CHAPTER II.

"THE PRETTIEST GIRL IN THE ROOM!"

Golden curls, a snare for Cupid.

Eyes of blue, a treacherous sea,

Where Love's votaries sink drowning,

Wrecked on hidden reefs; ah, me!

Lips of bloom like June's red roses,

Lily throat and dimpled chin,

Glowing cheeks like fragrant posies,

Made for smiles to gather in.

--_Mrs. Alex McVeigh Miller_.

Meanwhile, Olive and Ela, having reached Ellsworth in a high state of

glee at outwitting Dainty so cleverly, received a great shock on

learning from their aunt that Lovelace Ellsworth had expected to

accompany them from Richmond to his home.

Bitterness filled their hearts when they realized what would be the

outcome of their malice--that instead of Dainty having to give up her

trip through timidity at traveling alone, she would have the escort of

the man from whom they had tried so sedulously to keep her apart.

They had told their aunt that they decided to come earlier because it

would be cooler traveling at night, and accounted for Dainty's absence

by declaring that she was not quite decided on coming yet, being

reluctant to leave her mother alone. If she made up her mind to come

anyhow, she would do so later, they said; but they were very careful not

to add that Dainty was so timid she would very likely stay at home

after their base desertion.

When they were alone, they commiserated each other on the failure of

their deep-laid schemes.

"Only to think, that Dainty and Love Ellsworth are together at this

moment, and will be all day long! I can see her now in my mind's eye!

She is sitting beside him in the car, and the sunshine glints on her

curly, golden hair, and brings out the deep pansy-blue, of her big,

childish eyes, and the rose-leaf bloom of her flawless skin. She is

laughing at everything he says, just to show how deep her dimples are,

and how pearly her teeth, and how rosy her lips! It is enough to drive

one mad!" cried Ela, not underrating the least of her rival's charms in

her jealousy of them.

"We can never undo to-day's work, I fear," added Olive, most bitterly,

in her keen disappointment; for the thought of seeing Dainty the

mistress of Ellsworth was almost unbearable.

Since she had arrived at Ellsworth and seen how beautiful the estate

was, nestling among the green hills of West Virginia, close by the famed

Greenbrier River, she had been more anxious than ever to win the master

of this grand domain, and a bitter hatred for gentle Dainty crept into

her heart.

She knew that she was beautiful in a dark, queenly fashion, and she

could only hope that Love Ellsworth would prefer her dark style to

Dainty's fair and radiant one. On this chance hinged all her hopes,

while Ela, on her part, wondered if he might not find a wealth of brown

hair, waxen-skin, and limpid gray eyes as attractive as the more

pronounced brunette and blonde types.

Late that afternoon Mrs. Ellsworth invited the two girls into her

_boudoir_, saying she wished to have a private talk with them.

She was a woman of sixty years, with abundant snow-white hair,

contrasted with piercing dark eyes. In her youth she must have looked

like Olive Peyton, and she was still well-preserved and fine-looking for

her time of life. Her relatives considered her eccentric and

hard-hearted, and she was certainly a woman of strong prejudices and

unbending will--fond of having her own way.

She now looked approvingly at her handsome, stylish nieces, and

remarked, abruptly:

"I suppose neither of you girls have any idea why I invited you here, so

I may as well inform you and get it over. In the first place, have

either of you any entanglements?"

"Entanglements?" murmured Olive, questioningly.

"Entanglements?" echoed Ela, doubtfully, with a slight flush breaking

through her usual pallor.

"I mean, are either of you engaged to be married?"--sharply.

"Oh, dear no!" cried Olive.

"No, indeed!" muttered Ela, still faintly crimson.

"Or--in love with anybody?" added their aunt, anxiously.

"Only with each other. We are chums and sweethearts," laughed Olive, as

they looked at each other affectionately.

"Very good!" said curt Mrs. Ellsworth, smiling, as she continued: "And

you are both as poor as church mice; I know that without asking. Now,

don't color up and get angry. Poverty is inconvenient, but it's no

disgrace. Besides, I intend to change all that."

While they stared at her in wonder, she nodded her white head sagely,

adding:

"You two girls are the nearest kin I have in the world, and it's time I

made some provision for your future. Well, I'm going to do it. That's

why I sent for you to come to Ellsworth."

They began to murmur ecstatic thanks; but she cut them short, saying:

"You know that I have quite a large fortune left me by my husband, and

that my step-son, Love Ellsworth, is a millionaire. Well, I propose to

have you two girls succeed to these fortunes; one by inheritance from

me, the other by marrying my step-son."

"Oh, oh!" they cried, their faces shining with delight; and their aunt

went on, complacently:

"Love is heart-whole and fancy-free now, but he will fall in love some

day and marry, and why not one of my nieces, I'd like to know? Both of

you are as pretty as pictures, and I say to you, go in and win. The one

that he chooses will be lady of Ellsworth, the other I will adopt as my

heiress. How does the prospect please you? Better than drudging in a

school, eh?"

They overwhelmed her with rapturous thanks that pleased and amused her

at the same time; for she could guess well enough how they hated poverty

and longed for riches.

"But why do you look so blank, Ela?" she added, suddenly, and the young

girl answered, frankly:

"I was wondering why you invited Dainty Chase, if you wanted Olive or me

to marry your step-son? She is the prettiest girl in the world!"

"Dainty Chase pretty? But that can not be. Her father, my half-brother,

was a very homely man, and I never heard that his wife was a beauty. I

felt sorry for the poor little thing, and wanted to give her a good

time; that was why I invited her to come. Of course, I never saw her;

but she is my half-niece all the same, and I owe her some kindness,

though I don't want her to marry Love, or to inherit my money, so I hope

I didn't make a mistake!" the old lady exclaimed, uneasily.

"Wait till you see her!" both girls cried at once, breathlessly,

jealously.

"Is she indeed so pretty? But perhaps she will not come!" consoled Mrs.

Ellsworth.

"She will be sure to come if Mr. Ellsworth calls for her. She will not

miss such a chance to captivate him!" both girls assured her

disconsolately; but they were very careful not to tell how badly they

had treated their pretty cousin.

"But she is only a child--scarcely fifteen, I think."

"Oh, Aunt Judith! She was eighteen in May, and graduated in June. She is

taller than I am!" cried Ela.

"Well, well, well, I am very sorry that I invited her, if there's any

likelihood of her spoiling your chances with Love. But I can't believe

she is so pretty till I see her, for John Chase was as homely as sin.

Anyway, you girls must try to hold your own against her charms."

"We will try, now that we have you on our side, dear Aunt Judith.

Perhaps Mr. Ellsworth may not admire blondes like Dainty. Besides, she

is a vain, silly little thing, and very deceitful!" fibbed Olive, trying

to prejudice her aunt against Dainty in advance.

Mrs. Ellsworth drew a sigh of relief, and replied:

"If that is the case, she can not charm Love Ellsworth, for he is the

soul of truth and honor, and abhors deceit. But there is one thing I

must caution you both about, if you wish to please my step-son, and

that is, if you hear any of the servants gossiping about Ellsworth being

haunted, do not mention it to him, as it makes him very angry, and he

has turned away several servants for talking about it."

They both promised not to breathe such a thing to their host; and as

Mrs. Ellsworth saw that they were secretly curious, she explained:

"Of course, you have noticed and admired the ivy-grown stone wing to the

left of the mansion. It is all that is left of Castle Ellsworth, that

was built before the Revolution by Love's ancestor, Baron Ellsworth. It

has fallen into disuse now, and the servants declare it is haunted, but

it makes Love perfectly furious to hear such reports."

When the girls were alone again they whispered to each other:

"If Dainty Chase finds out about the ghosts, she will be frightened

almost to death, she is such a little coward!"

Sitting on the broad veranda at sunset, the cousins heard the whistle of

the train at the station, miles away, that was to bring Dainty, if she

decided to come.

"That is Love's train, if he comes," said their aunt. "But there must be

some delay, or he would have telegraphed for the carriage."