The Opposite House: A Novel — page 109: what you’re looking at

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

104 Lhe Opposite House. the charming woman had for each a jest or clever remark mischievously spoken. A satin gown of the brightest golden yellow fitted her slender figure closely, and fell in shining folds in a long train, over which gold-colored crape floated like rising clouds, caught here and there by glowing scarlet flowers, diffusing a heavy fragrance, or a glittering cluster of feathers which, against the golden background, looked like tongues of flame. Her dark hair curled gracefully around her fore- head, below the diadem, of which no princess need have been ashamed ; locks of shining dark hair fell low on her neck, interwoven with sprays of scarlet flowers. Verja dropped her fan and turned her beautiful head. Her gaze wandered around the room, to rest at last with a look of satisfaction on Gerrald’s tall figure. Witha gracious farewell to the group of attendant cavaliers, she stood the next instant be- fore the tall, fair-haired man, who bowed low and deferentially to the radiant vision. “Why are you so apart from the rest?” she whis- pered, with sparkling eyes, permitting her protégé, Brand, to raise her slender hand to his lips. “ You seem to have arrived late. Have you been presented, or met any acquaintances ?” “We have paid our respects to her excellency,” replied Traugott, in a somewhat unsteady voice, his ComicbooOoks.c©