ealing a
strip of red-stained handkerchief.

Mrs. Lovell grasped it, and thrust it out of sight.

She spoke as they approached the church-door: "Mention nothing of this
to a soul, or you forfeit my friendship for ever."

When they alighted, she was smiling in her old affable manner.

CHAPTER IX

Some consideration for Robert, after all, as being the man who loved
her, sufficed to give him rank as a more elevated kind of criminal
in Rhoda's sight, and exquisite torture of the highest form was
administered to him. Her faith in her sister was so sure that she could
half pardon him for the momentary harm he had done to Dahlia with her
father; but, judging him by the lofty standard of one who craved to be
her husband, she could not pardon his unmanly hesitation and manner of
speech. The old and deep grievance in her heart as to what men thought
of women, and as to the harshness of men, was stirred constantly by the
remembrance of his irresolute looks, and his not having dared to speak
nobly for Dahlia, even though he might have had, the knavery to think
evil. As the case stood, there was still mischief to counteract.
Her father had willingly swallowed a drug, but his suspicions only
slumbered, and she could not instil her own vivid hopefulness and trust
into him. Letters from Dahlia came regularly. The first, from Lausanne,
favoured Rhoda's conception of her as of a happy spirit resting at
celestial stages of her ascent upward through spheres of ecstacy. Dahlia
could see the snow-mountains in a flying glimpse; and again, peacefully
seated, she could see the snow-mountains reflected in clear blue waters
from her window, which, Rhoda thought, must be like heaven. On these
inspired occasions, Robert presented the form of a malignant serpent in
her ideas. Then Dahlia made excursions upon glaciers with her beloved,
her helpmate, and had slippings and tumblings--little earthly casualties
which gave a charming sense of reality to her otherwise miraculous
flight. The Alps were crossed: Italy was beheld. A profusion of "Oh's!"
described Dahlia's impressions of Italy; and "Oh! the heat!" showed her
to be mortal, notwithstanding the sublime exclamations. Como received
the blissful couple. Dahlia wrote from Como:--

"Tell father that gentlemen in my Edward's position cannot always
immediately proclaim their marriage to the world. There are
reasons. I hope he has been very angry with me: then it will be
soon over