His old sense of her being a complex and
intricate girl had, in that quarter of an hour of talk with her, again
become lively, so that he was not absolutely sure his apprehensions
had been vain. But, with his quick vision of things, he had got the
impression, at any rate, that she had no vulgar resentment of any slight
he might have put upon her, or any disadvantage he might have caused
her. Her feeling about such a matter would be large and original.
Bernard desired to see more of that, and in the evening, in fact, it
seemed to him that he did so.
The terrace of the Casino was far from offering the brilliant spectacle
of the promenade in front of the gaming-rooms at Baden. It had neither
the liberal illumination, the distinguished frequenters, nor the
superior music which formed the attraction of that celebrated spot; but
it had a modest animation of its own, in which the starlight on the open
sea took the place of clustered lamps, and the mighty resonance of
the waves performed the function of an orchestra. Mrs. Vivian made her
appearance with her daughter, and Bernard, as he used to do at Baden,
chose a corner to place some chairs for them. The crowd was small, for
most of the visitors had compressed themselves into one of the rooms,
where a shrill operetta was being performed by a strolling troupe.
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