The Midnight Queen [68]
them, for he
understood at once to whom the solitary personal pronoun
referred.
"Certainly, in the general expression of countenance there is
rather a marked resemblance, especially in the region of the
teeth and eyes."
"Except that the rat's eyes are a thousand times handsomer," she
broke in, with a derisive laugh.
"But as to shape," resumed Sir Norman, eyeing the excited and
astonished little animal, still shrilly squealing, with the
glance of a connoisseur,"I confess I do not see it! The rat is
straight and shapely - which his highness, with all reverence be
it said - is not, but rather the reverse, if you will not be
offended at me for saying so."
She broke into a short laugh that had a hard, metallic ring, and
then her face darkened, blackened, and she ground the foot that
crushed the rat fiercer, and with a sort of passionate
vindictiveness, as if she had the head of the dwarf under her
heel.
"I hate him! I hate him!" she said, through her clenched teeth
and though her tone was scarcely above a whisper, it was so
terrible in its fiery earnestness that
Sir Norman thrilled with repulsion. "Yes, I hate him with all my
heart and soul, and I wish to heaven I had him here, like this
rat, to trample to death under my feet!"
Not knowing very well what reply to make to this strong and
heartfelt speech, which rather shocked his notions of female
propriety, Sir Norman stood silent, and looked reflectively after
the rat, which, when she permitted it at last to go free, limped
away with an ineffably sneaking and crest-fallen expression on
his hitherto animated features. She watched it, too, with a
gloomy eye, and when it crawled into the darkness and was gone,
she looked up with a face so dark and moody that it was almost
sullen.
"Yes, I hate him!" she repeated, with a fierce moodiness that was
quite dreadful, " yes, I hate him! and I would kill him, like
that rat, if I could! He has been the curse of my whole life; he
has made life cursed to me; and his heart's blood shall be shed
for it some day yet, I swear!"
With all her beauty there was something so horrible in the look
she wore, that Sir Norman involuntarily recoiled from her. Her
sharp eyes noticed it, and both grew red and fiery as two
devouring flames.
"Ah! you, too, shrink from me, would you? You, too, recoil in
horror! Ingrate! And I have come to save your life!"
"Madame, I recoil not from you, but from that which is tempting
you to utter words like these. I have no reason to love him of
whom you speak - you, perhaps, have even less; but I would not
have his blood, shed in murder, on my head, for ten thousand
worlds! Pardon me, but you do not mean what you say."
"Do I not? That remains to be seen! I would not call it murder
plunging a knife into the heart of a demon incarnate like that,
and I would have done it long ago and he knows it, too, if I had
the chance!"
"What has he done to you to make you do bitter against him?"
"Bitter! Oh, that word is poor and pitiful to express what I
feel when his name is mentioned. Loathing and hatred come a
little nearer the mark, but even they are weak to express the
utter - the - " She stopped in a sort of white passion that
choked her very words.
"They told me he was your husband," insinuated Sir Norman,
unutterably repelled.
"Did they?" she said, with a cold sneer, "he is, too - at least
as far as church and state can make him; but I am no more his
wife at heart than I am Satan's. Truly of the two I should
prefer the latter, for then I should be wedded to something grand
- a fallen angel; as it is, I have the honor to be wife to a
devil who never was an angel?"
At this shocking statement Sir Norman looked helplessly round, as
if for relief; and Miranda, after a moment's silence, broke into
another mirthless laugh.
"Of all the pictures
understood at once to whom the solitary personal pronoun
referred.
"Certainly, in the general expression of countenance there is
rather a marked resemblance, especially in the region of the
teeth and eyes."
"Except that the rat's eyes are a thousand times handsomer," she
broke in, with a derisive laugh.
"But as to shape," resumed Sir Norman, eyeing the excited and
astonished little animal, still shrilly squealing, with the
glance of a connoisseur,"I confess I do not see it! The rat is
straight and shapely - which his highness, with all reverence be
it said - is not, but rather the reverse, if you will not be
offended at me for saying so."
She broke into a short laugh that had a hard, metallic ring, and
then her face darkened, blackened, and she ground the foot that
crushed the rat fiercer, and with a sort of passionate
vindictiveness, as if she had the head of the dwarf under her
heel.
"I hate him! I hate him!" she said, through her clenched teeth
and though her tone was scarcely above a whisper, it was so
terrible in its fiery earnestness that
Sir Norman thrilled with repulsion. "Yes, I hate him with all my
heart and soul, and I wish to heaven I had him here, like this
rat, to trample to death under my feet!"
Not knowing very well what reply to make to this strong and
heartfelt speech, which rather shocked his notions of female
propriety, Sir Norman stood silent, and looked reflectively after
the rat, which, when she permitted it at last to go free, limped
away with an ineffably sneaking and crest-fallen expression on
his hitherto animated features. She watched it, too, with a
gloomy eye, and when it crawled into the darkness and was gone,
she looked up with a face so dark and moody that it was almost
sullen.
"Yes, I hate him!" she repeated, with a fierce moodiness that was
quite dreadful, " yes, I hate him! and I would kill him, like
that rat, if I could! He has been the curse of my whole life; he
has made life cursed to me; and his heart's blood shall be shed
for it some day yet, I swear!"
With all her beauty there was something so horrible in the look
she wore, that Sir Norman involuntarily recoiled from her. Her
sharp eyes noticed it, and both grew red and fiery as two
devouring flames.
"Ah! you, too, shrink from me, would you? You, too, recoil in
horror! Ingrate! And I have come to save your life!"
"Madame, I recoil not from you, but from that which is tempting
you to utter words like these. I have no reason to love him of
whom you speak - you, perhaps, have even less; but I would not
have his blood, shed in murder, on my head, for ten thousand
worlds! Pardon me, but you do not mean what you say."
"Do I not? That remains to be seen! I would not call it murder
plunging a knife into the heart of a demon incarnate like that,
and I would have done it long ago and he knows it, too, if I had
the chance!"
"What has he done to you to make you do bitter against him?"
"Bitter! Oh, that word is poor and pitiful to express what I
feel when his name is mentioned. Loathing and hatred come a
little nearer the mark, but even they are weak to express the
utter - the - " She stopped in a sort of white passion that
choked her very words.
"They told me he was your husband," insinuated Sir Norman,
unutterably repelled.
"Did they?" she said, with a cold sneer, "he is, too - at least
as far as church and state can make him; but I am no more his
wife at heart than I am Satan's. Truly of the two I should
prefer the latter, for then I should be wedded to something grand
- a fallen angel; as it is, I have the honor to be wife to a
devil who never was an angel?"
At this shocking statement Sir Norman looked helplessly round, as
if for relief; and Miranda, after a moment's silence, broke into
another mirthless laugh.
"Of all the pictures