FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151  
152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   175   176   >>   >|  
vy lids. "Ask him--that's all," she replied shortly. She drew her furs around her shoulders preparatory to departure, but Diana stepped in front of her, laying a detaining hand on her arm. "What do you mean?" she demanded hotly. "Are you implying now that Max is going about under a false name? I hate your hints! Always, always you've tried to insinuate something against Max. . . . No!"--as the Russian endeavoured to free herself from her clasp--"No! You shan't leave this house till you've answered my question. You've made an accusation, and you shall prove it--if I have to bring you face to face with Max himself!" "I've made no accusation--merely a suggestion that you should ask him who he is. And as to bringing me face to face with him--I can assure you"--there was an inflection of ironical amusement in her light tones--"no one would be less anxious for such a _denouement_ than Max Errington himself. Now, good-bye; think over what I've said. And remember"--mockingly--"Adrienne de Gervais is a bad friend for the man one loves!" She flitted through the doorway, and Diana was left to deal as best she might with the innuendo contained in her speech. "_Adrienne de Gervais is a bad friend for the man one loves._" The phrase seemed to crystallise in words the whole vague trouble that had been knocking at her heart, and she realised suddenly, with a shock of unbearable dismay, that she was _jealous--jealous of Adrienne_! Hitherto, she had not in the least understood the feeling of depression and _malaise_ which had assailed her. She had only known that she felt restless and discontented when Max was out of her sight, irritated at the amount of his time which Miss de Gervais claimed, and she had ascribed these things to the depth of her love for him! But now, with a sudden flash of insight, engendered by the Russian's dexterous suggestion, she realised that it was jealousy, sheer primitive jealousy of another woman that had gripped her, and her young, wholesome, spontaneous nature recoiled in horrified self-contempt at the realisation. Pobs' good counsel came back to her mind: "It seems to me that if you love him, you needs _must_ trust him." Ah! but that was uttered in regard to another matter--the secret which shadowed Max's life--and she _had_ trusted him over that, she told herself. This, this jealousy of another woman, was an altogether different thing, something which had crept insidiously i
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151  
152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   175   176   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
Adrienne
 

jealousy

 

Gervais

 

Russian

 

suggestion

 
friend
 
jealous
 

realised

 
accusation
 

Hitherto


dismay

 

unbearable

 
secret
 

understood

 
depression
 

uttered

 
restless
 
assailed
 

malaise

 

matter


regard

 

feeling

 

shadowed

 

trouble

 

knocking

 

phrase

 

crystallise

 

insidiously

 

trusted

 

suddenly


altogether

 
discontented
 

insight

 

engendered

 

sudden

 
contempt
 

dexterous

 
wholesome
 

primitive

 
gripped

spontaneous
 

nature

 
horrified
 
recoiled
 

things

 

realisation

 
amount
 

irritated

 
ascribed
 

counsel