"Let's wait--and see," Victoria repeated. And this patience, in the face
of such hope, struck Stephen as being strange in her, unlike his
conception of the brave, impulsive nature, ready for any adventure if
only there were a faint flicker of light at the end. Then, as if she did
not wish to talk longer of a possible visit to Tlemcen, Victoria said:
"I've something to show you: a picture of my sister."
The white dress was made without a collar, and was wrapped across her
breast like a fichu which left the slender white stem of her throat
uncovered. Now she drew out from under the muslin folds a thin gold
chain, from which dangled a flat, open-faced locket. When she had
unfastened a clasp, she handed the trinket to Stephen. "Saidee had the
photograph made specially for me, just before she was married," the girl
explained, "and I painted it myself. I couldn't trust any one else,
because no one knew her colouring. Of course, she was a hundred times
more beautiful than this, but it gives you some idea of her, as she
looked when I saw her last."
The face in the photograph was small, not much larger than Stephen's
thumb-nail, but every feature was distinct, not unlike Victoria's,
though more pronounced; and the nose, seen almost in profile, was
perfect in its delicate straightness. The lips were fuller than
Victoria's, and red as coral. The eyes were brown, with a suggestion of
coquetry absent in the younger girl's, and the hair, parted in the
middle and worn in a loose, wavy coil, appeared to be of a darker red,
less golden, more auburn.
Pages:
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150