A Struggle for a Ring — page 338: what you’re looking at

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

334 “DO YOU LOVE ME?” all, it must be by always looking bright and cheerful, no matter what happened. In her heart she felt it, and she made no outward sign. She could not help sceing that Lady Ethel had a most supreme influence over her husband, and she was power- less to counteract it. “9 Lord Carsdale had decided upon a course of action, and he said to himself that now the sooner he brought his complicated matters to some kind of settlement the better. The first object he had in view was to see if he was right in his suspicion-—if Lady Ethel really loved him; the second was, to take legal advice and see whether the sep- aration was practicable or not—he could think of no other plan. As it was, three people were unutterably miserable, three people were leading the most unhappy lives; the un- happiness might be lessened. He wished that it were pos- sible. Could he have taken it all, he would willingly have suffered it to have seen Lady Ethel and Ailie happy. He resolved that evening to know something. The earl and countess were busy over a game at ecarée, The visitors were engaged each one in different fashion. He did not see Ailie; she had left the room. Then he took Lady Ethel to the other end of the long drawing- room, where the great glass doors led to the lighted con- servatory. ‘* How beautiful the flowers look,” she said. Had any one else been with her she would have sug- gested that they should go through it; as it was, she refrained, and he did not mention it. They stood at the open glass door, where the sweet breath of the flowers came to them like a fragrant message, then he spoke. ‘‘ Lady Ethel,” he said, ‘‘your friendship and mine has been a strange one, so unlike all others, that it justifies me cComicbooks.