A Heart's Bitterness — page 107: what you’re looking at

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A HEART'S BITTERNESS. Spee Leigh home. The very coolness of Edna, and the frank- ness with which she condemned him, were added charms in the eyes of the young peer whose love advances had neyer been before coldly met by any one. The first real satisfaction of her married life came to Vio- let when she acted the part of hostess to her aunt and cousins, who arrived a few days before the other guests. Their unbounded admiration of her splendid home, Mrs. | Ainslie’s awed rapture in the portrait gallery, where many generations of Leighs looked from the walls, wiled Violet from her sadness. . | They spent two,or three days in looking at everything and exclaiming in admiration. ‘* Violet,” cried Anna Ainslie, *‘ you are the happiest wo- man in the world.” None of them thought that, possessed of such splendors, she could be otherwise than happy. OHAPTER XXVI. LOST TO HIM FOREVER MORE. One by one the visitors gathered at Leigh Towers. Grace Fanshaw came, all eagerness to see her favor'te friend, and to find that the omens of the wedding-day had proved false. 'Tom Churcbill came, Grace being his lode-star, resolved to lay his heart and hand, and all that was his, at her feet be- fore they left the romantic environs of the Towers. Col- onel Hartington came, for the first time in years. In fact, the first time since he had quarreled with the late Lord Leigh, Hartington accusing young Norman of cheating at billiards, and thrashing him therefor. - But before many days the keen eyes of Colonel Harting- ton and the motherly orbs of Mrs. Ainslie saw that all was not right between the young couple. So did others. _ Colonel Hartington noticed the coolness of the married _ pair—the shy sorrow of Violet, the indifference of Leigh— and hugged himself with the thought that he might be Harl of Leigh yet. : But Mrs. Ainslie, direct of nature, went straight to Leigh. Ay “You and Violet are not so happy as I thought you Gomicbooks.co