A Struggle for a Ring — page 244: what you’re looking at

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

” 240 A WIFE DECORATING A. RIVAL. win him,” thought Alice. ‘‘ He is my husband—God and man have joined us together. She must not try to take him from.me. I—I would rather twine serpents and thorns in her flowers than that they should charm him. But Iam mistaken; it cannot be he; it is Captain Moore— Captain Moore, with his perfumed love-locks—not Vivian Carsdale, who is the only man in the wide world she could smile on, and smile in vain.” It was some little relief to her not to have to go to Lady Waldrove just yet. She felt that the talk about her son would have driven her mad. She sat there in the bright sunlight, trying in vain to drive the terrible doubts and fears away, until the bell rang for luncheon, and she was compelled to go down stairs. CHAPTER XXXV. A WIFE DECORATING A RIVAL. In after days Alice looked back on that hour spent at the luncheon table, as the time of her greatest torture; other evils were deferred, this was not. In the sorrows and troubles of her after days there was before her a set- tled sorrow—now there was not; there was only the vague, terrible. dread, the dark, indefinable fear. She looked round on the bright faces. Lady Ethel’s beautiful features were radiant; Miss Bell had more animation than usual in her manner; Lady Legard and Lady Waldrove were talk- ing ; every one seemed cheerful, bright, and happy. Then, as she had expected, dreaded, yet hoped, the copecrantion Gom (C yoo) S (E(0)