Part 32

She was within it, and her husband was beside her. Leaning across him, her fresh face at the lowered window, her bare hand, with the new wedding-ring gleaming upon it, grasped the door.

A sense of wrenching open, as of vistas of finality, suddenly dispersed Lydia’s apathy, and, at the agonizing glimpse of her own bereft and isolated future, she found, as the car began to move slowly from the door, the habitual, instinctive self-expression that alone could drug her misery.

“Good-bye, Jennie! I’ll see to everything--don’t worry about letters or packing--I’ll do it all for you whilst you’re away.”

“Jennie is still waving!” cried Joyce Damerel, and waved back again vigorously.

But at the same instant Lady Lucy laid her tremulous old hand upon Lydia’s, gazing at her compassionately, and Nathalie Kennedy exclaimed aloud, turning towards her:

“Oh, poor Lydia!”

The scattered groups of relatives and friends coalesced, surrounding her.

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:

Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_.

Perceived typographical errors have been corrected.

Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized.

Archaic or variant spelling has been retained.

New original cover art included with this eBook is granted to the public domain.