The Opposite House: A Novel — page 129: what you’re looking at

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

124 The Opposite House. there to amuse her. She did not wish to gamble. There was only one lady in the carriage—an ele- gant, aristocratic woman, with sparkling eyes and a southern complexion. Her leather bag had the initials “V. von K.,” surmounted by a coronet. Heloise recognized her as the admired darling of D—— society. She herself had often peeped through the curtain concealing the stage and envied the beautiful Madam von Kartegg her seat beside the princess. She knew that Brand and Gerrald visited her, and she determined not to leave this op- portunity of making her acquaintance unused. A F'renchwoman possesses natural grace of manner, and when Heloise chose, and did not lapse into her off-hand air, she could vie with any fashionable dame. “Pardon me, madam, but does the closed win- dow annoy you?” she began, in perfect French. “The carriage is so terribly close, it would be bet- ter to open it.” Verja, too, was weary of solitude; she spoke French well, liked to use the language, and was glad tofindentertainment. Conversation followed. The dancer had opened the window, and then re- sumed her seat, smoothing the folds of her rustling silk. She looked extremely pretty under the thin gauze veil. “Where are you going?” asked Frau von Kar- Comicbooolk<s