Modern Chronicle, a — Volume 06 by Winston Churchill
page 26 of 74 (35%)
page 26 of 74 (35%)
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dear to her, that agitation seized her, and a desire to weep. What was
she leaving so precipitately? and whither going? The world indeed was wide, and these rooms had been her home. The day had grown blue-grey, and in the dining room the gentle face seemed to look down upon her compassionately from the portrait. The scent of the roses overpowered her. As she listened, no sound brake the quiet of the place. Would Howard never come? The train was in--had been in ten minutes. Hark, the sound of wheels! Her heart beating wildly, she ran to the windows of the drawing-room and peered through the lilacs. Yes, there he was, ascending the steps. "Mrs. Spence is out, I suppose," she heard him say to the butler, who followed with his bag. "No, sir, she's is the drawing-room." The sight of him, with his air of satisfaction and importance, proved an unexpected tonic to her strength. It was as though he had brought into the room, marshalled behind him, all the horrors of her marriage, and she marvelled and shuddered anew at the thought of the years of that sufferance. "Well, I'm back," he said, "and we've made a great killing, as I wrote you. They were easier than I expected." He came forward for the usual perfunctory kiss, but she recoiled, and it was then that his eye seemed to grasp the significance of her travelling suit and veil, and he glanced at her face. |
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