Octavia's Pride; or, The Missing Witness — page 83: what you’re looking at

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

i aoa Sa pon rer ie ia itis ate TASS ales mest sess! meet if vos thee 4 ee 4 OCTAVIA’S PRIDE. 73 of which there was naturally some danger with such a sus- ceptible and somewhat wild young man as her son. _. She found herself wondering vaguely if Lady Mary had heard any hint of the lawsuit so soon to come before the court; if she guessed any of the issues at stake, if Middle- ton ys. Wainwright was decided for the plaintiffs? Lord Roland was young, fine looking, intelligent, and gen- tlemanly, only a little wild, and he was a peer, and his wife would be Lady Falkner, the mistress of a fine old mansion in the country, whose portrait gallery held faces that had smiled in life amid the regal scenes wherein they enter- tained a sovereign and the royal suite. ‘Closely attached to the crown had the Falkners always been, and won many marks of royal favor, and though the revenues of the estate had somewhat fallen off, the family still held a high position among the nobility. Octavia Wainwright was not one to forget or ignore all these advantageous circumstances. Her pride had been carefully fostered, and had grown with her years. Her ambition, too, was unbounded. She hada sort of creed that every person is obligated to rise as far as possible above the original station into which they are born. .To step below, or stoop an inch, was treason or crime in her code. To ‘win the envied position of Lady Falkner was as high a step as she could hope to make. She had never before been quite sure that it was in her power. Now, however, she read in Lady Mary’s affectionate smile, and was confirmed by the glow which brightened the young lord’s face when he came hastening into the room, that it was possible. How Bi Wee proud and glad such a triumph would make her father! Ah! but there was the case. Middleton vs. Wainwright. What if the plaintiff won? ‘The very thought sent a slow shudder creeping throogh her veins. But her sad smile was natural enough, and very charming in Lord Ronald’s eyes. comicboo \ % - “S co 1% gan -