She grew more and more silent, more and more self-contained, but her
beauty deepened daily, and her eyes shone like blue stars.
"God, I will not believe it--I _cannot_ believe it!" said Julia, on her
knees, at night, her hands pressed tight against her eyes. "But I think
he is beginning to love me!" And she walked in a strange dazzle of
happiness, rejoicing in every sunny morning that, with its warmth and
blueness and distant soft whistles from the bay, seemed to promise the
spring, and rejoicing no less when rain beat against the windows of The
Alexander, and the children rushed in upon her at three o'clock with
raindrops in their hair and on their glowing cheeks. The convent garden,
in the February mornings, the assembly room, with late uncertain
sunlight checking its floor in the long afternoons, the Colonial
restaurant filled with lights and the odours of food at night, all these
familiar things seemed strangely new and thrilling, and the arrival of
the postman was, twice a day, a heart-shaking event.
In April Doctor Toland went on a fortnight's trip to Mexico, and took
his third daughter with him, in the undisguised hope of winning some
small share of her confidence, and convincing her of his own
disinterested affection.
Pages:
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291