Geoffrey's victory; $b or, the double deceptionSheldon, Georgie, Mrs.
General
Geoffrey's victory; $b or, the double deception
Sheldon, Georgie, Mrs.
Boston (Mass.) -- Social life and customs -- 19th century -- Fiction; Dime novels; Romance fiction
CHAPTER XXXI.
A RETROSPECTIVE GLANCE.
It was indeed Doctor Turner, although twenty years or more had changed
him greatly.
They had given portliness to his form, turned his dark brown hair to a
silvery whiteness, and seamed his face with many a line of thought and
care.
He now wore, too, a full beard, which was also very gray, although not
as white as his hair, while the gold-bowed spectacles, which had become
a constant necessity, added to the strangeness of his appearance.
He had given up his practice some ten years previous, and was now the
sole proprietor of the handsome drug store on Washington street, already
mentioned.
But, although Doctor Turner had spoken with the utmost confidence in
addressing the lady before him, charging her with her identity, he was
nevertheless somewhat staggered when she looked him calmly in the eye
and replied, without a tremor, in her full, rich tones:
“You are mistaken, Doctor Turner—if that is your name—mine is not ‘Mrs.
Marston,’ and never was.”
“I know that your true name is not Mrs. Marston and never was,” the
physician replied, after a moment’s quiet study of his companion; “but
you are nevertheless the woman whom I attended at the —— House on the
date I have mentioned. You are very little changed, and I could not fail
to recognize you anywhere.”
The woman’s face grew crimson, then startlingly white again; her eyes
drooped beneath his steady gaze, her lips trembled from inward
excitement.
“You have a remarkable memory,” she murmured, and stood confessed before
him.
“No better than your own, madame, if I had changed as little as
yourself. Time has dealt far less kindly with me. Not a thread of your
hair has silvered, your color is as fresh, your face as fair as on the
day of our last meeting. Pardon me,” continued the doctor, with a
deprecating gesture, “for reminding you so abruptly of the past, but I
have never ceased to feel a deep interest in the mysterious case to
which I have referred, and I could not refrain from renewing the
acquaintance.”
“With what object?” queried madame, with cold dignity.
“I cannot say that I have any definite object in mind,” responded the
physician, suavely; “possibly I imagined I might be on the brink of a
discovery. However, that is neither here nor there; if you are desirous
of finding the gentleman who adopted your child, it may be that I can
assist you, if, after you confide in me your reasons for seeking him, I
shall deem it advisable.”
Mrs. Marston started slightly at this.
“Do you know August Damon?” she asked.
Doctor Turner smiled.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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