I intimated to Clara one day that he was a much better man than I had thought, and she gave me no reply, but looked on me with a light of wonder in her eyes.
"He does not trouble you now, Clara, does he?"
"Not as before, Emily."
"Well, does he at all?"
"I cannot say I feel quite at ease, Emily dear," she replied.
And I said: "It is your beautifully sensitive nature, darling; you cannot recover the balance once lost, and the tender nerves that have been shaken are like strings that after a touch continue to vibrate."
"Perhaps so, Emily, but I shall be so glad when the day comes when no mask of smiles can cover the workings of the heart, so glad; when we can really know each other."
"Those are Louis' sentiments."
"Oh yes, my dear boy! he has a heart that beats as mine, Emily, and after many days it shall come to pass that the desires of his heart shall be gratified."
Something in her tone and manner made me feel strangely; a chill crept over me, and for a second I felt numb.