A TRUE FRIEND.

A NOVEL.

BY ADELINE SERGEANT

_Author of "The Luck of the House," "A Life Sentence," etc., etc._

MONTREAL: JOHN LOVELL & SON, 23 ST. NICHOLAS STREET.

CONTENTS

I. AN UNSUITABLE FRIENDSHIP

II. LADY CAROLINE'S TACTICS

III. AT HELMSLEY COURT

IV. ON THE ROAD.

V. WYVIS BRAND

VI. JANETTA AT HOME

VII. NORA'S NEW ACQUAINTANCE

VIII. FATHER AND CHILD

IX. CONSULTATION

X. MARGARET

XI. JANETTA'S PROMISES

XII. JANETTA REMONSTRATES

XIII. SHADOWS

XIV. JANETTA'S FAILURE

XV. A BONE OF CONTENTION

XVI. SIR PHILIP'S OPINION

XVII. MARGARET'S FRIENDSHIP

XVIII. A NEW FRIEND

XIX. NORA'S PROCEEDINGS

XX. AN ELDER BROTHER

XXI. CUTHBERT'S ROMANCE

XXII. WYVIS BRAND'S IDEAL

XXIII. FORGET-ME-NOTS

XXIV. LADY ASHLEY'S GARDEN PARTY

XXV. SIR PHILIP'S DECISION

XXVI. "FREE!"

XXVII. A BIG BRIBE

XXVIII. "CHANGES MUST COME."

XXIX. MARGARET'S CONFESSION

XXX. IN REBELLION

XXXI. THE PLOUGHMAN'S SON

XXXII. THE FAILURE OF MARGARET

XXXIII. RETROSPECT

XXXIV. FROM DISTANT LANDS

XXXV. JULIET

XXXVI. THE FRUITS OF A LIE

XXXVII. NIGHT

XXXVIII. THE LAST SCENE

XXXIX. MAKING AMENDS

XL. MY FAITHFUL JANET

A TRUE FRIEND

CHAPTER I.

AN UNSUITABLE FRIENDSHIP.

Janetta was the music governess--a brown little thing of no particular importance, and Margaret Adair was a beauty and an heiress, and the only daughter of people who thought themselves very distinguished indeed; so that the two had not, you might think, very much in common, and were not likely to be attracted one to the other. Yet, in spite of differing circumstances, they were close friends and allies; and had been such ever since they were together at the same fashionable school where Miss Adair was the petted favorite of all, and Janetta Colwyn was the pupil-teacher in the shabbiest of frocks, who got all the snubbing and did most of the hard work. And great offence was given in several directions by Miss Adair's attachment to poor little Janetta.

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Table of contents (by pages)

• 1: A True Friend by Adeline Sergeant
• 2: If you wished to stand well with Miss Polehampton
• 3: Miss Polehampton and the teachers rose
• 4: Said Miss Polehampton with a hesitating little cough
• 5: Probably Miss Polehampton divined the fact
• 6: Miss Polehampton stood for a moment or two quite still
• 7: And Janetta softly and slowly retired
• 8: Adair whom Margaret most resembles
• 9: Simply because Janetta is poor
• 10: He had known the Adairs for many years
• 11: Is Miss Adair intellectual too
• 12: Adair had appeared upon the scene
• 13: Janetta you have such pretty arms
• 14: Miss Polehampton was weeping the girls were in revolt
• 15: We will drive you over to Beaminster to morrow
• 16: Lady Caroline had taken up a review
• 17: Janetta was standing before the long looking glass
• 18: Miss Polehampton was an obstinate woman
• 19: But Janetta became suddenly aware
• 20: Adair has plans for our dear Margaret
• 21: The gaudy blue and scarlet fan
• 22: The tall spires of Beaminster Cathedral came into sight
• 23: They were on their way from Beaminster to Brand Hall
• 24: But Wyvis Brand did not hear it
• 25: If nobody comes before the 12th
• 26: You might find companions down here
• 27: Careworn woman whom Wyvis Brand called mother
• 28: And with Janetta some of the Court party
• 29: It was not that that made Miss Polehampton angry
• 30: But Miss Polehampton with energy is a vulgar
• 31: Surely the Adairs will recommend you
• 32: Or venture into the cool shadow of the Beaminster woods
• 33: I wonder if the Brands mean to acknowledge your existence
• 34: Janetta and her sister exchanged glances
• 35: What a mercy I am taller than Janetta
• 36: He woke up and told us that his name was Julian Wyvis Brand
• 37: If your stepsister is my second cousin
• 38: With heads very close together that Janetta
• 39: Looked suspiciously at Janetta
• 40: And Wyvis Brand was not insensible to its beauty
• 41: And he told me that his name was Julian Wyvis Brand
• 42: Wyvis Brand stood silently beside the two women
• 43: And then Janetta took her leave
• 44: Janetta was rather surprised that Mr
• 45: And to the road between them and Beaminster
• 46: In which Janetta was quite right
• 47: But it was never troublesome to Janetta
• 48: And Janetta bidding her father come to the table
• 49: That young Brand struck me as a very sullen looking fellow
• 50: Colwyn did not look altogether pleased
• 51: Janetta lifted up a happy face
• 52: And Janetta hastened up to her room
• 53: Janetta was almost pained by the accent of continued excuse
• 54: Janetta remarked that Lady Caroline was very kind
• 55: The two moved apart as Lady Caroline and Janetta came in
• 56: Margaret leaned back in her chair
• 57: Said Janetta for once unsympathetic
• 58: Janetta felt some embarrassment
• 59: Things went deeper with Janetta than with Margaret
• 60: Janetta did not often go there
• 61: It was with a beating heart that Janetta
• 62: Strangways passed without notice
• 63: Because Wyvis had a strong head
• 64: Janetta stayed a little longer
• 65: As hotly as Wyvis himself could have spoken
• 66: Wyvis Brand kept silence for some minutes
• 67: And could only whisper to Janetta
• 68: Janetta almost forgot her cousins
• 69: But Janetta happened to be out
• 70: Colwyn meanwhile went on lecturing
• 71: Janetta looked at it and stood transfixed
• 72: She looked up indolently as Janetta entered
• 73: Janetta could do or say nothing more
• 74: I have heard of you from Miss Polehampton
• 75: Therefore Janetta was utterly abashed when a gentleman
• 76: Lady Ashley never remonstrated
• 77: And Lady Caroline never made any very direct reply
• 78: Margaret may I call you Margaret
• 79: Produced little impression upon Margaret
• 80: Miss Colwyn is suffering under an injustice
• 81: And Lady Caroline detested tears
• 82: The gossip of Beaminster tea tables is not to be despised
• 83: Miss Colwyn was perfectly ready to submit
• 84: That Sir Philip was scarcely polite to you
• 85: I must go to see Janetta to morrow
• 86: She was embittered against Janetta
• 87: And Janetta did her best to respond
• 88: It was almost a surprise to Janetta when
• 89: And I shall see nobody but Janetta
• 90: And she has not many advanced pupils in Beaminster
• 91: She embraced Janetta very affectionately at parting
• 92: Colwyn took no notice of Lady Ashley
• 93: Poor Mary Bevan would never get over it
• 94: What a helpmate Janetta Colwyn would be to any man
• 95: Wyvis Brand called when I was out
• 96: And she seemed to listen while Janetta tried to comfort her
• 97: And Nora felt obliged to respond
• 98: Janetta stood still and sighed
• 99: Of Wyvis Brand she scarcely thought
• 100: Which struck Janetta as something new
• 101: I thought it was to be Cousin Wyvis
• 102: Wyvis Brand was a man of very quick perceptions
• 103: The woman who called herself the wife of Wyvis Brand
• 104: Janetta was hardly surprised when
• 105: Janetta I may call you Janetta
• 106: I'd better send Wyvis to talk to you
• 107: And Janetta received him in the hall
• 108: But Janetta did not stop to listen
• 109: And as long as he made Nora happy Janetta was content
• 110: For some time Janetta had seen little of the Adairs
• 111: So that Janetta might see whether she was altered or not
• 112: And Wyvis Brand walked straight into the room
• 113: Wyvis was separated from his wife
• 114: Wyvis Brand was divorced from her husband
• 115: While on the other side lay a plantation
• 116: It took Wyvis Brand a moment only to leap the brook
• 117: And that Wyvis Brand was always there to bear her company
• 118: When Janetta first came forward to sing
• 119: She knew that Wyvis Brand would be there
• 120: That Wyvis should admire Margaret was so natural
• 121: Adair are favoring an engagement
• 122: Lady Ashley sighed and pressed his hand
• 123: Janetta sat down to her work with a heavy heart
• 124: They said that you were paying attention to Miss Adair
• 125: He used to call me his faithful Janet very often
• 126: Wyvis Brand's brow relaxed a little
• 127: But perhaps he said it only to see what Janetta would reply
• 128: And from which she had first set eyes on Wyvis Brand
• 129: Which Janetta detested from her heart
• 130: Janetta caught up the envelope
• 131: Janetta rose in some consternation
• 132: Janetta felt that he was very forbearing
• 133: And Janetta was wise enough to know whom she might trust
• 134: But I am indignant with Lady Caroline Adair
• 135: The more was Janetta surprised at Margaret's conduct
• 136: It gave her an opportunity of seeing Janetta Colwyn
• 137: Lady Caroline was not an unworldly woman
• 138: Margaret heard nothing of her lover's letter that night
• 139: So far as Alicia was concerned
• 140: But there is a point at which unworldliness becomes folly
• 141: Sometimes when Alicia was reading
• 142: And Wyvis seemed to shun her society
• 143: Janetta uttered an involuntary exclamation
• 144: Miss Burroughs said to Janetta
• 145: In order to see Janetta once again
• 146: Janetta kissed her affectionately
• 147: It was plain that Wyvis was not in a happy mood
• 148: Enraptured exclamation from Wyvis himself
• 149: And Wyvis absorbed in Margaret
• 150: Wyvis turned on her almost fiercely
• 151: Astonishment had kept Wyvis silent
• 152: You were only a month or two old when he married Mary Wyvis
• 153: Wyvis muttered between his teeth
• 154: Wyvis stepped forward and took her by the hand
• 155: He preferred that Wyvis should be master here
• 156: And Wyvis scarcely listened to what she said
• 157: In a letter dictated to Janetta
• 158: Mary Wyvis accepted both propositions
• 159: But Wyvis was the apple of his eye
• 160: He was only just in time to find Wyvis at his hotel
• 161: For a minute or two Wyvis did not speak
• 162: Janetta was thinner and paler than in days of yore
• 163: Wyvis also was in foreign lands
• 164: For three pages Wyvis had written in his usual strain
• 165: And Janetta wondered greatly whence she came
• 166: Wyvis Brand what do you think of that
• 167: Into Wyvis Brand's house Wyvis Brand's wife must go
• 168: Janetta shuddered a little as he spoke
• 169: And then Wyvis can do as he pleases
• 170: I thought you did not love Wyvis
• 171: You have promised to write to Wyvis
• 172: Wyvis had faults who knew them better than Janetta
• 173: That began when Wyvis was a little child
• 174: And Wyvis will never forgive me
• 175: And Wyvis has cursed me ever since
• 176: Her thoughts flew continually to Wyvis and his affairs
• 177: Janetta sprang to the window curtains
• 178: Janetta turned anxiously to Mrs
• 179: Janetta did her best to warm and comfort her physically
• 180: And murmured a few words that Wyvis could not hear
• 181: The boldness of her answer filed Wyvis with admiration
• 182: Janetta has made me understand
• 183: Wyvis Brand broke forth Look here
• 184: Wyvis kissed his wife and promised to do what she asked him
• 185: Then Margaret had a touch of fever
• 186: The Accringtons live nearer the Bevans than Lady Ashley
• 187: Growing into an old maid like the sisters of Reginald Adair
• 188: I want to tell you that you were right about Janetta Colwyn
• 189: Adela was a very suitable wife for him
• 190: And Sir Philip Ashley would have been
• 191: Tell me more about everybody and everybody's wants
• 192: Janetta your strength of will