Produced by Al Haines [Illustration: Cover art] CHRISTINA BY L. G. MOBERLY _Author of "Hope, My Wife," "That Preposterous Will," etc._ WARD, LOCK & CO., LIMITED LONDON, MELBOURNE & TORONTO 1912 Dedicated to WINIFRED V. WALKER, WITH MUCH LOVE. CONTENTS CHAPTER I. "THE LITTLE PRACTICAL JOKE" II. "MUMMY'S BABA--DAT'S ALL" III. "ONE OF THE BEST THINGS LEFT" IV. "I SUPPOSE IT WAS AN HOUR" V. "I KNOW THIS IS WORTH A LOT OF MONEY" VI. "BABA LOVES YOU VERY MUCH". VII. "A VERY BEAUTIFUL PENDANT, WITH THE INITIALS 'A.V.C.'" VIII. "IT IS A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH" IX. "A VERY BEAUTIFUL LADY" X. "IT IS ONLY HE WHO MATTERS!" XI. "YOU CAN TRUST DR. FERGUSSON" XII. "YOU ARE JUST 'ZACKLY LIKE THE PRINCE" XIII. "YOU HAVE BEEN A FRIEND TO ME TO-DAY" XIV. "I AM QUITE SURE YOU NEED NOT BE AFRAID" XV. "I DO TRUST, CICELY, YOU KEEP HER IN HER PLACE" XVI. "MY MOTHER GAVE IT TO ME" XVII. "WHO DO YOU MEAN BY SIR ARTHUR?" XVIII. "YOU ARE MY OWN SISTER'S CHILD" XIX. "PER INCERTAS, CERTA AMOR" XX. "SHE HAS A SWEET, STRONG SOUL" XXI. "IF YOU GO ACROSS THE SEA!" XXII. "I CAME TO-DAY TO TELL YOU SO" XXIII. "THE KING OF MY KINGDOM" CHRISTINA. CHAPTER I. "THE LITTLE PRACTICAL JOKE." "Don't be a silly ass, Layton. Do I look the sort of man to play such a fool's trick?" "My dear fellow, there's no silly ass about it. You, a lonely bachelor, and not badly off--desirous of settling down into quiet, domestic life, would like to find a young lady of refined and cultured tastes who would meet you with--a view to matrimony. I'll take my oath you are as ready as this gentleman is, to swear you will make an excellent husband, kind, domesticated, and----" Further speech was checked by a well-directed cushion, which descended plump upon the speaker's bronzed and grinning countenance, momentarily obliterating grin and countenance alike, whilst a shout of laughter went up from the other occupants of the smoking-room. "Jack, my boy, Mernside wasn't far wrong when he defined you as a silly ass," drawled a man who leant against the mantelpiece, smoking a cigarette, and looking with amused eyes at the squirming figure under the large cushion; "what unutterable drivel are you reading? Is the _Sunday Recorder_ responsible for that silly rot?"