In the society of Charles Clinton she was a wholly different being. She was elevated in her own estimation, for she saw that she was in his. She could perceive by his words, his looks, his manner, how highly he appreciated the affection she had displayed towards her sister Helen, and how his zeal and his behaviour, still tempered by the most respectful propriety towards her, increased. It was the first time she had experienced the gratification of being held in high estimation by any human creature. She was fascinated by it, and she desired heartily to retain that estimation. The desire to learn Helen’s fate began to be accompanied by the wish to learn it from no other lips than those of Charles Clinton. The hope that she should eventually be able to discover her sister and to reside with her, came to be interpenetrated by anticipations that Charles through his sister might be an occasional visitor at her new abode. His name, out of gratefulness for his exertions, took its place in her prayers. The intervals between their meetings grew fewer, and the term of the duration of the latter longer. Even those intervals were broken by correspondence, though neither in their interviews nor in their notes did one word of love arise.
Evangeline grew anxious and eager for the time of meeting after it had been appointed, and loth to part with Charley when the moment for separation arrived. She hung on his arm when they were about to part, and with a strange pleasure suffered her hand to linger in his when the word “farewell” was spoken; and as she felt his fingers tremble while they held hers, she seemed to know intuitively that they did so out of his great respect for her. A crimson hectic burned her cheek, as an unbidden but ungratified prompting rose up in her breast to kiss them, for their flattering testimony of his estimation of her.
Such was the position between Charles Clinton and Evangeline when he was called upon to proceed to the mansion in the Regent’s Park, to execute his--at all times unpleasant, and now from what had passed between him and the gentle girl--most painful task.
The whole establishment was brilliantly lighted up. A splendid dinner-party and rout was that evening to be given by the direction of Mrs. Grahame.