She would be most
happy to have Graydon take the brilliant creature for better or worse
as soon as possible. She liked him, as did all women, for she saw that
he had a large, kindly nature. She now stole meekly away, while he
with his fair partner glided out upon the floor. All eyes followed
them, and even the veterans of society remarked that they had never
seen more graceful dancing.
From her seat on the piazza Madge also watched the couple. The
struggle to which she had looked forward so long had indeed begun, and
most inauspiciously. Her rival had every advantage. The mood in which
Graydon had returned predisposed him to prompt action, while she had
lost her influence for the present by a course that seemed to him
so unnatural as to be prudish. Miss Wildmere's manner gave all the
encouragement that a man could wish for, and it was hard to view with
charity the smiling, triumphant belle. Madge suddenly became conscious
that Mr. Muir was observing her, and she remarked, quietly: "I never
saw better dancing than that. It's grace itself. Miss Wildmere waltzes
superbly."
"Not better than you, Miss Alden," said Mr. Henderson, a young man who
prided himself on his skill in the accomplishment under consideration,
and with whom she had danced several times.
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