At which rate I shall be thirteen
to-morrow."
The old man had rattled on as if he saw the cloud on Alec's face and
would dispel it by kindness. I believe he was uneasy about him. Whether
he divined the real cause of his gloom, or feared that he was getting
into bad ways, I cannot tell.
He did not succeed, however, in dispelling the cloud; for the thought
at this moment passing through Alec's mind was, that Kate had wanted
the merry-making in order to have Beauchamp there. But with a feeling
like that which makes one irritate a smarting wound, or urge on an
aching tooth, he resolved to go and have his pain in earnest.
He was the first to arrive.
Kate was in the drawing-room at the piano, radiant in white--lovelier
than ever. She rose and met him with some embarrassment, which she
tried to cover under more than usual kindness. She had not wished Alec
to be one of the company, knowing it would make him unhappy and her
uncomfortable.
"Oh Kate!" said Alec, overpowered with her loveliness.
Kate took it for a reproach, and making no reply, withdrew her hand and
turned away. Alec saw as she turned that all the light had gone out of
her face. But that instant Beauchamp entered, and as she turned once
more to greet him, the light flashed from her face and her eyes, as if
her heart had been a fountain of rosy flame.
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