w weeds had sprung up in the corners,
and along the edges by the walls. At the foot of a broad, easy flight of
steps, leading up to a covered porch, two majestic Egyptian sphinxes
lay keeping guard; their huge rounded flanks mottled here and there with
patches of moss and lichens. Although the large chateau looked lonely
and deserted, it had a grand, lordly air, and seemed to be kept in
perfect order and repair. Isabelle was led up the steps and into the
vestibule by the man who had brought her there, and then consigned
to the care of a respectable-looking majordomo, who preceded her up
a magnificent staircase, and into a suite of rooms furnished with
the utmost luxury and elegance. Passing through the first--which was
enriched with fine old carvings in oak, dark with age--he left her in a
spacious, admirably proportioned apartment, where a cheery wood fire was
roaring up the huge chimney, and she saw a bed in a curtained alcove.
She chanced to catch sight of her own face in the mirror over an
elaborately furnished dressing-table, as she passed it, and was startled
and shocked at its ghastly pallor and altered expression; she scarcely
could recognise it, and felt as if she had seen a ghost--poor Isabelle!
Over the high, richly ornamented chimney-piece hung a portrait of a
gentleman, which, as she approached the fire, at once caught and riveted
her attention. The face seemed strangely familiar to her, and yet she
could not remember where she had seen it before. It was pale, with
large, black eyes, full red lips, and wavy brown hair, thrown carelessly
back from it-apparently the likeness of a man about forty years of age
and it had a charming air of nobility and lofty pride, tempered with
benevolence and tenderness, which was inexpressibly attractive. The
portrait was only half-length--the breast being covered with a steel
cuirass, richly inlaid with gold, which was partly concealed by a white
scarf, loosely knotted over it. Isabelle, despite her great alarm and
anxiety, could not long withdraw her eyes or her thoughts from this
picture, which seemed to exert a strange fascination over her. There
was something about it that at the first glance resembled the Duke of
Vallombreuse, but the expression was so different that the likeness
disappeared entirely upon closer examination. It brought vague memories
to Isabelle's mind that she tried in vain to seize--she felt as if she
must be looking at it in a dream. She was still abso