The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Love Story Reversed, by Edward Bellamy

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Title: A Love Story Reversed
1898

Author: Edward Bellamy

Release Date: September 21, 2007 [EBook #22711]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A LOVE STORY REVERSED ***

Produced by David Widger

A LOVE STORY REVERSED

By Edward Bellamy

1898

I

The golden hands of the parlor clock point glimmeringly to an hour
after midnight, and the house is still. The gas is turned almost out,
but the flickering of the dying sea-coal fire in the grate fitfully
illumines the forms and faces of two young women, who are seated before
it, talking earnestly in low tones. It is apparent from their costumes
that they have been spending the evening out.

The fair girl in the low chair, gazing pensively into the fire, is Maud
Elliott, the daughter of the house. Not generally called handsome, her
features are good and well balanced, and her face is altogether a sweet
and wholesome one. She is rather tall, and the most critical admit
that she has a fine figure. Her eyes are blue, and their clear, candid
expression indicates an unusually sincere and simple character. But,
unfortunately, it is only her friends who are fully conversant with the
expression of her eyes, for she is very shy. Shyness in little people
is frequently piquant, but its effect in girls of the Juno style is too
often that of awkwardness. Her friends call Maud Elliott stately; those
who do not like her call her stiff; while indifferent persons speak of
her as rather too reserved and dignified in manner to be pleasing. In
fact, her excess of dignity is merely the cloak of her shyness, and
nobody knows better than she that there is too much of it. Those
who know her at all well know that she is not dull, but with mere
acquaintances she often passes for that. Only her intimate friends are
aware what wit and intelligence, what warmth and strength of feeling,
her coldness when in company conceals.

No one better understands this, because no one knows her better or
has known her longer, than her present companion before the fire, Lucy
Mer-ritt. They were room