FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103  
104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   >>   >|  
was bringing her reassurance that neither was she. The thought that her moment of bitter incredulity had made her formidable gave her courage to fight even him, of whom she was so much in awe; gave her courage even to smile, though she grew hot at the first words he spoke. "You should not be brave and then run away, you know." She thought of her rush up the stairs again. "I had to go back to see Mrs. Britton." (Oh, how she had seen her!) It seemed to Flora that everything she had been through in the last few moments was blazoned on her face. But he only looked a little more gravely at her, though his sardonic eye-brow twitched. "Ah, I thought you only ran back to hide in your doll's house." She laughed. Such a picture of her! "Well, at any rate, now I've come out, what have you to say to me?" "Now you've come out," he repeated, and looked at her this time with full gravity, as if he realized finally how far she'd come. She had taken the chair in the light of the eastern windows. She lay back in the cushions, her head a little bent, her hands interlaced with a perfect imitation of quietude. The dull satin of her slender foot was the only motion about her, but the long, slow rise and fall of her breath was just too deep-drawn for repose. He looked down upon her from his height. "I'm sorry I frightened you last night," he said, "but I'm not sorry I came, since you've seen me. You needn't have, you know, if you didn't want to. You could have stayed in the doll's house; and there, I suppose, you think I should never have found you--or _it_ again?" He was silent a moment, leaning on the chair opposite, watching her with knitted forehead, while her apprehension fluttered for what he should do next. He had done away with all the amenities of meeting and attacked his point with a directness that took her breath. "You know what I've come for," he said, "but now I'm here, now that I see you, I wonder if there's something I haven't reckoned on." He looked at her earnestly. "If you think I've taken advantage of you--if you say so--I'll go away, and give you a chance to think it over." It would have been so easy to have nodded him out, but instead she half put out her hand toward him. "No; stay." He gave her a quick look--surprise and approbation at her courage. He dropped into a chair. "Then tell me about it." Flora's heart went quick and little. She held herself very still, afraid in her intense con
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103  
104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

looked

 

thought

 

courage

 
moment
 
breath
 

silent

 
knitted
 

watching

 

opposite

 

forehead


leaning
 

afraid

 

height

 

repose

 

intense

 
frightened
 

stayed

 

suppose

 

chance

 
advantage

reckoned

 
earnestly
 

nodded

 

surprise

 

approbation

 

dropped

 

amenities

 
apprehension
 

fluttered

 

meeting


attacked

 

directness

 

realized

 

Britton

 

stairs

 

moments

 

blazoned

 

twitched

 

sardonic

 

gravely


formidable

 

incredulity

 

bitter

 

bringing

 

reassurance

 

interlaced

 
perfect
 

imitation

 

quietude

 

cushions