A Struggle for a Ring — page 386: what you’re looking at

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

382 “7 WILL SUFFER FOR HIM.” Ailie leave her brother’s room, had plainly heard his half- whispered, hasty ‘‘good-night”—after that she had not slept... To do her justice, she was really distressed—distressed first of all for her brother, in whom she had always had the most implicit faith; grieved for Lady Ethel, who loved him she was sure; and she was also grieved for Ailie. Lady Gertrude was very proud, very haughty, very exclusive, but she was not hard of heart; she felt sincerely grieved that the girl had, as she believed, lost herself— heartily sorry that she had fallen a victim to her own folly. She was wide awake the remainder of the night, thinking it over; the more she thought the more completely was she puzzled; she could not recall one instance in which she had seen her brother and Ailie Derwent talking to- gether. They had been the greatest strangers; they had not even seemed to take the ordinary interest of strangers in each other; the only conclusion that she could draw from this was that they had adopted this reserve as a kind of mask, behind the shield of which they carried on an intrigue. Lady Gertrude, though proud and haughty, was a good woman, and she was unfeignedly sorry for Ailie. Then, when she began in the morning to make inquiries, she found Lady Waldrove’s maid had already some very well- founded suspicions. ‘Then she heard the story of how the maid had twice at night found Miss Derwent’s room empty, how she had twice seen her stealing into the house, and how one of the men-servants had seen her in the grounds with a gentleman. When questioned as to why they had not told these stories before, their answer was that they had not wished to do Miss Derwent any harm. Then Lady Gertrude felt that Miss Derwent must not (E(0) mm (é JOO Ss.