"Can't you really see how intensely stupid you are?" she hissed through
her clenched teeth, as she looked straight into his eyes.
The insolent words and the look of hatred were so unsuited to Lida,
gracious, feminine Lida, that Sarudine instinctively recoiled. He had
not quite understood their import, and sought to pass them by with a
jest.
"What words to use!" he said, surprised and annoyed.
"I'm not in a mood to choose my words," replied Lida bitterly, as she
wrung her hands. Sarudine frowned.
"Why all these tragic airs?" he asked. Unconsciously allured by their
beauty of outline, he glanced at her soft shoulders and exquisitely
moulded arms. Her gesture of helplessness and despair made him feel
sure of his superiority. It was as if they were being weighed in
scales, one sinking when the other rose. Sarudine felt a cruel pleasure
in knowing that this girl whom instinctively he had considered superior
to himself was now made to suffer through him. In the first stage of
their intimacy he had feared her. Now she had been brought to shame and
dishonour; at which he was glad.
Pages:
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232