A Heart's Bitterness — page 158: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

150 A HEART'S BITTERNESS. «She would need no help from me!” cried Helen. ‘‘She is dying fast enough; she goes day by day steadily to her doom. And you won’t see it, and you taunt me. Fool! Wretch! I will bring you to my level, mark my words!” ? CHAPTER XXXVIII. FALLEN BY THE WAYSIDE.. Whenever Helen Hope introduced the name of Kenneth Keith in her frequent conversations with Violet, Violet was either silent or quickly and adroitly changed the conversa- tion. But though not one word was said, Helen felt more and more assured that Kenneth had been the one great love of Violet’s life—that in spite of herself her heart still clung to him in a silent, hopeless agony. One day she said, boldly, to Violet: | ‘‘Since it is evident that Lord Leigh does not care for you, why don’t you give him up entirely, and make other friends, and find happiness with some one who would care for you? Why do you not abandon all this life that is wear- ing you out? Why not go away by yourself for a year or so, until you recover strength and live down your sorrow? Such a course would be a lesson to Lord Leigh. He would miss you and treat you well when you would be willing to return.” ‘‘T would not do such a thing for the world,” said Violet. «¢ Even if my husband would be glad to be rid of me, other friends would care—my aunts, Lady Burton, Edna.” ‘‘If you were not quite blinded you would see that Lady Burton is setting all her love on Miss Haviland, and trying to get her for Lord Keith. Miss Haviland will take the greatest match offered her. From the way she and Leigh exchange glances, | think if you were out of the way that would be her match. Lord Keith evidently adores her. At your dinner here the other night, when you were so sweet as to let me come and look on, dear, I saw them talking to- gether in a window for a long time. I understood—he was pleading his suit, and she was putting him off easily, to see if the marquis would propose. She is as true as her name,” said Helen. | - And why is not her name true?” demanded Violet. Eomicbooks. co