A Struggle for a Ring — page 299: what you’re looking at

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

A TRYING POSITION. 295 know that she was mistaken, that he was not talking non- sense to Lady Ethel, that they were not.even flirting, as her grave look seemed to imply. Yet why need he study her? She had no right to watch him and look reproach- fully at him. ‘“‘Are you going?” asked Lady Ethel; ‘‘then our pleasant hour is ended.” 9 She saw his glance rest lightly on the bowed head of his young wife. She misunderstood at once, and believed that he did not care to remain talking to her because Ailie was present. ‘‘Are you really going, Lord Carsdale?’’ she repeat ‘‘we have not finished our argument.” There was something of impatience in the tone as he replied : ‘¢T have promised to look at some horses this morning ; my mother is making me a present of one. I must say au revoir, Lady Ethel.” He bowed as he passed Ailie, and quitted the room. The young wife breathed more freely as he went away; true, she missed the light of his presence, but she was saved the pain of seeing him talk to another. A cloud came over the beautiful face of Lady Ethel; it was simply intolerable, she thought, in her angry jealousy, that Ailie should have the power of entering the library when she liked, and of driving Lord Carsdale away. Evidently he had quitted the room because he did not care to speak much before his mother’s companion. Still she was too sweet-tempered and too amiable to say much. Shecrossed | the room, and looked at the book—at the blank faper. ip ‘‘You do not seem to have made much progress with your work,” she said, quietly. ‘* Do you find a difficulty in choosing the quotations?” A 7 comicbooks:com