected to have the uttermost moment. 
 
 " No," she answered shortly. 
 
 " You think I am good for nothing, let me try." 
 
 Rachel studied her in blank wonder. A fine lady with a 
 slender figure, clear skin, and small white hands. What was 
 she good for ? 
 
 " There isn't more than enough work to keep Sarah busy. 
 She's paid for doing it." 
 
 The tone was cold and discouraging. 
 
 " Would you like me to do any sewing ? "
 
 198 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 " No ; " and the elder turned stiffly away. 
 
 Lucy made her bed and put her two rooms in order. 
 Then she stood by the window a long while. 
 
 " It is time to begin at gardening," she thought, and ran 
 eagerly down stairs. 
 
 The door yard was in a painful state of precision. On each 
 side of the path a square of grass, and at the fence edge some 
 roses, old-fashioned pinks, phlox, and the spear-like blades of 
 blue flag. She liked soft, clinging vines, tender blossoms in 
 bright colors or purest white. Where could she make a be 
 ginning ? 
 
 " Rachel ? " she called. 
 
 The elder came out with a striped handkerchief tied over 
 her head. 
 
 " I'd like to have a flower garden since I'm going to stay 
 here for the summer. Suppose we raise a mound in the cen 
 tre of the grass ? " 
 
 " Tear up the grass ? " Rachel's leaden eyes fairly sparkled. 
 
 " Yes. I'd promise to keep it in order. It would look so 
 pretty. And I like rare, lovely things." 
 
 What had come over Lucy ? For a moment Rachel's pow 
 er was shaken to its very foundation. 
 
 "I believe that / am mistress here," she said sharply. 
 " Not one inch of the grass comes up for your nonsense. It's 
 always been good enough for me." 
 
 Lucy longed to blaze up in defiant anger. She prayed to 
 be able to keep the resolve of that morning. 
 
 " Can't I have some little spot ? " and her tones would 
 have sounded heart-broken to any other ears. 
 
 " I can attend to this myself. The flowers are just as / 
 like them." 
 
 Then Rachel went in. Lucy shed some bitter tears, and 
 presently found her way around to the rear yard. Every thing 
 was in scrupulous order. The brick pavement had been 
 scrubbed late the day before, there was the grass for bleaching,
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 the fruit trees, and a small vegetable garden beyond, whose 
 beds had been already laid out. Not a corner for her. 
 
 She knew of old that Rachel could not endure the least in 
 terference. For her to insist would be to make open war. 
 She had been ruled with a heavy hand in a good many things 
 since she had been Warren Thorndike's wife, indulgent as he 
 might seem at times. She must give up and become a nonen 
 tity, no other course was before her. 
 
 With a swelling heart she returned to her room. A box 
 of mignonette was just beginning to blossom at the window. 
 She buried her face in it and kissed its soft leaves with a pas 
 sion of tenderness. It could not refuse her love. 
 
 Oh, what was she to do ! Life was becoming so vapid and 
 useless. It seemed to her as if her brain was turning to stone, 
 save for the occasional keen pang. There lay her portfolio of 
 drawings what did it avail ? Here her books, her embroidery 
 the many trifles with which happy women made bright their 
 days. No one smiled to see her dainty fingers busy, to hear 
 her low, flexible voice giving reality to the loves, passions, trials 
 and tenderness of others. And she was so eminently formed 
 for affection and the finer graces of life. Oh, how dreary ! 
 
 A new thought came into her mind after awhile. She put 
 on her hat and light walking jacket, and set forth. No pleas 
 ant ramble to the woods was this to be. 
 
 Turning into a common street where there were some cheap, 
 pretentious houses, she stopped at one and pulled the bell. 
 A frowsy-headed woman in a very dirty wrapper answered the 
 summons. 
 
 " The land sakes ! It ain't you, Mrs. Thorndike ! " and 
 she stood a moment to consider whether she would ask her 
 into the untidy parlor. 
 
 " I ain't had time to get cleared up this morning," she said 
 apologetically, her face flushing a dull red. 
 
 " Oh, no matter. My call is rather unseasonable, I know, 
 but it is on business, and that must be my excuse.
 
 200 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 " You'll come in ? " rather unwillingly. 
 
 It was not a promising commencement, but Lucy Thorn- 
 dike's courage carried her through. 
 
 " You remember, Mrs. Howell, that you were discussing 
 your children's music at the Dorcas meeting. I thought you 
 seemed quite anxious that the two younger ones should learn." 
 Lucy hardly dared look at the disorder and shabby pretension 
 around her as she thus spoke. 
 
 " Yes, only Howell, he thinks it costs so much. I'm sure 
 he could afford it, but he says let 'em wait until Araminta gets 
 big enough to teach 'em. We pay fifteen dollars a quarter for 
 her. It would be a good deal for the three, and I always say 
 come what will I sha'n't send my children to no Restrict school. 
 So Howell he scolds about bills." 
 
 Mrs. Howell thrust her hair out of her eyes. 
 
 " Since I have been boarding time has seemed to hang heavy 
 on my hands," began Lucy, her refined voice contrasting 
 strongly with the other's. " 1 think I'd like to try a few music 
 scholars. I will take both of your little girls for ten dollars." 
 
 It was all said, but Lucy felt as if she had been begging. 
 A delicate flush stole into the fair face. 
 
 " You don't say, Mrs. Thorndike ! Land, if you had all 
 my work to do ! That's only five dollars apiece. Minta's 
 quarter ends next week, and now if you'd only take the three 
 I'm sure I'll be a world obleeged." 
 
 The dull eyes sharpened at the prospect of driving so good 
 a bargain. 
 
 " I'll take the three," Lucy said, choking down pride and 
 disgust 
 
 " Everybody has their ups and downs, I s'pose. Howell 
 says there wasn't near so much loss as they thought for last 
 fell." 
 
 Lucy comprehended the ambiguous sentence. 
 
 " Mr. Thorndike will retrieve all his past misfortunes," she 
 replied, rather proudly.
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 201 
 
 " When can the children begin ? " 
 
 "Any time you choose." 
 
 " Two lessons a week ? " 
 
 " Yes. The two little ones can come on one afternoon 
 and Araminta alone. 
 
 " Very well, I'll send the children to-morrow ; but I guess 
 we won't call it a fair start until Monday. They're all power 
 ful fond of music, and will be easy to teach." 
 
 Lucy smiled and nodded acquiescently, but her heart was 
 heavy. To ask a favor of this ill-bred, self-important woman 
 appeared an actual disgrace. 
 
 " But they shall never taunt me again with indolence ! " she 
 said to herself, clinching her small hand. " And I should die 
 to go on with this life ! " 
 
 She had given up most of her fashionable friends since 
 she found they were so distasteful to her husband ; but she felt 
 that she must have some interest, even if it were only that of 
 labor. 
 
 The " children " came, according to promise. Ten and 
 twelve years of age, chubby, dull-eyed and freckled ; dressed 
 in a variety of colors, outraging every law of harmony. They 
 were wild and rude, quite unmanageable indeed, and their love 
 of music consisted in fondness for noise, the banging of half a 
 dozen keys at once. 
 
 Every moment of the two hours was martyrdom. She won 
 dered seriously whether her piano would stand these rude as 
 saults, and began to entertain a great misgiving about the suc 
 cess of her undertaking. She resolved not to say one word, 
 though she fancied Rachel must soon suspect. 
 
 The ensuing Monday brought Araminta, who was fourteen, 
 and extremely consequential. Whenever Lucy corrected her, 
 she exclaimed " Miss Collins said I must always do this 
 way," and with that, the pupil settled the teacher. She was 
 self-willed, assured, and knew absolutely nothing. 
 
 Lucy sighed in despair. Three months of this ! It was 
 9*
 
 202 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 much harder than she had imagined. Presently she might find 
 some more agreeable pupils and discharge these. 
 
 Her efforts were brought to a sudden and ignoble end. 
 That Mrs. Howell would let such a grand subject for gossip 
 slip, was not to be imagined. She left her housework and her 
 baby to spread the news far and wide. Mrs. Thorndike taking 
 music scholars ! 
 
 The story grew, each one adding her mite. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Thorndike were unhappy, they quarrelled incessantly he had 
 refused to support her, and she had threatened to leave him, 
 but Mr. Garth insisted upon her remaining under 'his roof. 
 She was idle, ill-tempered, and extravagant ; she had ruined her 
 husband, and was actually compelled to teach music ! 
 
 When these floating fragments reached Mr. Thorndike, 
 his brow grew purple with rage. Rachel had complained of 
 her bringing in the neighboring children, but that his wife 
 should dare give such cause for scandal about him, was not to 
 be borne a moment. He flew home in a passion, and burst 
 into her room in the mood of a madman. 
 
 " Madam, I want to know if it is true that you have taken 
 those beggarly brats of Howell's into this house and expect to 
 teach them music ? " 
 
 " And if I have," she said, " what then ? You have taunt 
 ed me with an idle, useless life you have questioned the 
 least penny spent for pleasure ; and what if I do choose to 
 have something of my own ? " 
 
 " Not while you are my wife ! " He brought his clinched 
 hand down on the table with such force that it shivered the 
 delicate china vase with its one luscious carnation. " Not 
 while you are my wife ! Have I ever refused to support you ? 
 And the town rings from one end to the other with the base 
 lie that Warren Thorndike's wife is compelled to work for 
 her daily bread. This is your doing. You want me to be 
 sneered at, despised ! " 
 
 " Warren, listen," she exclaimed, in affright. " I said no
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 203 
 
 suchr word. I told Mrs. Hovvell that the time hung heavy on 
 my hands, and made no further explanations. But you have 
 taunted me you can't deny that ! You have refused me 
 money for a book or a flower you have sneered at my white 
 hands, my delicacy. I begged Rachel to let me help her, but 
 she would not ; and then I resolved to do something for my 
 self." 
 
 " And set the whole town gossipping ! Well, I won't have 
 it do you hear that ? Let one of that crew darken these 
 doors again at your peril ! " 
 
 " Oh, Warren, what shall I do ? Why did you marry me ? " 
 
 She clasped her hands in pitiful supplication, and her 
 whole frame quivered with pain. 
 
 " Because I was a fool ! But if I have a helpless, useless 
 wife, she shall not make me a laughing-stock for the town. 
 This very day you'll send over to tell those beggars that War 
 ren Thorndike can earn bread for his own wife ; and if she 
 doesn't choose to eat that, she may starve ! " 
 
 He gave a coarse, scornful laugh. It seemed to her at 
 one moment as if she could almost murder him for his cruel 
 insolence and then she trembled to think that he was indeed 
 her master. 
 
 " Oh," she said, with a dry, torturing sob, " why do you 
 hate me, and make me miserable ? What can I do ? If I 
 were only dead ! " 
 
 " A sensible enough wish but people don't die so easily. 
 Come, put on your hat and go finish this smart business. 
 Next time you'll be likely to ask my advice." 
 
 " Not now. Let me write a note. It will do quite as 
 well." 
 
 " Come along," he said, coarsely, " I want to see that the 
 thing is done." 
 
 It was in vain for her to entreat. Every word exasperated 
 him fearfully. She did have one strong impulse to defy him 
 but his rough, brute strength and force awed her.
 
 204 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 She walked down the street beside him with a sinking 
 heart. If Mrs. Howell had distorted the other simple matter, 
 what capital would she not make of this. 
 
 To her dying day, Lucy could not be grateful enough that 
 Mrs. Howell was not at home. Ten-years-old Bessy was nurs 
 ing the white-headed baby, and stared at a message that she 
 could not understand. 
 
 Lucy crept home laggingly. It seemed as if her strength 
 would fail at every step.. Once there, she threw herself upon 
 the bed and wept softly, drearily. She was too sad and worn 
 even for passion. 
 
 This had occurred at mid-afternoon. Warren Thorndike 
 took a drive out to the mine to cool his temper and by sup 
 per time had come back to some of his usual stolidity. 
 
 Sarah was sent to see why Lucy did not come to supper 
 as usual. 
 
 " She's feverish, and complains of a headache, and she looks 
 like a ghost, 'cepting the red spot in her cheeks," was the girl's 
 comment. 
 
 " Wont she have a cup of tea ? " asked Mr. Thorndike. He 
 almost wished that he had not been quite so hard with her. 
 Her father and sister had warned him, and now he was reaping 
 the fruit of his folly. 
 
 " No, she won't have any thing. She said don't disturb 
 her." 
 
 Rachel went up to see her afterward. She neglected no 
 duty, small or great, but Lucy was in that nervous state where 
 every sound was like rasping a painful wound. 
 
 " Go away," she begged. " Only leave me alone ! " 
 
 Mr. Garth took his hat and went out. Mr. Thorndike 
 settled himself by the open window and tilted back in his chair. 
 Rachel sent the tea things away, and as it was not dark, took 
 up her sewing. 
 
 Three years had not improved her any ; but Warren Thorn- 
 dike looked upon her with different eyes. He would have said
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 205 
 
 with Edmund Spangler, "there was no nonsense about her." 
 No flowers in her hair, no flummery at her throat, but just a 
 plain linen collar, no flounces or furbelows. She never had 
 headaches or nerves, never wasted her time over novels, could 
 cook, bake, make almost any garment, and had a sharp eye 
 for any neglect or carelessness on the part of inferiors. Then 
 such a clear head as hers was ! She was as good as March- 
 mont for going over the books, and she had pointed out little 
 leaks that he had never dreamed were of any importance. 
 
 Warren Thorndike had never been romantic. He looked 
 upon his wild fever for Lucy as the greatest folly of his life. 
 A woman like this was what he needed. He cared nothing 
 for delicate surroundings and refined amusements. Much of 
 the past had been a positive bore to him. 
 
 And with the unreasonableness of a dwarfed and narrow 
 nature he laid the whole blame upon Lucy. She had in some 
 sort inveigled him into this unlucky marriage. She had per 
 suaded him that the great Cunningham place was necessary to 
 their happiness. She had filled the house with grand people, 
 made costly entertainments requisite, and half ruined him. 
 And now she was dissatisfied, a helpless burden. If he had 
 been wise and married Rachel. Youth and beauty were noth 
 ing, after all. With Rachel's thrift and carefulness he would 
 never have been unfortunate. 
 
 He went a little further still. Were Lucy to die, of course 
 he would marry Rachel. His thoughts followed coarse, straight 
 forward channels. The man was not as base at heart as hun 
 dreds of others. He could have lived here twenty years and 
 never have experienced a tender longing to clasp Rachel to his 
 heart or electrify her pale lips with a kiss. The brief fever heat 
 had burned out with Lucy. He would not even experience a 
 temptation to waver from the strict letter of the law. And yet 
 he would have made slight lamentation had freedom come to 
 him that very night. 
 
 But Lucy did not die. She felt very weak and miserable.
 
 206 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 A crumb of sympathy from old Hetty would have been like a 
 ray of heaven to her. Rachel brought her tea and toast until 
 she was well enough to come down stairs, and Mr. Thorndike 
 considered his duty completed by looking at her every morning 
 and asking her how she felt. 
 
 She was very wan and pale when she joined the family cir 
 cle. Her eyes seemed larger and darker than ever, and there 
 was a hunted, wistful look in them. Once she asked Warren 
 to let her go to the little sea-side town where she had spent the 
 preceding summer. 
 
 He consulted Rachel. He had fallen into the habit of go 
 ing to her for counsel on every subject. 
 
 " What nonsense," she said sharply. " I've never had to 
 go to the sea-side for my health ! " 
 
 He made s'ome weak excuse, and Lucy gave up listlessly. 
 After all, it mattered very little. Perhaps it was better not to 
 try to live. 
 
 Her sad face might have given some color to the story that 
 she was not well treated. People did surmise a little, but hu 
 man nature is so apt to lean on the prosperous side. Others 
 besides himself began to think that Mr. Thorndike might have 
 married more wisely. There was a good-natured hilarity about 
 him that rendered him a favorite with those who did not de 
 mand the high types of refinement. And now that he was like 
 ly to be fortunate, he was not to be overlooked nor despised.
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 207 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 DESPERATION. 
 
 LATE one July afternoon, Lucy Thorndike was rambling 
 in the woods at the river's edge, a favorite haunt of hers. 
 There had been rain the day before, and every leaf was crisp 
 and green, the mosses soft, the stones clean and gray, and the 
 slow tide fretted idly along in musical murmuring. 
 
 She was thinking of Paul Rutherford. In "the hurry and 
 excitement his business interests had been sadly neglected, 
 she well knew. His lawyer had come up to Dedham and in 
 stituted one or two suits, and there the matter languished. 
 
 She wondered what he would say were he to see her now ! 
 She had failed in every thing no one could realize it more bit 
 terly than she. Like that piece of driftwood caught by one 
 wave in play, tossed by the next in scorn, and allowed to find 
 no secure resting-place. Was it her fault that life had been so 
 hard? 
 
 A step startled her. Mr. Marchmont came bounding down 
 the rather steep hill-side, and paused as if in surprise. 
 
 He had spent much of his summer in travelling. For a 
 month now he had been absent. A few evenings before he 
 had dropped in at Mr. Garth's, but she had not come down. 
 Driving through the street on this afternoon he had caught a 
 glimpse of her and guessed her destination. 
 
 He had remarked that Mr. Thorndike deferred to Rachel 
 more than ever, and that she advised him as if his prosperity 
 was the one thing nearest her heart. He had fancied Lucy 
 neglected, but he was hardly prepared for so great a change.
 
 208 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 If any thing, she was more lovely in his estimation. The 
 transparent complexion, where a faint shade of pink fluttered 
 with the passing emotion ; the large-lidded, melancholy eyes ; 
 the lips still scarlet ; the chin still exquisitely rouaded for all 
 its thinness. 
 
 She sat down on a rock, her heart throbbing visibly. The 
 least thing overcame her now. 
 
 He misunderstood the agitation. Vanity said that it must 
 be for him. 
 
 " Excuse my abruptness, I caught the gleam of a white 
 dress and I knew who frequented this little nook. But you 
 have been ill ? " 
 
 " Not very well, perhaps, but hardly to be called ill ; " and 
 she smiled gravely. 
 
 " I was disappointed at not seeing you the evening I called. 
 Yet they said you were well." 
 
 " I seem to have dropped out of my old life, Mr. March- 
 mont. No one remembers me now." 
 
 There was a pathetic sadness in her tone. 
 
 " Yes," he said pointedly, " / do. You once asked me, 
 Mrs. Thorndike, what I would do for a friend. Try me now. 
 You stand so alone, your life has become so desolate." 
 
 " There is nothing that you can do for me." 
 
 There was something deeper than dreariness in her voice, 
 a settled apathy, as if every thing failed to charm. Beyond the 
 shadowy look of suffering in her eyes all seemed a blank. 
 
 " Nothing ! " he exclaimed, " nothing ? Is friendship an 
 empty sound to you, then ? " 
 
 He spoke with an impassioned vehemence and his eyes 
 kindled with a subtle fire. So might look love, so could look 
 hate ! 
 
 " I do not need it. I am not above its sympathy, but so far 
 outside the pale that return would be useless. 
 
 He thought this an auspicious moment. 
 
 " No," he said with soft, kindling voice and dreamy eyes
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 209 
 
 that had beguiled more than one woman, " no, that is not what 
 you need. You read your soul aright there. You are starv 
 ing, dying for a little love. The fatal mistake of your life is 
 bearing its bitter fruit. Friendship must stand by, impotent 
 for awhile, and see you suffer without the power to avert one 
 pang. But it will not always be so. And in that hour let me 
 stand by your side. Let me counsel and advise. For I be 
 lieve no human soul would guard you with such tenderness." 
 
 " Hush," she returned. " You have no right to say this." 
 
 " Your sorrow gives me a sacred right. Cannot I see that 
 you stand utterly alone ? Your very sister would betray you ! 
 Your husband casts longing eyes upon another woman, who is 
 of his kind, after all. Your grace, your sweetness, the purity 
 of your soul always were lost upon him. Is such a bald tie to 
 be called marriage ? Rather some monstrous and horrible 
 blot upon a sacred sky. It is killing you slowly, sapping a life 
 worth more than his or hers, a hundred times." 
 
 " Oh, you are wrong," she cried with a gasp. " For Ra 
 chel is strictly, sternly good, even if he were " 
 
 " Am I blind, think you ? Will they have to wait long ? " 
 
 He gave a little satirical laugh. If he were any woman's 
 husband, that would be as hard to bear as Warren Thorndike's 
 coarser taunts. 
 
 Yet she started at having death thus thrust at her. She 
 could not endure that he should understand their satisfaction, 
 since she felt sure that they did not even admit it to them 
 selves. 
 
 " As well that as any thing ; " she made answer wearily. 
 
 " No," he returned, " you must live. Why, you have not 
 outgrown youth and its pleasure, you have never tasted the 
 divine draught of love. The bliss of living is yet to come for 
 you. In some far sunny land sheltered and watched by a 
 heart that beats for you alone, smiled upon until the radiance 
 of hope has returned to your lovely eyes, and the glow of 
 health to your cheek ; when the warm blood throbs exultantly
 
 210 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 in your veins and strength returns to your limbs, then you may 
 indeed defy them. There are paths to this boundless, joyful 
 freedom." 
 
 A soft, seductive warmth diffused itself over his face, and 
 a subtle flame burned beneath the drooping lids. It did not 
 conquer her. She almost asked herself why, but the old warn 
 ing was still lingering in her brain. 
 
 " Let me be your friend," said the tempting voice. 
 
 " It is best that I should go my way alone." 
 
 She spoke with a cold indifference. He had seen her kin 
 dled, full of expectation, and he did not despair. The leaven 
 would begin to work when she was alone in her desolation. 
 
 Lucy Thorndike looked far down the river. The shores 
 were hazy with the golden films of summer sunshine, and count 
 less insects dazzled it like swift shooting stars. Somewhere 
 there was rest and peace. 
 
 " Still let me be your friend. You need one here." 
 
 She made no answer ; but he studied her face in the silence. 
 The tense lines about the mouth were those of pain, not firm 
 ness. He had seen it smile. And then he was in no imme 
 diate haste to persuade. 
 
 She rose and walked along the river's edge with Vaughan 
 Marchmont at her side. He noted the faltering step, the slow 
 breathing, the whole change that a month had wrought. And 
 at that moment he gave her a strange, yearning love, so tender, 
 so nearly unselfish that he did not understand it himself. 
 
 They parted at the street, she would have it so ; but he 
 said persuasively 
 
 1 ' You will come again ? " 
 
 Warren Thorndike sat on the porch reading his paper. 
 He had turned the corner of forty now and seemed quite an 
 old man to her. How had she ever come to fancy him ? 
 
 "I believe you have no sense;" he exclaimed crossly. 
 ""You are always moping about the house, and yet you can 
 take long walks that would tire a. strong man."
 
 Lucia : Her Problem. 211 
 
 She made no reply but hung her hat in the hall as Rachel 
 called them to supper. Indeed, through the meal she was 
 thinking of what Mr. Marchmont had said about them. 
 
 They little guessed how narrowly she watched. Would 
 they be not exactly glad perhaps, but satisfied to have her 
 dead ? It was a horrible thought after all. 
 
 They talked of the business as usual. Marchmont's tour 
 had been quite a success. 
 
 " If matters go on this way I shall be back to the old notch 
 presently. Then I can snap my fingers in the face' of the 
 whole crew ! " and he gave a little chuckle. 
 
 " But wiser, I hope ; " said Rachel. 
 
 " Yes. You'll never catch me fooling away money at that 
 rate again ; " and he glanced sharply at Lucy, as if she had 
 been the cause. 
 
 She sat thinking. These two people seemed meant for 
 one another. If she were out of the way it would soon come 
 about. She had been so proud to thwart Rachel when they 
 had first known Mr. Thorndike, but she had been sorely pun 
 ished, heaven knew. If she went away not depending upon 
 Mr. Marchmont's friendship, but quite by herself, and if some 
 way they could think her dead she would be dead to all the 
 little world that had ever known her. Would it be wrong ? 
 
 Every pulse throbbed and ached. She rose to go to her 
 room but paused in the hall. Her father sat on the door step 
 in the moonlight. 
 
 Some inexplicable impulse urged her forward. She stood 
 behind him, and dropped her hand on his shoulder. 
 
 " Father ! " softly and with a peculiar sadness. 
 
 " You are not well, Lucy ! " 
 
 He had begun to see it. He missed the old, gay, defiant 
 spirit that had animated Lucy Thorndike. 
 
 The hand crept close beside his cheek. Soft fingers they 
 were, and they touched some long-hidden chord. 
 
 " I've been a great trouble first and last ; " she went on iu
 
 212 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 a low, sad tone. " I'd like to say once of my own free will 
 that I am sorry for all the waywardness, the impatience of con 
 trol, the quick tempers, for every word and deed that has 
 caused you pain. And if you will forgive me ! " 
 
 The little hands met in an imploring clasp under his chin. 
 The tremulous voice died away in something like a sob. 
 
 Mr. Garth could hardly believe his senses. One of the 
 hardest things in Lucy's childhood had been bending this stub 
 born will. Many a time had he tried to force some acknowl 
 edgment of penitence from her, and failed. 
 
 "You will forgive? You will be tender, and pitiful, and 
 not remember those old sins against me ! " she pleaded. 
 
 " Child " his voice was husky, and the rigid platitudes he 
 had used heretofore seemed cold and unmeaning, "God 
 knows that I hold nothing against you." 
 
 "Thank you. Kiss me just once." 
 
 " What foolishness is this, Lucy ? " but his voice was less 
 stern and hard. 
 
 " Just once. You won't be sorry for it" 
 
 The lips, long unused to such caresses, met for a moment. 
 Perhaps some dim misgiving crowded upon his soul that his 
 self-righteous life had small fruit to show at the coming harvest. 
 Was there not mercy as well as justice ? 
 
 " Good-night," she whispered, softly, and stole away. If 
 she had remained another moment, she must have been weep 
 ing in his arms. And then Rachel would have come forward 
 and quenched the hysterical tenderness with her strong com 
 monplace. 
 
 But he sat there and thought. What had come over Lucy, 
 to make her so different ; so humble ? The old self-assertion 
 had vanished the daily bickerings were no more. Was it loss 
 of health and spirits ; or had Mr. Thorndike learned the secret 
 of subduing her ? A half- formed wish came into his mind that 
 she had not married Warren Thorndike. He would have 
 suited Rachel so well. And it seemed at that moment he had
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 213 
 
 an awful glimpse of a soul which he had wrecked through 
 blindness and hardness. Just so she had come at first and 
 twined her soft arms around his neck, begged for caresses and 
 forgivenesses until he had thrust her away. He thought that 
 if he knew of Warren Thorndike's doing such a thing, he 
 should hate him until the day of his death. 
 
 When he arose he felt weak and feeble, like a man who has 
 been through a great strife or sorrow. Rachel was fasten 
 ing the windows, and still talking of profit and loss to Thorn- 
 dike. The words came into his mind unconsciously "What 
 shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his 
 own soul ? " 
 
 He had always counted so confidently on gaining and sav 
 ing, both. What if he had made a fatal mistake ? 
 
 Lucy did not come down to breakfast with the rest the 
 next morning. She took her coffee and toast in languid silence. 
 Her resolve had been made. If she had lacked courage, her 
 husband's cold demeanor would have supplied it. 
 
 I cannot say that there was much thought or consideration 
 about this step of Lucy Thorndike's. It was a wild resolve to 
 be free to leave the place where she was so useless. She 
 could make no one happy, she reasoned, and they would be 
 better satisfied without her. She would have been equally 
 glad to die but death lingered afar. 
 
 Neither did it require much courage. She packed up 
 some valuable jewels, and one change of clothing, in a small 
 travelling satchel ; and after writing a brief note, put on her 
 hat and a light walking suit for the day bid fair to be warm. 
 
 " I am going out, Rachel," she exclaimed, glancing in at 
 the sitting-room door. 
 
 The hard, cold, unlovely face was raised a moment. 
 
 " It seems to me that if I was complaining all the time, I 
 would stay in the house and take care of myself." 
 
 " Good-by," with a terror in her voice. 
 
 She went down the street for a square or two, then turned
 
 214 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 in the direction of the railroad station. Purchasing her ticket, 
 she took a seat in the forward car. Being an accommodation 
 train there was considerable freight and baggage to be taken 
 on board. She drew her veil over her face and sat there in 
 silence. No one spoke to her, for which she was thankful. 
 
 At the third station she stopped. A busy little town with 
 paper mills, cotton mills, hat shops, and various smaller mat 
 ters. There was always a crowd of girls and women here at 
 Bradford, and one more or less would hardly be remarked. 
 She went into several shops to dispose of some jewelry, and 
 made a few purchases. For the rest of the day she secluded 
 herself in a small room at the least pretentious hotel and sew 
 ed until late in the evening, when, utterly wearied out, she fell 
 into a feverish slumber. 
 
 She went to breakfast in the attire of the previous day, and 
 paid her bill afterward. Then she made a change, and envel 
 oping herself in a long linen duster, stole quietly out in the 
 street with a bundle in her hand beside the satchel. How to 
 dispose of this perplexed her. She wished it to be discovered 
 some time, but not too soon. Where could she hide it ? 
 
 Back of the busy town there was a belt of woodland, and 
 the stream that turned these busy wheels must run through it. 
 There might be a safe place. If they thought her drowned, so 
 much the better. 
 
 Finally she settled the matter to her liking. She was very 
 tired, and as a stage came lumbering along she was thankful 
 to take it for some small interior village. Would any one have 
 recognized this slow-stepping woman in her plain black dress, 
 brown hat and veil, without the least attempt at style, as Lucy 
 Thorndike ? There were no betraying curls floating around, 
 no slender white hands visible, for hers were encased in coarse 
 gloves. 
 
 When she looked back at this time it seemed as if a fate 
 must have guided her steps, so little thought did she take. 
 From stage to car again, a kind of confused, purposeless jour-
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 215 
 
 neying. On.ce she asked how many miles she might be from 
 Bradford, and was surprised at the distance. It would be safe 
 to stop and rest. 
 
 And not a moment too soon did she resolve. Her trem 
 bling limbs utterly refused to carry her another step. Her 
 brain was weak and wandering, around her eyes had settled 
 great shadows, her tongue was dry and burning, her lips 
 parched, and her temples throbbed fearfully. 
 
 " If I should die ! " she thought with a vague shiver here 
 among strangers. 
 
 " You look very ill, Miss," said a motherly voice, when she 
 was left standing nearly alone on the platform. 
 
 " Yes. If you could direct me " 
 
 Her head swam round. There was a strange ringing in 
 her ears, a rush as of a mighty sea, then all was dark, silent 
 and peaceful. 
 
 " Poor child ! Whatever am I to do with her ? " 
 
 A pitiful soul answered the question. Dying or living, 
 Lucy Thorndike had found a friend. 
 
 By this time there was of course a great stir at Dedham. 
 Warren Thorndike had said the first noon. " Where's Lucy ? " 
 not that he cared specially. 
 
 " She went out this morning," responded Rachel. 
 
 " She doesn't seem as well as usual," said Mr. Garth slowly. 
 
 " Bui she is well enough to be continually on the street ! 
 To my mind that's a deal harder than work." 
 
 So might have spoken Rachel's mother years before. 
 
 " Work ! " exclaimed Warren Thorndike with a clumsy 
 kind of scorn. " There's only about one woman in a hundred 
 who troubles her head on that score ! " 
 
 Rachel knew she was that rare person, and gave a grim, 
 satisfied smile. 
 
 " Marchmont's off again had a telegram or something ! " 
 he announced. " I must go down to the iron works at Grays- 
 burg, and shall not be home early."
 
 216 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 Rachel and her father had their supper alone. Mr. Garth 
 was a good deal disturbed at Lucy's continued absence. He 
 went out afterward and rambled around aimlessly. 
 
 All day he had been haunted by his child's sad face and 
 sadder voice. Old memories that he tried in vain to banish 
 rose up hauntingly. He was past sixty, and nearing the time 
 when he must stand face to face with the deeds of his past life. 
 He had not cheated, he had been a man of truth and honor, a 
 just if not cordial neighbor, and perhaps as charitable as most 
 men in his position. Yet since last night he had experienced 
 a great lack, his self-complacency had been swept away. 
 
 Left to herself, Rachel went up to Lucy's room. Every 
 thing was in order, even to the vase of flowers upon the table. 
 She sighed a little over the waste of time and money these 
 adornments indicated. If Warren Thorndike had chosen a 
 smart, sensible woman ! But Lucy always had been unman 
 ageable. 
 
 She raised the books and laid them down again ; looked 
 over the trifles in the basket, and wondered why Lucy stayed 
 away. The drawers were unlocked, and she opened them, one 
 by one, as if on the keen scent for some untidiness. In one 
 lay a folded paper. 
 
 Rachel Garth was not very curious. If she had suspected 
 her sister of any imprudence, she would have felt perfectly jus 
 tified in searching every scrap of paper ; but this, which would 
 have told a part of the secret, she never touched. It had no 
 superscription at all. 
 
 She heard Warren's heavy step, and ran down to give him 
 his supper. He was flushed and angry. 
 
 " Is Lucy home ? " he asked. 
 
 " No, I can't imagine where she went." 
 
 " She left Dedham in the train, at ten had a ticket for 
 Westfield. I heard that by a mere accident." 
 
 " Why, she hasn't any friends there ! " was Rachel's amazed 
 comment.
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 217 
 
 " She might have had the manners to speak of it, at least. 
 And not home yet ! " 
 
 Rachel went directly up stairs again. One of those pre 
 sentiments to which we are all subject, flashed upon her. She 
 took up the note that she had hardly remarked before, and 
 opened it. There were just two lines, in Lucy's own delicate 
 hand. 
 
 " I am going away. Forget me, and let me be as the dead to 
 you all. LUCY." 
 
 She came back, holding it in her hand, her face actually 
 pallid. 
 
 " I saw this note awhile ago, but did not open it," she said, 
 in a thick, excited tone. " It explains her absence." 
 
 Warren Thorndike read it, and then smote the table a 
 mighty blow with his heavy fist. Rachel started, in conster 
 nation. 
 
 " The wretched, shameless hussy. She has gone off with 
 Marchmont ! He left in the same train." 
 
 " No, it can't be ! " 
 
 " I tell you that it is ! They used to be great friends ; and 
 he's the kind women go crazy over. Why Miss Ronald made 
 a fool of herself about him ! Lucy's had something on her 
 mind this long while." 
 
 Warren Thorndike smiled inwardly at his astuteness. He 
 couldn't be easily blinded ! Sooner or later he managed to fer 
 ret out the sly doings of others. There was no sense of wound 
 ed love nor outraged honor no keen indignation at the 
 thought of perfidy in wife and friend ; but a kind of brutal, tri 
 umphant passion. 
 
 " What will you do ? " Rachel asked the question with 
 trembling lips. 
 
 " Let 'em go? I'm not fool enough to spend my time and 
 money chasing after them. If a women doesn't care for me, 
 I shall not break my heart for her ! " 
 10
 
 218 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 " But it's a hard thing for you to bear, Warren ? " 
 
 He looked as if he were quite equal to that or any other 
 burden. A great, brawny, stolid fellow, with no soul visible in 
 the ruddy, heavy face. The grief would not be likely to dis 
 turb his slumbers. 
 
 " Zounds ! isn't it ! " he exclaimed, striking the table anoth 
 er blow. " To think of all I've spent on her her fine dresses, 
 piano, parties, and fol-de-rols ! And now, because she couldn't 
 go on in style, and because I'm not one of your sweet-scented, 
 dangling men, she plays me this shabby trick. Well, let her 
 go ! She'll stay away, I can tell you. I'm not to be taken in 
 with a woman's whining and a few tears." 
 
 " This comes of reading novels, and doing nothing ; " said 
 Rachel sternly. 
 
 " Not that I blame any one," continued Mr. Thorndike. 
 "You warned me, and so did your father. I was a fool to care 
 about her beauty, and all that ; but I thought she loved me I 
 really believed she did ! A miserable, deceitful woman ! " 
 
 Rachel felt this was the end that might have been expected 
 for her. She was hardly surprised when it came to that. As 
 for the temptation, the beguiling love stronger than any sense 
 of shame, the possible struggle all these she could know noth 
 ing of, nor realize. She would never have been tempted. 
 Material good would have proved amply sufficient for her.
 
 Lucia: Her 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 CROWNED WITH RUE. 
 
 RACHEL GARTH announced the miserable tidings to 
 her father in a more softened manner than one would 
 have expected. And at the first moment he scouted it as utter 
 ly impossible ! Would Lucy have proffered that request of last 
 night if she had meant to blacken it by this monstrous sin. 
 
 " I don't know what more I could have done ; " he said 
 brokenly. " I tried to train her in the right way I strove to 
 impress truth, and honor, and virtue upon her mind, to control 
 her rebellious temper and wild fancies. And this is the end ! " 
 
 Rachel comforted him. She could not see that it was her 
 fault or her father's that Lucy had gone astray. It was the re 
 sult of extravagance and indulgence, fondness for society, vanity, 
 self will, and a less pardonable coquetry. She had rushed 
 headlong to ruin on her own responsibility. 
 
 Perhaps Mr. Garth rather longed to have this view of the 
 case strengthened. He wanted to feel acquitted in his own 
 eyes. 
 
 " We shall find out the truth of this," he replied. " If it 
 proves so, she is no child of mine henceforth. " 
 
 With that they parted. He could not sleep, but revolved 
 all the suspicious circumstances in his mind and Heaven 
 knows there was no lack of them. And if to the rest she had 
 added this shameful hypocrisy, her cup of offence was indeed 
 full.
 
 Lvcia; Her Problem. 
 
 The Garths kept their own counsel for the next two days. 
 On the third, Mr. Marchmont walked into the office with his 
 usual jaunty air, and wished Mr. Thorndike a very careless, 
 graceful good-morning. 
 
 There was a blue line about Warren Thornd ike's mouth, 
 and his fingers clinched instinctively. They would not be pleas 
 ant at a man's throat. He went close up to his handsome 
 rival. 
 
 " Where is my wife, Marchmont ? " he hissed. 
 
 " Your wife ? Mrs. Thorndike ? " 
 
 Had Lucy been weak and wild enough to confess that frag 
 ment of a conversation at the river's edge ? 
 
 " Yes, my wife ! She left in the same train, on the same 
 morning." 
 
 " Good God ! " 
 
 Vaughan Marchmont struck his hand to his forehead, and 
 stared at the other in such surprise that Mr. Thorndike was 
 staggered. 
 
 " There has been no search made. No one cared to bruit 
 such a truth abroad. After a step like that, she could never 
 be my wife again ; so I wish you joy of her ! " with a cruel, 
 scornful smile. 
 
 " As I live, Thorndike, I never saw her. I did not know 
 that she was on the train. Why should you accuse me of such 
 a foul deed ? " and he straightened himself with an air of in 
 jured innocence. 
 
 " Because she liked you ;" the man said bluntly little 
 guessing how this flattered his adversary's soul. 
 
 Then they gave each other a long, questioning look. A 
 spirit of bitter hate was in each heart. 
 
 "Thorndike," Marchmont said, "you never did deserve 
 her ! You have broken her heart by your careless cruelty and 
 culpable indifference. If she had sought a tender and cher 
 ishing love, it would be no sin in God's eyes. But where is 
 she ? You may have to answer for this ! "
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 221 
 
 Thorndike paled, partly with passion, partly with fear. But 
 anger helped him to recover himself shortly. 
 
 " It is a lie ! " he returned, hoarsely. " I never was cruel 
 to her. I gave her every thing while I was prosperous. What 
 more could I do ? " 
 
 " What more ! " Marchmont re-echoed in withering scorn. ' 
 ' : No more, perhaps," smiling bitterly. " You never knew 
 what she needed. You could not understand a fine, high soul 
 like hers ! 
 
 Thorndike knew it, and the knowledge stung him, but not 
 with the self-condemnation that might have tortured a nobler 
 man." 
 
 " Look here, Marchmont," he said, his face livid with pas 
 sion, " I'm a plain man and do not understand all this non 
 sense about higher life and sympathy, and the miserable trash 
 it is the fashion to talk nowadays. You are right enough 
 there," grimly. "But she married me of her own accord, and 
 I was fool enough to think she loved me. Have not I seen 
 this good while that she was not satisfied with me ! And I 
 say I've never done any thing that her father or sister thinks 
 wrong. By Jove ! Do you suppose I'll take it from any oth 
 er man ! " 
 
 Recrimination with such rude brute force was folly. March 
 mont rushed at once to Mr. Garth's, and cleared himself of the 
 foul imputation. But the fact of Lucy Thorndike's disappear 
 ance still remained. 
 
 The secret must be confessed, and a search made. March- 
 mont's love for Lucy was stronger than his hate for Thorn- 
 dike ; indeed, the man was too coarse and vulgar for any emo 
 tion that savored of respect. He felt assured that Lucy had 
 cared for him ; and if found, he meant to befriend her. If he 
 could once win her gratitude ! 
 
 There was another excitement in Dedham. Lucy Garth 
 seemed destined to drag her family into notoriety one way or 
 another. She was traced to Bradford, easily. Rachel rcmem-
 
 222 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 bered the dress she wore a light gray poplin, and no other 
 was missing from her wardrobe. A more thorough search 
 brought the fact to light that her valuable jewels were missing. 
 
 Mr. Marchmont resolved that Dedham should not link his 
 name to any tale of scandal. For this purpose he sought an 
 interview with Rachel Garth. Thorndike had retailed his 
 coarse suspicions without doubt. 
 
 Mr. Garth had become more than anxious. With pain 
 that he hardly dared confess to himself, he saw that Thorndike 
 felt absolutely relieved. But where had Lucy gone ? What 
 was she doing ? 
 
 " As there is a God above us," Marchmont exclaimed, " I 
 never saw her that morning on the train. You know there 
 could have been no secret correspondence, and I have been 
 away so much that it is preposterous to lay such a charge at 
 my door. I have no more knowledge of her whereabouts than 
 you, Mr. Garth. But Heaven knows there was little enough to 
 keep her here ! " 
 
 Mr. Garth nodded with slow, dull belief. If Lucy could 
 have found such a man in the beginning ! If " 
 
 " You acquit me of all complicity ! " he said, fastening his 
 deep eyes upon the poor father whose mind was fast becoming 
 confused by the tangle of events. 
 
 " I do not believe that she went away with any one ; " re 
 membering her last kiss. 
 
 " I could swear to it ; " Marchmont returned positively. 
 
 He broached the subject once more to Thorndike. 
 
 "The man or woman who dares to breathe such a slander 
 shall be called to a strict account;" he said in a voice that 
 was sharp and steely with resolution. Let such a matter be 
 once discussed here in Dedham, and you'll rue it to your latest 
 day, Thorndike. I have it in my power to make a bitter re 
 turn." 
 
 Thorndike was awed and admitted to Rachel that he had 
 been hasty and angry when he uttered the suspicion. Yet he
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 223 
 
 held secretly to his first belief, although there could be but the 
 slightest suspicion to warrant it. 
 
 A month or so later a clue was discovered, though it left 
 the matter more of a mystery than ever. Mrs Thorndike's 
 dress was found and identified, and also some articles of cloth 
 ing, on which her name was written in full. They seemed to 
 have caught in the roots of the trees and stones at the river's 
 edge, a mile or two below Bradford. And then came a story of a 
 woman having been found drowned at the next town ; but in 
 such a state of decomposition, that identification was impossi 
 ble. Several persons thought they recognized one of a num 
 ber of beggars and tramps, possibly thieves, that had been seen 
 prowling around the place and as such, she had been buried, 
 after the usual coroner's inquest. But upon minute inquiry, 
 several important discoveries were made. The woman was 
 without a dress, a faded shawl having been tied about her body, 
 She was tall, slender, had the appearance of being young, and 
 with a quantity of long, light hair. There were no marks of 
 violence visible but the examination had elicited the fact that 
 the woman must have been in the final stages of consump 
 tion. 
 
 There were many plausible reasons why this might be Lucy 
 Thorndike's body. Her languor and apparent ill-health, her 
 secret dissatisfaction and presently, the knowledge that she 
 had sold some of her jewels in Bradford. Finding herself des 
 titute and alone at the last, it was not impossible that she had 
 sought this method of ending a troubled life. 
 
 To Mr. Garth it was a great shock. He had taken the 
 death of Lucy's mother with something of a feeling of relief, 
 but this struck him the keenest blow of his whole life. Rachel 
 almost longed to call her back from her grave and le'cture her 
 upon the heinousness of her sin. That a woman with so good 
 and indulgent a husband as Warren Thorndike, plenty of money, 
 no care or trouble and nothing to do, if that could be a sat 
 isfaction should wish to end her life in this tragic and uncom
 
 224 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 fortable manner, astounded her. It was such an excellent 
 text for a homily that she could not bear to give it up without 
 sermonizing her dead sister. And so she sighed over the use 
 less life that had gone out thus suddenly. 
 
 Mrs. Glenfield came to condole with her. The bitter feel 
 ing between the two religious bodies had softened considerably 
 of late on the natural ground perhaps that all old prejudices 
 weaken. Many of her past friends called, moved in more 
 than one case by curiosity. Some believed that Mrs. Thorn- 
 dike had never recovered from the downfall of her pride and 
 ambition ; others whispered that she had rebelled against and 
 defied her husband's sway. Many blamed, a few pitied, and 
 others confidently averred that it was just what might have 
 been expected. Perhaps it was well that both Rachel and Mr. 
 Thorndike paid little heed to the senseless gossip. 
 
 One autumn day they brought home the body supposed to 
 be that of Lucy Thorndike, and laid it to rest in the quiet old- 
 fashioned churchyard beside her mother. Mr. Howe, with his 
 kindly word for everybody, felt sure that she had not been in 
 her right mind. To Mr. Garth the idea was a great comfort 
 He wanted to believe that Lucy, with all her sins and follies, 
 had not been utterly lost at the last. Indeed, he wondered 
 sometimes if his own mind was not giving way. There was a 
 great confusion of thought, an inability to distinguish clearly in 
 matters about which he had always felt so positive heretofore. 
 In his secret heart he mourned his child with a strange passion 
 of grief for so cold a nature. 
 
 Rachel, I think, felt relieved. She hated scenes and ex 
 citements, and could have gone on in one groove forever. 
 From her birth Lucy had been a subject of turmoil and con 
 tention. First with her ill-fated mother, then her own stormy 
 childhood, her unwise marriage, indeed, the whole of her mis 
 guided life. It was as well that she should be at rest. She 
 was of small use or service to the world. 
 
 Does Rachel Garth seem utterly heartless to you ? That
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 225 
 
 she was cold, rigid and narrow I admit ; and yet, comparing 
 her works with Lucy's, the latter was left far behind. Rachel 
 had been a conscientious and careful daughter. Her father's 
 bodily comfort would never suffer at her hands. A good 
 neighbor, ready in sickness, sprinkling her almsgiving plenti 
 fully with rather sharp censure and unpalatable advice, bu 1 " 
 sensible in the main. She never glossed over people's care 
 less and untidy houses, hers was always neat and orderly. 
 She could not tolerate indolence, for she, a rich man's daugh 
 ter, rose with the sun and worked all day. What she could do 
 without actual compulsion, others might do when it was a 
 necessity. She had fed the hungry, clothed the naked, and 
 ministered to the sick, and in one circle of Dedham she was 
 esteemed as little less than a saint. Lucy had done nothing 
 of this. 
 
 Ah, it is well that God's eyes are not as severe as ours. 
 How often our weak faith is staggered at some mystery as we 
 judge by a few broken links, but God, who is all-wise, can see 
 the end from the beginning, and knows all the blindness, the 
 weakness, and the thorns in the path ! Well for us that it is so. 
 
 The great wave surged back again. What matter for the 
 little life gone out ? There was buying and selling, eating and 
 drinking for those who were left. No very deep wounds to 
 heal, no despairing sense of loss and absence, no wail from 
 any aching heart. Warren Thorndike went his ways as usual. 
 Rachel set the house in order, and by degrees the luxuries 
 that had so offended her sight were disposed of in a quiet man 
 ner, and the house resumed its olden aspect. 
 
 There was one man who did not believe the body lying in 
 yonder churchyard to be that of Lucy Thorndike. This was 
 Vaughan Marchmont. He had been stung by the quiet man 
 ner in which Lucy had put aside his offer of friendship and 
 taken her fate in her own hands, but from this steady persist 
 ence he judged that she was not one to commit suicide. He 
 felt quite sure that she was hiding somewhere, and he had a 
 10*
 
 226 Lucia : Her Problem. 
 
 presentiment that he should some day discover her. There 
 are men to whom every thing comes sooner or later, and he 
 was of this class. 
 
 It was just as well that the rest should suppose her dead. 
 When he met her again he would like to have the secret in his 
 own hands. 
 
 His prospects began to look pretty fair. One of those 
 sudden impulses of trade in these later days doubled the price 
 of iron and created an immense demand. He smiled over 
 his good fortune. Now he would be able to retire from bus 
 iness with an ample income, and indulge his luxurious as 
 well as fastidious tastes. Lucy Thorndike was still in the 
 world and he meant to find her. This time she could not es 
 cape him. 
 
 Mr. Rutherford returned from his trip abroad to be shock 
 ed by these tidings and learn that he had been about the 
 greatest sufferer by the rash speculations. Perhaps if every 
 secret deed had been brought to light some of Mr. Marchmont's 
 delicate manipulations would illy have borne the scrutiny ; but 
 Warren Thorndike was not one to quarrel with the sources of 
 the golden stream flowing so steadily into his coffers. 
 
 Another spring smiled over Dedham, another summer 
 bloomed in fragrance and beauty. Of course curious eyes 
 were turned upon Rachel Garth and Warren Thorndike. Both 
 his losses and her influence had proved beneficial to him. He 
 no longer frequented grand dinners, nor even drank moderate 
 ly. A sober, steady-going, middle-aged man he became sud 
 denly, and transferred his religious allegiance to Mr. Howe. 
 He went to church with Rachel and her father, but beyond 
 that the most prying tea-table gossip could find nothing for 
 comment. 
 
 They were not demonstrative people. Mr. Thorndike had 
 resolved a month after Lucy's funeral that at a proper time he 
 would marry Rachel. He had been a great fool for not taking 
 her at first She was grave, patient, and industrious, and began
 
 Lucia : Her Problem. 227 
 
 to look old for her two-and-thirty years, but on the whole felt 
 quite well satisfied with what he saw. 
 
 So one June day he asked her to marry him. The immense 
 piles of bed and table linen were in order, chests of garments 
 laid in lavender and dried rose leaves. There was very little 
 to be done, and a month later she became Mrs. Thorndike. 
 
 Nothing was changed in the house. There was no bridal 
 tour nor display of silver, the black garments were laid aside 
 and a soft gray substituted. The last hopes that any one had 
 cherished concerning Mr. Garth died out. He was ageing 
 fast, feeble and broken in health. Indeed, he had never been 
 the same man since Lucy's death. Rachel looked after him 
 as one would a child. The old arbitrary, dogmatic ways had 
 slipped off, and even the workmen wondered at the change. 
 
 Through the summer evenings he sat on the porch dream 
 ing idly of the soft hands that had once clasped his face, of 
 the sweet lips that had touched his. He seemed to forget the 
 trials, the bickerings, the many times that she had defied his 
 authority. A hazy memory in which even the glimmer of 
 golden curls failed to rouse his indignation. He was always 
 glad that he had kissed her that last time. 
 
 On the May following a child was born to Rachel and 
 Warren Thorndike, a fair, golden-haired, blue-eyed girl ; a love 
 ly, soft, waxen thing, that seemed rather the embodiment of 
 Lucy's spirit, than that of her parent's. Rachel was bitterly 
 disappointed in two respects. First, that there should have 
 been any child at all, for she had no motherly love or longings ; 
 and secondly, that it was a girl. A boy to inherit his father's 
 wealth and position would have been more endurable. 
 
 She was as methodical in this as in every thing else. Her 
 child was made inexorably subject to rule, as if she were fol 
 lowing out her own mother's precepts. And yet Rachel could 
 not get back to the olden routine. A weariness and languor 
 oppressed her. The nerves that had been like iron began to 
 relax. The work she had never minded was a burden to her,
 
 228 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 though she tried to shake off the feeling. She almost grudged 
 this innocent little life for thus sapping her strength.' 
 
 Warren Thorndike might have grown fond of his little 
 daughter if there had been an opportunity. In the morning 
 when he went away she was still asleep, and at noon in her cra 
 dle. She came to have a kind of frightened baby shrinking 
 from him, and he did not study any tender means of overcom 
 ing it. 
 
 But her grandfather made amends for all. It was marvel 
 lous how deep a root the little one took in his heart. She was 
 a strangely quiet baby, and would sit on his knee for an hour 
 studying him with her deep eyes, which had a peculiar twilight 
 softness in their sky of blue. And when she grew old enough 
 to tangle her tiny fingers in his hair and beard, he only smiled. 
 
 There had been some difficulty about her name. Mr. Garth 
 had begged for Lucy when the subject was first discussed. 
 
 " There's a look of her in the baby's face," he said with an 
 absent, dreamy gaze. 
 
 " But her name was not Lucy, you know," Rachel rejoined 
 almost fretfully. 
 
 "No. We always called her that, and I like it." 
 
 "You didn't then." 
 
 Rachel remembered the bitter scenes and sharp recrimina 
 tions, and it seemed now. as if her father had grown childish. 
 Could he so easily forget ? 
 
 He sighed and looked vacantly out of the window. 
 
 " But I'd like to have it Lucy," he said after a long pause. 
 
 Rachel repeated this conversation to her husband. She 
 really was not pleased with the proposal. 
 
 " Well," he said, " one name is as good as another." 
 
 She glanced at him curiously. There was a feeling in her 
 mind that she could not quite explain, an objection too subtle 
 and far-reaching to be put in words. It seemed to her that he 
 ought to share it. 
 
 " Yes. You don't think it will brins: bad luck ? "
 
 Lucia: Her Problem.. 229 
 
 "We shouldn't want her luck for the child. And father 
 fancies that she looks like Lucy." 
 
 " She was handsome, there's no denying that," he exclaim 
 ed with a little chuckle. " There was some strange blood in 
 her veins you always said her mother was queer. But there's 
 nothing in a nam'\ Let it be Lucy or Polly, only it seems 
 right enough to humor your father." 
 
 Perhaps this consideration swayed Rachel ultimately, for 
 she consented, though Mr. Garth began to call her Lucy before 
 she was christened. She seemed the one thing in the world 
 to him.
 
 Lucia : Jler Problem 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 REST AND REFUGE. 
 
 FOUR years had passed since the summer morning on 
 which Lucy Thorndike had said good-by to her sister. 
 You know the principal events that had taken place at Ded- 
 ham. She, though still alive, was ignorant of them all. For a 
 long time she had been ill, and afterward her only thought had 
 been how to bury herself from their sight forever and begin a 
 new life. 
 
 She had destroyed every trace of her identity. Her illness 
 had been utter prostration and a low nervous fever, but never 
 so severe that reason swayed on its throne. When she recov 
 ered she found that she had enough to remunerate her kind 
 hostess, and she was thankful. But what could she do ? 
 
 Her first essay was as companion and seamstress to an el 
 derly invalid. This corning to a sudden end, she took a va 
 cant village school, but the publicity rendered her nervous and 
 ill at ease, so she plunged into the retirement of a governess. 
 
 She settled herself at last in a quiet, old-fashioned, but ex 
 tremely beautiful town. A dreamy, refined, aristocratic place, 
 full of old families who were proud of their pure blood. She 
 came to sing in the church, which was a miniature cathedral* 
 and eked out her income by teaching music. 
 
 This really good fortune had come to her through the inter 
 vention of the clergyman and his wife. The Reverend Cyrus 
 Wilmor was a Christian gentleman in word and deed, and his
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 231 
 
 wife followed his good example with fervent faith. When he 
 saw a good work lying just outside of his path, he never paused 
 to question why another had neglected it, but went at it with gen 
 tle, yet earnest heart and truest courage. His flock loved him 
 like a father. 
 
 He had exchanged with a clerical brother and was to spend 
 a week with an old friend, Mr. Knighton. He came on Sat 
 urday but was not introduced to Miss Mackenzie until Sunday 
 morning, when the household were called in to prayers, as a 
 special attention to the guest. 
 
 She had taken her mother's name from a vague fancy that 
 it was part of herself and less of a deception than any newly 
 assumed. And she had also come to feel quite at home under 
 its shadow. 
 
 Lucia was neither happy nor miserable here with the 
 Knightons. Mrs. Knighton was a fashionable and superficial 
 woman who paid great deference to society. Not infrequent 
 ly the governess was reminded of Mrs. Glenfield. There 
 were two girls and a boy, with a baby in the nursery. She 
 tried to love them and was scrupulous about every duty. " A 
 quiet, well-bred person," Mrs. Knighton admitted. 
 
 Up to this period of her life she had been nfirvous and ill 
 at ease with a sense of hiding away from danger or detection. 
 Yet she felt assured that those most interested would make 
 no search. If they could believe her dead, she would ask no 
 more. 
 
 She sat in a pew back of Mrs. Knighton, keeping watch 
 and ward over the three restless children, and joining in the 
 service as much as she could. Then the text was announ 
 ced 
 
 " He shall drink of the brook in the way, therefore shall 
 he lift up his head." 
 
 " The brooks in the way are so often bitter that we are con 
 tinually tempted to turn aside and find something more pleas 
 ant to the taste," began the clear, rich voice, and though she
 
 232 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 was tired when sermon time came, she roused herself now and 
 listened. 
 
 Was it for her alone, picked out of that assembled congre 
 gation, as it were ? For she had gone through this warfare 
 and defeat, this turmoil and struggle, and turned aside for 
 something pleasant to the taste. Yet had she not cried for 
 strength, had she not been willing to do her duty to the utter 
 most ? Only at the very last, when the deep waters seemed to 
 have gone over her soul, and the bitterness was too keen, too 
 stinging, had she wandered from the direct path. 
 
 Somewhere he came to quote from sweet, quaint George 
 Herbert. 
 
 " God takes the text and preaches patience." And then 
 he explained how patience was the brother of love, and that 
 through these two must come the redemption of the world ; 
 that the souls which hearkened were brought nearer the Infi 
 nite Love, the one force that from birth to death could move 
 the human soul, could make the bitter waters of trial, perplex 
 ity, and defeat, sweet to the taste, purifying, and life-giving. 
 
 She did not go in the afternoon for the children demanded 
 her attention. Then for two days Mr. Wilmer was much engross 
 ed with his host and hostess. 
 
 For the first time she had a doubt concerning the step she 
 had taken, yet she felt that it was too late to go back. War 
 ren Thorndike had doubtless repudiated her. And what could 
 she do in that old life ! 
 
 She was taking her afternoon ramble with the children, who 
 seemed to fret her until every nerve was strained, when ' she 
 came across Mr. Wilmer resting under a great sycamore. 
 
 Something in the sweet, placid face won her as it had on 
 the preceding Sunday. 
 
 He noted the weariness amounting almost to despair, the 
 hunger and pain bravely borne, he would have said, and his fa 
 therly heart went out to her. So he called the children and 
 soon had them romping on the grass around him.
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 233 
 
 " They have tired you exceedingly," he said in his kindly 
 tone that was sympathy, not blame. 
 
 " One of the brooks in the way," she made answer. 
 
 He smiled. " My sermon had one listener then," he said. 
 
 It had been so long since Lucia Mackenzie had dared to 
 talk to any one, that now her old impulsiveness lured her on. 
 
 " I don't know that I understood it," she returned in per 
 plexity. " Are we never to seek to evade any thing ? Why 
 even the Saviour prayed that his cup of bitterness might pass." 
 
 "But He bore His Cross afterward." 
 
 She bowed her head and the tears came to her eyes. 
 
 " My child ?" he said much moved, " is there any cross that 
 I can help you to bear. It is our duty to minister to those who 
 faint by the wayside." 
 
 She was drawn to him as she never had been to Mr. Glen- 
 field. She saw in him not the man alone, but the sacred of 
 fice, and took courage. 
 
 "I have been studying out a question since Sunday," 
 Lucia returned slowly. " Suppose one had unknowingly done 
 a bitter wrong, and at last saw what he or she considered 
 a way of restitution. This person might remain in the same 
 place and bear the result of the wrong doing, or mistake, mak 
 ing others miserable, or give up all and go away, beginning a 
 new life as it were " 
 
 She paused there, her eyes downcast and her voice trem 
 ulous. 
 
 " I should say that it was better for the person to give up 
 the fruit or result of this mistake, if the sacrifice was purely her 
 own and no one else suffered ; " he replied in a slow, grave 
 tone. 
 
 " I think others were benefited." 
 
 " Then in my finite judgment it does not seem as if the 
 step was to be condemned." 
 
 His words appeared to lift a great weight from her. She 
 quite forgot that he could not see the picture ever present to
 
 234 Lucia: Hvr Problem. 
 
 her mind. He was judging from other and more trivial mat 
 ters. 
 
 " You have left your friends ? " he said presently. 
 
 "Ah, I had few to leave. Not one who cared, perhaps." 
 
 She had been delicately reared, he decided, and was scarce 
 ly beyond girlhood. More than that her fair high bred face 
 looked capable of sacrifice and suffering. He could hardly be 
 lieve her wrong in any step that she might take. 
 
 " I shall appropriate the other part of the sermon then," 
 Lucia said with a faint, sad smile. " God takes the text and 
 preacheth patience ! " 
 
 " He often does in this life, my child." 
 
 The young group were growing restless again, and it was 
 time to return. They walked homeward together. 
 
 For the next two days Mr. Wilmer watched Miss Macken 
 zie narrowly, but there was nothing obtrusive in it. She was 
 not pleasantly situated, that he could see. Her beautiful voice 
 and her accomplishments might gain for her an easier and 
 more congenial position. 
 
 Later in the season they met again at a little sea-side resort 
 where she was keeping the children while their mother was in 
 the midst of fashionable dissipation. He had Mrs. Wilmer 
 with him this time, and the two women became friends at once. 
 
 Two months later, when she found that circumstances were 
 drifting her into another change, she summoned courage and 
 wrote to him, asking advice. He saw a niche into which she 
 would fit at once, and drew her thitherward. 
 
 Lucia Mackenzie was introduced into Merecombe under 
 these auspices. She sang on Sunday, and every one was 
 charmed. She was to reside with Mrs. Wilmer's widowed sis 
 ter, Mrs. Preston, and had already been promised three schol 
 ars the two Wilmer children and Edith Preston. 
 
 Merecombe was on the line of a railroad that connected 
 two distant but populous cities. This seemed to bound one 
 side, and a slow flowing river the other. At this point the riv-
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 23a 
 
 er was not navigable for vessels of much pretension, though 
 miles below it was alive with trade and commerce. The spot 
 was secluded, without being at all lonely, and clustered about 
 on every side with romance and beauty. The march of busi 
 ness had not invaded it, the whirr and hum of machinery was 
 never heard. Framed in like a picture, it slept and woke with 
 every season, quaint, quiet and lovely. 
 
 Lucia Mackenzie was charmed with it the first hour she 
 spent within its precincts. And the' Sunday was like a blessed 
 dream, hallowing all her days. 
 
 Mr. Wilmer set about getting his protege, established, and 
 met with excellent success. Her high-bred, lady-like demea 
 nor commended her at once and her grace and sweetness riv 
 eted the charm. Mr. Maurice, the organist, did not suspect 
 the usual rival in her, and indeed received her into his good 
 graces at once. 
 
 There are times in life when one seems to cross off an old 
 score and begin afresh. Lucia Mackenzie had awakened to a 
 higher sense of existence, to a tenderness and sympathy for 
 her kind. It might have happened before, had her lines fallen 
 in pleasant places. And now there was no feeling or intention 
 of deceit. Because she could not explain entirely, she never 
 alluded to her past. Here she could be earnest, truthful and 
 happy. No one starved her on the one hand, or offered her 
 husks on the other. It seemed indeed an opportunity of men 
 tal and spiritual salvation. 
 
 It was a summer afternoon now. There was a cluster of 
 youthful figures on the spacious lawn in front of the Gather- 
 wood Mansion, and two or three ladies sitting in easy-chairs 
 on the porch. The eldest, a still beautiful woman, past sixty, 
 fair, placid, and with a beaming face that might easily have 
 hidden the shadow of a dozen years. Ample in proportions, 
 and with a motherly look that won at once. 
 
 The lady opposite was much more slender and quite dif 
 ferent in appearance, though not without a certain delicate
 
 23G Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 loveliness. Although a daughter-in-law in name, for many 
 years she had been truly a child to Mrs. Cathenvood. Three 
 of the girls, and the young man in the group, were hers and 
 they were all marked by the soft, dark eyes, and fine, glossy 
 hair of a rich brown, and the pure, oval face of their mother. 
 
 The third was Lucia Mackenzie. She stood leaning her 
 arm on the balcony railing, one slender foot crossed above 
 the other. A noticeable peculiarity of hers was that she al 
 ways wore black or white. To-day it was a white pique, with 
 black braiding, and her only ornament a cluster of deep, vel 
 vety crimson buds at her throat. 
 
 Her hair was brushed plainly above her ears, and worn in 
 a large coil at the back of her head. It was like threads of 
 softest silk, you could see, and the complexion was clear and 
 fine. Yet an indescribable change had come over the whole 
 face. In these years her sou] had grown and blossomed there. 
 
 She was looking, as they all were, at the stranger on the 
 lawn, at least Miss Mackenzie had never seen her before. 
 
 "My granddaughter, Miss Sturtevant,'' Mrs. Catherwood 
 had said. 
 
 Miss Mackenzie knew very well that this young lady had 
 been expected for the summer. She was to be 'married, and 
 her grandmother had insisted upon the nuptials taking place 
 at Merecombe. Indeed, this marriage and this grandchild 
 had not been a source of unmixed pleasure to Mrs. Cather 
 wood. 
 
 By fragments Lucia had heard the story. Mrs. Sturtevant 
 had gone abroad for her health, and died th'ere. Eleanor, her 
 only daughter, had been left in charge of some cousins. Mrs. 
 Catherwood had implored Eleanor's guardian her father had 
 been dead some years to go for her. 
 
 There had been several deaths before in the family, and 
 now Mrs. Catherwood was childless. Of her grandchildren, 
 these at home were her favorites. Eleanor's father she had 
 never cordially liked, though she kept this to herself, and al-
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 237 
 
 ways treated him well. This daughter had been proud and 
 imperious, a very worldly and fashionable woman and per 
 haps her coldness had helped to estrange the mother's heart. 
 
 The Sturtevants were very fond of Eleanor, and unwilling 
 to relinquish her. Mrs. Cathervvood had foreseen this and 
 given her guardian some private instructions to be used ac 
 cording to his judgment. 
 
 Mrs. Sturtevant's illness had interfered with Eleanor's tour, 
 which was still to be completed. A quiet summer among the 
 Alps and the lakes, a winter at Rome and by that time, her 
 grief having abated, her cousins thought it possible that Paris 
 might be taken in. Mrs. Catherwood had hardly approved of 
 this with such chaperones, and was thankful to have the guar 
 dian, a man of the highest honor and not young, connect him 
 self with the party. 
 
 Through some mismanagement or misfortune, the greater 
 part of Eleanor Sturtevant's inheritance had been swept away. 
 Paris was not achieved at least theirs had been Paris with 
 out the gayety that renders it so enchanting. But Miss Sturte- 
 vant had returned home the betrothed of her guardian. 
 
 Mrs. Catherwood had no objection to this. That Eleanor 
 should stipulate for a two years' engagement was not at all 
 remarkable, considering that she was but eighteen. The in 
 tervening time was spent partly with her grandmother, and 
 partly with her father's relatives, who were very gay people ; 
 and the two years had lengthened themselves into four. 
 
 It was rumored that Mrs. Catherwood had taken matters 
 somewhat into her own hands. The lovers were summoned 
 to the Oaks, as the fine old place was called, and Miss Sturte- 
 vant was to be married at her grandmother's in the autumn. 
 
 As I said, Lucia had heard this in fragments. She gave 
 Frances, Sophie, and Bel Cathervvood music lessons, and was 
 an immense favorite with the old lady. When Mrs. Cather 
 wood announced Miss Sturtevant, Lucia looked as she was do 
 ing now.
 
 238 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 " Do ybu think her handsome, Miss Mackenzie ? She re 
 sembles her father's family more than ours. I believe I never 
 did admire very dark women." 
 
 " Yes," Lucia said, slowly, " she is very handsome. You 
 would not call her pretty nor beautiful those terms seem too 
 tame." 
 
 The elder Mrs. Catherwood sighed a little. 
 
 " Fanny's drooping grace and sweetness appear more ad 
 mirable to me, in a woman," she returned. 
 
 The face was turned towards her, and Lucia studied it 
 again. It was proud, haughty, and reminded you of nothing 
 so much as fine bronze for every feature seemed to have been 
 formed in some delicate mould each was perfect and impas 
 sible. The low forehead was set in shadowy masses of pur 
 ple black hair, the eyes were deep and full of smouldering fire, 
 and the pupil and iris being so nearly of a color, gave them a 
 peculiarly impenetrable look, as if they might baffle you for 
 ever. The figure was full of affluent beauty and grace, and 
 every motion displayed a polish and culture that one rarely 
 expects in so young a woman. 
 
 Something about her filled Lucia with a strange feeling of 
 distrust. She tried to shake off the impression. This girl's 
 life and hers would never meet, nor cross on any plane they 
 were in such different grooves, so why should she care ? 
 
 " I believe Eleanor is very fascinating," said the younger 
 Mrs. Catherwood. "Just watch how George listens and ad 
 mires," and the mother laughed, with careless ease, not a little 
 proud of her own fine-looking son. 
 
 " There may be such a thing as too much fascination. It 
 is a dangerous gift ; " the grandmother returned, with some as 
 perity. 
 
 " Am I not to have any pupils this afternoon ? " asked Miss 
 Mackenzie, looking at her watch. 
 
 " Oh, yes. I quite forgot how your time was passing ; so 
 you must excuse us all."
 
 Lucia : Her Problem. 239 
 
 Lucia nodded graciously. Frances was summoned, but 
 Sophie came running lightly over the lawn in advance of her 
 sister. 
 
 " Oh, mamma, George wants to take Eleanor out in the 
 boat. The tide will be right in about an hour. Can't I be 
 excused to-day ? " 
 
 " My dear Sophie, there will be a month or two for pleasure, 
 and when Miss Mackenzie has been put to the trouble of com 
 ing, it is hardly right to make her errand fruitless." 
 
 " But there will be two lessons, for Bel cannot go. And 
 I'll run over to Mrs. Preston's to-morrow morning whenever 
 Miss Mackenzie is disengaged. Do, mamma ! " she entreated. 
 
 Lucia smiled her assent, and Mrs. Catherwood finally 
 agreed. Frances went to the piano. Through the French 
 window Miss Mackenzie could see the lawn and Eleanor Stur- 
 tevant coquetting with her cousin. She wondered why she 
 gave it so harsh a name. Eleanor was two years his se 
 nior, a' finished woman of the world. This display of arts and 
 graces might be natural to her, but was it not also a trap for 
 the unwary ? How much did Eleanor Sturtevant care for her 
 lover ? 
 
 Why should Lucia Mackenzie think of him ? Were men 
 so loyal, generous and noble that a woman might freely become 
 a champion of one unknown ? He had doubtless chosen her 
 for her beauty and elegance ; perhaps, too, for the passion that 
 one might rouse in such a tropical nature. Why should she 
 care ? The destiny of these people could affect her but little. 
 
 Though her afternoon work was shortened she still lingered. 
 Bel, who could never go on the water with any degree of pleas 
 ure, coaxed her for some songs, and Grandmother Catherwood 
 always took the singing as a great luxury. 
 
 It was quite late when she left them. Bel, clinging to her 
 arm, went clown the steps laughing in her gay, girlish way. 
 Something in it all, the eager child, the sunset quivering low 
 in the west, the delicious air, indeed the whole scene touched
 
 240 Lucia : Her Problem. 
 
 her in a peculiar manner. She drew a long breath of rap 
 turous content, and then paused. 
 
 " Well, Miss Mackenzie ? " with laughing, questioning eyes. 
 " Shall I escort you back ? I don't see why you couldn't stay 
 until evening, as mamma wished, and see Eleanor ? " 
 
 That was like bringing a shadow over the perfect scene. 
 
 " No, I could not." 
 
 " But you stopped, and cast a lingering look backward." 
 
 " I was thinking that for an instant I felt perfectly happy 
 and contented," Lucia responded. 
 
 " And don't you always ? " 
 
 Bel raised a wondering glance to the sweet face. 
 
 Lucia laughed then. It would be quite impossible to ex 
 plain her feelings to this child, and Isabel Catherwood was al 
 ready too much given to speculation. 
 
 "I suppose moments of perfect content are rare," she an 
 swered carelessly. " And now you must say good-by to me. 
 See, we are at the gate." 
 
 " I wish I were coming to-morrow instead of Sophie. Miss 
 Mackenzie, I should like to be rich, and a queen. I should 
 set aside a portion of my palace and keep you forever, like 
 some wonderful bird, to sing to me." 
 
 Lucia's voice rippled on the summer air, for the conceit 
 amused her. 
 
 " Good-night," she said and turned, and came face to face 
 with a gentleman standing outside of the gate. 
 
 Bel started with a little cry of surprise. Lucia Mackenzie 
 turned deadly white, and shook so that she was glad to grasp 
 the nearest support. 
 
 " Oh, Mr. Rutherford ! Our friend, Miss Mackenzie ; " 
 for he was studying her with something deeper than astonish 
 ment ; and Bel ranged herself on Lucia's side, as if she need 
 ed some defence. 
 
 " Miss Mackenzie is a past acquaintance of mine also," he 
 returned with studied calmness, " though I little expected to
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 241 
 
 meet her here. I suppose you have been well during these 
 years ? " 
 
 He asked the question absently. He was too much sur 
 prised to think. Had she been raised from the dead ! 
 
 " Quite well ;" but her words had a hollow, tremulous sound 
 And then she said,with a strange recklessness " You remem 
 ber that you once thought my voice worth cultivation ? Acting 
 upon your advice, I have made it of service to myself, at least. 
 And now, my dear pupil, good-night, again." 
 
 She nodded to Mr. Rutherford, turned, and was gone. 
 Swiftly down the shaded road she flew until breathless with 
 terror and fatigue. Then she turned into a by-path, and seat 
 ed herself upon a stone, covering her face with her hands. The 
 old existence that she had almost forgotten, rushed back upon 
 her. 
 
 Up to this hour there had been nothing to alarm, or in any 
 wise connect her with the past. She had meant to blot it out 
 and commence anew, her own life it should be. Whether they 
 had searched for her, whether they thought her dead or not, 
 she never knew. No word had passed her lips that could be 
 tray, and she had never met a familiar face. 
 
 Yet for the first year or two she had lived in constant dread 
 and indeed, not felt entirely free until she came to Mere- 
 combe. In this sleepy little town, so far removed from busi 
 ness or fashionable travel, she had learned to consider herself 
 secure. Day by day the sense of ease and enjoyment had 
 grown upon her. Mrs. Wilmer's motherly friendship, and Mrs. 
 Preston's tender care, were so delightful to experience. She 
 had grown happy in spite of herself. Music had become a pas 
 sion with her, and there was very little in her present duties 
 that was at all irksome. Day by day the burden became 
 lighter, until an hour ago she was unconscious that she carried 
 any. 
 
 And now how would it end ? She did not for a moment 
 imagine that Mr. Rutherford would betray her, but the deli^ht- 
 ii
 
 242 Lucia: liar Problem. 
 
 ful feeling of security was gone. The bright sky gloomed over 
 in an instant. 
 
 " I was too happy and careless ; " she sighed, and yet, if 
 she had been ever so watchful, could she have foreseen this ? 
 
 The dim rays of twilight clustering about the trees sur 
 prised her at length, and she rose wearily. A wild impulse 
 urged her to flight again, but she knew that would be fol 
 ly. Why should she distrust one who had proved so kind a 
 friend ? 
 
 " An hour ago I was so happy ;" she still moaned, gather 
 ing in the coming darkness shadows for her own life that had 
 always lain on the bitter, wintry side of fate. 
 
 At length she started wearily homeward. Mrs. Preston 
 and Edith had gone out to tea. She was thankful to be alone ; 
 and she made her headache an excuse for going immediately 
 to her room. 
 
 She waited the coming of Sophie Catherwood with feverish 
 impatience the next morning ; and when it grew late, she tor 
 mented herself with a thousand fears. These people consid 
 ered her a friendless orphan. She had never said so but they 
 had some way taken it for granted ; and if they heard the truth 
 now, would they not think her a base impostor ? Oh, far bet 
 ter fly, than be disgraced before them all. 
 
 Sophie made her appearance in the gayest of spirits. They 
 had been riding with Mr. Rutherford, and gone farther than 
 they intended. 
 
 " But it was so delightful ! Miss Mackenzie, if he were ten 
 years younger, I believe I should envy my cousin Eleanor ! " 
 
 " Envy her ? " Lucia repeated, in a vague manner. 
 
 " Yes. He is her affianced, you know." 
 
 " No ; I did not/' 
 
 The room swam round to Lucia Mackenzie. Her friend 
 the husband of that haughty girl ! 
 
 " Yes, it is rather odd. He was very generous to her some 
 way about her fortune, and I suppose she fell in love with him.
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 243 
 
 And yet I have a fancy that it isn't a very warm or extravagant 
 love," Sophie ended, after some consideration. 
 
 Lucia silently pointed out several mistakes. 
 
 It was hardly strange that she had not heard. Frances 
 Catherwood had been her only pupil until latterly, for the two 
 younger ones were at school, and there had been no reason for 
 discussing family affairs before her. She remembered now 
 that they generally said " Eleanor's guardian." 
 
 The engagement appeared to her as incongruous. It was 
 not such a one as she fancied Mr. Rutherford likely to make, 
 and yet she confessed that her knowledge of the man was rath 
 er limited. And then she knew very little of his ways of 
 society. 
 
 " And it's so singular that you should have been acquaint 
 ed with him, Miss Mackenzie ! " Sophie paused, with her fin 
 ger poised over a key, and glanced around. " He was telling 
 us last night." 
 
 " What ! " she asked, almost hoarsely. 
 
 " How odd you are, Miss Mackenzie 1 Was he ever your 
 lover ? Oh, pardon me ! " 
 
 The face was covered with blushes and contrition. She 
 had asked the question in her eager, thoughtless way, and was 
 both sorry and ashamed. 
 
 " No," Lucia returned in a cold, even tone. " We were the 
 merest acquaintances. He gave me some useful hints con 
 cerning my future. This was before he went abroad, and I 
 have not seen him since." 
 
 " I did not mean to offend you. It was unpardonably 
 rude, and I am very sorry. Dear Miss Mackenzie, please for 
 give." 
 
 " I am not offended, but I should be sorry to have you so 
 careless before your cousin or Mr. Rutherford. And now we 
 will have a little better attention to the lesson." 
 
 Sophie soon recovered her wonted ease, but Miss Macken 
 zie was quiet to constraint.
 
 244 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 " You are quite sure that you have forgiven me ? " Sophie 
 asked as she rose to go. " I am certain that Mr. Rutherford 
 is noble enough for any woman. I like him so much." 
 
 " Yes," was the brief answer ; and now let us dismiss the 
 subject." 
 
 She watched the young girl out of sight before she turned. 
 What was there in the thoughtless words to disturb her so 
 much ? 
 
 She had made her defence almost in the dark. Whether Mr. 
 Rutherford had been questioned and what he had said were 
 alike unknown to her, but she had counted strongly upon his 
 loyalty. She shrank from facing him there at the Oaks, in the 
 presence of others, and possibly his betrothed. Her very 
 breath seemed to strangle her at the thought, and every pulse 
 quivered in great, frightened bounds. It seemed as if she 
 were waiting for judgment, for a summons that would bring her 
 forth from her hiding-place. 
 
 The right and wrong of her step she had never paused to 
 consider. The life had become unendurable, and she had 
 taken the sharp and perhaps doubtful remedy in her own 
 hands. Those old days came back to her like a dream that 
 she had striven, oh so hard, to forget, and now for the first 
 time she shuddered with a vague dread of the consequences of 
 her rashness. 
 
 She brought her sewing to the sitting-room, as if she was 
 fearful that her absence might awaken suspicion. A nameless 
 terror struck at her very soul, and she seemed only to breathe 
 on sufferance. What was there in the dark future for her ? 
 
 Mrs. Preston chatted in her usual low, graceful fashion. 
 Music, literature and art were her topics, for she was strongly 
 interested in all three. But to-day her companion was silent. 
 Edith had gone over to her aunt's, so they finished the morning 
 alone. Dinner was quiet enough, and then Mrs. Preston re 
 tired for her customary rest. 
 
 " You do not look well to-day, my dear," she said kindly.
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 245 
 
 Lucia shrank from the sympathy that would have been so 
 dear at any other time. 
 
 " I have a headache," she replied listlessly. 
 
 " You had better lie down and take a rest." 
 
 Instead she went to her room and changed her dress. A 
 presentiment was strong upon her that Mr. Rutherford would 
 make some effort to see her. She stationed herself by a win 
 dow overlooking the road, and as the house stood on an emi 
 nence she could see the winding way for a long distance edg 
 ing the waving fields and shadowy woods. 
 
 How long she watched she never remembered. One after 
 another passed, and at last a familiar figure came sauntering 
 slowly, casting an occasional glance toward the hill. She went 
 down then, tied on her broad sun-hat and left the house, for 
 she must see him quite alone.
 
 246 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 FACING DESTI N Y. 
 
 A LITTLE strip of woods lay between, and Paul Ruther 
 ford looked at it longingly its green glooms and mossy 
 ways were in strong contrast tc the sunny road without. The 
 flutter of a white dress caught his eye, and he paused, startled 
 by the apparition. 
 
 Lucia Mackenzie was nearly as white as her dress. The 
 wild eyes were frightened and imploring. 
 
 " Oh ! " he exclaimed, struck by her pain and terror, " you 
 might trust me ! I was once your friend ! " 
 
 She gave him a keen, searching glance. Every pulse to 
 her very finger ends trembled and throbbed. He came near 
 er, and took her hand, cold on this brilliant summer day. 
 
 "If I was surprised last night, remember, I they all 
 thought you dead." 
 
 " Yes. You have been there ? " 
 
 " To " but he did not utter the word. " Yes, I was abroad 
 nearly a year. The business required my presence." 
 
 She flushed through all her paleness. 
 
 " You were the greatest sufferer," she made answer. " I 
 used to think of you in that dreary time. I believe he meant 
 to be fair and honest in the beginning but his brain was daz 
 zled by the brilliant prospects. And when the crash came, 
 each one considered only his own losses." 
 
 " It might have been worse. I saved a little from the wreck 
 but those on the spot were more successful."
 
 Lucia: Her JProblem. 247 
 
 "You have seen " 
 
 Her voice died away. They had both unconsciously turned 
 toward the wobds, and now he pointed to a mossy stone. 
 
 " Sit here," he said, in his olden tone of tender, yet firm 
 command. " You are weak and agitated. Yes, I saw them all 
 less than six months ago. They were well." 
 
 " Thank you." She was strangely glad to hear even that. 
 
 He looked at her curiously. How much of the Dedham 
 doings did she know? 
 
 " What have you heard ? " he asked. 
 
 " Nothing. I went away one morning. Perhaps they think 
 me dead." 
 
 "They do." 
 
 " Thank God ! " She uttered the words reverently, with 
 bowed head and clasped hands. 
 
 " But there was a strange mistake about it. They found 
 some garments which were identified as yours and the body 
 of a drowned woman, supposed to be yours also It was bur 
 ied in the churchyard. There was no reason to question the 
 story and I believed it with the rest. My amazement last 
 night was unbounded ; and if I betrayed too much, forgive 
 me. It was well that I heard your voice before I saw your 
 face." 
 
 " I wanted to be dead to them ! " she exclaimed, with a 
 touch of the old vehemence. " Ah, I see that your eyes con 
 demn but if those dreary days had been yours, and a woman's 
 life, too" 
 
 He was thinking of the strange complication that had aris 
 en. Should he tell her that a wife and child filled her place ? 
 
 " Oh, you don't know you never can ! It was like a death 
 in life. He did not starve me, nor beat me, but he shut out 
 all the brightness until my very hours became intolerable. 
 From morning until night, from week to week ! It is like a 
 horrible dream even now." 
 
 " You excite yourself fearfully."
 
 248 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 ** I went away to die. I was a trouble to them all, and I 
 saw it. Oh, you will not send me back ? " 
 
 " My poor child, no. Do not distress yourself needlessly. 
 It would be all too late for such a step." 
 
 " He does not want me. Perhaps it was my fault at first. 
 Oh, Mr. Rutherford, why are we so blind in youth ? I thought 
 then, that if he was kind and cared for me tenderly, I should 
 need nothing more." 
 
 He looked at her pityingly. Still so young and so lovely, 
 and yet barred out of the choicest joys of life hiding away 
 like a criminal. With her gifts and graces, so finely fitted to 
 be the charm of some happy home circle so warm and tender 
 of heart, and doomed to be forever alone. It was hard. 
 
 " You needed love ; " he said, musingly. 
 
 "I suppose nearly all women do. I never had any at 
 home by which I could test his but when I failed to make 
 him happy, and my own life was only a curse, I wanted to be 
 away from it all. Do you think they cared ? " 
 
 " We did not meet on the friendly terms of the past. 
 I have seen very little of Mr. Thorndike," he answered, eva 
 sively. 
 
 " I want you to believe that it was no plot, no part of the 
 scheme that you were asked to become his guest. I think I 
 would have died sooner than lend myself to such treachery. 
 He expected to realize a grand fortune for all." 
 
 Mr. Rutherford smiled. This courage and honesty of pur 
 pose touched him. 
 
 " I did not blame Mr. Thorndike so much for that. Per 
 haps we all thought the same. The business looked very fair 
 when I left it. We could not foresee the great revulsion that 
 came before we \*ere prepared. I only complain of the after 
 treatment. Some came out of the wreck better than I ; and it 
 was so long before I could learn the truth." 
 
 " I was more than sorry. I used to think of it so much 
 and of you."
 
 Lucia: He? Problem. 249 - 
 
 That was Lucy Thorndike's face. It took him back to 
 hours that he had said long ago it was wiser to forget. 
 
 " But you have told me nothing about yourself." 
 
 " Do you care to hear ? " 
 
 "Yes, all. It is like one coming back from the dead, 
 for me." 
 
 She smiled sadly, and mused awhile with downcast eyes. 
 Should she tell him where her path had crossed lines with an 
 other's ? 
 
 To do her the simplest justice that last hour with Vaughan 
 Marchmont had made a very faint impression on her mind ; 
 and in the swift rush of more important events, it had been for 
 gotten. She remembered only that he had asked from her a 
 useless friendship, and left him out of the account. 
 
 Much as Mr. Rutherford longed to question, delicacy kept 
 him silent. So he listened to her story, beginning from the 
 morning when she had left Dedham. She made it brief, and left 
 out many of its pangs but its truth no one could doubt. 
 
 " And you were learning to be happy ? " 
 
 His eyes questioned her so intently that it brought the 
 warm color to her face. 
 
 " I was content. The ease and freedom of this life, its 
 many quiet pleasures and few cares, lulled me into repose. 
 But now " 
 
 "And now?" he asked. "What difference should my 
 coming make ? " 
 
 " You do not condemn me ? " 
 
 " The step is irrevocably taken. I should be the last to 
 advise your going back to Warren Thorndike." 
 
 He could not bring his mind to tell her of the insuperable 
 barrier between. 
 
 " And you think that I have a right to stay here, that it is 
 not base treachery to appear other than I am. To me it was 
 like the beginning of a new womanhood. I took the name my 
 mother gave me I had never been called by it before, and it
 
 250 Lucia: He)' Problem. 
 
 was the dawn of a higher life. Some of its lessons I owe 
 to you." 
 
 Should he praise or blame ? With a man's cautiousness 
 he could not quite approve the step, and yet perhaps it had 
 been her salvation. 
 
 " Why should you not remain here ? " he said slowly. " You 
 have found warm and true friends. There is freedom, ease, 
 and security." 
 
 He uttered this last to reassure her trembling faith. What 
 a strange life hers had been. 
 
 There was a world of entreaty in the glance she gave him, 
 but she could not bring herself to pain him by a question that 
 would imply distrust. 
 
 " Yes," he said, " I understand. It is not merely a secret 
 with me, but a sacred trust. You will find that nothing of the 
 past has been betrayed. If I was startled out of self-posses 
 sion last night I bethought myself in a moment of all you must 
 have at stake, and spoke of the past as an incidental acquaint 
 ance." 
 
 " Thank you." 
 
 There was a wistful look still remaining in the shadowy 
 eyes. Did she care to hear about him ? 
 
 Ah, what could he tell her? 
 
 There came to him at that instant a strange revelation. 
 This woman listening with drooping eyes and parted lips that, 
 did not smile, held for him a subtle and far-reaching charm. 
 He had always associated her with another, and he was much 
 too loyal to allow fancy to stray in a lawless manner. But if 
 both could be free, and he were to meet her for the first time. 
 
 He drew himself up with a gesture that was almost haughty. 
 Well that she did not see it, for now her face was half averted. 
 
 " You have heard," he began in a clear, calm tone, " that 
 I am to be married in the autumn ? " 
 
 " Yes. I hope you may be happy," she added after a pause, 
 and he little guessed the fear tugging at her heart.
 
 Lucia: liar Problem. 251 
 
 Was there any question in her mind ? 
 
 " You have seen Miss Sturtevant ? " 
 
 "Yes. She is a very handsome woman." 
 
 " I do not want you to think that I was won altogether by 
 beauty." 
 
 " No, I cannot imagine that. A woman must have some 
 graces of heart or soul to charm you at least I used to be 
 lieve so." 
 
 She gave him one of her bright, fearless looks. 
 
 " You may believe it still," he returned gravely. 
 
 " And the business at " 
 
 " It will not be a total loss. The prospect is fairer now 
 than at any time. If the money had been all my own I would 
 have cared less." 
 
 She felt assured that whatever happened Warren Thorn- 
 dike would prosper. Let the past all go then, since one could 
 not choose the recipients of fortune. And remembering what 
 had been said concerning his generosity to Miss Sturtevant, 
 she did him honor in her heart. 
 
 Yet the old friendship so suddenly restored must end as 
 briefly. The fact gave her heart a wrench. So she rose from 
 her seat. 
 
 He would not detain her. He was too wise a man to try 
 his strength in foolish tests. 
 
 " I am obliged to you for giving me audience here," he said. 
 "Was it by accident ? " 
 
 " No ; I knew you would come, and I watched. From 
 my window I could see the turn in the road. I thought it 
 better." 
 
 " It was." 
 
 " I cannot put my gratitude into words," she said in a low, 
 faltering voice. " There are some hours in our lives that I 
 shall always remember. Wish me well that is all." 
 
 Then she too recognized the barrier that it was best for 
 both to respect to the fullest extent ! 
 7
 
 252 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 " God knows my best prayers will be for you. If this path 
 grows tiresome and dreary, He can only comfort you." 
 
 He studied once more the slender, drooping figure, the 
 arm that hung listless, and yet were the perfection of grace, 
 the soft golden hair blown about by the summer wind, the 
 small scarlet mouth and deep eyes with their hidden and 
 wondrous fire. Would any soul ever sun itself at the full 
 rays ? 
 
 " A'dieu, my little friend. God bless you ! " 
 
 Yet she was the first to turn to leave the spot, though it 
 seemed to wrench every fibre of her being. Why ? she asked 
 herself in dismay. They would meet again, and perhaps she 
 should see him happy. 
 
 She took the homeward path with swift steps. Silently 
 she entered the house and sped to her room. More than an 
 hour had elapsed since she left it, and in her contradictory 
 emotions it seemed both brief and long. The shadow that 
 had hung over her since last night was lifted, but in its stead 
 had come a blindness such as the flash of lightning leaves in 
 its wake. 
 
 Groping through it she knew the truth. The love that 
 might have redeemed her soul was a splendid possibility missed. 
 Too soon and too late. This man she could have loved had 
 fate been less cruel. 
 
 It was the first dawning of passion, but it laid quiescent in 
 her soul from very hopelessness. She did not even rebel 
 against its sway that seemed to rend her with agony, but bow 
 ed her head to the storm and let the waves of despair sweep 
 over her. Even if he were free she would have no right to 
 isten. 
 
 Going carefully over the past she could find no place where 
 a word or look had betrayed any feeling deeper than a friend 
 ly interest. She experienced a strange pride in this fact, for 
 in her heart he was always to stand without a peer. When he 
 had saved her from another dangerous temptation it had been
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 253 
 
 from no selfish tenderness, but the highest motive, her own 
 good. 
 
 She also realized now why it would have been impossible 
 for her to love Marchmont. The volatile fancy, the love for 
 grace, beauty and refinement that wa^s a part of her nature had 
 been answered in his many fascinations, but the depths of her 
 soul required something nobler and truer. It had been noth 
 ing deeper than a pleasure of the senses, and with her princi 
 ples could never have led her astray no matter how trying the 
 emergency might be. 
 
 Yet when she thought of Eleanor Sturtevant she trembled 
 for Mr. Rutherford's happiness. Why indeed? Was it not 
 unreasonable, and perhaps savoring of jealousy to thus dis 
 trust a woman of whom she knew absolutely nothing ? 
 
 She came back to her sweet and gracious mood. Edith 
 Preston had invited some friends, whom she charmed as she 
 had many times before, with her lovely voice. She had ceased 
 to struggle against fate, and she knew that her secret was safe 
 in Paul Rutherford's hands. 
 
 Still she dreaded her next advent at the Oaks. She need 
 not. Mr. Rutherford had left that morning, but his beautiful 
 betrothed appeared in very gay spirits. She and her cousin 
 George rambled about the lawn or made a pretence of croquet. 
 Mrs. Catherwood kept them well in sight. Her eyes were not 
 dim or easily deceived. 
 
 This evening they succeeded in persuading Miss Macken 
 zie to remain to supper. Mr. Rutherford was quite a topic of 
 interest for them all. 
 
 " The marriage is to be early in October," Frances whis 
 pered in confidence. " All the trousseau is to be ordered, for 
 Eleanor declares that she hates looking after such matters. It 
 seems to me that it would be delightful." 
 
 Lucia sighed a little. How often girls lost sight of the se 
 riousness of the step in its captivating adjuncts! And then 
 she remembered her own ill-fated nuptials.
 
 254 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 Quiet and eventful days they were after her startling sur 
 prise. It appeared very much like a dream to her, and some 
 times she almost wondered whether she had ever been any 
 person besides Lucia Mackenzie ! For she could not help rev 
 elling in the summer's bloom and beauty, and smiling at the 
 rosy hours. 
 
 She had kept up her olden habit of rambling. Mrs. Pres 
 ton was frequently her companion, but she was never deterred 
 by loneliness. So one afternoon, perhaps a fortnight later, she 
 sought her favorite nook with a volume of poems. A small 
 eminence, for Merecombe was full of tiny hills and valleys, 
 shaded by great trees and carpeted with velvety turf. Below 
 ran a stream that plashed musically over the stones in its 
 way. 
 
 She threw herself on the grass, leaning her elbow upon a 
 ledge of moss grown rock. The glowing sun was sifted through 
 the leaves by the softest of summer winds that merely stirred 
 them to a whisper. Bees droned in the distant clover fields, 
 and occasionally some bird overhead dropped a tender trill of 
 floating melody. Reclining there in luxurious solitude, her 
 brain seemed to fill with shadowy remembrances until it was 
 lost in the hush of loveliness. 
 
 How long she had hovered on the verge of slumber she 
 hardly knew, but she was startled by a sharp, discordant laugh. 
 
 " And you believed this ? " a voice said. 
 
 " I believed you loved me ! " was the answer in a deep, 
 passionate tone. " Have you not told me so ? Have you not 
 drawn me to your side, let me lie at your feet and tell over my 
 wild dreams, enchained me by a glance of your eye ? Oh, it 
 must be true ! Surely women cannot so deceive ! " 
 
 There was a pathetic earnestness that touched Lucia Mac 
 kenzie. And yet she would fain have fled if she had known in 
 what direction she would be sure to miss these two in their 
 discussion. 
 
 " But you know what I told you ? "
 
 Lucia : Her Problem. 255 
 
 " A story of paltry gratitude " 
 
 " Not that alone. I once informed you that I could never 
 marry any poor man." 
 
 " But I am no longer poor." 
 
 " A few thousands ! " and again a scornful laugh. 
 
 " Eleanor, you madden me ! Did you not once admit that 
 your fancy for him had perished ? I am young, and all I ask 
 of fate is a fair chance and I will yet lay a fortune at your feet. 
 And he will give you up if you tell him the truth. No man 
 would claim an unwilling bride ! " 
 
 ,It was Eleanor Sturtevant, then ! For a moment Lucia 
 seemed stunned, and the voices were only a murmuring sound 
 to her ear, the man madly loving and protesting, the woman 
 imperious and scornful. 
 
 " No, you shall never marry Paul Rutherford ! " he declared 
 in a louder key. " I will go to him, I will confess the whole 
 story, our stolen meetings, our promises, and our love, for you 
 have loved me. I will demand your freedom. You shall not 
 escape me." 
 
 There was an awful silence. The hush even fell over the 
 trees, and nothing save the ripple of the stream was heard. 
 Lucia held her breath in sympathy. 
 
 "All that might not make me marry you," she returned in 
 a light, mocking tone. " Indeed, it is possible that I might 
 hate you for your interference." 
 
 "But love is stronger than hate." 
 
 " Is it ? " and she laughed satirically. " Suppose I say that 
 my love for you was a mere passing fancy, and has perished ! 
 Women are proverbially fickle." 
 
 " Well, you will never marry him ! I would come from the 
 ends of the earth to prevent it." 
 
 " Listen, Harold," she began more calmly. " That I once 
 loved you I will admit, but I am firmly convinced that we could 
 not be happy together. Still, I will let you learn the truth for 
 yourself. Take your journey. Study the beautiful women you
 
 256 Lucia: Her Problem.. 
 
 meet, and find a rival for me. I shall be in the city by No 
 vember, and then we will compare notes again." 
 " And in the meanwhile you are to be married." 
 " Rumor has said the same thing before, but you see that 
 I am still single." 
 
 " Oh, Eleanor, can you never love me again ? " 
 The voice was full of tender, imploring passion. How 
 deeply he must be infatuated with this beautiful woman, Lucia 
 thought. 
 
 " Harold, will you return those letters ? ' 
 " Never ! never ! " 
 
 " Then do not talk to me of love. Go your way. " 
 Eleanor Sturtevant must have moved on, for the next sound 
 was indistinct, and finally mingled with the voice of the stream. 
 Lucia rose and glanced around. Not a figure was to be seen 
 in those shadowy nooks, not a step or a rustle heard. Had 
 she been dreaming !
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 257 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 GIRT BY FIRE. 
 
 A QUICK, keen pang of anguish tore Lucia Mackenzie's 
 Jr\. soul. The man for whom she would have chosen a des 
 tiny royal in its truth, love and honor, thus at the mercy of a 
 heartless coquette ! But why had Eleanor Sturtevant singled 
 out this man of all others to marry ? There certainly could be 
 no lack of wealthy and handsome suitors at her feet. 
 
 Now that she remembered, Paul Rutherford had not been 
 at all enthusiastic about his betrothed or his anticipated hap 
 piness. He was grave and quiet by nature, but she had seen 
 his eye kindle and his cheek glow with a touch of a hidden 
 fire. Could it be possible that this miserable fate lay before 
 him? 
 
 She shuddered with painful forebodings and began to re 
 trace her steps. Her own wretched life seemed to rise up as 
 a warning, yet what could she do except look on and see him 
 drift down with the current ! Even if the secret had come to 
 her honorably, she would still have no right to betray it. But 
 could he not be saved ? 
 
 "Miss Mackenzie," said the domestic, as she came slowly 
 in at the side gate, " there's a gentleman in the drawing-room 
 wishes to see you." 
 
 " Where is Mrs. Preston ? " she asked. 
 
 " Oh, she and Miss Edith have gone for a drive." 
 
 " Do you know who it is ? the visitor, I mean," she added 
 absently.
 
 25! 
 
 Lucia: Her 
 
 " A stranger, I think." 
 
 Lucia made one or two trifling alterations of dress and 
 ran down. Some person on business though what could a 
 stranger want with her ? 
 
 The figure wore a curiously familiar look. The face was 
 turned from her until she had half crossed the room. 
 
 She uttered a low cry of surprise and terror, for Vaughan 
 Marchmont stood before her. 
 
 He would have met any emergency with calmness, but he 
 felt that he was master of this situation. Sweet as the smile 
 was, there gleamed a little triumph in it as well. 
 
 " So I have found you at last, my lost, my still dear friend ! " 
 
 She trembled so violently that she fell, rather than sat in 
 the nearest chair. 
 
 " Forgive me," he said, imploringly, " but I could not wait 
 when once assured that you were alive." 
 
 " Who told you ? " she gasped ; for did any one besides Paul 
 Rutherford know the secret ? 
 
 " There was a body found and brought to Dedham ; and 
 though others were deceived, I was not. From that hour I 
 have not believed you dead. But why did you go without a 
 word ? You might have trusted me ! " 
 
 A desperate courage seemed to spring up within her, and 
 she turned at bay like some \vild thing driven to the last ex 
 tremity. 
 
 " And knowing that I wished to be as the dead to every 
 one, this step on your part is hardly kind, Mr. Marchmont." 
 
 He had fancied all along that she had cared for him, and 
 that only her position, and a faint sense of what was due to her 
 husband, kept her from acknowledging it. Her sudden flight 
 had been a severe blow to his vanity, yet he had a man's love 
 for combating obstacles. But as she stood there now, lofty in 
 spite of her terror, and with a higher beauty in her face than 
 that which had first attracted him, he still resolved to conquer. 
 Now she was in his power, he was not likely to forget that.
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 259 
 
 " I could not stay away." His tone was low and vehement. 
 " Ah, you can never know how I have longed for some tidings 
 how often I have pictured you friendless, suffering, with no 
 kind hand or heart to minister to your needs. Others, whose 
 right it was, might let the matter go by in silence, but I could 
 not. A faint, uncertain clue has guided me now and then, and 
 at last led me aright." 
 
 " Well ? " she said, glancing at him inquiringly. 
 
 She understood that he loved her, that he had dared to 
 love her when such a passion confessed would have been shame 
 and dishonor to her. In those old days" she had not seen clear 
 ly, or rather she had not been capable of making subtle dis 
 tinctions. She would have deemed it an insult to accuse him 
 of unlawful love, when he had placed it on the basis of friend 
 ship. 
 
 Marchmont felt that he would gain nothing by temporizing. 
 If he chose to marry her, it was in his power, so far as he was 
 concerned. He was not quite sure that he did. There were 
 women in the world who would bring him wealth and position, 
 with the added lustre of family, and it might not be wisdom to 
 throw himself away. But he did want one deep, delicious 
 draught of her love. 
 
 " There was a time when you esteemed me a friend. Why 
 did you not trust me ! " 
 
 " I told you that I wanted to be dead to the past. I de 
 sired to begin a new life." 
 
 " Have you found it better than the old one ? " 
 
 " More satisfactory, at least, until now ; " she replied, 
 pointedly. 
 
 His face flushed, and he bit his lips. If he subdued this 
 woman at all, he must begin by being master. And then he 
 glanced her over. The slender figure with that peculiar seduc 
 tive softness indicative of tenderness as well as untold depths 
 of passion, the shining hair rippling in its sea of gold, the deep, 
 lustrous eyes with their half-hidden light that dazzled, piqued
 
 2 GO Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 one's curiosity and yet seldom satisfied. She seemed like a 
 rare, weird psychological study. He felt that her soul never 
 had been roused to its fullest extent, and that quick as she 
 might be to take many impressions, the one that swayed her 
 the most powerfully would be of slow growth. 
 
 He compelled her eyes to meet his by the exercise of the 
 subtle power he knew so well how to use. 
 
 " I think you have felt, if you have not acknowledged to 
 yourself, the tie existing between us," he began, in his slow, 
 melodious voice. " Heretofore I have had no right to speak. 
 I had to look on your daily martyrdom and keep silence, no 
 matter how keen the pang. But now you are free, and I dare 
 to say ' I love you.' " 
 
 " You have yet no right ; " and the indignant blood crim 
 soned her cheek. " Warren Thorndike is alive ; and by the law 
 of the land, I am still his wife." 
 
 " He has placed an insuperable bar between you. He is 
 married." 
 
 She started back in astonishment, yet in an instant she took 
 in the whole. Rachel was his wife, of course. The event she 
 had wished for in a vague way had come to pass, and she felt 
 frightened at the result. Did it leave her free ? Her brain 
 was in a state of painful confusion. 
 
 " There is the greater need of my keeping silence," she an 
 swered slowly. 
 
 He noted the expression of terror and indecision that ho 
 vered about her eyes. 
 
 " You are dead to that part of the world," he made answer. 
 " And it appears the more necessary now that you should have 
 a tried and trusty adviser. Who could fill this place so well as 
 the man who loves you, the man to whom you could be every 
 thing?" 
 
 His tone was tender and impassioned. A sad, yet fasci 
 nating light quivered about his eyes, like the flame of a hid 
 den fire.
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 261 
 
 How should she tell him that she did not love him, that no 
 amount of patience or devotion could move her, that she had 
 indeed lost faith in him ? She felt so astray, so far from any 
 trusty beacon light, that she hardly knew which way to go. 
 
 " You cannot have forgotten all the past," he resumed. 
 " There was a time when I read more than a passing interest 
 in your soul. Surely that long interchange of taste and feeling, 
 of similar pursuits, refinements, thoughts and moods could not 
 fail to leave some impress. Then a look would have been 
 wrong ; now my soul summons yours by the divine right of love, 
 of a sacred possessorship that you cannot deny ! " 
 
 "You judge too soon, Mr. Marchmont," she said. "In 
 those days I was wild and weak. I had no friend or sister to 
 counsel me. From the simplest of lives I went to the extreme 
 of fashionable dissipation. I took no greater license than wo 
 men in my station, and yet I understand now that some of 
 those steps were calculated to lead one astray. Heaven knows 
 how truly and earnestly I have repented of them. In my se 
 clusion I have tried to bring myself up to a higher standard. 
 Poor as the effort may have been, it is not without some result. 
 It has made me clearer eyed." 
 
 He saw that. Her soul seemed to challenge his in that 
 brief instant, and to make it understand that she stood on no 
 uncertain ground ; that she could no longer be led by a be 
 guiling smile or a few impassioned or unmeaning words. 
 
 He had never felt the guiding or repressing power of a will 
 stronger or purer than his own. Hitherto he had crushed 
 where he could not conquer. Selfishness reigned a very king 
 within him, and even at that moment, much as he loved Lucy 
 Thorndike, he resolved that in the end she should pay to the 
 uttermost for thus daring to oppose. But he was wary enough 
 to glove the iron hand in softest velvet. 
 
 " And you misjudge me, I think," in that soft, injured tone, 
 so potent with women. " The merest legal figment holds you, 
 which any court could dissolve in a few hours. Then you are
 
 262 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 quite free to become the loved and honored wife of any man. I 
 ask you to be mine. I will take these steps for you in the 
 most quiet manner." 
 
 " Mr. Marchmont " and she raised her hand entreatingly. 
 
 " Hear me through," he interrupted with dignity. " I have 
 studied you when you were least suspicious. I know the 
 depths and richness of your nature, its marvellous capacity for 
 bliss, its truth, tenderness, and also its needs. I would take 
 you far away from aught that could recall the past, to some of 
 those bright, bewildering lands at whose very description I 
 have seen your eye kindle and your cheek glow. You should 
 have beauty on every hand, until your very soul was steeped 
 in it and every fine pulse of your nature beat responsive. I 
 would shield you from care, from sorrow or trouble, until all of 
 your bitter past should be blotted out, and not one remem 
 brance left to mar the harmony of our perfect bliss. I should 
 prize your love above all treasures, and cherish it night and day. 
 Lucy, you cannot refuse. Think of this life of hiding and ex 
 ile, where you are never safe, of the toil, the loneliness, and the 
 bleak, barren future ! " 
 
 He would have taken her in his arms, but she saw the mo 
 tion and drew back. 
 
 There had been times when such tender, impassioned tones 
 might have won her, had she stood as nearly free as she did 
 now. But his words touched no deep chord in her soul. 
 
 " Mr. Marchmont," she said slowly, and with a peculiar 
 force upon every word, " one thing you have not taken into ac 
 count I do not love you ! " 
 
 The force and daring of her nature spoke there. Her 
 deep eyes burned with a steady light. 
 
 " How do you know ? There is no past love with which to 
 compare it ! " 
 
 His tone was confident, and a peculiar smile played about 
 his lips. 
 
 A sudden subtle flushing, a tremor in every limb, a far il-
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 263 
 
 lamination of the deep eyes, but with all these outward signs 
 a pang like death at her heart. 
 
 " You are right. I can test it by nothing in the past. It 
 is a simple, present feeling of my own I do not desire to be 
 your wife." 
 
 " Why ? " with incredulous amazement. 
 
 He had overlooked the previous agitation, but nothing was 
 to escape his eyes now. 
 
 " Because as I said I do not love you ! " 
 
 " But you will," with the assured triumph of certain victory. 
 " Give me time and opportunity. It is for your happiness I 
 plead, as well as my own." 
 
 He had taken a firm resolve within himself. If he found 
 her love a more satisfying treasure than the draughts he had 
 hitherto quaffed, he would rest content in its tenderness ; but 
 if not, and freedom were quite impossible, there would be ways 
 to alleviate the sameness. He was not a generous man in any 
 respect, and was quite capable, if .she disappointed him, of con 
 signing her to oblivion with hardly a pitying pang of remorse. 
 
 "No," she returned steadily. "If you are a true friend 
 you will take my final answer and leave me to the solitude that 
 I have chosen." 
 
 Her face began to betray a peculiar weariness. There was 
 a sinking in the lines about the mouth, and a curious flicker 
 ing light coming and going in the deep eyes. 
 
 " I cannot. I am lover as well as friend." 
 
 Then came her fatal temporizing. She had put off so many 
 evil days in her short life. 
 
 " At least,'"' she said imploringly, " you will leave me now. 
 I am worn and distracted with the sudden surprise, and all 
 this conversation. I know not which way to turn." 
 
 He could be gentle enough when it suited his purpose. 
 
 " As you will," he replied sadly. " Remember that I love 
 you, and be merciful." 
 
 He took her hand, though she would fain have withdrawn
 
 264 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 it. Seeing the pain and suffering so plainly impressed upon 
 her face, and quite mistaking its cause, a glow of pity and love 
 suffused his brow and touched her deeper than she would have 
 cared to own. 
 
 " To-morrow," he said, and she did not dissent. 
 
 Then she flew to her room. A wild terror throbbed along 
 every pulse. What should she do ? what could she do ? she 
 moaned, fly again ? 
 
 Alas ! there was no safety in flight. The quiet security of 
 these years and careful isolation had been disturbed, and what 
 could any other place promise ! Might not Marchmont track 
 her wheresoever she went ? 
 
 A shuddering seized her whole frame, as if it were in a 
 deathly ague, and her throat became painfully constricted. In 
 this spasm of despair the grave looked peaceful and inviting. 
 Why had she not died ? And for an instant one of those terri 
 ble temptations came over her. What was her life worth? 
 Homeless, friendless, an exile from all that women hold sacred, 
 hunted to the last extremity, what did it matter ? Would not 
 God look pityingly on the step when He knew all the terrible 
 causes that led to it ? Would it not be better for Rachel and 
 Mr. Thorndike? 
 
 Reason asserted her sway. No, it was not possible. 
 Since God had not seen fit to end the miserable life, she must 
 bide His time. And if He laid some still heavier burden upon 
 her she must bear it, calling upon him for strength and grace. 
 
 She forced herself to go down to the drawing-room on Mrs. 
 Preston's return. Edith had some girlish gossip to relate, and 
 her silence passed unremarked. 
 
 But all through the long and dreary night she tossed rest 
 lessly upon her bed and asked herself what she should do. 
 It seemed indeed the great crisis of her life. Vaughan March 
 mont held her secret, and she had more to fear from him than 
 from Paul Rutherford. Did he really love her? When she 
 believed this and recalled his persuasive words, his looks of
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 265 
 
 ardent tenderness, a profound pity filled her heart. Remem 
 ber that she could not fathom the depths of his soul with her 
 unpractised eyes. 
 
 In her extremity she came to one resolve. She would write 
 to Paul Rutherford. Counsel and advice she must have. 
 There was no one here to whom she could apply. Kind and 
 generous as Mr. Wilmer had proved, he would be shocked at 
 her story. He had an old-fashioned respect for the marriage 
 bond, and would be inclined to judge rather severely the wife 
 who had thus set at naught her husband's authority. Mrs. 
 Catherwood would condemn unhesitatingly. Merecombe would 
 be no home for her when the story was once bruited abroad. 
 
 But Rutherford, knowing all her past, would judge with 
 his clear eyes and merciful soul. She had this much confidence 
 in him, that whatever step he decided upon as right, she meant 
 to follow implicitly. 
 
 Her first task the next morning was to write her note. By 
 one of those strange incidents that afterward seem like links 
 in a chain, she remembered seeing his address on a letter 
 ready for the mail, lying on the library table at Mrs. Gather- 
 wood's. She was in no state to study elegance and propriety. 
 
 " You proved yourself once my friend, and saved me," she 
 wrote ; " and now that I am in still sorer need, will you come 
 to my assistance ? LUCIA MACKENZIE." 
 
 She forced herself to eat a few mouthfuls of breakfast, and 
 then set out on her errand, for she could trust it to no other 
 hands. It seemed as if some one was dogging every step, and 
 she shivered at the slightest rustle. She wanted more com 
 posure before she could again venture to face Mr. Marchmont. 
 
 It was her afternoon for the Catherwoods. Like one in the 
 grasp of a terrible dream she went about her duty, fearing some 
 rude awakening every instant. How more than comfortable 
 this grand old mansion looked, with its serene mistress and 
 group of happy girls. Miss Sturtevant was among them
 
 266 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 regally beautiful and imperious. If there was any sin on her 
 conscience, she did not betray it. Lucia envied her the grace 
 and indifference. 
 
 What charm had she ever had for a man like Paul Ruther 
 ford ? Lucia seemed so at loss to account for this strange tie. 
 And why should she wish to marry a man whom she did not 
 really love? Had she not the whole world from which to 
 choose ? 
 
 The day wore wearily to an end. On every step of her 
 homeward way she expected to meet Mr. Marchmont for in 
 her highly-wrought nervous state she gifted him with presci 
 ence. At last she drew a relieved breath. 
 
 " How tired you look," exclaimed Mrs. Preston. " And 
 Mr. Wilmer has sent for us to come over. There are to be 
 some young people at the Rectory this evening." 
 
 There was an expression of solicitude upon Mrs. Preston's 
 face. 
 
 "Oh, Miss Mackenzie must go, mamma," said Edith. 
 " Uncle Wilmer sent especially for her. It is always so much 
 pleasanter with you;" and the young girl gave her a winsome 
 smile. 
 
 "I think I will, if you can all excuse a little dullness," she 
 answered. " In the mean while, I can take a few moment's 
 rest." 
 
 " You are not going to be ill, surely ! And yet your voice 
 has an unusual sound." 
 
 " Oh, no. I did not sleep well last night, and the day has 
 been warm. I shall soon be refreshed." 
 
 Lucia closed her eyes on the phantom before them. Any 
 thing was better than receiving Mr.. Marchmont alone there in 
 the evening. And perhaps she would feel no worse for the 
 effort. 
 
 They went early. For that day she was safe. Perhaps 
 she had misjudged Mr. Marchmont. It was her fault that he 
 had dared to love her ; and in reviewing the conversation of
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 2G7 
 
 yesterday in a calmer mood, he might see how little hope there 
 was for him, and accept her decision as final. 
 
 " A gentleman called soon after you had gone," said the 
 servant, on their return. " He left this note." 
 
 Lucia took it, thankful that she had escaped the meeting. 
 She did not open it until in her own. room. 
 
 He had pencilled a few lines on a card and slipped it into 
 an envelope. 
 
 " My darling " it ran " why do you shun me ? My whole 
 life lies in your hands, for happiness or despair. I am deeply 
 disappointed at thus missing you; and beg an interview for to 
 morrow morning." 
 
 She could not escape the cruel fate then ! Oh, if Mr. 
 Rutherford were but here. She placed her whole faith in 
 him with feverish anxiety. But how could she wait ? Again 
 flight appeared the only door open to her. 
 
 Every step of this miserable way seemed linked with pain 
 and shame. The old cry rose to her lips why had she ever 
 been born ?
 
 2G8 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 AGAINST THE TIDE. 
 
 VAUGHAN MARCHMONT sat in Mrs. Preston's cosy 
 drawing-room awaiting the coming of Miss Mackenzie. 
 She was grave and cold, paler than usual, but her voice had a 
 peculiar steadiness in it that was unpromising. It would re 
 quire nice playing to win. 
 
 One of those subtle laws of fascination was here exempli 
 fied. The more she seemed to shun him the more determined 
 he was upon conquest. If he had never seen her warm, impul 
 sive, and glowing with latent mesmeric fire, he would hardly 
 have considered the prize worth the pains. But she should 
 yield to his influence once more, that he was steadfastly re 
 solved upon. 
 
 " My dear friend," he said in his low winning tone, " have 
 you been ill ? Why will you not let me advise and com 
 fort?" 
 
 "You can give me no comfort. I hoped, Mr. Marchmont, 
 that you would see this matter in the light that I desired, and 
 leave me to myself." 
 
 "Thus solitary and struggling, knowing that I could make 
 life bright for you, and yet standing coldly aloof. Ah, you 
 wrong me, if you thought that ! " 
 
 " It is best and kindest. If you have my welfare truly at 
 heart you must see this." 
 
 " But I do not, cannot see it. I love you, and I am a man 
 of much patience where my feelings are really enlisted. Try
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 209 
 
 me by any test that you will. I have told you that my inten 
 tions were most honorable." 
 
 For all that the handsome face and strange eyes with an 
 almost evil significance made her shudder. 
 
 " Mr. Marchmont," she said, ".all this talking is useless and 
 painful to me as well. I can never, never be any thing to you. 
 I would sooner return to Dedham and confess my identity." 
 
 " That is quite impossible," with a peculiar smile. 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 She said this with some of the olden spirit that had made 
 Lucy Thorndike piquant. There was a dangerous, half-smoth 
 ered fire in the dark eyes. 
 
 " Because your sister is Warren Thorndike's wife, and the 
 mother of his child. Will you disgrace them both by a fruit 
 less appeal ? " 
 
 " His child ! Their child ! " 
 
 She sank back in her chair and covered her face with her 
 hands. Not that she had ever thought of asking mercy from 
 Warren Thorndike, but this would take all power quite out of 
 her hands. 
 
 " Yes," he went on in his cool tone that seemed to stab 
 her to the very core of her heart " you know what that would 
 be. He would legally repudiate you and re-marry her, but 
 the child would be proved illegitimate. And you would be 
 still adrift with the reputation of a discarded wife." 
 
 She turned upon him with fiery eyes and burning, scarlet 
 cheeks, every pulse throbbing with indignation. 
 
 " Why should you be so anxious to link your fate with a 
 woman whom the world, never very generous, might con 
 demn?" 
 
 " Because I love you. Because I would fain shield you 
 from sorrow and trouble." 
 
 How many women have been won by just such persistence. 
 She wondered if it were really true. If she, a stray and exile, 
 might be housed in a warm and tender heart. A moment be-
 
 270 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 fore she had been angry, now gratitude softened every feel 
 ing. 
 
 " No," she returned suddenly, afraid of yielding to the 
 spell " this can never be. If you think me distrustful and 
 wary, I have learned it in a hard school. I was grateful to 
 Warren Thorndike for his kindnes's in trying to make my lot 
 happier, but after I became his wife I found that love only could 
 make the duties of such a station endurable. I will not sell 
 my soul again for a mess of pottage." 
 
 " You compare us ! You place my love on a level with his 
 grovelling fancy or passion." 
 
 There was a fine and lofty scorn in this, and his brow was 
 stained with a delicate flush. To compare this gentleman 
 with that boor were indeed a disgrace. And yet she knew that 
 men as refined and high-bred as this one had crushed the joy 
 out of some women's lives none the less surely. 
 
 " Pardon me," she returned with unconscious softness. 
 " But the fact still remains I cannot give you gratitude for 
 love." 
 
 " I told you that I would wait Give me some opportuni 
 ty for proving my regard." 
 
 " I cannot," with a shiver of misgiving. " Your continued 
 visits to me would attract attention, and bring me into a sphere 
 that I have hitherto shunned. Again I beg of you to let me 
 go my way alone." 
 
 Her voice sank to an imploring pathos. It would be en 
 tertaining to have her plead in that fashion for other favors. 
 He had a great love for authority and power. 
 
 " Do not ask such an impossibility." 
 
 " Mr. Marchmont, what do you propose ? " 
 
 He saw that a change had come over her, but he treated 
 it as only a passing mood. 
 
 "To wait." 
 
 She was girt in as by fire. At every avenue of escape those 
 steady eyes confronted her, until she began to experience a 
 vajjue alarm.
 
 Lucia : Her Problem. 271 
 
 " Your waiting will be useless." 
 
 Then she drew herself up haughtily and glanced from the 
 window to the lawn, never swerving nor allowing herself to be 
 provoked into a reply or touched by his pleading. 
 
 He rose at length and came nearer. 
 
 " I want to tell you," he said in a low tone, " that it is bet 
 ter to have my love than my hate, to keep me for a friend, in 
 stead of converting me into an enemy. 
 
 Still the same disdainful smile. 
 
 Would she dare him to do his worst? He had seen 
 women brave for a brief while before, but they were generally 
 conquered by a strong fate. Perhaps it would be as well to 
 leave her to her own reflections. 
 
 " Adieu," he said loftily. " Think of this and make your 
 choice." 
 
 He went slowly out of the room. Lucia Mackenzie sat 
 like one in a spell, her eyes curiously indrawn, her lips firmly 
 set, and the lines about the mouth growing hard. She had 
 dared this man. Farewell to peace, to seclusion, to the drop 
 of prosperity that had fallen into her cup. It was hardly worth 
 while to wait for Mr. Rutherford now ; yet, since she had writ 
 ten, courtesy demanded that much. 
 
 Vau'ghan Marchmont fancied that she would essay flight. 
 He managed that both stations should be watched, but Lucia 
 went steadily about her duties. An awful calmness seemed to 
 have fallen upon her, presaging a dangerous storm. 
 
 While he was waiting and bethinking himself wearily of his 
 next move, he learned that Paul Rutherford had arrived at 
 Merecombe and gone directly to Mrs. Preston's. Here then 
 was the secret of Lucia's resistance ! 
 
 Remember that he had once felt certain of Lucia's love. 
 Misled by his own vanity and her ignorance, her lack of un 
 derstanding precisely what his attentions meant, he still as 
 sured himself of a certain regard. His dull dislike of Ruther 
 ford now blazed into open, ungovernable hate. He bit his
 
 272 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 lip over a fearful threat. If he could not rule he would 
 ruin. This little world of Merecombe should ring with the 
 story of Lucia's past, and herself be held up to execration fa 
 thus accepting another man's love. He would see her once 
 more and give her a choice. Ah, he knew how she would 
 shrink from shame and disgrace. At last he held the winning 
 card. 
 
 Lucia's first anxiety had died away. It was too late for 
 any assistance. The swift current must bear her on to the 
 final wreck, for neither prayer nor hope would avail. 
 
 Mr. Rutherford glanced at her in amaze as she entered the 
 room. Some inexplicable change had befallen her, for she ap 
 peared to be turning into stone. Even the drooping eyelids 
 were fixed, and the eyes set hard. 
 
 " What can have occurred ? " he asked anxiously. " I 
 came as sooij as was possible after receiving your note. Some 
 danger menaces you." 
 
 " Vaughan Marchmont is here," she said under her breath. 
 
 He turned pale, and his fingers seemed to make an invol 
 untary movement. 
 
 " He has recognized you, then ! Your secret is in his 
 hands as well." 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 They gave each other a long, questioning glance. She felt 
 so helpless, so far at sea that it seemed as if even his strong 
 arm could not save her. If she could only cling to him as one 
 might to a brother. 
 
 " Well ! " he said. It appeared as if there must be some 
 thing back of all this. 
 
 " He loves me ! You were right there when you spoke be 
 fore." 
 
 Her voice was hoarse and her cheek stained with crimson. 
 
 " Has he dared" 
 
 " No, let me give him credit for honor^ at least," she said 
 with some bitterness. " He has proposed marriage he is
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 273 
 
 willing to take me with all my legal disabilities, or assist me to 
 liberty." 
 
 " You know he could not. You are still Warren Thorn- 
 dike's wife." 
 
 " And he has another wife my sister, and a child ! " 
 
 " Yes. He told you this ? I would have saved you," with 
 the tenderest pity in his eyes. 
 
 " He told me. It was my mad, miserable folly, that has 
 brought about this complication." 
 
 " He loves you ? He wishes to marry you ? Liberty is 
 possible, you know. I think Mr. Thorndike will not care to 
 make a change." 
 
 He said this softly, as if afraid of paining her. 
 
 She came a little closer to him, and looked curiously into 
 his eyes. 
 
 " You probably understand what manner of man Mr. March- 
 mont is. You have seen him in the world, in business matters. 
 He holds something of my destiny in his hands, at least he 
 can make all our lives darker. I would fain befriend Rachel 
 and her child. If I can do this by any sacrifice on my part, 
 God knows it will be a cheerful gift." 
 
 Paul Rutherford pressed his hand to his forehead. Had 
 her early regard deepened into any stronger feeling ? 
 
 " Do you love him ? " he asked. 
 
 " Love him ! " she answered scornfully. 
 
 " Thank God ! " 
 
 " Do not remember that old time against me," she plead 
 ed. " I was young, thoughtless, and sometimes felt that life 
 was hard to bear. I hated its coarseness, its vapid gossips, 
 its trivial employments. And then he came, a refined and 
 polished gentleman, fresh in all the elegancies of the world 
 and society, well read, entertaining and such a man was a 
 new study to me. I was left much alone, you know ; nay, 
 more, I was thrown upon the mercies of others. I was fasci 
 nated perhaps, but the charm was a passing one. You spoke, 
 12*
 
 274 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 and the vision cleared. I saw the perils in my path. In the 
 after dreariness they beset me again, under the guise of friend 
 ship and then I fled from them both, the cold, cruel bond 
 that was goading me to madness, and the other that had ceased 
 to be dangerous." 
 
 " I am glad to hear this," he replied, in an earnest tone, 
 " for your sake." 
 
 " Yet my going away was a false step. 
 
 " Yes. God means us to endure the trials He sends, and 
 not turn away in weak cowardice. You will not marry Vaughan 
 Marchmont then ? " 
 
 " No. Yet, in refusing him I must prepare for my worst 
 enemy." 
 
 " A selfish, unscrupulous man one to be dreaded, at 
 least." 
 
 " Counsel me, advise me ;" she pleaded, clasping her hands, 
 and raising her eyes imploringly. 
 
 " My poor child, it is hard retracing wrong steps. Every 
 mistake carries with it some downfall of what might have been 
 hope, and brings a sorrowful entail of suffering. I can under 
 stand what the temptations were. When I first saw you I felt 
 that your way was set in dangerous places. If I had spoken 
 then ! " 
 
 It seemed to her if she had only been set right in those 
 days of inexperience, much of her misery might have been 
 saved. And yet she could not blame him. What claim had 
 she upon any stranger ? 
 
 " It will be best to go back to Dedham," he said, slowly. 
 "They will be warned, at least." 
 
 " Not that ! not that ! " she exclaimed in anguish. 
 
 " Will the tidings come more gently from him ? " 
 
 " But would he dare ? " 
 
 " He will dare any thing. I believe to-day that Warren 
 Thorndike would have been a more generous husband but 
 for him. I hold him responsible for much that occurred at
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 275 
 
 Dedham. When I reached the town he had left it with a for 
 tune. Thorndike had been a tool in his more astute hands. 
 Thank God that he never really found his way to your heart ! 
 And yet I hardly understand how you escaped ! " 
 
 Had there been some guiding power stronger than ei 
 ther of them knew ? Was it one hand only that could touch 
 the key note of her being ? and that one forbidden by honor, 
 manliness and integrity to sway even the faintest chord, she 
 must needs remain forever silent and dumb. 
 
 He did not dare to raise his eyes at the moment. If he 
 had kept his own life free from tangles but no, she was still 
 the wife of another, as sacred to him as she had always been, 
 always would be. 
 
 " Will you allow him to hold this secret in terror over you 
 or take off its keenest edge by confessing it yourself? " 
 
 She shrank from the ordeal. It would be bitterer than 
 death to face them all again. Why could she not fly ? Ah, 
 was there any safety in that ? 
 
 Mr. Wilmer's text flashed across her mind to strengthen 
 her. " He shall drink of the brook in the way, therefore 
 shall he lift up his head." She understood the sermon by a 
 swift and subtle intuition. Here were the treacherous rocks 
 on which she had first been wrecked. Ah, how weak and 
 blind ! Did God mean that some human souls should come 
 to the new birth through flood and fire ? If so, hers was sure 
 ly one. 
 
 Rutherford watched the struggle. He saw the faint red 
 lines of anguish thread their way up her temples, and the pallid 
 lips quivered with pain. 
 
 " You will go ? " he said, in a slow, decisive way. " What 
 ever I can do for you shall be done. You need a true and 
 clear-eyed friend such as only a brave and tender woman 
 could prove. I believe Mrs. Catherwood such a one. If you 
 will allow me to repeat the story to her ! " 
 
 " Not now ; " she entreated.
 
 276 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 " I was at Dedham three months ago. Your father has 
 broken much. Warren Thorndike has aged, and yet the home 
 seems the same except the presence of the child, a little girl. 
 They have called her Lucy." 
 
 That touched her keenly. They did not hate her utterly, 
 then ! 
 
 " I will go ; " she said, after a pause. 
 
 " When can you be ready ? " 
 
 " Must it be so soon ? " A wild terror seemed to creep 
 over her. 
 
 " The earlier the better, I think. Mr. Thorndike can take 
 the necessary steps to legalize his marriage and you will no 
 longer need to hide in secret. It will be a painful task, yet 
 courage ! " 
 
 Something in the tone roused and inspirited. Far apart as 
 they must always stand, she could still pay him the meed of 
 gratitude and respect. 
 
 " I must return to-morrow," he began. " The elder Mrs. 
 Catherwood goes to the city with me. If you would accom 
 pany us ? " 
 
 He was right in one thing nothing could be gained by 
 delay except additional suffering. 
 
 " Yes ; " she assented, faintly. 
 
 " Let me win a friend for you in Mrs. Catherwood." 
 
 " If you can ; " she answered with some bitterness. " It 
 seems as if the hand of ever}' woman would be forever against 
 me ; because my burden was heavier than I could bear." 
 
 " To-morrow, then. Your after life must in some degree 
 be shaped by the result of the coming interview. You can 
 make no plans until that is over." 
 
 He had a strange hope for her that he dared not put in 
 words. Could Mr. Garth's heart be implacable to the last ? 
 
 " We shall start early. The carriage had better come 
 for you." 
 
 Lucia acquiesced. She made no effort to detain him after
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 277 
 
 that and Iherr farewell words were simply said. This part 
 of the way lay straight before her. 
 
 She made a few explanations to Mrs. Preston, and then 
 began her preparations. In the midst of these, she was inter 
 rupted by a call from Mr. Marchmont. 
 
 Lucia Mackenzie entered the room quite prepared for the 
 contest. He read this in her proud, steady face, and bit his 
 lips hard under cover of his mustache. 
 
 " Your secret it seems is a secret no longer ; " he said, with 
 a touch of scorn. " Have you taken Mr. Rutherford into coun 
 sel ? " 
 
 " I believe I am not accountable to you for my acts ; " she 
 returned with quiet dignity. 
 
 "The truth is no mystery I suppose. Paul Rutherford 
 has become my rival. Shall I congratulate you ? " 
 
 A sardonic smile crossed his countenance. 
 
 " Mr. Marchmont," she said, " let us come to a final under 
 standing. That Mr. Rutherford has befriended me, I will not 
 deny ; but you may spare your sneers. In a few months he is 
 to marry Mrs. Catherwood's granddaughter, to whom he has 
 been engaged for some time. Probably he will never cross 
 my orbit again, for I shall leave Merecombe. To-morrow I 
 am going back to Dedham." 
 
 " No, you cannot," he began eagerly. " Take that step at 
 your peril ! " 
 
 " You dare to threaten me? " 
 
 " I will tell you a secret that you have forced from my 
 lips. I was absent when you left Dedham ; and on my return, 
 Warren Thorndike accused me of spiriting away his wife, con 
 fessing that he knew she cared for me ! " 
 
 If he expected this to cower her, he was mistaken. She 
 saw plainly now that he would scruple at nothing to attain his 
 end, and she began to hate, more than she feared. 
 
 " I can disprove all this ; " she answered, undaunted. 
 " Every week of my life, since the day of my departure from
 
 278 Lucia: Her Problem, 
 
 Dedham, can be accounted for. I have been in the hands 
 of friends, who will stand by me to the last." 
 
 His final card, then, had proved a failure. He understood 
 now that she was finally lost to him ; and as she stood there 
 in her pride and courageous loveliness, he longed to crush, to 
 destroy. 
 
 " You love this Paul Rutherford ;" he declared madly. 
 
 " Do I ? " 
 
 She turned her face full upon him. Calm amid all the 
 stress of trouble, the currents of fiery blood held in check by 
 the high soul that at this crisis saved itself, and the man whose 
 fair name was as dear to her. No torture could have wrested 
 that from her. 
 
 He could not stab her there. He was powerless, worsted 
 where a week ago he had felt master of the situation. But 
 if she was beyond his reach, Rutherford might not be. 
 
 " It is my desire that this shall prove our last interview," 
 she said. " Henceforward we are strangers." 
 
 With' that she swept regally out of the room, leaving him 
 amazed and angry, but his moods were no longer a matter of 
 consideration for her. She looked steadily forward to the new 
 path, resolved not to swerve, though every nerve shrank from 
 the coming trial. 
 
 She did not take a final leave of Mrs. Preston, although 
 she felt there was a small prospect of her ever returning to 
 Merecombe. A note was written for Mr. Wilmer full of grat 
 itude for past kindnesses 
 
 The Gather wood carriage came for her. Mr. Rutherford 
 handed her in with his usual grave courtesy ; and Mrs. Cath- 
 erwood gave the trembling hand a soft pressure. For an in 
 stant their eyes met. Those of the elder said that Lucia Mac 
 kenzie had found a lenient judge, whether it was the result of 
 her warm heart or the manner in which the story had been re 
 lated. There was not much opportunity for conversation, but 
 the few sentences exchanged were most reassuring.
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 279 
 
 " My child," she said, " you might have told me your story 
 before. No counsel perhaps is as reliable as a mother's and 
 this it seems you have missed all your life. I know how to 
 sympathize .with you." 
 
 " Oh ! " Lucia returned brokenly, " you are so good. I 
 hardly dared hope. It seemed as if every one's hand would 
 be raised against me, as it always has been." 
 
 Mrs. Catherwood gave her a look that was far sweeter than 
 a smile. 
 
 " My dear," she said, " I have passed the heats of passion 
 and hasty judgment. Whether your first step was a wise one 
 it is not necessary now to discuss. I can see how you took it 
 with the best of motives. It is hard when we are young to 
 bide God's time, so we take destiny into our own weak hands 
 and make a sad tangle of it. But it is better that you should 
 be quite free. Have you any plans ? " 
 
 " None," she answered shiveringly. 
 
 " Mr. Rutherford thinks that this Mr. Thorndike is per 
 fectly satisfied with his present relations ! " Mrs. Catherwood 
 said hesitatingly. 
 
 " Yes," Lucia's head drooped lower. " You cannot under 
 stand how entirely my sister suits him. And for the child's 
 sake I desire to do the best I can for them. I shrank weakly 
 from the pain before, but now I will be strong to bear suffering 
 or shame, or whatever may be laid upon me." 
 
 " No one can advise at present ; but I want you to feel that 
 you have a true friend in me, one not easily turned about by 
 adverse circumstances." 
 
 Lucia raised her shining eyes in grateful tears. Was the world 
 more generous than she had thought ? Mrs. Catherwood's 
 quiet firmness gave her courage to breast the storm. 
 
 She begged Lucia to promise, before they parted, that she 
 would not only keep her informed of events, but in any strait 
 apply to her at once. 
 
 " It will be necessary to begin an entirely new life," Lucia
 
 280 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 said. u I cannot return to Merecombe and have an air of un 
 explained mystery hanging about me." 
 
 " I have already thought of this. A friend of mine is going 
 abroad in the course of a few months and would like to have a 
 governess for her daughter. If nothing better offers this can 
 remain open to you." 
 
 " Thank you,' ; Lucia responded with deep gratitude. 
 
 Now and then she stole a look at Paul Rutherford's face. 
 Were there some lines of secret dissatisfaction ? She shivered 
 at the fate that lay before him, and yet she could not warn. 
 Were all best purposes crossed and thwarted, noble hearts 
 wrung with pangs of keenest anguish? Who was happy in 
 this dreary world? 
 
 It was mid-afternoon when they parted. She would reach 
 Dedham late that evening, though she preferred to go alone. 
 
 Mr. Rutherford walked across the platform with her. A 
 few earnest, heartfelt wishes, a hope that this step might be the 
 wisest she could have taken, and then he paused with a strange, 
 wistful glance. 
 
 She uttered her farewell. Then she came back a step, im 
 pelled by a peculiar power. 
 
 " You are to marry Miss Sturtevant," she said in a low, 
 hurried tone. " Oh, be sure of this one thing that she loves 
 you with every fibre of brain and soul. It is a woman's only 
 safeguard, a man's only hope ! " 
 
 He seated her and returned to Mrs. Catherwood, quite 
 disinclined for conversation. Was it a wail of Lucia's sad life 
 in the words, or some subtle fear that had more than once 
 shadowed his own fancies ? 
 
 Lucia settled herself in her seat. Mr. Rutherford had pro 
 vided her with some papers, but she did not care to read. 
 She must summon all her strength for the coming trial. A few 
 sharp pangs, much keen censure, and perhaps fierce upbraiding, 
 a rending of the ties that bound her to kith and kin, but with it 
 all, unquestioned freedom. No secret to weigh down her life.
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 281 
 
 Straightly, swiftly she was borne. No windings and doub 
 lings in this course as there had been at her departure. No 
 culprit fear of detection, that was over. Henceforward the 
 simplest truth was to guard her life. She had wrought misery 
 enough with her one impatient, lawless step. 
 
 The afternoon waned. Down the sloping skies dropped 
 the sun. Purple twilight gathered at the edges of the woods, 
 and the long line of gold melted into rose color. Familiar sta 
 tions began to greet her. Nearer, nearer to fate what had it 
 in store for her ?
 
 282 Lucici: Her Problem. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 GOING BACK. 
 
 THE south wind blew up sweeps of fragrance from the 
 low-lying meadow lands, and the sky overhead thinned 
 into tintless space. The far off woods threw weird outlines 
 against the sea of pale gold in the west, and the insects began 
 their evening hymns. Lucia Mackenzie had dropped her 
 brown travelling veil long before she reached the station ; and 
 though her heart beat suffocatingly at every stray glance, no 
 one gave her a more than casual notice. 
 
 She turned into the high road that skirted the town, though 
 it was much changed. The hills looked lower, the woods 
 dwarfed, the great factories were shrouded in twilight, and the 
 tall chimneys were mere points. She threaded her way quickly, 
 turning her head now and then as if some weird phantom fol 
 lowed fast upon her steps. The slightest rustle made her shiv 
 er and her pulses beat in great throbs. 
 
 Only one turn was necessary. The narrow lane had be 
 come a populous street, but the faces were nearly all new. 
 Warren Thorndike's predictions bid fair to be realized. She 
 paused and glanced furtively across the open space. There 
 was the old brown cottage with its sloping roof. She could 
 see the chamber window, the scene of many a smothered mu 
 tiny or despairing wail against fate. It seemed ages since 
 Lucy Garth stood there envying the very swallows that twit 
 tered around the eaves. 
 
 The straight path up the small courtyard, the open door
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 283 
 
 with its dusky background, and a bowed figure sitting on the 
 step. She knew that well. So he had sat one summer night 
 years ago. 
 
 Her limbs trembled with a strange terror. Flashes of 
 burning heat shivered through her veins at one moment, and 
 the next she seemed drenched in a sea of fire. Her tongue 
 clove to the roof of her mouth, and her lips stiffened like the 
 coming of death. Could she go on ? 
 
 Pausing at the gate and fumbling around the latch with 
 unsteady hands startled Mr. Garth. He glanced up but did 
 not move. 
 
 Lucia came nearer with uncertain steps. The prim garden 
 looked chill and forbidding, and the one lamp on the dining- 
 table threw a sickly ray in the hall. She saw the worn and 
 aged face, the outlines softened, the mouth less set and stern, 
 and the eyes with a kind of frightened, piteous appeal. In an 
 instant she was on the step beside him, clasping his knees and 
 covering the thin hands with kisses. 
 
 " Father ! father ! It is Lucy come back ! Oh, if you 
 have any lingering love, any pity or tenderness, bestow it upon 
 me now ! Your sorrowful, repentant Lucy, whom you have 
 all thought dead ! " 
 
 He looked at her in amaze, raising the tearful face and 
 studying it in a vague way. Not shocked as she supposed he 
 would be, and then another terror seized her. What if the 
 once strong mind wavered in the balance ? 
 
 " Lucy ! " he repeated mechanically. " Lucy was drown 
 ed, you know. They brought her home, and she is buried in 
 the churchyard." 
 
 " No, it was a mistake. Look at me, father ! " 
 
 She threw aside her hat and mantle and faced the flicker 
 ing ray of light. 
 
 "My God ! " he exclaimed in wild affright. "It is Lucia 
 Mackenzie ! " 
 
 " Your own Lucy, father. Do not cast her out of your
 
 284 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 heart. Weak, wilful, and yet repentant. Oh, shall man be 
 more severe than God ? I think I must have been beside my 
 self when I went away, but I have come back to tell the truth 
 for all our sakes." 
 
 Her vehemence stirred the slow pulses of the old man. 
 
 " It is like Lucy's voice," he said wanderingly. " It is 
 Lucy's golden hair and fair face. God must have made her 
 beautiful, but it was a snare to the child. Yes, I am quite 
 sure that she is dead." 
 
 " Where is Rachel my sister ? " she asked in despair. 
 
 " Rachel ? Rachel is dead, too, you know. Her little girl 
 is up stairs asleep." 
 
 Mr. Garth studied the face before him attentively. He 
 threaded the soft hair with his fingers until the tumbled ends 
 began to curl ; he touched the fair cheek and looked into the 
 deep, tremulous eyes, swimming in waves of tears. 
 
 " Rachel dead ? Oh no, you are mistaken." 
 
 " Come and see her child. It is all I have now." 
 
 He took the lamp and led the way. FeeMe, faltering 
 steps, and the arm shaking so that she feared for the safety 
 of the light. 
 
 " She is in here. I called her Lucy for the one we lost, 
 and because her hair was pale gold. You won't take her 
 away ? " piteously. 
 
 " Oh no, no." Her tears were falling fast now. She had 
 come too late ! 
 
 A miniature face, white and thin, and with that grown-up, 
 wise look which you sometimes see on the countenances of 
 those early familiarized with care sweet withal, the scarlet 
 lips parted into a half smile, and the small chin cleft with a 
 dimple. 
 
 " My darling," he murmured, toying with the scanty locks 
 of hair cropped close. "The one treasure left me." 
 
 The child moved uneasily, the light full in her eyes par 
 tially rousing her.
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 285 
 
 A great wave of pain and apprehension stole over Lucia. 
 The house was so deathly quiet, and the very air seemed filled 
 with phantoms. Was Rachel indeed gone ? 
 
 The child opened its eyes. " Grandfather ! " exclaimed 
 the small voice with precise accent. " Oh, grandfather, who 
 is this ? " 
 
 " Child," Lucia said hurriedly, " where is your mother ? " 
 
 " Mother is dead," she answered solemnly. " Grandfather, 
 didn't you tell this lady that they took mother away in a box 
 to heaven ? " 
 
 It was true, then ! Lucia sank by the side of the bed, 
 overwhelmed. Rachel was spared that pain. 
 
 " Who is it, grandfather ? " 
 
 Mr. Garth placed the lamp upon the table, and then looked 
 at her wonderingly. 
 
 Oh, would no one ever acknowledge her again ! 
 
 A step came stumbling up the stairs, and it seemed to rasp 
 every nerve in her body. She rose, summoning all her strength. 
 
 Warren Thorndike confronted her in the door-way. A 
 hard, pitiless face, quite changed since the time she had 
 thought him a hero. 
 
 " Good heavens ! " he ejaculated. " Does the grave give 
 up its dead ? Lucy Thorndike ! or is it some accursed phan 
 tom ? " 
 
 Mr. Garth started at the name, and a gleam of recognition 
 shot into his dim eyes. 
 
 " So you thought you would come ! " Thorndike said taunt 
 ingly. " But I tell you it is too late, even if she is dead. I am 
 beginning to prosper again, and no woman's extravagance shall 
 ruin me this time ! " 
 
 A sordid light shone in the small, eager eyes. Money 
 had become his God. 
 
 She made a gesture of such supreme contempt that it pene 
 trated even his dull brain. 
 
 "I ask nothing of you, Warren Thorndike," she answered
 
 286 Lucia: Tier Problem. 
 
 in an icily clear tone. " I came because an enemy had in 
 vaded the secresy with which I had chosen to surround myself. 
 I did not know until then that Rachel was your wife, but for 
 her sake and your child's sake, I preferred that you should 
 hear the story from me, rather than from one who might use 
 it for his own selfish purposes. I will admit that I have for 
 feited all claim upon your consideration, and will never oppose 
 any effort that you may make for legal freedom. If my father 
 desires, I will go again into exile." 
 
 Mr. Garth came nearer. He seized her arm and gave a 
 low cry, a sound that touched her to the depths of the soul. 
 
 " She is mine ! " he exclaimed, " my child. We were both 
 hard upon her in those old days, but you have no right to her, 
 Thorndike. She is mine ! " 
 
 And hearing these blessed words of ownership, Lucia fell 
 sobbing into her father's arms. 
 
 " I don't want her," declared Thorndike gruffly. " She 
 was always too fine a lady for me. I know she laughed in se 
 cret over my ways, that were different from her grand friends. 
 She cared only for my money, but she'll never get a penny of 
 that ! " 
 
 " She shall have enough," said Mr. Garth tremulously. 
 
 " My child ! my child ! " 
 
 Lucy's clasp tightened. A thanksgiving went up from her 
 full soul. To be ireceived gladly by any human being was a 
 luxury now. 
 
 " You remember me !" she whispered. " Take me back to 
 your heart, and I will be your child indeed. God has been 
 merciful to us both." 
 
 " It seems sometimes as if I had lost the way," he went on 
 in a wandering tone, " and then He leads, Lucy. I don't 
 trouble myself now. When you went away you kissed me 
 do you remember, child ? Kiss me again, that I may know it 
 is you." 
 
 She kissed the soft, withered lips not once, but many times,
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 287 
 
 and their tears mingled together. He was much agitated and 
 trembled like a leaf, so she drew him to the chintz covered 
 lounge. 
 
 Warren Thorndike went to his own room. The child crept 
 out of bed and climbed on her grandfather's knee. 
 
 " You are the beautiful Aunt Lucy in the picture," she 
 said wonderingly. " Mother told me it was wicked to be 
 beautiful, but you are not wicked, are you ? " 
 
 " I am trying to be good," Lucy said in strange awe of 
 those large questioning eyes. 
 
 " Will you stay here ? " 
 
 " She is to stay here. And her name is Lucia." 
 
 " Father ! " 
 
 For his own free use of that term made her cling more ten 
 derly to him. 
 
 " It was your mother's wish, child. You looked so fearful 
 ly like her as you stood in the hall. She loved me once I 
 can't remember all, but I feel as if I had been shut in prison. 
 God forgive my hardness to her ! I thought it a duty when she 
 rebelled for she was high-spirited and refused to listen to ad 
 monition. I meant to do right. Will you stay with me and 
 teach me ? We all wander into forbidden paths heaven help 
 us!" 
 
 How changed, how broken ! She had not come a day too 
 soon. 
 
 " When did Rachel die ? " she asked in a low, awesome 
 tone, for the fact had seemed at first simply incredible. 
 
 " Last week. The place is dreary and lonesome, my dar 
 ling. We will go away and begin a new life you, I, and 
 the child. Are you cold, little one ? " 
 
 " Not here, grandfather. Aunt Lucia's arm is around me." 
 
 There was something painful in this precision. The free 
 dom and carelessness of childhood had been sternly repressed'. 
 
 " Was she ill long ? " Lucia continued, thinking of Rachel 
 and the strange mystery attending death.
 
 288 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 " She was never sick, nor complained, but just drooped af 
 ter the little one was born. I believe she never took kindly to 
 the child. And so it went on, but she would not spare herself. 
 They wanted to be richer and richer. And then one day she 
 fainted at her sweeping, and they brought her to her room. 
 She never went out of it again until she was carried." 
 
 " Oh, father ! And did she not soften at the last ? " 
 
 " She was peculiar, you know. I used to take great pride 
 in her, but somehow and after you went away " 
 
 Lucia understood the end ; sad for any human life. She 
 gave Rachel the tenderest and profoundest pity. There was a 
 strange yearning in her heart to call back her sister and bright 
 en the lost years with love. 
 
 Alas ! Are there some natures fatally endowed with rigid 
 strength that refuses alike sympathy and affection ? It seems 
 so. Rachel Garth died as she had lived, and God, who is the 
 judge, knew best what measure was to be meted unto her. 
 Perhaps in that lovelier clime its lost birthright came back to 
 the poor warped soul, that with all its worldly wealth had suf 
 fered from starvation and indigence. The narrow creed melted 
 in that endless day where all is warmth and beauty. God in 
 His mercy took account of the good deeds that were hindered 
 and straightened by the darkness in which her soul had 
 existed. 
 
 "Why did you go away, child ? " Mr. Garth asked presently. 
 
 "Because I was wayward and rash. I thought I could 
 not bear the burden laid upon me." 
 
 " I remember it all now. You were so different. In those 
 old days I tried to bend you to my will, and there was war be 
 tween us." 
 
 " But it is ended now." 
 
 She nestled closer to him. Love was sweet at this late 
 dawn, even if its current was weak and wandering. 
 
 "Yes. You will not leave me again ? I am not the strong 
 man I used to be, Lucia.
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 It was curious that he should cling to that long unspoken 
 name. 
 
 "Where did you go?" he asked suddenly. "Were you 
 with friends ? " 
 
 " I found them kind, generous friends. I have been in no 
 want, no trouble." 
 
 Then she related all that had befallen her. The child lis 
 tened awhile and presently fell asleep in the encircling arms. 
 The late moon stole in the window, telling that it was near 
 midnight. 
 
 " You will sleep here with her" he said. " She seldom 
 goes out of my sight now. Poor baby ! " 
 
 He kissed the sleeping child tenderly. Lucia could 
 hardly believe the change that had come over him. In the 
 dulness of the brain the heart had grown more clear and 
 tender. 
 
 She carried little Lucy back to bed. Her father watched 
 her wistfully. 
 
 " It's like a dream your coming back. Sometimes I have 
 sat out there on the door-stone and listened for your step. 
 All they cared for, you know, was money night and morning, 
 working and striving. I used to be like them, but it has all 
 been different since you went away." 
 
 "There is something better and higher than gold," she 
 said, laying her bright young cheek beside the one so wan and 
 wrinkled. 
 
 " Good-night, child." 
 
 She seemed almost afraid to let him go. 
 
 Even after he had reached the door he turned back and 
 glanced furtively around with an air of mystery. 
 
 " Lucia " in a whisper " you belong to me, you know. 
 Now that Rachel is dead he may think but you won't go 
 back to him ? " piteously. 
 
 " No ! no ! a thousand times no ! Nothing shall ever sep 
 arate us." 
 
 13
 
 290 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 She smiled with clear, fervent eyes, and he took the expres 
 sion with him as a ray of vivifying sunrise. 
 
 Lucia had no thought of sleep weary as she was. She 
 flung herself on her knees beside the bed, and though her 
 prayer was broken by sobs and tears, and uttered in fragments, 
 it was none the less acceptable to the God who listens to the 
 weakest of his children. 
 
 She was thankful to be at home once more. Her duty was 
 here. This poor father depended upon some one for love and 
 care, perhaps to grow more wandering and feeble as the years 
 went on ; and baby Lucy if Warren Thorndike should not 
 take her away in a moment of petty spite. She studied the 
 pale little face that looked as if it might be sculptured in mar 
 ble, it was so still and repressed ; and yet with a certain rare 
 beauty that appealed to her more powerfully than mere material 
 perfection. 
 
 The morning dawned upon her vigil. The old sounds and 
 sights of Dedham began. Columns of smoke from the tall 
 chimneys, the whirr of machinery being set in motion, shrill 
 whistles and the clang of busy hammers. It all served to 
 bring her to herself. She bathed her face and brushed her 
 disordered hair, when Lucy woke and claimed her attention, 
 though the child's deft fingers worked marvels with buttons 
 and strings. There was a low tap at the door. 
 
 " It is grandfather." 
 
 In this clear morning light she could see the change time 
 had wrought in him. Her heart smote her bitterly for past neg 
 lect and lack of tender love. Ah, if her whole life might make 
 amends ! 
 
 They went down to breakfast together. Mr. Thorndike 
 had gone. Since Rachel's death the regular habits of the 
 house had been sadly broken in upon. Martha, the rather 
 bright and flippant maid-servant, eyed the new-comer with the 
 most complete astonishment. She had been off gossiping the 
 night before and knew nothing of the arrival.
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 291 
 
 When questioned, Lucy replied sharply 
 
 " It is my Aunt Lucia, who came last night." 
 
 Mr. Thorndike had been considering the strange aspect of 
 affairs with much doubt and misgiving. To him it seemed a 
 most probable event that Lucia would insist upon being re 
 stored to her rights, since she had some legal claim upon him. 
 The man had grown so close and miserly that a few hundreds 
 were like untold treasures to him. And he held for Lucia a 
 narrow, grudging hate, as if in some way she had wronged him 
 out of precious years and precious gold. 
 
 A dozen different resolves had passed through his mind 
 and he came home at noon determined that the matter should 
 be speedily settled, especially as he was to be absent the next 
 few days upon business. 
 
 Lucia had been considering the same subject. It would be 
 quite impossible to resume pleasant family relations in such an 
 incongruous household. If she could persuade her father to 
 go away to some quiet spot, and if Mr. Thorndike would con 
 fide to them the care of the child ! 
 
 She had again related her story to her father, listening in 
 return to her supposed burial, and all that occurred during her 
 absence, though the years at Dedham had not proved eventful. 
 Lucy clung to her in wondering awe the fact that grandfather 
 loved the stranger was sufficient for her small brain. 
 
 Warren Thorndike opened the subject. He had not been 
 famous for delicacy in *he old days, and coarseness had grown 
 upon him. But he found a different opponent from the one 
 of his imagination. 
 
 There flashed in Lucia's face a touch of high spirit and 
 dignity. 
 
 " I ask nothing from you," she made answer in a clear, de 
 cisive tone, " unless you desire to give me freedom and even 
 that is of but small importance. As for your fortune, leave it 
 all to your child. Not one dollar of it would I ever accept." 
 
 He felt now, as he had so many times before, that in some
 
 292 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 inexplicable way she was superior to him. He would have 
 liked better, after all, to see her a supplicant, and refuse her. 
 and he could not restrain his overbearing temper. 
 
 Once she might have replied to such a tirade but now 
 she listened in silent scorn. For her father's sake, ht should 
 not rouse her into passion. 
 
 Warren Thorndike marched out of the house in a blustering 
 rage. He bethought himself that he could stab them both 
 through his child.
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 293 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 OUT OF THE SHADOW. 
 
 IF we could go away ! " Lucia exclaimed, turning to her 
 father. 
 
 He looked so helpless and frightened. 
 
 " We must take the child," he said ; " I cannot live without 
 her." 
 
 Lucy's eyes were large and full of strange meaning. 
 
 " What made my father so angry ? " she asked, clinging to 
 the trembling figure. 
 
 " Hush, dear we will forget all about it," returned Lucia, 
 in a soothing voice. 
 
 But she could not forget. A new and fierce trial seemed 
 staring her in the face. To shield her father from pain would 
 be her first study now. 
 
 Two very peculiar days passed. Dedham was in a whi/l ~' 
 excitement when it was rumored that Lucy TL irndike wa- not 
 dead but had returned to her father's house. Two or :.hree 
 over-curious gossips determined to see with their own pyes ; 
 but their attempts were frustrated by Lucia's positive refusal 
 to admit any visitors. She wrote to Mrs. Catherwood, an 
 nouncing her safety, and making a few explanations. Mr. 
 Rutherford had said 
 
 " I shall hear from you through he/," and she thanked him 
 for his delicacy. 
 
 So she waited. No plans could be made at pressnt but 
 go away they must. She could not endure the notoriety that
 
 294 Lucia : Her Problem. 
 
 would ensue ; and after a few years spent in an atmosphere of 
 refinement and truth, this seemed the more unendurable. Her 
 brief reign here was hateful to her memory. The Glenfields 
 had removed to a city but the old circle still remained. Ah, 
 how she despised its follies and senseless rivalries ! Seen in 
 this purer light, they appeared debasing. 
 
 The summer day had been warm and oppressive. The 
 yery air seemed full of molten heat, and the wafts wandering in 
 at the windows scorched her with their glare. A peculiar day 
 with a vague sense of danger and dismay in every passing 
 breeze. A chill presentiment haunted her as if fate held a 
 sharp turn for her in its grasp. She was in a subtle, question 
 ing mood but there was no stronger soul to whom she could 
 turn her eager eyes. 
 
 At mid-afternoon the electric currents terminated in a storm. 
 A fierce, blinding shower at first, with rolls of heavy thunder 
 and flaming tongues of lightning. The blackness settled into 
 gray presently, and the torrents subsided to a steady patter. 
 Lucia sat with the child upon her lap, singing in her clear, 
 beautiful voice. 
 
 Martha came in to arrange the table. 
 
 "There's been a dreadful accident at Putney, Miss," she 
 announced in her flippant way. " A train of cars smashed, 
 and dozens of people killed ! They say all the Harolds were 
 on the train been visiting at their grandmother's." 
 
 Lucia shuddered. 
 
 "What is it?" asked Mr. Garth, rousing. 
 
 Martha enlarged upon her first terse account. Only a frag 
 ment of news had reached Dedham, or at least Martha, but she 
 made the most of it. 
 
 " Thorndike wasn't coming back until to-morrow was he 
 Lucia ? " 
 
 " I don't know." 
 
 " I think not until to-morrow, I am quite sure," nodding his 
 head confidently.
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 295 
 
 " I hope so,'' in an absent way. Men like Warren 
 Thorndike generally escaped dangers ; so she . hardly felt 
 alarmed. 
 
 " Sing again," Lucy said, climbing in her aunt's lap after 
 the meal had ended. 
 
 So they three sat there in the summer evening, the child 
 and Mr. Garth listening to the rare melody. In the pauses 
 came the patter of rain on the leaves without or a low sweep 
 of the wind with its sad undertone. 
 
 '* If they could be together always," Lucia thought ; for this 
 strange little being had awakened a strong interest in her heart. 
 It filled her mind with softened memories of Rachel. 
 
 The child reached up to kiss her. Soft, clinging baby arms 
 around her neck, that brought a tremble to her voice and tears 
 to her eyes. If such waxen fingers had come to hold her back 
 in the old years ! If the greater love could have saved through 
 the sweet channels of babyhood ! 
 
 Ah, it seemed as if she knew then what her whole life had 
 missed. The love that redeems, not the fancies that vitiate, 
 nor the fever heat of passions which destroy. 
 
 " Do you think my mother will sing in heaven ? " the child 
 asked. "Mr. Howe said the angels always did. Are there 
 any beside angels there ? " 
 
 " No, my child." 
 
 " I wish she had sung to me once, just once. I should 
 know then how it was up there," and the small head was nod 
 ded mysteriously. 
 
 " The Kingdom of Heaven is within you," Mr. Garth began 
 in his slow, sententious way. " I used to think it so far off, and 
 life so long. Do you believe He will forgive all those wasted 
 years, Lucia ? You may have the money now to spend, my 
 darling, you may give it away to the poor and needy ; it never 
 did me any good." 
 
 " But we will have a pleasant home, and try what 'can be 
 done. We will work together and love each other to the end.
 
 296 Lucia : Her Problem. 
 
 Oh, how wise and good it was in God to send me back just at 
 this time. Dear father ! " 
 
 He came and leaned over her chair, kissed the fair fore 
 head and threaded his fingers in with little Lucy's. They had 
 her a prisoner now. Unwittingly he smiled at the quaint con 
 ceit. 
 
 " Yes," he said, " a home. It was what she wanted," in 
 his slow wandering way. " Flowers and pictures and bright 
 ness. I did not know then " and his voice sank to a pite 
 ous whisper. " But I'll make it all up to you. And at the 
 last you'll tell her, Lucia, that I repented sorely, that I hated 
 my blindness and cruelty. You will beg her to forgive." 
 
 " She has forgiven, I know. Ransomed souls are washed 
 from all earthly sins and stains and weaknesses." 
 
 " You think she has ? I hardly dare ask God if I might 
 hope." 
 
 Lucia's tears fell on the withered hand. Ah, how much 
 repentance and forgiveness they all needed! 
 
 A heavy knock at the door startled them, and Lucia faced 
 the interruption. 
 
 An old neighbor, Mr. Bowen. He looked sharply at them 
 all. 
 
 " Haven't heard the news, I s'pose ? " he asked eagerly. 
 
 " About the accident ? Martha mentioned it. Terrible af 
 fair ; " and Mr. Garth handed out a seat for the visitor. 
 
 " No, thank'ee. I just came in to say they're goin' down, 
 a crowd of them, t'see the wounded. You didn't think that 
 Thorndike " 
 
 " No ; he was not to come until to-morrow." 
 
 " He's there among them ! " 
 
 " Not killed ! not dead ! " and Lucia sprang up. Why a 
 moment ago he seemed a blot and a shadow on all their lives. 
 
 " Badly hurt, I've heard. Maybe you'd like to go down ? " 
 
 " Yes," Lucia said, dizzy, and struck with sharp anguish. 
 
 Mr. Garth stared wildly.
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 297 
 
 " No, it can't be," he said with a quavering sound in his 
 voice. " Do you want to see him, Lucia ? " 
 
 She never could tell why she considered it such an imper 
 ative duty. He had left her in a passion of rude anger, and 
 might spurn her now yet she felt that she must go. 
 
 " Yes ; " she answered in a wild, tremulous tone. 
 
 " But you must not be alone." 
 
 She glanced at him questioningly. Could he endure the 
 shock ? But he was right enough there ; bhe must have a com 
 panion. 
 
 " You mustn't stop long to think, " said Mr. Bowen, warn- 
 
 "No" 
 
 She placed the affrighted child in Martha's care, and hur 
 ried on her hat and shawl. Mr. Garth groped for his cane, 
 and stood in the hall awaiting her. 
 
 Down the dark, wet street they walked, a sudden gust now 
 and then shaking a shower out of the trees. The two clung 
 together in silence. Mr. Garth's brain was too slow and wan 
 dering to seize upon any immediate sense of danger. 
 
 Lucia did not think at all. A horrible fear held her in a 
 giant's grasp. Not any latent love for the man who might be 
 in deadly peril, but a feeling that had outlived passion of any 
 kind. 
 
 At the station more than one familiar face gave her an as 
 tonished stare. On moved the train. A little knot here, in a 
 buzz of conversation ; men leaning over the backs of seats ; 
 and women with their handkerchiefs to their eyes. She sat 
 like a statue. 
 
 An hour's ride brought them to Putney. The debris had not 
 been cleared away, and the workmen's lanterns flashed hither 
 and thither. The waiting-room was filled with eager faces and 
 subdued tones. At one end, on a rude stretcher, lay several 
 mangled bodies ; but most of the wounded had been removed 
 to the hotel and cottages in the vicinity.
 
 -298 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 " Sad affair ! " exclaimed some one. " Oh, Garth you're 
 heard? Thorndike was taken to the hotel. An ugly blow 
 on his head, and " 
 
 " Doctor's just left him," announced another. " Doubtful 
 case." 
 
 Lucia knew by the tone there could be no doubt about it. 
 The worst had befallen him, and she understood now why she 
 had come. The day's impressions were no longer a mystery 
 to her. 
 
 They threaded their way through the crowd, holding tightly 
 to each other's arm. Up the soft, carpeted stairway to the 
 spacious room where Warren Thorndike lay dying. 
 
 There was a serious internal injury, accompanied with fa 
 tal hemorrhage, besides the blow above the temple. The doc 
 tor had looked on for the last time, when he said 
 
 " He can live but a few .hours." 
 
 Whether it was loss of blood or the absence of human 
 passions in this extremity, but whatever of grace or tenderness 
 the man's face had known came out in it now. Deathly pale, 
 but with no fearful ghastliness, calm and tranquil, for it was 
 past pain, and with a something that no eyes but Lucia's had 
 ever seen in it. 
 
 It pained her keenly, too. If she had loved him, these 
 last moments would have been exceedingly precious to her ; 
 but he belonged by right to the one in her grave. Lucia was 
 jealous for her sake, and every smile, faint and wandering as 
 it was, became a torture to her. 
 
 Now and then the lips moved. Once she bent over him 
 to catch a word. 
 
 " You shall have it ! " he murmured just above his breath. 
 "You shall outshine them all! Why don't you wear curls? 
 I liked them first that night you know ! " 
 
 Lucia's old girlish vanity was humbled in the dust. Why 
 must he go back to this time ? 
 
 Fainter grew the sounds. Midnight came, with the gray
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 299 
 
 shadow of dawn lagging in the distance. Morning followed, 
 and with it a still and shrouded face. Lucia laid a napkin 
 over it and prayed for his soul. Perhaps he had loved her 
 more than either of them knew. Her heart trembled with pro 
 found pity. Would God gather the best out of the two wreck 
 ed lives, blind as they had been ! 
 
 Mr. Garth watched her with wondering eyes. Some dim 
 idea of her strength, her great tenderness, and the rough paths 
 others had made for her feet, struck him with a latent remorse. 
 If he could go back and have it all different ! 
 
 He spoke of it in his trembling, broken manner. 
 
 " Yes," she said, " but the wrong was not all your fault, nor 
 his. I should not have married this man. I sinned against 
 him and myself on our bridal day, and God punished me. 
 But that is all past, and He has brought us to pleasant ways." 
 
 They returned to Dedham. There was more than one 
 procession to the old graveyard, and more than one house of 
 mourning. The disaster spread a universal gloom over the 
 village, and drew the inhabitants together by a bond of gener 
 al sympathy.
 
 300 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 THE NEW DAWN. 
 
 AFTER the funeral Lucia found their circle widening. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Howe came with the kindness of old and 
 tried friends. The many virtues hidden from girlhood's care 
 less eyes were now discovered, and she stood amazed at her 
 olden blindness. 
 
 *'" No one ventured to discuss the past with her. There was 
 a dignity which forbade any approach of impertinent freedom, 
 and the most curious stood respectfully aloof. 
 
 It was like a strange dream to Lucia. She could hardly 
 understand how the incidents that had appeared so terrible 
 and fatal to her in their inception should have led to these re 
 sults. But for Mr. Marchmont's wild love and impatient en 
 deavor she would have remained in Mcrecombe, going on qui 
 etly from year to year. 
 
 Would he follow her thither ? She had a great dread at 
 first. 
 
 And she remembered then that some pressing duties stared 
 her in the face. She wrote a long letter to Mrs. Catherwood, 
 detailing the sad circumstances. In spite of his cruel sneers 
 and the utter repudiation, she could not help experiencing a 
 profound pity for Warren Thorndike. Both had made a terri 
 ble mistake, it was more that than sin. She had meant to 
 love him truly, and if he had been a little tenderer in his mis 
 fortunes she would have devoted every energy, nay, her whole 
 life to him.
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 301 
 
 For after all, adoration is the inborn impulse of nearly every 
 woman's soul, and each human being longs unconsciously for 
 the love that is superior to its own powers and its own will. 
 And if the world at large could learn, could turn it to a wise 
 account instead of dragging it through the dust at a tyrant's 
 feet, we should all be better and nobler. It is not only the 
 slave who suffers in this, as in every other unjust warfare, but 
 the tyrant as well. The outrage of some laws brings a fearful 
 retribution even in this world. 
 
 But she felt that she could never explain the story to Mr. 
 Wilmer by letter. If he would but come ! 
 
 Lucia understood that she needed a* clear eyed and com 
 prehensive friend for her own life as well. Mr. Rutherford had 
 fallen out of it. What he might have been she had now no 
 right to ask, and she bowed her head in acquiescence. She 
 was to gather the fragments of a life vexed and hindered of its 
 best estate, and shaping it into whatever earthly beauty and 
 perfection was possible for the late autumn time, make no out 
 ward moan over the waste of summer bloom and sweetness. 
 
 And does the soul unconsciously believe and look forward 
 to the dim country lying in the ineffable shadow of a great glo 
 ry, for the restitution of whatever it has missed in this ? 
 
 Do we make our heaven too material ? Can all the emotions 
 and feelings and longings that move us so strongly here, be for 
 gotten and swept away there, when we see face to face and 
 know as we are known ? 
 
 So Lucia Mackenzie put that " might have been " out of the 
 present life, since it would never have even the solace of friend 
 ship. But the spiritual sustenance Mr. Wilmer could give bet 
 ter than Mr. Howe. Besides, she really owed him the confi 
 dence. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Wilmer both came in answer to her invitation. 
 She found that in them she had lenient judges. 
 
 " And God I think plans these events more wisely than we," 
 aid Mr. Wilmer. " If you had told me your whole story when
 
 302 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 we first met, I should have counselled a return, which would 
 have brought about a graver complication, as it was too late 
 even then to be of any avail." 
 
 " I want you to acquit me of intentional deceit or hypocri 
 sy," Lucia made answer pleadingly. " I would rather have told 
 the whole truth if I could have done so. And I desired to 
 keep my life at Merecombe as simple and open as I possibly 
 could." 
 
 "You have nothing to regret in all that, my child. We 
 learned to love you as if you had been of kin instead of a 
 stranger. Mrs. Preston and Edith will miss you sadly." 
 
 Even Mr. Garth experienced the nameless attraction that 
 drew every one sooner or later to Mr. Wilmer. Perhaps it 
 was because he of all others had learned the meaning still high 
 er than that of the poet, of bringing a little human love to 
 mend the world. No narrow or grudging creed was his. In 
 his large hearted tenderness he considered it no virtue to harp 
 upon faults which had brought their own punishment, or were 
 irremediable. 
 
 The blow that she had feared for her father seemed to rouse 
 new mental vigor within his brain. He went back to business, 
 looked over the tangled mass of papers, and placed matters in 
 a fair way for settlement. 
 
 Lucia had her plans as well. She begged him to leave this 
 dreary old house, for she felt that she could never be happy or 
 at rest. She wanted to begin the world anew. With their 
 abundant fortune they could make a ha*ppier home elsewhere. 
 He listened quietly, and did not dissent. Indeed, he appeared 
 to hold her in a curious awe. 
 
 I think he saw more clearly, and was anxious to make 
 amends for the hardness of her childhood. Rachel had exer 
 cised an unconscious influence over him and aided his natural 
 severity. Now there was naught besides tender love. 
 
 The factory was disposed of on advantageous terms. 
 Guardians were appointed for the little Lucy, for her aunt kept
 
 Lucia : Her Problem. 303 
 
 steadfast to her purpose. Lucy should be her father's heiress. 
 The old house was sold, and as the spring advanced they took 
 pleasant little tours in different directions, and Mr. Garth be 
 gan to understand the power of beauty. He was like a man 
 \\diose eyes had been suddenly opened, and dazzled by the vis 
 ion, he was forced to grope and stumble. A sense of the in 
 finite, the goodness and mercy of God, began to steal over him. 
 He was awakened to new perception, new enjoyment ; he was 
 capable of a higher appreciation of the power and beauty that 
 he had recently begun to apprehend. 
 
 It was late to begin a new life, and yet it had a certain soft 
 ening charm. A strange interest too, a new nearness to his 
 fellow-creatures. He had always passed for a religious man, 
 but it seemed as if he had just begun to feel the power of sav 
 ing grace. The old, rigid, arbitrary spirit gave place to a con 
 sideration for others. 
 
 Under her aunt's guidance Lucy Thorndike blossomed into 
 childlike sweetness. The prim air hung about her like a del 
 icate suggestion of quaintness, and occasionally a bright laugh 
 sounded through the rooms. To Mr. Garth it was like the 
 carol of a bird from some fragrant covert. 
 
 They made a decision at last. A pretty sea-side town, 
 with a range of hills for background, broken by belts of tim 
 ber and long reaches of valley. Near enough to a city to be 
 within easy distance, and yet sufficiently secluded for their 
 quiet fancies. A rambling house with some tasteful modern, 
 additions, pretty gothic porches, wide windows with low bal 
 conies, nooks of clinging vines and shady trees, and a sloping 
 lawn with evergreen hedges. 
 
 Lucia was delighted with adorning the interior. One end 
 of the drawing-room fronted the lawn, while on the opposite 
 side of the hall the cosiest of all places was fitted up for a li 
 brary. Mr. Garth supplied his daughter so liberally that she 
 was not compelled to deny her choicest likings. Loved books 
 and pictures, delicate statuettes that she had grown familiar
 
 304 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 with elsewhere, colors harmoniously blended, and yet quite 
 different from her first grandeur. She smiled a little thinking 
 of that. 
 
 And when it was all done she looked at the life before her. 
 Simple duties indeed, and yet grave. To be a mother to this 
 motherless child, and what she had never been before a fond 
 and patient daughter. 
 
 It seemed to Lucia Garth, for she had taken the old name 
 when she found how much it would please her father, that 
 she had come to the most peaceful life that she was ever to 
 krrow. Love had awakened her at last. Not the absorbing, 
 overpowering affection for which she used to hunger and thirst, 
 and which is after all a woman's birthright, though too many 
 souls never attain to their full inheritance in this world. But 
 the floodgates of her being had been opened and the golden riv 
 er of peace and forgiveness had swept over her baptizing her 
 unto a purer and more spiritual birth. 
 
 In her prosperity she did not forget to recompense her 
 first friend who had nursed her through her long illness. 
 Sh-; found her new neighbors pleasant and social, people of 
 refinement and education. What more was there to wish 
 for? 
 
 She prayed now and then for Paul Rutherford's happiness. 
 Did the woman who had his soul in keeping prize it above all 
 other treasures ? And would Vaughan Marchmont seek her 
 out again with the proffer of his hateful love ? 
 
 How strangely these two men had affected her life ! Both 
 had influenced her with the impress of their own individuality, 
 powerful for good and evil. The one she had escaped, the 
 other would always remain in her memory as a type of the 
 highest nobility. 
 
 Later in the summer the Wilmers came again, bringing 
 Mrs. Preston as well as their three merry children. To shy 
 little Lucy it was a rare treat. There were rides and rambles, 
 sails and frolics on the lawn, and all the diversions of eager,
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 305 
 
 restless childhood, days rounded into perfection by Miss Lu 
 cia's beautiful evening hymns. 
 
 The two ladies discussed Merecombe as was natural. The 
 old church, the Prestons, the Catherwoods, and a few others 
 who had composed Lucia's circle. 
 
 " Mrs. Catherwood has failed seriously. I never saw any 
 one so changed. Her health and energy were so perfect you 
 know. I can't help thinking that the trouble about her grand 
 daughter was a severe blow." 
 
 " She is married," Lucia said with a gasp. 
 
 " Oh, yes. It was a grand wedding we heard at her aunt's 
 in the city. Her cousins went down." 
 
 " But I thought it was to be at Merecombe," Lucia return 
 ed with a puzzled look. 
 
 " Oh, you know " and then Mrs. Wilmer paused. " It 
 was not to Mr. Rutherford ! " 
 
 " Not Mr. Rutherford ! " Lucia echoed in surprise. 
 
 " Oh, my dear, so you do not know. That engagement was 
 broken how no one ever exactly understood. The Cather 
 woods are proud and not given to bruit their own affairs 
 abroad, though I did hear a whisper that Miss Sturtevant had 
 another lover. I don't often take dislikes, but I never could 
 cordially admire her." 
 
 Lucia shivered at a remembrance of the proud, imperious 
 face, and the secret that she unwittingly shared. 
 
 " I do believe Mrs. Catherwood loved Mr. Rutherford like 
 a son. She had known him from boyhood. But I never could 
 fancy those two being suited to each other." 
 
 " You know he went abroad for her after her mother died," 
 Mrs. Preston said. " There might have been some change in 
 her then." 
 
 " I am certain that he believed it for the best," Lucra 
 spoke up quickly, her face in a strange heat. 
 
 " And yet I am glad that he has not added another to the 
 list of unwise marriages," rejoined Mr. Wilmer.
 
 306 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 " But whom did she marry ? " asked Lucia after a pause. 
 
 " She went directly to the city in November I think it was, 
 and about the middle of the next June married a Mr. March- 
 mont. Miss Sophie considered him very handsome, and he 
 was wealthy, they all said. It was reported that he had been 
 seen in Merecombe before." 
 
 Vaughan Marchmont ! Lucia was silent in utter amaze 
 ment, and another shackle seemed to fall away from her. No 
 one had connected him with her, and it was well. He was 
 not likely to confide such a secret to Eleanor Sturtevant. 
 
 " There was something in it that touched the old lady. She 
 bore up for awhile, but I noticed a peculiar change in her when 
 Miss Eleanor's name was mentioned. And it was said that 
 young Catherwood fell desperately in love with her. It's my 
 opinion that she was a dangerous girl ! " 
 
 Lucy Garth's pulses gave a quick and almost guilty bound. 
 He was free then, not stranded on the fatal shore of misery 1 
 And perhaps Eleanor Sturtevant was as well satisfied.
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 307 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 AUTUMN BLOOMS. 
 
 BUT what had become of Mr. Rutherford ? Lucia found 
 herself revolving this question day and night. Knowing 
 how fine his sense of honor really was, she had never thought 
 to see him again, yet now it seemed that in his trouble he 
 might have sought her out. 
 
 She took herself seriously to task at length. Her duties 
 were here, and a few months ago she rwd been glad to accept 
 them. Had she any weak, foolish longing for love, for the one 
 taste of entire happiness before youth faded ? 
 
 The visit was rendered most agreeable to her guests, and 
 proved a matter of great satisfaction and pleasure to herself. 
 Mr. Wilmer's pure and fervent religion shed its light upon ev 
 ery act, and he drew Mr. Garth gently within the circle of his in 
 fluence. Lucia felt strengthened and ennobled, and laying 
 aside all selfish desires addressed herself anew to her task. 
 Was not this love tender and satisfying ? 
 
 Mr. Garth had never seen her brighter. Of all pictures 
 within and without this sweet face glowing with winsome smiles 
 warmed his heart the most. Lucy following like a shadow, the 
 short, golden rings making a halo round the small face, now 
 and then warmed with a faint pink tinge. 
 
 She sat on the balcony one afternoon with her book lying 
 idly beside her. On the distant beach wandered two figures, 
 Lucy and her grandfather. The life stretching out before her 
 was like that calm sea, and they the central figures. Around
 
 308 Lucia: Her 
 
 them was to cluster her tenderest affection, she said. Through 
 stormy paths she had come to a quiet haven. 
 
 Was it a dream of the softened summer sunlight? Far 
 down below the branching elms lingered another form, with 
 slow step and bowed head, as if undecided whether to approach 
 or pass. The bright-brown beard caught a hazy tint from 
 mingled sun and shade, but the face was paler and thinner than 
 in the past days. 
 
 Lucia was neither fearful nor superstitious. She rose and 
 walked slowly down the path, the soft, rich tint of her cheek 
 fading to lily-like paleness, and a tremor seizing all her limbs. 
 But it was no ghost, no phantom of imagination. 
 
 He seemed to hasten forward, and reached out his hand 
 with strange hesitation. 
 
 " Miss Garth ! " he said in a strange sort of voice. 
 
 " Mr. Rutherford ! I am glad to see you." 
 
 Her cordial voice touched some far chord in his soul, and 
 his face brightened. 
 
 " Are you ? I wanted to see you once more before " 
 
 A pang of doubt and trembling seized her. She studied 
 the grave face with its added lines, and wondered what fate 
 would have in store for him. 
 
 "You have heard, I suppose, that my engagement came 
 to naught ? " 
 
 His eyes were downcast as he uttered this, and could not 
 behold the fine flush that stained her brow. 
 
 " Yes ; only recently, however. The Wilmers have been 
 staying with me." 
 
 " But you hear from Mrs. Catherwood ? " 
 
 " Occasionally. Of late she has been an infrequent cor 
 respondent." 
 
 " Her health and energy are failing." 
 
 " So I have heard. She was unusually brilliant I used to 
 think a woman of the type one rarely meets." 
 
 ' Yes ; " Mr. Rutherford made answer. He was not think-
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 309 
 
 ing of the Catherwoods and Merecombe but of the first time 
 he had seen her as Lucy Thorndike. A new charm had 
 been added to that olden grace ; and as he looked and lis 
 tened, he understood that it might become very dangerous 
 for him. 
 
 " I am going away," he announced, abruptly. " It is barely 
 possible that I may never return to my native land. I have 
 no ties " 
 
 His eyes were raised now, and he saw the torrent of crim 
 son, fiercer on account of his glance, and the sudden deathly 
 whiteness that followed it. 
 
 " Going away ! " dreamily, and in a choking voice. 
 
 " Yes ; you do not know that I am a poor man, with my 
 life work to do over again ? " 
 
 " No. You have met with losses ? " 
 
 All her tender womanly nature was roused. 
 
 He straightened himself and swelled out his broad chest 
 as if with an inspiration of courage. There was a latent fire 
 in the hazel eyes, strength, patience, and something finer still, 
 the fortitude of a soul loyal to a noble faith. 
 
 " Yes ; a poor man. It is not much after all, since it en 
 tails no pain upon others." 
 
 " Oh, you don't know !" 
 
 Then she paused, and something indescribable came into 
 her face. 
 
 He, seeing it, was startled. Like a revelation, a strange, 
 sweet knowledge flashed over him. 
 
 " If I were to stay," he thought " she might be won from 
 this warm sympathy into love ! " But he thrust the tempta 
 tion aside. 
 
 " I don't know why I have been beguiled into this child 
 ishness but I longed to behold you once more. So many 
 curious scenes and memories have linked us together. And 
 your last step was not a mistake or failure ! " 
 
 " No. I owe it all to you so much ! I have thanked God
 
 310 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 daily that I came. Were you aware of of Rachel's death, 
 when you advised me ? " 
 
 " No ; but I had seen the change in your father. I fancied 
 at one time, that he was a cold, rigid man, with but few avenues 
 of tenderness and sympathy. His love for his grandchild and 
 his sorrow for your loss, amazed me. I hoped you would find 
 a friend in him." 
 
 "I did and he needed me. How many times I have 
 thought of you with the most fervent gratitude, God only knows. 
 You have proved a friend in my most desperate needs ! " 
 
 Something in his eyes said that if fate had been less rapid 
 deciding her destiny, it might have been more than friendship. 
 She dared not read that. 
 
 " And Mr. Thorndike, too, is dead." 
 
 " I was with him at the last ; " and her voice trembled. 
 " Not that he had softened towards me. He was very bitter 
 on my return as he had a right to be. Oh, Mr. Rutherford, 
 I wronged him none the less surely, by the evil marriage ; but 
 I think he forgave in those last moments " 
 
 " It was a strange puzzle to me, when I first saw you. Men 
 of that stamp rarely understand the meaning of a tender, gen 
 erous love." 
 
 " The fault was mine," she said, with a bravery that touch 
 ed him ; " I had a miserable, uncongenial home, though I was 
 a rich man's daughter. And then I was so young, so ignorant, 
 full of childish vanity and love of triumph. He was a hero 
 to my unpracticed eyes, and his admiration for me seemed the 
 most generous love. I meant to do my duty. I even think I 
 might have loved ; but " 
 
 Rutherford gave a peculiar smile. 
 
 " I understand," he said slowly. " It is the wreck of so 
 many lives. I, older and with more experience, would have 
 drifted on to the same fate." 
 
 " Eleanor Sturtevant did not love you ! " Lucia said, with 
 the pain and pride of a keen-eyed woman.
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 311 
 
 He started at this, and glanced up so sharply that she col 
 ored. 
 
 " But she did once or, at least beguiled me with a cun 
 ning semblance of it. May I tell you the story ? " 
 
 " I shall listen, gladly." 
 
 He wanted her to know, and to judge him fairly. 
 
 " It was Eleanor Sturtevant's fortune that was invested at 
 Dedham, though with Mrs. Catherwood's advice and consent. 
 We all thought it so sure. I went abroad for her at her grand 
 mother's wish ; and the news of the misfortune was late, very 
 late in reaching me. If I had been within call, I should have 
 had a more thorough understanding of the matter ; but when I 
 saw her reduced to poverty, through my means, and clinging 
 to me with a girl's helpless trust, I tried to comfort, and resolv 
 ed to devote my whole life to the restoration of her prosperity." 
 
 He made a long pause, and presently resumed 
 
 " I offered mine in its stead, but she refused it with a gener 
 osity that touched me strangely. Do not believe it all my 
 vanity " and he colored deeply, " but I fancied I saw a love 
 which I could hardly doubt. Still I waited until it appeared 
 cruel not to speak." 
 
 " I understand ;" Lucia made answer, though with rare del 
 icacy her face was partly turned away. 
 
 " I thought she loved me, I want you to believe that ; my 
 own happiness appeared of less consequence to me since I 
 had seen and known an impossibility before." 
 
 Some far-reaching sympathy drew their eyes together at 
 these words. Both souls were stirred with a pang of the sweet, 
 sad knowledge. 
 
 " There was some fatal falseness in her nature, as I learn 
 ed too late. I would have given her up then, but she would 
 not accept her freedom ; and her grandmother implored me 
 to keep my word. The breach was healed and a marriage-day 
 appointed. Last autumn perhaps you remember ? But a 
 new proof of her perfidy reached me barely a fortnight before-
 
 312 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 hand. A young man whom she had met and corresponded 
 with during her engagement with me, sent me the letters." 
 
 He shivered visibly at this, and there was a strange cold 
 ness in his voice. 
 
 " Oh, thank God ! " Lucia exclaimed impulsively. " I 
 knew of this. I heard a conversation by accident, when she 
 was imploring this lover, Harold to return her letters." 
 
 " Harold Cheltenham. And you knew " 
 
 " I was wild to save you. God only knows the anguish I 
 suffered ! But I was bound hand and foot. How could I 
 speak ? " 
 
 " Her face was scarlet now with shame and distress. 
 
 " And you had your own bitter burden. Yes, I can believe 
 that my happiness was something to you. But I was saved. 
 We all saw her as she was. A dangerous, fascinating, yet 
 treacherous woman, hungry for power, for conquest. Why she 
 should ever have chosen me, when there were younger or 
 more brilliant men, I cannot divine." 
 
 In her tender jealousy Lucia thought she saw. His love 
 might glorify any woman. 
 
 "And so ended what might have been a tragedy. For 
 though I could be tender and forgiving to one who sinned 
 through any sudden temptation and repented, intrigue and de 
 ceit would find but small mercy with me." 
 
 She raised her head proudly. She was not to suffer in his 
 estimation for any such faults as these. 
 
 " I paid over her fortune. I had been managing with stud 
 ied economy, and through the kindness of a friend I was ena 
 bled to make up the small deficiency. Then she met Vaughan 
 Marchmont, and was in her turn fascinated." 
 
 A shudder ran through Lucy's frame. Perhaps the man 
 might be master of such a woman. 
 
 " It left me somewhat in debt I have had a very good of 
 fer to go abroad, and may not only free myself, but retrieve 
 .somewhat of the past"
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 313 
 
 
 
 He announced it as his justification. She knew then that 
 if he loved her ever so well, his pride would forbid his confess 
 ing it until he was once more a free man. Yet she would have 
 useless thousands ! 
 
 " Oh," she exclaimed, " surely you can succeed here ! " 
 
 He saw the tremor that quivered underneath her fine, pure 
 skin, that caused the eyes to droop and the face to flush. A 
 sharp pang seized him. 
 
 " You may have thought me indifferent," he went on, 
 " but I have not been ignorant of any change in your destiny. 
 It is the one bright memory that I shall take with me. I 
 am glad to find you happy and at ease, and in the years to 
 come " 
 
 They glanced into each other's eyes and knew the secret 
 lying in the depths of both hearts. 
 
 " Oh ! " he said with a cry of pain wrung from him by 
 some strong conquering passion, " I should not have come ! 
 I was too weak, and yet for days I have been nerving myself 
 for this to come and go without a sign, to school my face, my 
 voice " 
 
 " Why," she answered eagerly " why ? Is it any shame, or 
 am I " and a cold grasp of despair seemed to seize her. 
 
 He translated the terror of her expression. 
 
 " Oh, no, not that ! We all make mistakes, and yours was 
 most bitter to yourself. But how could I offer a life so heav 
 ily burdened ? I should come to grudge the years devoted to 
 that labor, when they should be spent in making your life 
 blessed and beautiful. But this you may know, though I had 
 not thought to confess it, that I love you with an absorbing 
 passion, always shall ; but I am not selfish enough to take any 
 brightness out of your life to put in mine." 
 
 " What if I choose to give it ? " she murmured softly, with 
 radiant face and sweet, downcast eyes. 
 
 For now she had come to understand the grand truths of 
 life that one's highest pleasure and keenest happiness was
 
 314 Lucia: Her Problem. 
 
 not in selfish aggrandizement, but the ready ministering to oth 
 ers out of one's own abundance. 
 
 " No," he said hoarsely, " don't tempt me. You have 
 borne your share of sorrow, your heavy burden of care, and 
 henceforth life may be bright and blissful. I should shadow it" 
 
 " Stay ! " she answered, reaching out her hand. 
 
 He covered it with kisses. One long, passionate, despair 
 ing glance. If he had saved this woman from any pang if 
 he had restored her to any lost happiness he would not be 
 ungenerous enough to take advantage of it, and so he turned. 
 
 Looking back he saw the white face, the drooping fig 
 ure, a sudden autumn frost despoiling the summer warmth 
 and loveliness. Should he despise her royal gift? Should 
 he make her wait wearisome years, for he know she would 
 do that ! 
 
 One step one word only. A touch of tender, clinging 
 hands, aud their lives blended into one, the true level reached 
 at last. 
 
 And still they lingered under the branching trees, confess 
 ing past errors and mistakes, and learning to judge each other 
 more truly by the light of expeiience and hope. And then 
 the two figures came slowly up from the sands baby Lucy 
 with cheeks like the pink of a sea- shell, and soft hair blown 
 about by the wind. 
 
 They went forward to meet them. Lucia laid her hand 
 softly on Mr. Garth's arm, a wondrous light shining in her 
 eyes, and through the quivering scarlet lips came a low, tender 
 word 
 
 " Father ! " 
 
 Paul Rutherford drew the other arm within his strong, pro 
 tecting clasp, and bowing his manly figure, said as tenderly as 
 she 
 
 " Father ! " 
 
 The old man understood and smiled, then drew the child 
 in their midst.
 
 Lucia: Her Problem. 815 
 
 " She will never miss the care of mother or father," prom 
 ised the rich, deep voice. 
 
 Down on the level sands the golden sun lay dying. Up 
 here the new day had begun. 
 
 Lucia Garth bowed her head. Whatever of the old shad 
 ows had clung about her, fell away now, in this love glorified 
 radiance. 
 
 THE END.
 
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