Rowland made the most of this dim illumination to try to detect the afterglow of that frightened flash from Miss Garland's eyes the night before.

It had been but a flash, for what provoked it had instantly vanished.

Rowland had murmured a rapturous blessing on Roderick's head, as he perceived him instantly apprehend the situation.
If he had been drinking, its gravity sobered him on the spot; in a single moment he collected his wits.

The next moment, with a ringing, jovial cry, he was folding the young girl in his arms, and the next he was beside his mother's carriage, half smothered in her sobs and caresses.

Rowland had recommended a hotel close at hand, and had then discreetly withdrawn.