Bram Stoker

“ Stonehouse saw him; she ran to him and caught Pearl in her arms. She was so agitated, so lost in concern for the child that she never even thought to speak to the man whom she had come so far to seek. She wailed over the child:
'Pearl! Pearl! What is it, darling? It is Mother!' She laid the girl on the sofa, and taking the flowers out of a glass began to sprinkle water on the child's face. Harold knew her voice and waited in patience. ”

“ Stephen, noticing that he did not come near her as closely as she felt he might, and not realising his true reason--for when did love ever realise the true reason of the bashfulness of love?--felt a chillness which in turn reacted on her own manner. ”

“ So too Pearl, who though a child was a woman-child; softly they rose up to steal away. But Stephen saw them; her own instincts, too, told her that her hour had not come. What she hoped for must come alone! So she called to her guests:
'Don't go! Don't go, Mrs. Stonehouse. You know now that Harold and I are old friends, though neither of us knew it--till this moment. We were brought up as ... almost as brother and sister. Pearl, isn't it lovely to see your friend ... to see The Man again?'
She was so happy that she could only express herself, with dignity, through the happiness of others. ”

“ As he rose from the sofa, with the violent motion of a strong man startled into unconscious activity, he sent a shock of fear to the eager child who had strayed into the room through the open window. Had he presented a normal appearance, she would not have been frightened. ”