A Heart's Bitterness — page 35: what you’re looking at

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

> Pk ‘A HEART'S BITTERNESS. 27 kindly tell me how you became so wise to-day as to change all your feelings toward me?” Violet fixed her eyes on him, and said, slowly: ‘‘T heard—that you married me for my money; I heard that you married me because you were deeply in debt; I heard that you were what I heartily detest, a fortune-hunter; I heard that you really loved—as much-as you can love— another, but forsook her for my millions.” «“And, Lady Leigh, on your marriage day, you have al- lowed a scandal-monger to pour these stories of your hus- band into your ears? You have lofty notions of a wife’s © duties!” ‘“'Those things were said by your own friends, in a bal- cony next where I waited for you, and I could not help hearing them, asl am not deaf. Ave they true? By an immense effort, Violet had forced herself to enough calmness for this explanation, for this heavy charge. Now she had reached high excitement. Her cheeks flamed, her eyes glowed. But a look of relief came into Lord Leigh’s face. He sald: ‘‘ Hven if all this were true, and it isnot, 1 cannot see any great wrong to you in it, or anything that hinders me from being a good husband, and you a good and contented wife.” ‘‘It is a great and horrible wrong to marry a woman without loving her,” sobbed Violet. ‘©T am not romantic, bnt I do love you, if you permit me to, and do not repulse me, as you have to-day. Suppose _ that your fortune was a factor in my consideration, and that, since I am thirty years old, I have admired other women? That does not injure yon. No doubt you have fancied others, and had other considerations in marriage than especial love for me.” ; Violet flung herself on a sofa, and burst into an agony of weeping. : ‘<Violet,” inquired Lord Leigh, earnestly, ‘‘ did you see any one? Did any one tell you anything else?” _ ‘¢ What so terrible was left to be told me?” cried Violet. (eC) Eomicbooks