A Struggle for a Ring — page 210: what you’re looking at

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

206 - AILIE’S WELCOME. drove would have been less than human had he failed to admire her. When she had sat with them for some min- -utes, the countess bethought herself that probably her young companion would require rest and refreshment. ‘You will like to go to your room,” she said. ‘‘ Per- haps you will feel tired to-night; if not, I should be glad if you will read tome. Ihave been so long without any one to do anything for me, that I am quite exhausted.” It was sufficient that Lady Waldrove should express a wish for Ailie to feel ready to yield her life rather than refuse it. ‘That night, although she was so tired that the exertion of keeping her eyes open pained her, she read, hour after hour, until the countess fell into a deep, balmy sleep. Lord Waldrove himself was slightly surprised; he was accustomed to the patrician beauty of ladies of his own rank; he was accustomed to the handsome, high-bred faces of his wife and daughter; but this delicate loveliness, this fair, halfsad beauty, was new to him. From the patrician faces around him all particular expression was. banished; in this he, in common with others, had the foreshadowing of a tragedy; there was an intensity of earnestness about it, a wonderful pathos. It was not so much the loveliness of the face which distracted him as it _ was the strange, earnest, wistful expression. He told Lady Waldrove he was not quite sure if she had done right by bringing a beautiful, tragical-looking young creature like that to the house; she was too attractive. But the countess smiled with languid scorn. Who was there to attract? ‘‘Unless,” she added, with a little gleam of malice— ‘unless you feel that your heart is in danger, or, more properly speaking, your fancy; in that case, of course es But Lord Wa!'drove laughed, ‘as the countess had in- cS Cc @) — comicboo