her.
She did not feel very unhappy or ill at ease--the chances, she thought,
were many in her favor. She had but one thing to do to keep all
knowledge of her secret from Lord Earle.

Chapter XXIII

As time passed on all constraint between Lord Earle and his daughters
wore away; Ronald even wondered himself at the force of his own love
for them. He had made many improvements since his return. He did
wonders upon the estate; model cottages seemed to rise by magic in
place of the wretched tenements inhabited by poor tenants; schools,
almshouses, churches, all testified to his zeal for improvement.
People began to speak with warm admiration of the Earlescourt estate
and of their master.

Nor did he neglect social duties; old friends were invited to
Earlescourt; neighbors were hospitably entertained. His name was
mentioned with respect and esteem; the tide of popularity turned in his
favor. As the spring drew near, Lord Earle became anxious for his
daughters to make their debut in the great world. They could have no
better chaperone than his own mother. Lady Helena was speaking to him
one morning of their proposed journey, when Lord Earle suddenly
interrupted her.

"Mother," he said, "where are all your jewels? I never see you wearing
any."

"I put them all away," said Lady Earle, "when your father died. I shall
never wear them again. The Earle jewels are always worn by the wife of
the reigning lord, not by the widow of his predecessor. Those jewels
are not mine."

"Shall we look them over?" asked Ronald. "Some of them might be reset
for Beatrice and Lillian."

Lady Helena rang for her maid, and the heavy cases of jewelry were
brought down. Beatrice was in raptures with them, and her sister
smiled at her admiration.

The jewels might have sufficed for a king's ransom; the diamonds were
of the first water; the rubies flashed crimson; delicate pearls gleamed
palely upon their velvet beds; there were emeralds of priceless value.
One of the most beautiful and costly jewels was an entire suite of
opals intermixed with small diamonds.

"These," said Lord Earle, raising the precious stones in his hands,
"are of immense value. Some of the finest opals ever seen are in this
necklace; they were taken from the crown of an Indian price and
bequeathed to one of our ancestors. So much is said about the unlucky
stone--the pierre du malheur, as the French call the opal--that I did
not care so much for them."