Penny Blood Serial Fiction — page 378: what you’re looking at

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

CHAPTER XXXI THE CONSERVATORY Mrs. DENISON remained in conversation with Lady Saxondale, Mr. Denison hastened to receive some fresh arrivals of gentlemen, Juliana and Frank passed on into the ballroom, neither of them giving utterance to a single word. Mr. Hawkshaw, well pleased in the generosity of his heart to perceive that his young friend had thus become intro- duced to his intended bride, joined a knot of gentlemen who, like himself, did not dance, and fell into conversation with them. Frank and Juliana entered the ballroom. The first quadrille had just terminated; in a few minutes the second would commence. They took a seat during the interval. Both felt the embarrassment of their position, but each was inspired with very different sentiments from those which animated the other. On the one hand Frank merely wished to assure himself that. Juliana was already ac- quainted, through the medium of Mr. Hawkshaw or Mr. Denison, with his altered position, but if not, it was his purpose to make it known, so far as he dared with due regard to his father’s incognito. When once this should have been accomplished, there need be no further inter- course between them, for although Frank could not so suddenly fling off the spells which the lady’s beauty and fascinations had cast upon him, yet was he firmly resolved not to suffer himself to be betrayed into any weakness. On the other hand, Juliana felt that she had a difficult and delicate course to pursue. She had no longer any doubt, after all she had just been hearing, that Frank’s social position was indeed greatly changed; and she was most anxious to learn whether he would now constitute a match 361 CONnNICOOOKS (C(O)