the sound of the galloping hoofs of victor lamont's steed had scarcely died away in the distance ere bernardine opened her eyes and looked wonderingly about her. for an instant she believed that her strange surroundings—the bare room, with its curtainless windows, and the strange women bending over her—were but the vagaries of a too realistic dream from which she was awakening. but even while this impression was strong upon her, the woman said, sneeringly:
"so you have regained consciousness—that's bad;" and she looked crossly at the girl.
"where am i—and who are you?" asked bernardine, amazedly, sitting bolt upright on the wooden settee, and staring in wonder up at the hard face looking down into her own. but before she could answer, a wave of memory swept over bernardine, and she cried out in terror: "oh, i remember standing by the brook, and the dark-faced man that appeared—how he caught hold of my arms in a grasp of steel, and i fainted. did he bring me away from gardiner castle?" she demanded, indignantly—"dared he do such a thing?"
"do not get excited," replied the woman, coolly. "always take everything cool—that's the best way."
"but why did he bring me here?" insisted bernardine.
"you will have to ask him when he comes back. he is the only one who can answer that," returned the woman.
bernardine sprung quickly to her feet; but it was not until she attempted to take a step forward that she realized how weak she was.
"what are you intending to do?" asked the woman, sneeringly.
"leave this place," replied bernardine, sharply. "i have no idea as to why i was brought here; but i do not intend to stop for explanations. step out of my way, please, and allow me to pass."
the woman laughed, and that laugh was not pleasant to hear.
"that is contrary to my orders. you are to remain here, in my charge, under my eye, until—well, until the person who brought you here says you may go."
bernardine's dark eyes flashed; she looked amazed.
"do you mean to infer that i am to be detained here—against my will?" demanded the girl.
"that is as you choose to look at it, miss. i am to coax you to keep me company here, and, if you refuse, to insist upon your doing so; and finally, if it becomes necessary, to make you accede to my wishes, or, rather, the wishes of the one who brought you here."
bernardine drew herself up to her full height, and looked at the woman with unflinching eyes, saying, slowly:
"you have lent yourself to a most cruel scheme to entrap an innocent girl; but know this: i would die by my own hand sooner than marry the villain who had me conveyed in this most despicable way to this isolated place. i have no doubt you know the whole story; but i say this: when my poor father died, i was freed forever from the power of my mortal foe. his sword fell from over my head, where he had held it suspended. he can not pursue my hapless father beyond the gates of death."
"what you are talking about is an enigma to me," returned the woman, grimly.
"if he has not told you the truth about this matter, listen to me, and let me tell it," cried bernardine, trembling with excitement. "i—i have known this man who had me brought here for long years, and i know him only to fear and distrust him—more than words can express.
"one day, quite by accident, he met me on the street—right before my own door—and he stopped short, looking at me with evident admiration expressed in his coarse face and glittering black eyes."
"'ah, ha! you turn up your little nose at me, eh?' he cried. 'well, you shall be sorry for that, and in a fortnight, too, i'll warrant.'
"i would have passed him by without deigning him a reply; but he caught me by the shoulder, and held me fast.
"'no, you don't move on like that!' he yelled in my ear, a great flush rising to his already florid, wine-stained features. 'you shall kiss me, my pretty, here and now!'
"i endeavored to pass him, but he still clutched me tightly, fiercely in his strong grasp, and i—i dealt him a stinging blow across the face with the palm of my hand.
"the action surprised him so that he released me from his grasp for a single instant, and in that instant i darted away from him like a startled hare.
"'you shall pay for this!' he cried, looking after me. 'he laughs best who laughs last!'
"it was within a fortnight after that most unfortunate event that the crisis came. my father sent for me, and told me he had had a proposal for my hand.
"'the man who wants to marry you will make a great lady of you, my girl,' said my father, eagerly. 'you are lucky! i repeat you are very lucky! why are you looking at me with troubled eyes,' he demanded, 'when you ought to be clapping your hands in delight and asking me who it is?'
"'i am silent because i fear to inquire the name,' i replied, slowly, 'lest you should utter a name which i loathe.'
"'the man is rich,' he said, leaning forward eagerly.
"'riches do not bring happiness,' i replied. 'i know of a man whom the world calls rich, and yet i would not marry him if he had all the wealth of the world to pour at my feet. but who is this man who has come to you without even the formality of finding out if it was worth his while—without deigning to take the trouble to find out if i could care for him to the extent of becoming his wife?'
"'the son of our landlord,' replied my father, his voice a little husky.
"'were i not so angry i should be amused,' i answered. 'if there was not another man on the face of the earth, i would not marry jasper wilde. i——'"
the woman had been listening to bernardine's story indifferently enough until she uttered that name. at the sound of it, she caught her breath sharply, and sprung suddenly forward.
"what name did you say? what is the name of the man who wanted to marry you?" she gasped. "did i understand you to say jasper wilde?"
"yes," replied bernardine, wonderingly; and her wonder grew into the utmost consternation when the woman fell at her feet shrieking with rage.
