Thaddeus
was not insensible to this gentle fascination; for it appeared to his
ingenuous nature to be unconsciously shown, and from under "veiled
lids." He looked on her as indeed a lovely woman, who, with a
touching delicacy, he observed, often tried to stifle sigh after
sigh, which, fluttering rose to her silent lips. Thus, as silently
remarking her, he became deeply interested in her; for he believed
her yearning heart then thought of her gallant husband, far, far at
sea. So had been his conclusion when he first noticed these
demonstrations of an inward unuttered sensibility. But in a little
while afterwards, when those veiled lids were occasionally raised,
and met his compassionate gaze, she mistook the nature of its
expression; and her responsive glance, wild with ecstasy, returned
him one that darted astonishment, with an appalling dread of his
meaning, through his every vein. But on his pillow the same night,
when he reflected on what he had felt on receiving so strange a look
from a married woman, and one, too, whom he believed to be a virtuous
one! he could not, he would not, suppose it meant anything to him;
and ashamed of even the idea having entered his head, he crushed it
at once, indignant at himself. Though, whenever he subsequently met
her at Lady Tinemouth's, he could not help, as if by a natural
impulse, avoiding the encountering of her eyes.
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