The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 246: what you’re looking at

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

216 THE COURT OF LONDON the liberty of dropping in to bring you the news about Miss Caroline Walters.”’ ‘And receive your remaining five hundred guineas,” added Mrs. Brace, with a smile. ‘‘ You will be welcome, I can assure you.” Mr. Grumley threw upon the milliner a look which seemed to say that she was a very desirable person and had con- siderably inflamed his passions during the quarter of an hour’s chat in the window recess; and Mrs. Brace, pene- trating what was passing in his mind, laughed in a low but merry manner at the idea of having captivated the huge, ugly, revolting, shabby-looking fellow who thus dared to regard her with such a libidinous grossness. Had he been a handsome, dashing young nobleman, with yellow kid gloves and a scented cambric handkerchief, Mrs. Brace would have responded to his lustful glances with looks of piquant archness and voluptuous encouragement; but the sensitiveness of the fashionable milliner could only treat with a good-humoured ridicule the amorous pretensions of one whom she dared not offend by showing herself outraged and shocked at his conduct. Heaving a profound sigh, Mr. Peter Grumley made a low bow to Mrs. Brace, and stalked out of the room; and the noise of the door closing behind him aroused George Woodfall and Rose Foster from the deep interest of the téte-d-téte which had at this moment reached the point specified at the close of the preceding chapter. ‘Well, my dear child,” said Mrs. Brace, accosting the young orphan with an appearance of so much maternal affability and kindness that George Woodfall could not help wondering at the extreme repugnance which Rose had demonstrated at the idea of returning into the mil- liner’s establishment, ‘“‘ what course have you determined to adopt? And in what manner can I be serviceable to ou? ”’ “This gentleman,” said Rose, indicating the artist with a glance, and speaking ina tone of modest decision and maidenly firmness which at once convinced the milliner that some definite plan had been already resolved upon by the orphan girl, even if it were not actually arranged in concert with the young man who stood beside her, “‘ this gentleman,”’ she said, ‘‘ is Mr. Woodfall, and through his kind, benevolent, COnnicbooolks (C(O)