Such a tempting
afternoon!"
And out he hurried, before Diana could stop him. She remained standing,
with soft hurrying breath, looking out into the garden. On a lower
terrace she saw Fanny and Alicia Drake walking together, and could not
help a little laugh of amusement that seemed to come out of a heart of
content. Then the door opened, and Marsham was there.
CHAPTER IX
Marsham's first feeling, as he advanced into the room, and, looking
round him, saw that Diana was alone, was one of acute physical pleasure.
The old room with its mingling of color, at once dim and rich; the
sunlit garden through the casement windows; the scent of the logs
burning on the hearth, and of the hyacinths and narcissus with which the
warm air was perfumed; the signs everywhere of a woman's life and charm;
all these first impressions leaped upon him, aiding the remembered spell
which had recalled him--hot-foot and eager--from London, to this place,
on the very first opportunity.
And if her surroundings were poetic, how much more so was the
girl-figure itself!--the slender form, the dark head, and that shrinking
joy which spoke in her gesture, in the movement she made toward him
across the room.
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