Before she slept she thought long and deeply, at last concluding that
perhaps affairs were taking the right turn for her purpose. Graydon
was tolerating as a disagreeable necessity what he regarded as her
filial diplomacy with Arnault. He was loyally and quietly waiting
until this necessity should cease, and was so doing because he
supposed it to be her wish. If she could keep him in just this
attitude it would leave her less embarrassed, give her more time, than
if he were an ardent and jealous suitor. She was scarcely capable of
love, but she admired him more than ever each day. She saw that he was
the superior of Arnault in every way, and was so recognized by all in
the house; therefore one of her strongest traits--vanity--was enlisted
in his behalf. She saw, also, that he represented a higher type of
manhood than she had been accustomed to, and she was beginning to
stand in awe of him also, but for reasons differing widely from those
which caused her fear of Arnault. She dreaded the latter's pride, the
resolute selfishness of his scheme of life, which would lead him to
drop her should she interfere with it. She was learning to dread
even more Graydon's high-toned sense of honor, the final decisions he
reached from motives which had slight influence with her.
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