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At her mercy, by the author of 'Lost sir Massingberd'. (1874)
At her mercy by the author of 'Lost sir Massingberd' - 1874 Author:James Payn Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. A GLEAM OF SUNSHINE'. HEN Evy came to herself it was on the sofa in her own little sitting-room; not a sound was heard save the steady fa... more »ll of summer rain upon the window, and at first she thought herself quite alone ; but presently her eyes fell on a bowed figure in the chair beside her, and recognized Mr. Hulet. All others, whoever they had been who had answered Mr. Paragon's cry for assistance, had left her. She awoke with a confused sense of wrong and woe, but without recalling whathad happened, till her gaze fixed itself upon her uncle's face, and read it there. " Bear up, my brave girl," whispered he, " he was never worthy of you." " Hush, hush," said she, softly. " He was not to blame. I had behaved ill to him, as he thought, and he was piqued and angry. It was no one's fault." " Yes it was, Evy; God forgive me, it was mine." " What can you mean, uncle ?" Her question was less in answer to his words than to his looks and tone, which evinced an insupportable agony. She had thought nothing could be more terrible than to see this old man weep, but she had been mistaken ; there were no tears now, but a hopeless yearning in his eyes, a blank distress upon his ghastly face, such as one might wear who prays for death, but to whom death comes not. Dejection anddespair have each their sad insignia, but there is that which makes a sadder show on the countenance of man than they ; when the heart is wrung by the sense of wrong-doing for which there is no remedy— profitless remorse. It was this that Evy beheld, and though she knew it not for what it was, it shocked and terrified her. " It is wrong, it is wicked of you, dear," she continued earnestly, " to thus reproach yourself for a misfortune that could not have been avoided. It was not your f...« less