A Fair Fraud — page 88: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

A Fair Fraud 77 appear an old woman. Then, with a sudden tension of her whole being, a shadowy smile forced itself crookedly back on to her rigid lips, and she bowed slightly to Mr Naylor. That gentleman returned the bow—also very slightly ; then Mrs Lane drank off the glass of sherry by her side at a gulp, and Mr Naylor, with a curious little smile on his keen face, removed his glance from her, and helped him- self from the dish of filleted soles which was being handed to him at the moment. A few minutes later, with no appearance of eagerness or haste, he said to Marion, ‘Who is the lady in pink satin sitting exactly Opposite to me?’ Which was certainly not the manner in which he had originally intended to open a conversa- tion with her. To this question Marion replied with another. ‘Since you bowed to her a moment ago, - ought you not to know that quite as well as I can tell you?’ The reply evidently surprised him very much, for he dropped- his fork, and turned half round in his chair, and looked at her critically and with some amount of interest and admiration. ‘For so very young a lady, you are gifted with a large amount of wisdom, Miss Blake! GOMMGIOO oO C' Q)