Aunt Janes Nieces in Society | Page 6

_entrée_ into good society for his three
nieces.
Diana laughed with her lips; her eyes never laughed. Then she took in
her hand the paper containing the addresses of the three girls and
regarded it thoughtfully.
"It is a curious request, mon pere," she said, in her soft, even tones;
"but one we cannot diplomatically disregard. Provided, however--"
"Yes, Diana;" as she paused.
"Provided these prospective debutantes are not wholly impossible."
"I realize that," returned her father. "John Merrick is a great power in

the city. He has been useful to me, and may be again. I have this chance
to win him. But the man is very common clay, despite his wealth, and
his three nieces are likely to be made of the same material. Should they
prove impossible you cannot well descend to introducing them to our
set."
"I am not certain of that, sir," said the girl, with a pretty shrug. "My
position is too secure to be jeopardized by any error of this sort. I
believe I may introduce these girls without risk. I shall not vouch for
them too strongly, and after their debut they must stand or fall on their
own merits."
"It is something a Von Taer has never yet done," remarked the man,
gravely.
"To commercialize his social position? But, father dear, the age is fast
commercializing everything. I think our especial set is as yet
comparatively free from contamination by the 'lately rich'; but even
among us money has glossed many offenses that a generation ago
would have meant social ostracism."
He nodded.
"That is true, Diana."
"Life with me is a bit dull, as well. Everlasting routine, however
admirable, is tiresome. I scent amusement in this adventure, which I
have decided to undertake. With your permission I will see these girls
and quickly decide their fate. Should they prove not too dreadfully
_outré_ you may look to see them my especial _protégés_."
"I leave all to your discretion, Diana," returned Von Taer, with a sigh.
"If, in the end, some of the more particular venture to reproach them."
"It will not matter," interrupted the daughter, lightly, as her dark eyes
narrowed to a hair's breadth. "Any who dares reproach Diana Von Taer
will afford her interesting occupation. And to offset that remote
contingency we shall permanently enslave the powerful John Merrick. I

understand he is hard as nails in financial matters; but to us the man has
disclosed his one weakness--ambition to promote his three nieces.
Since we have discovered this vulnerable point, let us take advantage of
it. I am satisfied the loan of three hundred thousand was but a lure--and
how cleverly the man gauged us!"
Von Taer scowled.
"Get your wraps, Diana. The carriage is waiting, and we are due at Mrs.
Doldringham's crush."
CHAPTER IV
THE THREE NIECES
The Von Taers did not affect motor cars. In some circles the carriage
and pair is still considered the more aristocratic mode of conveyance.
Established customs do not readily give way to fads and freaks.
Consulting her memoranda as she rode along; in her handsome,
tastefully appointed equipage, Diana found that Louise Merrick, one of
the three girls she had set out to discover, was the nearest on her route.
Presently she rang the bell at the Merrick residence, an eminently
respectable dwelling; in a desirable neighborhood.
Diana could not resist a sigh of relief as her observant glance noted this
detail. A dignified butler ushered her into a reception room and
departed with her card.
It was now that the visitor's nose took an upward tendency as she
critically examined her surroundings. The furnishings were abominable,
a mixture of distressingly new articles with those evidently procured
from dealers in "antiquities." Money had been lavished here, but good
taste was absent. To understand this--for Miss Von Taer gauged the
condition truly--it is necessary to know something of Mrs. Martha
Merrick.
This lady, the relict of John Merrick's only brother, was endowed with

a mediocre mind and a towering ambition. When left a widow with an
only daughter she had schemed and contrived in endless ways to
maintain an appearance of competency on a meager income. Finally
she divided her capital, derived from her husband's life insurance, into
three equal parts, which she determined to squander in three years in an
attempt to hoodwink the world with the belief that she was wealthy.
Before the three years were ended her daughter Louise would be twenty,
and by that time she must have secured a rich parti and been safely
married. In return for this "sacrifice" the girl was to see that her mother
was made comfortable thereafter.
This worldly and foolish design was confided to Louise when she was
only seventeen, and her unformed mind easily absorbed her mother's
silly ambition. It