LOVE IS TRIUMPHANTIn his eagerness he had seized her hands and was holding them tightly. There was a burning light in his eyes as he looked at her, and she could feel his warm breath fanning her face.
Startled, Rosina gazed back at him so that their eyes met and she seemed to be looking directly into his soul. At the same time she had a disconcerting feeling that he too was looking into her soul.
She took fright. How dare he do this, as though every thought and feeling she had was opened up to him. How dare he understand her!
She snatched her hands back, turning away from him.
“Forgive me,” he said. “I didn’t mean to – what you do is none of my business.”
“Indeed it is not,” she said in a shaking voice.
“I wish you every success, Miss Clarendon. You deserve the best that the world has to offer.”
Without warning she found herself on the verge of tears. She took a moment to control herself, then turned back to smile at him, wanting to be friends again.
But he had gone.