Leading lady

“ There was a footstep, light as the fall of a leaf, and she saw him coming toward her in that high luminous pallor from the windows. He was like a shadow, so evenly dark, a shape without detail, moving with a shadow’s noiseless passage. ”

“ A jeweled brightness of garden extended along its seaward front. Beyond this was the one stretch of cultivated turf on the island, an emerald slope leading to the cuplike hollow that held the amphitheater. He skirted the side balcony, the wide-flung doors giving a glimpse of an entrance hall, and turning the corner emerged upon the land front of the long capacious building. The surroundings on this side had been left as nature made them—rock shelves and ledges, devoid of vegetation, a path winding round them from the entrance to the wharf. ”

“ She was the type of the woman à la mode, elegant, coquettish, absolute, always on show, insatiable for praise and success, thirsting for dignities, pleasures, and money; playing not merely the great lady, but the sovereign, having her courtiers, her creatures, her poets, reigning alike over the King and the kingdom. ”

“ Anne had taken off her costume and slipped into a negligée to do her packing comfortably, and then decided she had better bid good-by to Joe first. Bidding good-by was not an obligation between them, but she had to get the key of his trunk—it was going back to New York with hers—and her heart in its new warmth yearned to him, her only relation. She wanted to tell him her great secret, see an answering joy leap into his face, for he thought more of Bassett than anybody, and he’d be so surprised to hear that Anne, her charms held at a low valuation, had won such a prize. ”

“ For a moment she could not speak and the other, thinking her silence meant reluctance to agree, caught at her hands, pleading, with breathless urgence:
“They’ve accepted everything—it’s all explained and ended. Joe has gone, dropped out of sight. Boys of his kind do that, do something they’re ashamed of and disappear. What good would it do Stokes or Bassett or the police to know it was Joe who was killed? It’s not lies, it’s not being false to any one, it’s only to keep silent and let me go. Oh, Anne, we’ve been real friends, we’ve loved each other— Love me enough to let me be happy.” ”

“ If Joe had done it and if he was on the island he would try to get off at low tide. It was safe to assume that he was outside, hidden till the causeway was open. To go out to find him would be useless, he would never reveal himself to her, and if she was seen suspicion would instantly be aroused. She must get somewhere that would command the causeway and its approaches. Her mind ran over every nook and angle, every shadow and rock ledge between the house and the shore. Impossible—it was too open and the light was like day. The best place—the only place—was the living-room entrance. ”

“ Rawson considered before he spoke:
“I don’t see Stokes as deliberately murdering the woman he was in love with. That’s generally an act of impulse, sudden desperation. And there was no impulse here. Careful premeditation—the stealing of the revolver, luring her to this summer-house, the threats or rage when she got here that made her fly. It’s more like the working out of revenge than the act of blind passion. Stokes doesn’t look to me the kind of man that would kill so carefully. He’s too soft.”
“Then who is it?” Williams exclaimed. “Somebody killed her.” ”

“ For, if in modelling of states and establishing the different Offices that compose them, Women had been likewise called to Functions; we should have been as much accustomed to have seen them in Dignity, as they are to see us. And should have found it no more strange to have seen a Lady on a Throne, than a Woman in a Shop. ”

“ Williams’ questions were many and pointed, and it soon became evident to Bassett what he had in his mind—that her explanation of her actions did not account for the length of time she had been on the shore. Whether she saw it or not he could not tell; checked in her story she would answer patiently, reiterating her first statement that her stunned condition had robbed her of the power of thought or motion. But he was sure Stokes had grasped the trend of the query; he drew nearer, his flexible lips working, the hand hanging at his side clenching and unclenching. ”

“ But he planted his feet with a hard defiance, each step drew a ringing echo from the rocks and he held his head high. Bassett, following them, noted his rigid carriage, and when he turned his profile, the wide nostril spread like that of a winded horse.
There was a ghastly lunch. The men of the law ate greedily and without words. Shine was ashamed that he had any appetite and tried to appease it with bread which he could extract from the plate in front of him without notice. ”

“ He looked there now, let his glance slip along the curve of headlands till it reached the two girls, perched on a boulder like a pair of bright-plumaged birds. He was thinking how to approach the matter in his mind, when Mrs. Cornell went on:
“I don’t see what any one wanted to build a house here for—cut off this way. It’s too lonesome. With the tide at the full as it is now you can’t get ashore without a motor-boat. You know that current’s something fierce.” ”

“ Every woman in the place, whatever her wealth, rank, or beauty, whatever her charms of mind or body, coveted nothing beyond that moment's colloquy with the Queen, in the presence of two thousand people; they all forgot every other hope, wish, interest, or sentiment in the feminine ambition for that minute of conversation in public. ”

“ And I do hope that you've put me next to Lord Elstone at dinner, mother?"
The Duchess felt a pang of regret. "I wish I had," she said vexedly. "But you yourself told me Lady Brislington regards him as what we old fogies call a great parti so I've put little Rosie next to him."
And then, to Lady Hilda's surprise, her mother went off into a peal of rather hysterical laughter. "Oh, my dear," she exclaimed, "I can't tell you what Lord Elstone's like! He's frighteningly ugly. I can't think what silly little Rosie will make of him."
"I don't mind a bit how ugly he is. He's a wonderful actor. ”

“ Walberg engaged Stokes in a hurry and sent him up. It’s spoiled everything for the rest of us. He’s crazy about Sybil if you want to know what’s the matter with him.”
“Oh!” It came with an understanding inflection, the haggard glances rising on Shine’s memory.
“Can’t hide it, doesn’t want to hide it. There’s no shame in him, tracking after the girl. And it’s not as if he got any encouragement. She can’t bear him; that’s why she has Anne Tracy out there, afraid if she sits alone five minutes he’ll come loping up. You’d think if he didn’t have any pride he’d have some feeling for his wife. ”

“ Again nothing—vacancy, dust in a film on the bureau tops, beds untouched in meticulous smoothness.
One door was closed, near the stair-head. Opening this she looked into a store-room, a large, dark interior lit by two small windows. They were dust grimed, and the light came in dimly, showing upturned trunks and boxes, pieces of furniture, lines of clothes hanging on the walls.
“Here,” she thought, and with her heart leaping in her throat, crossed the threshold:
“Joe, it’s Anne. I’ve come to help you.”
Nothing stirred in the encumbered space, no stealthy body detached itself from the shadows. ”

“ Whether as the ruler of a nation or the ruler of a cottage, a woman’s mind rules in its own inimitable way. In the realm of heart, woman is the queen and in that realm there can rule no king. Of our many great American heroes and statesmen, only one has been honored in having had accorded to him the heart of woman—all Americans worship at his shrine. ”

“ The Lady Mayoress, being exceedingly popular, and having taken a prominent part in a number of social functions, like most women, was never averse to reading any paragraphs which might chance to mention her sayings, doings, and, more particularly, her dress. ”

“ At areaways red-faced women sat limp in loose clothing, and from open windows came the crying of tired little children. To leave Joe to this while she was basking in the delights of Gull Island—apart from anything he might do—it wasn’t fair. And then suddenly the expression of her face changed and she drew in from the window—Hugh Bassett was coming down the street. ”

“ I shouldn't care to have the Duke for a father-in-law—"
"Neither should I!" And then both ladies tittered.
"Listeners never hear any good of themselves."
The Duchess ruefully reminded herself of the old saying, as she unwillingly overheard the short conversation between two of her guests; one, Lady Brislington, known since her girlhood, and the other, Mrs. Chichester, a new acquaintance who was a friend of Lady Brislington. The gossips were sunning themselves on the terrace of the Castle, and a large screen had been put up to shelter them from the east wind. ”

“ Impudence, Sir Harry, is a lewd Woman's Talent, and yet what Creature is there so much dash'd as such an one that happens among virtuous Ladies. If the Passion you profess be real, proceed with Honour, and you may be heard: Not that I speak this to increase your Vanity; Ambition only sways my Inclinations, and you must know; I have a mighty mind to be a Lady.
Sir Har. A Lady! why, my Servants shall all call you so; we'll live together like Man and Wife, and I'll be so Constant, and so full of Love, that ev'ry body shall believe we're marry'd. ”

“ It's all right—isn't it?" The girl laughed. "Your dear Lady Brislington will be delighted——"
"Why should she be? I shouldn't think Lord Elstone, from what I've heard of him, is her sort at all."
"Can't you guess, mother? The Weekly Rattle said last week that he was the richest bachelor in England! What a chance for Rosie Brislington!"
"I certainly shouldn't ask Lord Elstone to join our party to please Rosie's mother," and the Duchess spoke in so sharp a tone that her daughter felt surprised. ”

“ Bassett looked at his watch—nearly eight—probably two hours to wait. The best thing he could do was to get them together and keep them as quiet as he could. As he went down the path his mind collected and marshalled in order the facts he would have to present. They had all been in the house except Stokes on the balcony and Flora walking round the island. Stokes eaten into by a hopeless love, Flora on fire with jealousy and hate—passions that make for murder. ”

“ Is there a woman in all England to be compared with you, my queen, my darling? What matters your being an actress to me? It is you, not the actress, whom I beg for a wife; and if you would see in what way I should ask you for so great a blessing—here at your feet I kneel, you an empress, and I your slave. ”

“ Anxiously the Duchess ran over in her mind the names of the young men who were now staying in the Castle in connection with a charity performance of that old favourite, "A Pantomime Rehearsal," which was to be acted in what was called the big ballroom in about ten days. With a certain shock of surprise she realised that not one of them could be regarded as being, matrimonially speaking, eligible. When she had talked the party over with her son Algy, all she had stipulated was that the young men invited for what must be an exceptionally long visit should be "nice." ”

“ She took the cutting out of the girl's hand, and this is what she read:
"It is whispered that Lady Hilda Ardvilly, the third daughter of the Duke and Duchess of St. Andrews, will shortly become a pupil at the Royal School of Dramatic Art. Though not yet out, she is one of the cleverest amateur actresses in society. Should she follow out her present intention she will be the first duke's daughter to adopt the profession, though of course the beautiful Lady Mona—no need to give her surname—has been acting for some years the part that she has made famous in two continents." ”

“ The home was supposed to be woman’s domain, where she was the sovereign power; there she was helper, sustainer, director, the dear dispenser of favors. The Woman’s Kingdom, Queen of the Home. Gradually the words drew her down long lanes of retrospect, led by the rose-leaf touch of the baby’s fingers; they kept her strong. What kingdom had she ever made her own? She poor, bedraggled, complaining suppliant, a beggar where she should have been a queen! Home and the heart of her husband—there lay her woman’s kingdom, her realm, her God-given province. ”

“ There were no splendors of sunset to-night, day was dying without ceremonial rites. The hurrying clouds had thickened and were a sagging gray pall with rays of fog drifting below. Suddenly the doorway of the living-room sprang into the dimness, an illumined square, and Miss Pinkney was visible moving about lighting the lamps.
“No moon to-night,” said Bassett, and getting up, drew her to her feet. “Come, let’s go in. It’s too chilly for you out here.”
It was not till they had gathered round the supper table that Rawson’s absence was revealed. ”

“ What an example does this dear lady set to all who see her, know her, and who hear of her; how happy they who have the grace to follow it! What a public blessing would such a mind as hers be, could it be vested with the robes of royalty, and adorn the sovereign dignity! But what are the princes of the earth, look at them in every nation, and what they have been for ages past, compared to this lady? who acts from the impulses of her own heart, unaided in most cases, by any human example. ”