A Heart's Bitterness — page 177: what you’re looking at

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

A HEART’S BITTERNESS. 169 Since Violet fled, affairs had gone thus: Voilet fled on Tuesday morning, and on Friday evening, about six, the dispatch was handed to Edna. On Tuesday, at nine o’clock, Kate, going to her lady’s room, had found her ab- sent. This surprised her; but, seeing that a simple walk- ing suit was gone, she concluded her lady had been restless, and had taken a sudden notion to stroll in the green park. Lord Leigh breakfasted about eleven, and made no remark at not seeing: Violet, as several times of late she had taken breakfast in her room. As Violet was still absent at lunch- time, Kate, though uneasy, fancied she had gone to Lady Burton’s, and was lunching there. But Violet was going to an afternoon tea with Lady Grace Churchill, and, as she did not return in time to dress, the faithful maid became greatly alarmed. She went to Lord Leigh, when he came in, and’ told him she did not know where her lady was, and was frightened. He replied, roughly, that ‘‘the countess was not a babe in leading strings, and that Kate was a fool. No doubt Lady Leigh was visiting her Aunt Ainslie.” The anxious Kate went to Mrs. Ainslie’s, and found, from her chief friend among the footmen, that Lady Leigh had not been there that day. She waited a while, and then, in an. off-hand manner, while-seeming to be merely on an errand among the maids at each house, discovered that the young countess had not been at the Countess Montressor’s, at Lady Clare Hartington’s, or Lady Churchill’s. Lord Leigh spent the evening in the House of Lords, and slept at his club. Kate spent a night of agony, and on Wednesday morning, as Violet was leaving Bedford, Kate went to-Lady Burton’s to tell her story to Miss Haviland. Up to that time no one had a hint of the disappearance of the young wife. . | Edna, terribly alarmed, called Lord Keith to hear Kate’s tale, and Keith went off to find Lord Leigh, whom he suc- ceeded in reaching about noon. Leigh went into a paroxysm of fury at the story. He loudly rated his lady’s childishness, folly, melancholy, idiocy. When he had exhausted himself, Kenneth told him that illness, accident, or strange and terrible villainy, must have overtaken Lady Leigh; and that it behooved ~ them to seek for her promptly and quietly, and not occasion a scandal. . | «Never a wife disappeared,” said Keith, ‘‘ but her hus- (e(0) comicbooks