Lady Evelyn — page 172: what you’re looking at

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

" Mignonnette’s S Secret. a 165 “py giving me the privilege of escorting you: to the theater—your present destination, of course. Do me the honor to accept my arm, mademoiselle. At this hour it 1S quite out of the question you should be abroad alone.” The little actress laughed in immeasurable disdain. ; =i “Your solicitous, fatherly care is quite thrown away, Monsieur Trevannance. And I won't take your arm, thank you. I can get along very well without it.” “You will permit me, at least, to accompany you as. far as the theater door? It is my destination also.” . “IT beg your pardon—don’t tell stories! You were going in entirely the opposite direction when I met you. And—if you will excuse my saying so, monsieur—lI pre- fer to be alone.” “But why? You are as hard to gain an interview with as Queen Victoria—harder, by Jove! That old duenna oi yours pus you as though you were a living Koh-i- noor.” “So I am—only a great deal more precious.” “As 1f I did not know that—to my cost. Mademoiselle, you are cruel. I owe my life to your care, and yet you only save it to render it supremely miserable. You know J adore you.’ But the Brummel nonchalance of his tone never altered as he said it, and the lazy, handsome hazel eyes, looking down upon her, burned with no very passionate ardor. It would have taken a good deal more than a passion for a pretty little actress to rout that languid indifference to all things earthly, that had been inbred in him from his nursery. | Yet at the slow, lazy words, the downward gleams of his brown eyes, the blood flashed red in the dark face of the Red Queen, despite her every effort. She caught her breath, and bit her rosy under-lip fiercely, as she stopped short, all at once, and faced him. - “Mr. Trevannance, in your country—in London—it may ‘be the correct thing to impertinently follow an ac- tress, whether she will or no, and insult her in the public | streets. But this is another country, and even aristocrats’ like you are amenable to the law. Yonder stands a po-- liceman. Follow.me another step, and I will give you in charge!” aoc aan black eyes flashed up at him with a. passion comicbooks co