Page:Alice Stuyvesant - The Vanity Box.djvu/77

 except a place as steward, and quite a pretty cottage, where the mother lived with her son till she died. It was good of Sir Ian to make him his steward," Maud went on. "But about six months ago he apparently fell in love with Miss Verney, a girl as friendless and even poorer than he. We thought they were engaged soon after, but suddenly Ian Barr threw over his situation and went away. Nora Verney hasn't been the same girl since then—that is, for the last two months."

"Life is rather tragic, isn't it?" said Terry Ricardo, more to herself than to Maud.

"It's awfully mixed up, anyhow. I wish everybody could be happy, I'm sure—as happy as Nor man and I are. You ought to marry some nice man, Terry."

"I'm too old to marry," answered the smiling woman, who looked scarcely more than a girl.

"You didn't—of course I oughtn't to ask—but your brother-in-law—it was common gossip that he"

"So much nonsense is common gossip especially in India."

"You know he was half mad about you!"

"He's old enough to be my father."

"As if that mattered—with a man! If the law had been different"

"That wouldn't have made any difference with me.