At lunch Belle mentioned to her mother that Annie Colchester had a brother, and that he proposed to call that evening.
“I shall give him a hearty welcome for your sake, my dear,” said Mrs. Acheson. “What a pity I did not know, and I would have asked him to share our dinner.”
“It is very kind of you to see him at all,” said Annie, who felt more wretched each moment. If Mrs. Acheson really knew the sort of man she was receiving into her house would she ever forgive Annie?
[CHAPTER XXX—ANNIE IN THE TOILS.]
At seven the Achesons dined. Soon after eight o’clock there came a ring to the front door, and Rupert Colchester was announced. He came in looking brisk, smart, and handsome. He had managed, Annie could not imagine how, to get himself up well. He wore a frock-coat of the newest cut, his tie was immaculate, so were his collar and cuffs. He had a hemstitched handkerchief in his pocket with a slight scent about it. His hair had been cut, his face was clean-shaven; he was so good-looking that poor, foolish Annie felt a glow at her heart when she saw him enter the room.
Mrs. Acheson was kind to Annie’s brother, and Annie’s brother managed to make himself extremely agreeable. He talked to Mrs. Acheson, but he looked at Belle.
Now Belle, although she declared that there was no one in the world she despised like a man in his first adolescence, was disturbed by these glances from Rupert’s dark eyes. She pretended not to remark them, nevertheless she found her own short-sighted orbs meeting his again and again. After the fourth or fifth meeting of the two pairs of eyes Rupert got up, left his seat by Mrs. Acheson, and came over to where Belle sat.
“Do you know,” he said, dropping into a chair by her side, “that you interest me immensely?”
“Indeed,” answered Belle, “I am rather surprised to hear you say so. I never yet knew the man who wanted to look at me a second time. I know I am extremely plain, and the fact is I glory in being so.”
“It is my turn now to be surprised,” said Rupert very gently; “good looks are a great gift. You are quite mistaken in considering yourself plain. However, it is not your coloring, nor the size of your mouth, nor the shape of your face which specially strikes me; it is the remarkable development of your forehead. I spent several of my early years in America, and I remember when there meeting a man with a forehead like yours. He was the greatest classical scholar at Harvard College, near Boston.”