The Man in Possession — page 309: what you’re looking at

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

304 THE MAN IN POSSESSION. about her seemed unreal except the suffering from which she could not escape, except that look as Tom’s cold lips- had touched her hand, except his last low, broken words. ‘“‘T never thought it would mean this,” she said to her aching heart. ‘‘ If I had—— She could not quite finish that sentence, could not bring herself to acknowledge what change in her own actions the recognition of this suffering might have brought. Her only desire was to be alone. Even Mrs. Lafaye jarred upon her, and the hours she was compelled to spend with Sir Wilfred were the penance of a self-achieved purgatory. That interesting invalid was now convalescent. The fracture had happily shown a disposition to- wards reunion with surrounding joints and tendons ; and though he would suffer from lameness for a con- siderable period, the graver symptoms had entirely passed away. : When he was allowed down to the drawing-room and saw Kate there, he was struck for the first time by the change in her. Her pallor and thinness, the dark shadows under her eyes, the strange listlessness of her movements— all that had escaped his notice so long now seemed to flash sharply and suddenly upon him. He lay on the couch and gazed at her, and pondered wearily on the cause of this alteration. Was it anxiety for himself? The thought was pleasing to his vanity, but not compatible with the coldness of her manner, or the memory of her words when she had promised to marry him. ECOMICHOOKS C(O)