And looks on virtue1's lovely grace:—
Too late, her soul's repentant2 cry
The brand of sin is on her face
At the very hour in the morning when Mrs. Sinclair and her servants were searching every nook and corner of the elegant residence, away over on the Surrey side of the great bridge, in a large brick house, standing3 far back from the street, two people, a man and a woman, were bending over a delicate form, clad in an evening dress of pure white satin that looked strangely out of place in this scarlet4 hued5 Harem of unchastity. The very hangings blushed in rose red symphonies for the sins and impurities6 of the inmates7. The heavy carpet was one unbroken stain of blood red coloring. The daylight peered through the[Pg 66] rich window drapings and crimsoned8 the entire apartment with its guilty glances within. The exterior10 of the house was dull, dark and uninviting, but within, the glare of crimson9, of dull red and deeper garnet, blended in every article of furniture and garnished11 walls, ceilings and windows in bewildering and feverish12 arrangement. Even the glasses on the small jasper table by the couch were red with the evil light of their intoxicating13 contents.
The woman's dress was opened low at the throat and her jet black hair and clear olive skin were in sombre contrast to the clinging, reddish garment.
That the man had carefully disguised both voice and raiment was plainly evident, but that he was no stranger to the house or its extraordinary mistress, was also a self evident fact.
There were few who knew of this curious habitation, whose only furnishings were draperies and divans14, small jasper tables and luxuriant couches, but the few who did were well content to contribute most generously for its maintenance, and more for the occupants of its numerous apartments, whose only glimpse of daylight was that which fell through the shamefaced windows and rested, like[Pg 67] the hands of a bashful lover, upon charms, half strange and half familiar to his touch.
Julia Webber the mistress of this peculiar15 mansion16, bent17 for a moment over the silent form, then she raised her eyes and looked with a strange, unseeing expression, into the wall beyond, as was her habit when addressing any one.
The voice was low and distinct, but as cold and unsympathetic as steel, as she said with hardly a movement of the lips, "Well what are your orders, Monsieur?"
The man at her side turned his eyes from the quiet face upon the couch and looked haughtily18 down upon her as he answered sharply, "The same as usual. Why do you ask?"
For an instant he caught the gleam of fire through her half closed, panther like eyes as she gave him a searching side glance to note the effect of her brief question.
"You decline my offer, then," she asked, even more coldly, more distinctly than before.
"What do I want with you?" the man exclaimed fiercely in excellent English. "Have I not told you, Julia, that my brief infatuation ended the hour[Pg 68] that it began? Ah, she awakes!" he exclaimed suddenly, and bent lower over the prostrate19 girl.
Over Julia Webber's face there crept an ominous20, ashen21 pallor. Her eyes blazed with the fury of a woman scorned, while her slender, jeweled fingers clutched the folds of her lurid22 garments with the grasp of a dying agony. Another moment and her emotions were controlled. The vindictive23 gleam in her eyes was unnoticed by the man, for at that moment his whole thought and attention was given to the white robed figure.
Stella, for it was she, opened her eyes and looked around the unfamiliar24 room in utter bewilderment. Then her gaze rested upon the young man's face, but without a shadow of recognition in the face.
With a smile of astonishing sweetness he bent gently over her and whispered softly, "Do not be frightened, Stella. You are safe with me. Rest a little and I will explain all."
Then, as her eyes closed once more in response to the powerful drug which he had administered, he turned roughly upon the woman at his side and bade her watch and wait upon this girl, then[Pg 69] adding with a significant expression, "I make you responsible for her; I shall be back this evening;" he abruptly25 left the house.
When the door closed upon her companion, Julia Webber stood beside the couch, immovable as marble.
Her flowing garments slipped from her sloping shoulders until one half her bosom26 was exposed. The lines of her face were rigid27, but the swelling28 bosom rose and fell in gasps29 that were almost convulsive.
Hatred30, envy and revenge gleamed in her scintillating31 eye balls while she gazed upon the pure and beautiful features of Stella.
At last, through her tightly closed teeth she muttered, hoarsely32, "So this is why he scorns me! For this girl of twenty. It is not her pretty face or perfect form in which lies her attraction for Monsieur, for I am equally beautiful, but it is her very virtue, her purity, that draws his passions like a powerful magnet and holds him her slave until the smirch of his own contamination is branded on her brow. Pah! These inconstant fiends; They mold us to their own ideals, then[Pg 70] scorn the creature of their own admiring handiwork. But enough of this! My revenge must be as sweet as my disappointment is bitter. I am mistress here, and perhaps my gallant33 Monsieur, some other more agreeable connoisseur34 may sip35 the dew from your budding rose before you again enhale its fragrance36.
"Ah, Captain, you here," she exclaimed as a stranger unceremoniously entered the apartment.
"How could I remain from your presence, my beautiful Julia?" responded the newcomer gallantly37, then catching38 sight of the couch and its occupant he added, hastily, "My God! how beautiful! who is she and where did you get her?"
"Not so fast, Captain," said Julia, laughing quietly.
Curiously39 enough the handsome Captain's evident admiration40 for Stella evoked41 no jealousy42 in her heart, but was a source of satisfaction on the contrary.
Here was the opportunity for revenge on the man she loved, and she was not the woman to lose it, through any such foolish sentiment as that of jealousy. Revenge and love go hand in hand in[Pg 71] such natures as Julia Webber's. Her life had been one long succession of conquests, but to one man only had she offered constancy.
Only those who are caught in the whirlpool of lascivious43 temptations can realize or appreciate the difficulty in fulfiling such a promise, but, Julia Webber, in spite of her evil life, was truer to a given word than many of her more righteous sisters. Her love had been accepted with alacrity44, and spurned45 with contempt and loathing46 almost from the hour of consummation.
Now, as this thought again flitted through her mind, she turned to the destingue individual by her side, and answered playfully, "you know we tell no secrets here, Captain; she is here, and here to stay, that should be sufficient. She is slightly indisposed just now," she added, with a meaning smile, "but if you wish to see her—"
"I certainly do, Julia," and he also smiled significantly, as he eagerly awaited her reply.
The woman hesitated a moment, and then, apparently47 changing the subject, said archly, "By the way, Captain, there is a lovely crimson, velvet48 robe in Robinson's window—"
"You shall have it to-morrow, and then?" asked the Captain, anxiously—
"Ah, thank you, and, come in again to-morrow, Captain, I think I can arrange this little matter for you." Then she closed the door upon him, and again the panther-like gleam of her eye balls crept stealthily out between her half closed lids, but the smile that parted the thin red lips melted away in a heavy sigh, as she turned once more to look long and earnestly upon Stella's sleeping face.
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1
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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repentant
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| adj.对…感到悔恨的 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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hued
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| 有某种色调的 | |
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impurities
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| 不纯( impurity的名词复数 )； 不洁； 淫秽； 杂质 | |
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inmates
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| n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 ) | |
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crimsoned
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| 变为深红色（crimson的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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exterior
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| adj.外部的，外在的；表面的 | |
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garnished
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| v.给（上餐桌的食物）加装饰( garnish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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12
feverish
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| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
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intoxicating
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| a. 醉人的,使人兴奋的 | |
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14
divans
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| n.（可作床用的）矮沙发( divan的名词复数 )；（波斯或其他东方诗人的）诗集 | |
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15
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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mansion
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| n.大厦，大楼；宅第 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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18
haughtily
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| adv. 傲慢地, 高傲地 | |
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19
prostrate
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| v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的 | |
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20
ominous
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| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
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21
ashen
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| adj.灰的 | |
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22
lurid
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| adj.可怕的；血红的；苍白的 | |
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23
vindictive
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| adj.有报仇心的，怀恨的，惩罚的 | |
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24
unfamiliar
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| adj.陌生的，不熟悉的 | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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26
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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swelling
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| n.肿胀 | |
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29
gasps
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| v.喘气( gasp的第三人称单数 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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30
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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31
scintillating
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| adj．才气横溢的,闪闪发光的; 闪烁的 | |
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32
hoarsely
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| adv.嘶哑地 | |
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33
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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34
connoisseur
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| n.鉴赏家，行家，内行 | |
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35
sip
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| v.小口地喝，抿，呷；n.一小口的量 | |
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36
fragrance
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| n.芬芳，香味，香气 | |
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37
gallantly
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| adv. 漂亮地，勇敢地，献殷勤地 | |
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38
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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40
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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41
evoked
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| [医]诱发的 | |
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42
jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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43
lascivious
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| adj.淫荡的，好色的 | |
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44
alacrity
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| n.敏捷，轻快，乐意 | |
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45
spurned
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| v.一脚踢开，拒绝接受( spurn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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46
loathing
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| n.厌恶，憎恨v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的现在分词)；极不喜欢 | |
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47
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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48
velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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