The Man in Possession — page 118: what you’re looking at

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

THE MAN IN POSSESSION. 113 rippled in a burnished mass round her slight and girlish figure. She looked so lovely that it was quite a pity no one: was there to admire the picture. Her face had grown gtave again. She was thinking how many enemies she seemed to have made in this brief time ; how spiteful the women, young and old, were. She was thinking, too, with inward annoyance, of her father’s growing influence over Sir Wilfred, and of the unconcealed infatuation of that vapid youth for herself. ‘‘It is all so stupid and so odious!” she cried, im- patiently, ‘‘just like being the heroine of a ‘penny | dreadful,’ where the poor and ‘ill-dressed heroine always wins the rich lord, though she has nothing but her youth and poverty and home-made dresses to recommend her. But I don’t want to win Sir Wilfred. I perfectly loathe him... only what a chance to throw away—and I thought—once—I would jump atit.... 1 wonder what has changed me?” Again the soft colour wavered over her cheeks; she sighed, and shook back the heavy hair with a sudden impatience. ‘‘Wealth is all very well, but it wouldn't content me. And it must be terrible to be tied to aman you despise and dislike. How could I help despising Sir Wilfred? I should have despised him just the same if Ihadn’t met some one so—so very different. ” A knock at the door disturbed her reflections at this juncture. She rose and crossed the room to open it. 8 ‘cConnichoo <Sr ‘