Her Faithful Knight — page 184: what you’re looking at

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

180 The Blow Falls. London, whence he returned to Plymouth with a special marriage license in his pocket. Friday morning was passed in shopping, and the afternoon in a long drive on which, at Dorothy’s insistence, Mr. and Mrs. Stourton- Chepe accompanied the engaged couple, and when at length Saturday morning dawned, it seemed to Dorothy incredible that this should be indeed her wedding day. Not once had she allowed the Hon. Darcy to be alone ' with her from the moment when he had, on receipt of Jack Wyverley’s message, joined her on the sea front and heard her own lips confirm her acceptance of his offer. Something in his eyes startled and embarrassed her, making her dread the inevitable moment when they two should be left alone together. Meantime Mrs. Stour- _ton-Chepe was profuse in her congratulations. “T never saw a man so madly in love in all my life,” she said. “You have played your cards very well, little girl. That stand-off hautetr of yours wouldn’t have done with everybody, but it was very successful in Darcy’s case. Of course, he’s extremely poor, considering his position. But I’m told there’s every probability of his brother dying before he is forty, and then you will be Lady Derrick.” It was useless to tell the true state of the case to Mrs. Stourton-Chepe. Old Marmaduke Strutt, the melan- choly, low comedian, was the only member of the com- pany who guessed Miss Knight’s real motive in marrying her manager. When Marmaduke congratulated her, she looked him straight in the face, while tears gathered in her eyes. “Mr. Derrick has been very kind and generous,” she said; “but if I had not made such a terrible failure, or if I were alone in the world, I would not do it.” She could not write and tell her sister that she was going to be married to a man whose name she had hardly b Eomichbooks (C@)