A Struggle for a Ring — page 301: what you’re looking at

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

A TRYING POSITION. _ 297 murmur some answer; but the countess required none; whoever had been her companion, she would have said the same thing. ‘‘ The dearest wish of my heart would be gratified,” she said, gently, ‘‘if I could see my dear son married. I believe that I should grow younger then, in- stead of older, as the time passed on. I wish he would marry.” What mad longing, what irresistible impulse urged her to say: ‘* He is married, and I am his wife.” The sound that came from her lips was so strange that Lady Waldrove looked round involuntarily. ‘“T thought you spoke,” she said, seeing her compan- ion’s face white and still. ‘‘I was just saying what J would — give if I could see my dear son married ; and Lady Ethel is the only woman in England I should care to see him marry.” The unhappy. young wife said something to the effect that he must marry whom he loved. The countess an- swered, musingly, that she believed he did love Lady Ethel. ‘‘ Indeed,” she continued, ‘‘I never could imagine why he did not marry her before he went abroad. I am quite sure that he liked her, and, unless I was very much mis- taken, she liked him, Itseems so strange,” she continued, plaintively; ‘‘ Lady Ethel is by far the most beautiful wo- man I have ever seen; she is a great heiress, too, and be- longs to one of the noblest families in England. I cannot imagine why my son does not fall in love with her,” Lady Waldrove never knew what it was that made her look up so suddenly at the young face; she saw something there that made the light words die from her lips. ‘‘What a strange face you have, Miss Derwent said, quickly; ‘‘you frighten me at times with that queer, »? she Ce(oy patie) exoye) < com —