She ran up the steps of the Lodge lightly and thanked him with a
pleasant "Good-night." As he turned away Kilmeny came face to face with
another fisherman returning from the sport of the night. The man
opposite him was rather short and thickset. In his eyes was a look of
kind shrewd wisdom. Red-faced and white-bearded, he was unmistakably an
Englishman of the upper class.
Miss Dwight introduced him as Lord Farquhar, and the men shook hands.
"Guess what I've got," demanded the young woman, her hands behind her.
"Heaven only knows. It might be anything from the measles to a new
lover," smiled Farquhar.
She flashed upon him the fish that had been hidden behind her waders.
"By Jove! Catch him yourself?"
She nodded, her eyes shining.
Farquhar, very much a sportsman, wanted to know all about it, after
which he insisted on weighing the trout. Jack was dragged into the Lodge
to join in this function, and presently found himself meeting Lady
Farquhar, a pleasant plump lady who did not at all conform to the usual
stage conception of her part. Her smile was warm for this supple
blue-eyed engaging Westerner, but the latter did not need to be told
that behind her friendliness the instinct of the chaperone was alert.
The one swift glance she had thrown at Miss Dwight told him as much.
Into the room drifted presently Miss Seldon, a late novel in her hand.
In contrast with her sheathed loveliness Miss Dwight looked like a young
girl. There was something very sweet and appealing in Moya's slim
indefinite figure of youth, with its suggestion of developing lines, but
most men ceased to look at her when Joyce swam within the orbit of their
vision.
Joyce Seldon was frankly a beauty in every line and feature. Her
exquisite coloring, the soft amber hair so extravagant in quantity, the
long lashes which shaded deep lovely eyes, satisfied the senses no less
than the supple rounded young body which was carried with such light
grace. Kilmeny was not very impressionable, but in her presence the
world seemed somehow shot through with a new radiance. She laid upon
him the spell of women.
Presently Dobyans Verinder dropped in with an empty creel and opened
wide supercilious eyes at sight of Jack. He was followed presently by
Captain Kilmeny and his sister, the latter a pretty Irish girl, quick of
tongue, quicker of eye, and ready for anything from flirting to fishing.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account