Joan Haste

INDEED, IN THAT MOMENT SHE WAS LOVELY SAMUEL ROCK AND THESE TWO LAY SILENT I’D MARRY A RUSSIAN JEW RATHER THAN SEE THE OLD PLACE GO TO THE DOGS SO WE MEET AT LAST FORGIVE ME, MR...

Alone and desolate, within hearing of the thunder of the waters of the North Sea, but not upon them, stand the ruins of Ramborough Abbey. Once there was a city at their feet, no...

Mr. Samuel Rock was young-looking rather than young in years, of which he might have seen some thirty-five, and, on the whole, not uncomely in appearance. His build was slender...

It was at this juncture that Captain Henry Archibald Graves, R.N., pursuing his way by the little-frequented sea road that runs along the top of the cliff past the Ramborough ru...

Henry Graves, a man of thirty-three years of age, was the second and only surviving son of Sir Reginald Graves, of Rosham Hall, a place situated about four miles from Bradmouth....

Seldom did Henry Graves spend a more miserable night than on this occasion of his return to Rosham. He had expected to find his father’s affairs in evil case, but the reality wa...

At dinner Henry found himself seated between Mr. Levinger and his daughter. Naturally enough he began to make conversation to the latter, only to find that, either from shyness...

The morrow was a Sunday, when, according to immemorial custom, everybody belonging to Rosham Hall was expected to go to church once in the day—a rule, however, from which visito...

On arriving at the Hall, Ellen went at once to her mother’s room, while Edward retired to the library, where he was informed that Sir Reginald was to be found. Lady Graves recei...

That Henry and Joan were left lying for so many hours among the graves of Ramborough Abbey is not greatly to be wondered at, since, before he had ridden half a mile, Master Will...

For the next two days, notwithstanding the serious condition of his broken leg, Henry seemed to go on well, till even his mother and Emma Levinger, both of whom were kept accura...

On the morrow Henry had his first long interview with his mother and Ellen, who again detailed to him those particulars of his illness of which he had no memory, speaking more e...

When Emma had gone Ellen settled herself comfortably in a garden chair, sighed, and began to fan her face with a newspaper which lay at hand. Her mind was agitated, for it had b...

Mr. Levinger’s confidential interview with Mrs. Gillingwater was not long in bearing fruit. Joan soon became aware that her aunt was watching her closely, and most closely of al...

Joan went to her room and took off her wet things, for she was soaked to the skin, clothing herself anew in her Sunday dress a soft grey garment, with little frills about the ne...

Some days had passed since this night of avowal when, very early one morning, Henry was awakened from sleep by the sound of wheels and of knocking at the inn door. A strange app...

When the lawyer had gone, for a while there was silence in Henry’s room. Everybody seemed to wish to speak, and yet no one could find any words to say. Of course Henry was aware...

For a while Ellen stood silent, enjoying the luxury of a well-earned victory; then she turned and went upstairs to Henry’s room. The first thing that she saw was the crutch whic...

Joan was not really ill: she had contracted a chill, accompanied by a certain amount of fever, but this was all. Indeed, the fever had already taken her on the night of her love...

On the day before Sir Reginald’s funeral Mr. Samuel Rock presented himself at Monk’s Lodge, and was shown into the study. As he entered Mr. Levinger noticed that his mien was mo...

Outside the door of Monk’s Lodge, Joan met Emma returning from a walk. As usual she was dressed in white, and, to Joan’s fancy, looked pure as a wild anemone in the April sun, a...

Two days after her visit to Mr. Levinger Joan began her simple preparations for departure, for it was her intention to leave Bradmouth by the ten o’clock train on the following...

A MONTH or five weeks went by at Rosham almost without incident. For the moment money troubles were in abeyance, seeing that the payment of the interest due on the mortgages was...

Joan reached town in safety. Willie Hood called for her box as he had promised, and conveyed it to the station before anybody at the inn was up, whither she followed after break...

Joan slept well that night, and woke to find the sunlight streaming in at her window. Coming down to the sitting-room at a quarter past seven, she saw that, early as it was, it...

On the following Monday morning Joan began her career as a shop-girl, to describe which in detail would be too long, however instructive it might prove. Her actual work, especia...

Joan never knew how she got through the rest of that afternoon. She did not faint, but she was so utterly overcome and bewildered that she could do nothing right. Three times Mr...

On the morning after the posting of Mrs. Bird’s letter, Mrs. Gillingwater was sitting at breakfast in the parlour of the Crown and Mitre, in no happy frame of mind. Things had g...

A month went by, and at the end of it every farthing of Mr. Levinger’s ten pounds was spent, for the most part in satisfying creditors who either had sued, or were threatening t...

Upon his arrival in town, Mr. Levinger drove to a private hotel in Jermyn Street, where he was in the habit of staying on the rare occasions when he visited London. He dressed a...

The day that Mrs. Bird wrote her letter to Henry was the day of Ellen’s marriage with Mr. Edward Milward. It was settled that the ceremony should be a quiet one, because of the...

For some days Lady Graves was completely prostrated by this new and terrible misfortune, which, following as it did hard upon the hope of happier things, seemed to her utterly o...

While Lady Graves was standing at the Bradmouth station on that Saturday in November, waiting for the London train, she saw a man whose face she knew and who saluted her with mu...

On the afternoon of the day following the interview between Lady Graves and Joan, it occurred to Henry, who chanced to be in Bradmouth, that he might as well call at the post-of...

It was a quarter to two on the Thursday and Joan, dressed in the black silk gown that she used to wear when on duty at Messrs. Black & Parker’s, awaited the arrival of her inten...

It was Sunday evening at Monk’s Lodge, and Henry and Mr. Levinger were sitting over their wine after dinner. For a while they talked upon indifferent subjects, and more particul...

Joan remained at Kent Street, and the weary days crept on. When the first excitement of her self-sacrifice had faded from her mind, she lapsed into a condition of melancholy tha...

“Your daughter!” she said, rising in her astonishment, “you must be mad! If I were your daughter, could you have lied to me as you did, and treated me as you have done?”

Lady Graves sat at breakfast in the dining-room at Rosham, where she had arrived from London on the previous evening, to welcome home her son and her daughter-in-law. Just as sh...

When Joan parted from Henry she walked quickly to Monk’s Vale station to catch the train. Arriving just in time, she bought a third-class ticket to Bradmouth, and got into an em...

Joan staggered back from the window, gasping in her terror. Her husband was mad with jealousy and hate and every other passion. She could see now that he had always been more or...