He ceased in the middle of a nocturne and would have left the room, but she restrained him:
“It is only my father returning from India,” smiled she; “I shall be so glad to introduce you.”
The full horror of the situation burst upon him like a thunderbolt out of a clean sky.
“Madam,” he thundered, “your father is dead! He died of the plague in Bombay, and I attended the funeral, although he had cursed me with his last breath. I cannot—cannot meet him!”
With those words falling from his white lips he flung himself out of the room. A servant entered and handed Clarisse the visiting card of Mrs. Delahanty.
From “Mary Ann & Co.”
As they neared each other on the narrow bridge Paul observed that she was profoundly agitated.
“Darling,” he said, “please to signify the cause of your perturbation. It is not impossible that I may be able to remove it. You know,” he added, “that I have studied medicine.”
She blushed deeply, then turned pale and continued to tremble. He seized her hand and laid two fingers upon her wrist.
“The pulse,” he said, “is abnormally frequent and irregular.”