Her Faithful Knight — page 153: what you’re looking at

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

Passion and Poetry. 149 cially singling out for praise Miss Dorothy Knight’s per- formance of “Zara.” “All that this beautiful girl does,’ so ran the notice, “is simple, refined and wholly admirable.” The Hon. Darcy himself brought the paper round to Dorothy’s lodgings, and read aloud to her the article in question. “T knew the critics would come round in time,” he said. “This man exactly expresses my own views on the mat- ter.” “I am afraid I am dreadfully bad all the same,” said Dorothy humbly. “Everybody says I have spoiled your play, and it is really very good of you to refuse to be- lieve it.” The Hon. Darcy put the paper down and began to shake all over. . “Do you think I would care,” he whispered, “if even it were true, and you had spoiled it? Do you think I would mind if you ruined me, reduced me to beggary, if only you gave me sometimes one kind glance from those lovely eyes, | or let me hold that beautiful, soft, strong hand of yours in mine? What is my money to me? Do you think I wouldn’t be penniless to-morrow if you would love me?” There was no doubt of the strength of his emotion. He was deadly pale, and his voice was tremulous, his eyes alight with passion. His long, pointed, white hands twitched as they hung at his sides, opening and closing nervously as though they longed to seize her in their grasp. But although this display of scarce-repressed pas- sion stirred and excited Dorothy, who in her life had seen very little of love-making, it was by no means in his favor that she was moved. “If you talk in that style to me, Mr. Darcy, you will make it extremely difficult for me to stay in the company,” she said coldly, “and I shall Sie avoid seeing you at Eomichbooks (S@)