Her grey eyes were luminous as stars with a warmer light as they sometimes rested on his; there was a wild rose bloom on her cheeks painted by nature, with the invigorating air of the mountains. Sometimes, with a gay abandon, she tossed aside head-gear and cloak, and with Lionel, descended from the carriage to cull some rare moss or late flower, or make the ascent of a higher spot to view some lovelier scene; just now she is looking more than usually lovely. In this prelude to real love-making, as was now taking place daily between Lionel and Vaura; what a magical softening of expression there is, what a sweetness of languor in the eyes, a tremulous sighing from the waiting heart; and yet, she is blissfully happy, for she knows that she is loved by a man whom she will love, aye, does, with all the sympathy and passion of her nature.
CHAPTER XXVII.
GRUNDY'S LASH CAUSES HEART-ACHE.
On the evening of the sixth day, our friends leisurely arrived in the city of the Caesars; on coming in at the depot, Trevalyon, hiring a landau, they, with Sims and the maids following, proceeded to the villa Iberia. They learned that the noble owner had been there three days previously, and had then given his own servants a holiday, hiring English in their stead, thinking the comfort of his guests would be better attended to by this arrangement.
"The Marquis must have come here immediately after the ball," said
Lady Esmondet, "I heartily wish he were here to welcome us."
Her companions were silent, both busy with thought; Trevalyon's were not altogether pleasant, his proud spirit recoiling from self at the part he had played in the boudoir of Madame de Hauteville.
"Had I not," he told himself, "had I not bowed to Del Castello's question of 'are you anything to her?' he would have been here to do his wooing; we, at an hotel, and yet, it was only human, but, bah! how mean; but was I to give up any place I may have in her heart, and yield her to the influence of his southern tongue, merely because I am held in honour not to speak, and am just now a foot-ball for Dame Rumour. God help me, darling, I couldn't; you might, in pique at my silence, have given way to his warm words; you belong to me; I have only you, and should I lose you, one of two courses would be mine; either to make an endless beast of myself for distraction's sake, or become misanthrope, like my poor father." So thinking, he unfastened the cloak of the woman whose beauty and sweet womanliness, had made him captive.
In the hall, the butler saying:
"Dinner will await your ladyship's pleasure in half an hour; our master, his noble lordship, commanded cook to have it ready every evening, on arrival of nine o'clock express, so your ladyships and the English gentleman would find comfort."
"Your master is very thoughtful," said Lady Esmondet.