His Other Wife: A Novel — page 148: what you’re looking at

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

140 THE PLOTTERS. ‘‘T am afraid of the consequences of meddling in Faith’s destiny.” ‘‘Time was when nothing earthly could daunt or frighten you, Leda. You are a great coward about this girl.” ‘‘T have reason to be so. You know how joyfully I would be rid of her, but you must manage it yourself; I will not touch the business.” As she said this with decisive emphasis, Mrs. Croft rose from her seat upon the trunk of a fallen tree and turned her steps toward the house. Vernois remained stretched on the grass, seemingly oblivious of her movements. It was now over too weeks since the encounter which had come nigh to costing Gordon Warren’s life. He was pronounced to be out of danger, but still so ill that he could not leave his bed. His desperate attack was reputed to be the result of an accident, and the extent of his dan- ger had been carefully concealed by the attending sur- geon, and his mother, who was his only nurse. Mean- time Julian Vernois had remained a guest at Lucerne, and, in his daily and continuous association with Faith Hilary’s exquisite womanhood, had yielded himself to the fresh, pure charm of her guileless nature till pleasure in “her bright, vivacious society had grown to a passionate craving for the full and entire ownership of her rare, new» blown loveliness. It was not possible that a susceptive, impressionable gir] could remain insensible to the fascinations of an accom- Eomiecbooks:¢o im =)