Her Faithful Knight — page 106: what you’re looking at

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

102 Mr. Darcy’s Comedy Company. into a young maid’s day-dreams, making her soft and self-conscious, Dorothy’s mind had been perforce ab- sorbed by the problem of how to live, how to make enough money to feed, clothe, and keep a roof over the little household in Lockhart Cottages. That was clearly her first duty, and left her no leisure for dreaming. But on Phyllis, whose nature was weaker, and who had always been a little spoiled, the burden of responsibility had never been allowed to fall, and even now, as she lay exhausted upon her pillows, with clouded brain and sad eyes fixed upon her sister, the comforting thought crept into her soul that Dorothy would make it all right, just as Dor- othy had miraculouly produced bank-notes when money was most needed. Dorothy would prove her marriage, would even turn Sergius from the error of his ways, and force him to jus- tify Phyllis’s first belief in him, and with this hope at her heart the invalid’s eyes closed in sleep. On that same memorable day when Dorothy started on her stage career, she was destined to behold again the only man who had ever so far inspired in her any strong feelings of interest. Even to herself she would hardly own her disappointment, when, as she drove in the un- wonted glory of a cab toward Charing Cross Station, she caught sight of the tall, broad-shouldered figure of Ayl- mer Read entering the post office by Trafalgar Square, and could not, by the intentness of her gaze in his direc- tion, make him turn and see her. In all probability the entire course of her future life and of Aylmer’s also would have been altered could she have succeeded in attracting his attention. Had she only known it, he was buying a post office order to send to that same provincial photo- erapher who had offered to supply him with other por- traits of “Mrs. Sergius Trevelyan, née Miss Phyllis Knight.” Even if he was not fated to meet her again at comilcbooksscom —