[The Man and the Moment by Elinor Glyn]@TWC D-Link bookThe Man and the Moment CHAPTER VI 2/14
Lord Fordyce began to grow too interested for his peace of mind.
When he realized this, he got very angry with himself.
He had never permitted a woman to be anything but a mild recreation in his life, and at forty it was a little late to begin to experience something serious about one. They often motored in the afternoon to various resorts not too far distant, and there took tea; and for two whole days it had been wet and, except at meals, the ladies had lain _perdues_. However fate was kind on a Saturday morning, and allowed Lord Fordyce to chance upon Mrs.Howard, right up at the Belvedere in the far woods, looking over the valley.
She was quite alone, and her slender figure was outlined against the bright sunlight as she leaned on the balustrade gazing down at the exquisite scene. Henry could have cried aloud in joy, "At last!" but he restrained himself, and instead only said a casual "Hullo!" Mrs.Howard turned and looked at him, and answered his greeting with frank cordiality. "Have you never been here before? I think it is one of the most lovely spots in the whole woods, and at this time there is never any one--what made you penetrate so far ?" "Good fortune! The jade has been unkind until now." They leant on the balustrade together. "I always like being up on a high mountain and looking down at things, don't you ?" she said. "No, not always--one feels lonely--but it is nice if one is with a suitable companion.
How have you, at your age, managed to become self-sufficing ?" "Circumstance, I expect, has taught me the beauty of solitude.
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