So lost was she in reflection, that she did not remark Lord Roos's return till made aware of it by a slight touch on the shoulder.

When she raised her eyes, they fell upon an object that inspired her with the dread and aversion that a noxious reptile might have produced.

She had never seen Luke Hatton before; and if she had figured him to her mind at all, it was not as anything agreeable; but she was not prepared for so hideous and revolting a personage as he appeared to be.

His face was like an ugly mask, on which a sardonic grin was stamped.

His features were large and gaunt, and he had the long, hooked nose, and the sharp-pointed bestial ears of a satyr, with leering eyes--betokening at once sensuality and cunning.