She felt an exquisite pleasure in thus being exhibited at his side to the habitués of his particular world, and did not realize the strangeness of his inattention to herself, or the eagerness of his excited glance as it roved from carriage to carriage filled with fair faces and bright, sparkling eyes, as if in restless search for some one.
At last!
Jessie, close to his side, felt the young man give a quick start of surprise and emotion, at the same moment lifting his hat with a low bow.
She saw passing them on the drive a splendid, low victoria, containing two handsome, elegantly dressed ladies, one past the first blush of girlhood, the other—oh!—the dark beauty of this morning who had come to Madame Barto’s to know her fate and fortune!
Jessie’s dark, uplifted eyes met and held for a moment the flashing orbs of the beautiful brunette, and all in a moment she felt as if she were withering in the heat of some desert simoom, so fierce and malevolent was that look that seemed to scorch her very soul.
She thought with a thrill of nameless fear:
“The beautiful stranger hates me!—I wonder why!”
But the next moment the fear was blotted out in a new terror.
No one could ever tell what frightened Frank Laurier’s spirited ponies, but just as they passed the victoria they bolted wildly and ran away in spite of his close grip on the reins, creating a terrible panic and confusion, and barely missing a collision with another carriage.