Scotland -- Social life and customs -- 19th century -- Fiction
"She's standing there making herself as conspicuous as if she were a
street girl!" he screamed to himself, and other shouts filled his ears,
and he became aware that a cursing driver had pulled up his horse a foot
away and that the loafers at the kerb were lifting jeering cries. He
charged it one more offence to Ellen's account that she had caused him
to make a fool of himself, and vowed he would never think of her again,
and ran among the people to see where she had gone. Yaverland was
leading her very quickly along towards the North Bridge, and she was now
nothing but a dark shape that might, he thought with a glee that he did
not understand, have belonged to some ageing woman with a bony body and
a sallow face. But then he saw against the lit pavement her narrow feet
treading that gait that was like a grave, slow dance, and he realised
with agony that it was no use lying to himself and pretending that this
was anybody but Ellen--Ellen, who was far different from every other
woman in the world and more desirable. She slowly turned, as if her
spirit had felt this rage at the fact of her running at her heels, and
wished to have it out with him. He gripped his stick and raised a hand
to hide his working mouth, and waited for the moment when she would see
his face, but it did not come.
The man Yaverland had put out his great ham of a hand and hailed a cab.
When Mr. Philip tried to stop a cab he usually had to run alongside it,
and often the driver was most impudent, but this swaggering bully
checked the thing on the instant, and handed in Ellen and drove off in
style as if he was a duke with his duchess in their own carriage. What
did they want in a cab anyway? He followed the black trundling square on
its spidery wheels as it turned round by the Register House to cross the
North Bridge, and imagined the fine carryings on they were doubtless
having in the dark in there. He called Ellen a name he had not thought
of before.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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