ad known him, moreover, she wanted to accede to his wishes.
Not because her heart felt any warmer towards him, but because she
thought of him as a friend and a protector. Whatever else he might be,
he was a strong, healthy-minded man, one who would be faithful and
loving. And almost for the first time in her life, Olive felt a longing
for such an one. For a great fear had come into her heart--a fear of
Signor Ricordo. She could not explain it, nor define it. The man had
fascinated her--had, indeed, thrown a kind of spell upon her. She
thought of him continually. Leicester had faded into the background of
her life. But for the fact of her promise never to marry another man, he
seemed to have passed out of her existence. But in place of Leicester,
Ricordo had come, and although in one sense she regarded him only as a
casual acquaintance, she knew that in another sense he exercised a
powerful influence over her. In considering Herbert Briarfield's plea,
she thought of Ricordo. She feared what he might say; while she had a
kind of feeling that she ought to consult him before coming to a final
decision. Why this was so she could not tell. Signor Ricordo was only a
distinguished foreigner who had come to live in the neighbourhood, and
whom she had met only occasionally; and yet he was the most potent
factor in her life. The fact almost angered her. Why should this
middle-aged man constantly obtrude his personality upon her thoughts?
Why should she care what he thought of Herbert Briarfield's proposal?
But she did. Even that afternoon while he was pleading his love, she saw
the dark face of the Eastern stranger.

Therefore while alone, thinking of what answer she should give to the
young squire, a feeling like fear came into her heart as the servant
announced the advent of Ricordo. She almost wished she had accepted
Briarfield. She felt that he would protect her; that as his wife she
would be free from the vague, indefinable fears which haunted her.
Still, she would see him. No thought of telling the servant to send him
away came into her mind. Indeed, although she feared him, she had a
strange desire to talk with him.

When she entered the room where he was, she saw him rise with a stately
bow. She thought he looked older than usual, while there was an
expression in his eyes which she had never noticed before. Still, he
spoke with his old easy grace, and he revealed nothing of the passion
that burned in his heart.

"Will y