Her
first and foremost interest now was to find out how she really
stood in the estimation of Julian Gray. In a terror of suspense,
that turned her cold from head to foot, she stopped him on his
way out, and spoke to him with the piteous counterfeit of a
smile.
"Lady Janet is receiving some visitors," she said. "If you will
wait here, she will be back directly."
The effort of hiding her agitation from him had brought a passing
color into her cheeks. Worn and wasted as she was, the spell of
her beauty was strong enough to hold him against his own will.
All he had to tell Lady Janet was that he had met one of the
gardeners in the conservatory, and had cautioned him as well as
the lodge-keeper. It would have been easy to write this, and to
send the note to his aunt on quitting the house. For the sake of
his own peace of mind, for the sake of his duty to Horace, he was
doubly bound to make the first polite excuse that occurred to
him, and to leave her as he had found her, alone in the room. He
made the attempt, and hesitated. Despising himself for doing it,
he allowed himself to look at her. Their eyes met. Julian stepped
into the dining-room.
Pages:
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233