The Works of George W. M. Reynolds — page 188: what you’re looking at

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

THE GRAND ENTERTAINMENT 171 occasion. Lord Harold was amongst the guests, but it was not till the very last minute, and just as Lady Saxon- dale was beginning to despair, that Edmund made his appearance. It was now just five minutes past seven o’clock, and _ Lady Saxondale, who liked to be very punctual, felt happy as she glanced around, and rapidly counting to herself all the guests who were present, saw that their number was complete. That elegant-looking page whom we _ have especially noticed in a preceding chapter now entered the room, and gliding noiselessly over the thick carpet, ap- proached his noble mistress, who, fancying that he came merely to receive the usual order to serve dinner up at once, nodded in a significant manner to that effect. But it appeared that the page’s object in accosting Lady Saxon- dale at the moment was of another kind, for he bent down and whispered, “ Please, my lady, a woman 1s waiting in the hall to speak to your ladyship upon very important business.”’ | “Did you not give her a proper answer?” asked Lady Saxondale, in a low tone, but with an angry look, as if she thought the page had not done his duty. “JT assured the woman,’ was the whispered response, ‘that your ladyship would see no one now; but she desired me to say that she must have an interview, if only for a minute, without delay, too, for she has got to be quite at the other end of London by nine o’clock. Please, my lady, those are the woman’s own words.”’ Lady Saxondale seemed struck by an astonishment not unmingled with dismay at this intelligence, and for a moment she hesitated how to act, murmuring to herself, ‘‘ Who can it possibly be?”’ Then suddenly making up her mind, she said, “‘ Go and show the woman into the parlour down- stairs, and I will come to her in a moment.” None of the guests overheard this rapid and brief colloquy between her ladyship and the page, nor was the emotion of the former, on receiving so insolent a message, observed by any one present in the drawing-room, save her elder daughter, Juliana, and this young lady’s attention was only drawn to the incident by the circumstance that from under her long eyelashes she was bending stealthy and sidelong glances toward the beautiful page the whole time that he was in CORNICE OOO“KS (F©)