Penny Blood Serial Fiction — page 265: what you’re looking at

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

CHAPTER XXI THE INTERVIEW In consequence of what the worthy old housekeeper had said with regard to Lady Everton’s personal appearance, _ the reader is prepared to learn that it had not undergone such a very great change as under all circumstances might have been expected. We will proceed to state that although her ladyship was now forty-six years of age, she might have easily passed herself off as lttle more than forty. There was no colour upon her cheeks, but the cheeks themselves were not sunken nor hollow; the lustre of her eyes was sub- dued, but then, in her earlier years it had been so bright that this mitigation of their brilhancy had only softened and not dimmed them. Her hair, of raven darkness, had so far resisted the ravages of time and the withering influ- ence of sorrow, as to be only touching on the commence- ment of a change, and this to be detected only by a tire- woman when attending the duties of her ladyship’s toilet. Her teeth were remarkably well preserved, and helped to ward off the aspect of advancing years. Her figure, as already stated, had retained its fine proportions; and the uprightness of her gait, together with a certain statuesque carriage of the bust and head, which was natural to her, gave her an air of mingled dignity and grace which con- tributed to sustain her right to be pronounced a fine, hand- some woman. | Such was Lady Everton, such the object of the Marquis of Eagledean’s visit into Wales, such the appearance which she was anon to present before him. But, ah! if instead of being destined to meet this still handsome and attractive woman, he had been doomed to find her a withered, ema- ciated, shrivelled creature, with cavern-like eyes, silvered 248 GEomicbooks.co