The Man in Possession — page 297: what you’re looking at

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

2Q2 THE MAN IN POSSESSION. Kate felt very indignant—the more so as her father seemed perfectly ignorant as to who his cred- itor really was. Mrs. Lafaye had not mentioned Tom Rivers for some time, and the girl was too proud toask for news of him. Perhaps the little American judged rightly when she resolved to let matters alone for the pre- sent, feeling sure that Kate’s resentment would wear itself out, as indeed it was fast doing. One evening she came into the drawing-room after an unusually trying day. Lady Jocelyn had been there—worrying and fussing the whole household about her darling boy. There had been a consulta- tion of doctors, with the usual results—that is to say, fees to themselves, vague hopes and wordy explana- tions to the patient’s friends—and no material benefit to the patient himself. She had gone through all this and now Lady Jocelyn had left. Cornelius had departed to seek consolation at his club, and Sir Wilfred had at last ceased whining and grumbling and fallen into a feverish and uneasy sleep. Utterly wearied and broken down, the girl left the sick-room in charge of the nurse and descended to the drawing- room. A couch was drawn up near the fire. The lamp was lit and shone on the somewhat bare and com- fortless aspect of the room. A basket of hyacinths and lilies, which Lady Jocelyn had brought up from Croft, stood on a small table, and their faint, sweet perfume filled the air with fragrance. The girl sank down on the couch with a sigh of Intense fatigue. Her face looked strangely white COMicloe (Sri C(O)