Without any
positive change of color, her delicate skin glowed faintly, as if it
felt some animating inner warmth. Her eyes and lips brightened with a
new vitality; her frail elegant figure seemed insensibly to strengthen
and expand, like the leaf of a flower under a favoring sunny air. When
she answered Romayne (agreeing with him, it is needless to say), there
was a tender persuasiveness in her tones, shyly inviting him still to
speak to her and still to look at her, which would in itself have told
Father Benwell the truth, even if he had not been in a position to see
her face. Confirmed in his doubts of her, he looked, with concealed
suspicion, at Lady Loring next. Sympathy with Stella was undisguisedly
expressed to him in the honest blue eyes of Stella's faithful friend.
The discussion on the subject of the unfortunate picture was resumed by
Lord Loring, who thought the opinions of Romayne and Stella needlessly
severe. Lady Loring, as usual, agreed with her husband. While the
general attention was occupied in this way, Father Benwell said a word
to Penrose--thus far, a silent listener to the discourse on Art.
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