"
"Not at all," said he, thrusting some papers into his portfolio, "sit
with us here;" and he drew a chair for her. "L'Isle has been so long
in his sick room, that a little of our pleasant company will do him
good. You must have suffered much from solitude, L'Isle, as well as
from your wounds."
"Surgeons and servants were my sole companions. Their rude hands, too,
convinced me that our sex were never meant for nurses. A sister of
mercy would have been an angel of light; and if young and
good-looking, she might have made a convert of me to her church."
Lady Mabel could perceive that her father treated his companion with
unusual consideration, and L'Isle was induced to prolong his visit for
an hour and more. He was certainly well-bred and well-informed, and
seemed disposed to make himself agreeable; yet there was something in
his manner that puzzled and annoyed her. It was not the little reserve
which he exhibited toward her father, yet more than to herself. It was
not that he was out of spirits; for he was quite animated at times. It
seemed to be a feeling of--Lady Mabel's self-satisfaction did not
permit her immediately to perceive what this feeling was.
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