They dwelt obstinately, unceasingly upon Montesma, the man
whose influence had awakened the slumbering soul from its torpor, had
stirred the deeps of a passionate nature.
Slave-dealer, gambler, adventurer, liar--his name blackened by the
suspicion of a still darker crime. She shuddered at the thought of the
villain from whose snare she had been rescued: and yet, his image as he
had been to her in the brief golden time when she believed him noble,
and chivalrous, and true, haunted her lonely days, mixed itself with her
troubled dreams, came between her and every other thought.
Everybody was good to her. That pale and joyless face, that look of
patient, hopeless suffering which she tried to disguise every now and
then with a faint forced smile; and silvery little ripple of society
laughter, seemed unconsciously to implore pity and pardon. Lady
Maulevrier uttered no word of reproach. 'My dearest, Fate has not been
kind to you,' she said, gently, after telling Lesbia of Lady Kirkbank's
visit. 'The handsomest women are seldom the happiest.
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