Her Faithful Knight — page 198: what you’re looking at

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

194 ‘The Truth at Last. ‘ing, herding with actors and singers and that sort of Bo- hemian nobody, afraid to use my own name, and compelled even to disguise my appearance, to stain my hair dark - with cosmetics, and use other theatrical tricks to elude duns and writs and other things even worse. My mother —the only person in this world who really understands me —gave out that I was living abroad, but on the death of my father, who was my worst enemy and persecutor, I was able to come out of my obscurity and claim acquaint- ance with my friends and equals. As to the twenty-five thousand pounds, I must own to you, my dear girl, that we shan’t have very much of that. Just about five or six thousand I may manage to snatch from creditors’ jaws, but not more. You see, I’ve dropped a good many hun- dreds over this tour, but as it won you for me, you may well believe that I don’t grudge it.” She did not speak. He asked her permission to smoke, and rolled and lit a cigarette with fingers that shook a little while he proceeded to the second part of his dis- course. if “When fate threw us together in Whitlock’s office I knew you would be mine. It was only a question of time. Your sister’s infatuation for me never moved me like your indifference. I have been so much loved by women that coldness fascinates me. Your very hatred of Sergius Tre- velyan made you more attractive. To see you turn pale with the strength of your dislike against him while you spoke to me stimulated my passion and thrilled me with excitement. I knew that you would love me, that you would not be able to resist my love, and I looked eagerly forward to the moment when, folded in my arms, you would hear my confession and kiss away my self- accusing words. You learned my secret too soon, but sooner or later you would have to know it, for I never meant to meet your sister. I am sorry, very sorry, for COMMKELXN] <3 (G(0)