Resenting this beauty, which so poorly accommodated itself to the character of the woman who possessed it, I leaned nearer, searching for some defect in her loveliness, when I saw that the struggle and anguish visible in her expression were due to some dream she was having.
Moved, even against my will, by the touching sight of her trembling eyelids and working mouth, I was about to wake her when I was stopped by the gentle touch of Miss Althorpe on my shoulder.
"Is she the girl you are looking for?"
I gave one quick glance around the room, and my eyes lighted on the little blue pin-cushion on the satin-wood bureau.
"Did you put those pins there?" I asked, pointing to a dozen or more black pins grouped in one corner.
"I did not, no; and I doubt if Crescenze did. Why?"
I drew a small black pin from my belt where I had securely fastened it, and carrying it over to the cushion, compared it with those I saw. They were identical.
"A small matter," I inwardly decided, "but it points in the right direction"; then, in answer to Miss Althorpe, added aloud: "I fear she is. At least I have seen no reason yet for doubting it. But I must make sure. Will you allow me to wake her?"
"O it seems cruel! She is suffering enough already. See how she twists and turns!"
"It will be a mercy, it seems to me, to rouse her from dreams so full of pain and trouble."