her white dress in a pink shower. It was an allegory
of her life, she thought. Once it had been as
fresh and full of fragrance as this dead rose; then
it had withered, and now she saw all her hopes and
beliefs falling off one by one like the faded petals.
Ah, there is no despair like that of youth; and Kitty,
sitting on the floor with hot dry eyes and a pain in
her heart, felt that the sun of her life had set for
ever.
**
So still the night was. No moon as yet, but an
innumerable blaze of stars set like diamonds in the
dark blue sky. A smoky yellowish haze hung over
the city, but down in the garden amid the flowers all
was cool and fragrant. The house was quite dark,
and a tall mulberry tree on one side of it was black
against the clear sky. Suddenly the door opened,
and a figure came out and closed the door softly after
it. Down the path it came, and standing in the
middle of the garden, raised a white tear-stained
face to the dark sky. A dog barked in the distance,
and then a fresh cold breeze came sweeping through
the trees and stirring the still perfumes of the flowers.
The figure threw its hands out towards the house with
a gesture of despair, then gliding down the path it
went out of the gate and stole quietly down the lonely
street.
M. VANDELOUP HEARS SOMETHING TO HIS ADVANTAGE
As he drove rapidly into town Gaston’s thoughts
were anything but pleasant. Not that he was thinking
about Kitty, for he regarded the scene he had with
her as merely an outburst of hysterical passion, and
did not dream she would take any serious step.
He forgot all about her when he left the house, and,
lying back in the cab smoking one of his everlasting
cigarettes, pondered about his position. The
fact was he was very hard up for money, and did not
know where to turn for more. His luck at cards
was so great that even the Bachelors, used as they
were to losing large sums, began to murmur among themselves
that M. Vandeloup was too clever, and as that young
gentleman by no means desired to lose his popularity
he stopped playing cards altogether, and so effectually
silenced everyone. So this mode of making money
was gone, and until Madame Midas arrived in town Vandeloup
did not see how he was going to keep on living in
his former style. But as he never denied himself
anything while he had the money, he ordered the cabman
to drive to Paton’s, the florist in Swanston
Street, and there purchased a dainty bunch of flowers
for his button hole. From thence he drove to his
club, and there found a number of young fellows, including
Mr Barty Jarper, all going to the Princess Theatre
to see ‘The Mikado’. Barty rushed
forward when Vandeloup appeared and noisily insisted
he should come with them. The men had been dining,
and were exhilarated with wine, so Vandeloup, not
caring to appear at the theatre with such a noisy
lot, excused himself. Barty and his friends, therefore,
went off by themselves, and left Vandeloup alone.
He picked up the evening paper and glanced over it
with a yawn, when a name caught his eye which he had
frequently noticed before.
