She had received several letters from him, and she knew from them that the actor was weaving a spider's web to entrap poor Geraldine.
But she dared not speak, dared not warn the beautiful unconscious victim.
She was in the villain's power, through his knowledge of her past, and her terror for her own safety commanded her silence.
She was a weak woman, who had erred and repented; and now that she had begun to live a better life, she had a terror of losing her situation. She could not betray Clifford Standish, although she would have rejoiced in doing so with safety to herself.
So the days went by, and it was almost a week since Geraldine had written to Miss Carroll. She began to look eagerly for an answer.
Mrs. Fitzgerald proposed a shopping tour the next day.
"You have not made the tour of the Chicago shops yet, but I assure you they compare favorably with those of New York. We will drive to State street, and go through Marshall Field's immense establishment, which is one of the finest here. Then, too, we must visit Stevens & Brothers' magnificent silk store. We may find something to please us there. How sorry I am that I cannot introduce you formally to society yet, because of my mourning. You would be a vision of beauty in an evening dress."
Geraldine's thoughts flew back to the only time she had ever worn an evening dress—the night of the firemen's ball at Newburgh, when she had been so happy because Harry Hawthorne's eyes had told her over and over of her beauty. Ah, she would never be quite so happy again, she feared.
They entered the elegant liveried carriage and were driven to State street.
It was Geraldine's first shopping tour with her mother, and she found a great deal of zest in it, in spite of the sorrow that ached at her loving heart.