One of Our Conquerors - World eBook Library

One of Our Conquerors
forasmuch as it does not exhibit him entirely liquefied and
showered into space; it leaves him his legs for the taking of
further steps. Dudley, standing on the platform of Nesta’s
train, one half minute too late, according to his desire before
he put himself in motion, was as wildly torn as the vapour
shredded streaming to fingers and threads off the upright
columnar shot of the shriek from the boiler. He wished every
mad antagonism to his wishes: that he might see her, be
blind to her; embrace, discard; heal his wound, and tear it
wider. He thanked her for the grossness of an offence precluding
excuses. He was aware of a glimmer of advocacy in
the very grossness. He conjured-up her features, and they
said, her innocence was the sinner; they scoffed at him for
the dupe he was willing to be. She had enigma’s mouth, with
the eyes of morning.
More than most girls, she was the girl-Sphinx to him because
of her having ideas—or what he deemed ideas. She
struck a toneing warmth through his intelligence, not dissimilar
to the livelier circulation of the blood in the frame
breathing mountain air. She really helped him, incited him
to go along with this windy wild modern time more cheerfully,
if not quite hopefully. For she had been the book of
Romance he despised when it appeared as a printed volume:
and which might have educated the young man to read some
among our riddles in the book of humanity. The white he
was ready to take for silver the black were all black; the spotted
had received corruption’s label. Her youthful French governess
Mademoiselle de Seilles was also peculiarly enigmatic
at the mouth conversant, one might expect, with the disintegrating
literature of her country. In public, the two talked
of St. Louis. One of them in secret visits a Mrs. Marsett. The
Southweare women, the Hennen women, and Lady Evelina
Reddish, were artless candid creatures in their early days,
not transgressing in a glance. Lady Grace Halley had her fit
of the devotional previous to marriage. No girl known to
Dudley by report or acquaintance had committed so scandalous
an indiscretion as Miss Radnor’s: it pertained to the
insolently vile.
And on that ground, it started the voluble defence. For
certain suspected things will dash suspicion to the rebound,
when they are very dark. As soon as the charge against her
was moderated, the defence expired. He heard the world
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