Transcriber’s Note: Italic text is denoted by _underscores_. THE WELLFIELDS. A Novel. BY JESSIE FOTHERGILL, AUTHOR OF ‘THE FIRST VIOLIN’ AND ‘PROBATION.’ IN THREE VOLUMES. VOL. III. [Illustration] LONDON: RICHARD BENTLEY AND SON, Publishers in Ordinary to Her Majesty the Queen. 1880. [_All Rights Reserved._] [Illustration] CONTENTS OF VOL. III. STAGE IV. CHAPTER PAGE I. A REED SHAKEN IN THE WIND 1 II. A CONSUMMATION 16 III. CONSEQUENCES 36 IV. ‘WOO’D AND MARRIED, AND A’.’ 59 STAGE V. I. SARA 76 II. ‘YES’ 89 III. IRREVOCABLE 113 IV. DOUBTS 125 V. MEIN GENÜGEN 145 VI. EINE REISE IN’S BLAUE 159 VII. WELLFIELD 185 VIII. JEROME 207 IX. A MYSTERY 220 X. CAUGHT 233 XI. GEFUNDEN 250 L’ENVOI 264 [Illustration] THE WELLFIELDS. STAGE IV. CHAPTER I. A REED SHAKEN IN THE WIND. Wellfield’s position had not been altogether an enviable one, during the last few months. In his letter to Sara, summoning Avice home, he had casually mentioned having had money troubles, and this was true. He had shortly before heard from Mr. Netley, that now that his father’s affairs were finally wound up, nothing would remain to him save three to four hundred pounds, then lying in the bank to his account, representing at most some twenty pounds a year. With this delightful information in his pocket he repaired one day to Burnham as usual, and during the morning had an interview with Mr. Bolton, in which that gentleman, all unconscious of what had happened, offered him the post of foreign correspondent to his house, at a salary of two hundred a year. He was surprised at the manner in which the proposition was received. Wellfield started, and exclaimed, ‘Mr. Bolton–I–cannot thank you–you do not know what this is to me.’