I requested her to let the Mother
Superior alone and asked her how she supposed I would treat you!"
So Madame Merle went on, with much of the brilliancy of a woman
who had long been a mistress of the art of conversation. But there
were phases and gradations in her speech, not one of which was lost
upon Isabel's ear, though her eyes were absent from her companion's
face. She had not proceeded far before Isabel noted a sudden break
in her voice, a lapse in her continuity, which was in itself a
complete drama. This subtle modulation marked a momentous
discovery-the perception of an entirely new attitude on the part of
her listener. Madame Merle had guessed in the space of an instant that
everything was at end between them, and in the space of another
instant she had guessed the reason why. The person who stood there was
not the same one she had seen hitherto, but was a very different
person-a person who knew her secret. This discovery was tremendous,
and from the moment she made it the most accomplished of women
faltered and lost her courage. But only for that moment. Then the
conscious stream of her perfect manner gathered itself again and
flowed on as smoothly as might be to the end.
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