Therefore he still hoped
that with so many circumstances bringing an ever-increasing pressure
upon her, Ida's spirit would in time be broken, her resistance would
collapse, and he would have his will. Nor, as the sequel will show,
was that hope a baseless one.
As for his infatuation there was literally no limit to it. It broke
out in all sorts of ways, and for miles round was a matter of public
notoriety and gossip. Over the mantelpiece in his sitting-room was a
fresh example of it. By one means and another he had obtained several
photographs of Ida, notably one of her in a court dress which she had
worn two or three years before, when her brother James had insisted
upon her being presented. These photographs he caused to be enlarged
and then, at the cost of 500 pounds, commissioned a well-known artist
to paint from them a full-length life-size portrait of Ida in her
court dress. This order had been executed, and the portrait, which
although the colouring was not entirely satisfactory was still an
effective likeness and a fine piece of work, now hung in a splendid
frame over his mantelpiece.
There, on the afternoon in question, he sat before the fire, his eyes
fixed upon the portrait, of which the outline was beginning to grow
dim in the waning December light, when the servant girl came in and
announced that a lady wished to speak to him.
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