Page:The Portrait of a Lady (1882).djvu/523

515 THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY. 515 image of a victim of idleness. Her attitude had a singular absence of purpose ; her hands, hanging at her sides, lost 'them- selves in the folds of her black dress ; her eyes gazed vaguely before her. There was nothing to recall her to the house, the two ladies, in -their seclusion, dined early and had tea at an indefinite hour. How long she had sat in this position she could not have told you ; but the twilight had grown thick when she became aware that she was not alone. She quickly straightened herself, glancing about, and then saw what had become of her solitude. She was sharing it with Caspar Goodwood, who stood looking at her, a few feet off, and whose footfall, on the unreson- ant turf, as he came near, she had not heard. It occurred to her, in the midst of this, that it was just so Lord Warburton had surprised her of old. She instantly rose, and as soon as Goodwood saw that he was seen he started forward. She had had time only to rise, when with a motion that looked like violence, but felt like she knew not what he grasped her by the wrist and made her sink again into the seat. She closed her eyes ; he had not hurt her,- it was only a touch that she had obeyed. But there was something in his face that she wished not to see. That was the way he had looked at her the other day in the churchyard ; only to-day it was worse. He said nothing at first ; she only felt him close to her. It almost seemed to her that nq one had ever been so close to her as that. All this, however, took but a moment, at the end of which she had disengaged her wrist, turning her eyes upon her visitant. " You have frightened me," she said. " I didn't mean to," he answered, " but if I did a little, no matter. I came from London a wbile ago by the train, but I couldn't come here directly. There was a man at the station who got ahead of me. He took a fly that was there, and I heard him give the order to drive here. I don't know who he was, but I didn't want to come with him ; I wanted to see you alone. So I have been waiting and walking about. I have walked all over, and I wgs just coming to the house when I saw you here. There was a keeper, or some one, who met me ; but that was all right, because I had made his acquaintance when I came here with your cousin. Is that gentleman gone] are you really alone 1 ? I want to speak to you." Goodwood spoke very fast; he was as excited as when they parted in Home. Isabel had hoped that condition would subside ; and she shrank into herself as she perceived that, on the contrary, he had only let out sail. L L 2