Richard Forrest, Bachelor — page 210: what you’re looking at

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

“IT CANNOT BE YOUR JUDGE.” 201 “Tf you will open the window——”’ she said. He obeyed, and the heavy, salt breath of the water filled the library. Through the branches of a clump of trees just outside patches of the sea, silvery and hazy, showed through. Supporting herself against the window-frame, she al- lowed the breeze to blow full upon her, She did not speak at once, but half stood, half leaned, bathed in the soft candle-light which brought into relief her clear-cut features and the black gown she wore. The room was full of flickering shadows, and the plash- ing of the sea below was heard. There was a short silence, kroken, at length, by her. _“T shall ask you to listen to a story. It is simple and one which you will understand,’’ she said, turning suddenly so that her figure was wholly in darkness. ‘‘Let me, then, begin by confessing that I am a living lie; Iam not a de- pendent, either by birth or circumstances, but have chosen the position I now occupy for reasons of my own. It makes no difference to you what my true name or station may be, and neither do I intend to inflict my family history upon you. It will suffice for me to tell you that I entered this household with but one motive, one purpose, and that was to be near Arthur Eldridge. You infer, perhaps, from this admission that I either am, or have been, in love with him, and that my desire not to be entirely separated from him resulted from that fact. But if so, you wrong both of us. Mr. Eldridge never met me, nor I him, until he was mar- ried. Every one knows that he is devoted, heart and soul to his wife, and that he scarcely seems to realize the exist- ance of another woman; is it not so? And that it would be vain for another to try to win even so much as an admir- Gomichbookssco