Gowran before he kept his appointment with Lady
Eustace.
Poor Lucy received the wound which was intended for her. The enemy's
weapons had repeatedly struck her, but hitherto they had alighted on the
strong shield of her faith. But let a shield be never so strong, it may at
last be battered out of all form and service. On Lucy's shield there had
been much of such batterings, and the blows which had come from him in
whom she most trusted had not been the lightest. She had not seen him for
months, and his letters were short, unsatisfactory, and rare. She had
declared to herself and to her friend Lady Fawn that no concurrence of
circumstances, no absence, however long, no rumours that might reach her
ears, would make her doubt the man she loved. She was still steadfast in
the same resolution; but in spite of her resolution her heart began to
fail her. She became weary, unhappy, and ill at ease, and though she would
never acknowledge to herself that she doubted, she did doubt.
"So, after all, your Mr. Greystock is to marry my niece, Lizzie
Greystock." This good-natured speech was made one morning to poor Lucy by
her present patroness, Lady Linlithgow.
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