"Good Heavens, child! what do you mean? you cannot doubt the sincerity of his protestations of affection for you, surely?"
Her daughter laughed.
"I certainly do not wish him to be more demonstrative, mother dear; love-making is the most boring process imaginable; but still, I should prefer, I must confess, that there was no under-current of feeling for wife number one."
"You amaze me, Ethel, by suggesting such a horrible idea. The woman may be dead for anything I know; at all events, she left England before he obtained his divorce, and no one has heard anything of her since. It is extremely improbable that she will ever return to this country."
But in this, as we know, the Duchess was in grave error.
At that very moment Bella was sitting by the open piano in her cosy apartments in a street off the Strand, idly striking a note here and there and humming the air of a new song; but her cough, which was incessant, made singing almost out of the question.
"I believe I'm getting worse," she cried, rising and flinging herself on the sofa, "I'm sure I was not so bad as this three months ago—not so bad when—he never came. Ah! why should he? How could I expect it? Perhaps to-day may have been his wedding day! Come in."
The door opened noisily, and Saidie Blackall, very much over-dressed and distinctly rouged and made up, entered, followed by Mr. and Mrs. Doss, looking precisely the same as on that memorable night when they had been the innocent cause of so much trouble to Bella's husband. The old music-hall singer and his wife had lost no time in looking her up when she returned from the States, and were really well-meaning, kindly folk.
"Hallo, Bella, you look done up!"
"I am," admitted the girl wearily. "It was as much as I could do to pull through to-night, and I have got a beastly new song to tackle."
"I don't like your cough, my dear," said Mrs. Doss, looking distressed; "it shakes you to bits."
"I've got a little more cold, I fancy; but I'll be all right in a
Prev.
Back
Top