inclinations, did not warm from his reserve. On the contrary, his first
abstraction, and his first agitation, had both subsided into a distant and
cool self-possession. They met often, but he avoided all nearer or less
general communication. She saw, however, that his eyes were constantly in
search of her, and that a slight trembling in his voice when he addressed
her, belied the calmness of his manner. Sometimes, too, a word, or a
touch from her, would awaken the ill-concealed emotions--his lips seemed
about to own the triumph of her and of the past; but, as if by a violent
effort, they were again sealed; and not unoften, evidently unwilling to
trust his self-command, he would abruptly depart. In short, Constance
perceived that a strange embarrassment, the causes of which she could not
divine, hung about him, and that his conduct was regulated by some secret
motive, which did not spring from the circumstances that had occurred
between them. For it was evident that he was not withheld by any
resentment toward her from her former rejection: even his looks, his
words, had betrayed that he had done more than forgive. Lady Charlotte
Deerham had heard from Saville of their former attachment: she was a woman
of the world, and thought it but common delicacy to give them all occasion
to renew it. She always, therefore, took occasion to retire from the
immediate vicinity of Constance whenever Godolphin approached, and, as if
by accident, to leave them the opportunity to be sufficiently alone. This
was a danger that Godolphin had, however, hitherto avoided. One day fate
counteracted prudence, and a conference ensued which perplexed Constance
and tried severely the resolution of Godolphin.

They went together to the Capitol, from whose height is beheld perhaps the
most imposing landscape in the world. It was a sight pre-eminently
calculated to arouse and inspire the ambitious and working mind of the
young countess.