[CHAPTER XLIX.]
When Ida re-entered the house, the guests were still assembled in the drawing-room.
Eugene Mallard was standing a little apart from the rest, looking thoughtfully into vacancy.
As she entered the room, he started, and, to her surprise, he crossed over to her.
"Ida," he said, "will you come out on the porch with me for a few moments? I wish to speak with you."
She looked at him in terror. Had he learned of the return of Royal Ainsley?
A great darkness seemed to suddenly envelop her, and it was by the greatest effort that she kept herself from swooning. But the fresh air revived her.
Eugene placed a chair for her, and as she was trembling violently, she was glad to sink into it. There was a seat near. Eugene did not take it, but, instead, stood leaning against one of the fluted columns of the porch. For a few moments he was silent, and those few moments seemed like long years to Ida.