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| Note: | Images of the original pages are available through Internet Archive/American Libraries. See http://archive.org/details/fairmystery00bramiala |
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE:
In the numbering of chapters, XIV was omitted in theoriginal book.
Inconsistent hyphenation, punctuation, printing and spellingerrors have been corrected silently.
The author of this work, Charlotte Mary Brame, was knownunder the pseudonym Bertha M. Clay in North America.
A FAIR MYSTERY
BY
BERTHA M. CLAY
AUTHOR OF "DORA THORNE," "BEYOND PARDON," "LOVE WORKS WONDERS," ETC.
NEW YORK
INTERNATIONAL BOOK COMPANY
17 and 19 Waverley Place
A FAIR MYSTERY.
THE STORY OF A COQUETTE.
BY CHARLOTTE M. BRAEME.
CHAPTER I.
A VOICE AND A FACE IN THE NIGHT.
"Hush! For the love of mercy, hush, I cannot bear it!"
But that which called forth this protest was only the lispingprayer of a little child at its mother's knee.
Patty Brace lifted the white-robed figure to her lap, and restedthe brown head on her bosom.
"Mark!" she said, in mild remonstrance, looking at her husband.
"I say I cannot bear it. You have her pray, 'God bless myhome.' It is too much."
"But why not? On this wild, stormy night, when other littleones may be out in the dashing rain and moaning wind, is it notright to pray, 'God bless our home?'"
"But how long will we have a home, Patty? Think of to-morrow!oh, Heaven help me to-morrow! Ruined, disgraced,going out from the home where I was born, and forced intoexile. I cannot bear it. We shall never have a home again,and our child will grow up homeless!"
"Dear Mark, you cannot go out disgraced when you have doneno wrong; and homeless you will not be, for home is where theheart is, and in any land we three will be together, and Heavenover all."
"I cannot feel as you do, Patty. I am not gentle and good asyou. I blame myself that by going security for that smooth-tonguedrascal, whom may a curse——"
"Hush!" said Patty, with sudden authority. "Mark, youshall not curse friend, neighbor, nor enemy. It is not your nature;it is wrong. If you curse any one how can you look to haveprayer answered?"
"Prayer!" said Mark, bitterly. "I begin not to believe inprayer, or goodness, or any such thing. You have prayed, andthat innocent little victim on your bosom has prayed, in herbaby way, and has Heaven heard? No! We lose our home,and I was born here!"
Heavier grew the round brow