Vashti's Fate — page 192: what you’re looking at

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

WORSE AND WORSE. 187 somebody had struck her whenever the subject comes up. She must have a guilty conscience, or she wouldn't believe that ridiculous story about the Hermitage being haunted. I know she pretends she doesn’t believe it, but actions speak louder than words, and she never suffers one of us near to it, keeps it locked, and bolted, and barred as though it was a donjon keep, and looks like a ghost herself if any- body talks of entering the old shell. There, I believe she is coming now, and I would as soon see Medusa as her.” She left the room as she spoke, slamming the door after her, and leaving one more root of bitterness in Nora’s heart. At Christmas, when Frank Everleigh came home, look- ing singularly manly and handsome, and with quite as lordly an air as ever, he shocked everybody by giving utter- ance to some very round oaths, and the subject of Vashti’s ‘‘entanglement,” as he chose to call and consider it, with ‘‘that fellow.” 3 It had never been his way to yield her a whit of defer- ence as his elder, which she was by two years. As children they had quarreled furiously over the exactions of Vashti's imperious disposition. He chose to consider himself— being the only male representative of the family—as its head ; and he swore that his sister should never so far dis- grace herself and her blood as to marry this low, tutoring © adventurer, with a language and manner so vehemently like his father, that Margery Gresham was for an instant almost frenzied with the horror which that resemblance in- spired, and leaving Vashti with her dark face rigid and pur- ple with passionate anger, she flew along the corridor to find Philip. Meeting Nora, she said, hoarsely: ‘-Go to the sitting-room, Nora, for Heaven’s sake!” — And finding Philip just outside the great hall-door, she rt as ta" ~*~ it, 4 ' _ nats ' we ledn eg eS rae str » as » Hees ee se ee ne PA com - Pe YON ‘y? - hee 7 ~ -J 4 . le Fi : ’ , 4 : - ity ary <i . * Zz é ar : a pa eee. Sys oro ele «4 | ’ ae Me + Lee . de ha te my 4 ee Arma ty * v7 ‘ ¥ _ bn ee ee Oe ‘ao 9 €oO