CHAPTER XIX.
"WHOM THE GODS WISH TO DESTROY THEY FIRST MAKE MAD."
orine! And like this, after four years, these two meet again.
Norine! His lips shape the word, but no sound follows. He stands before her destitute of all power to speak or move. Lost in a trance of wonder, he remains looking down upon the fair, smiling, upturned face, utterly confounded.
"I am very pleased to meet Mr. Thorndyke. By reputation I know him well."
These audacious words, smilingly spoken, reach his ear. She bows, taps her fan lightly, and makes some airy remark to her host. And still Laurence Thorndyke stands petrified. She notices, lifts her eyebrows, and ever so slightly shrugs her shoulders.
"Mr. Thorndyke does not spare me. To which of my defects, I wonder, do I owe this steady regard?"