The Golden Barrier Author:Agnes Castle, Egerton Castle Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER H ISIDORE BLA18E It Was Isidore Blaise — the rising man, the future "great one" — who stood framed in the doorway, looking in upon the two ladies, ... more »with a smile on his dark face. A tall, well-built man, with a somewhat Oriental quality in his unmistakable good looks. His black hair was flung back in a wave. It was just a trifle too glossy, and, though Lady Adelaide did not seem to object in his case, lay curling in closer proximity to the collar than is usually encouraged by the English youth. For the rest he had massive regular features, an olive complexion, full lips, very white teeth, and very black eyes — with an enormous amount of expression in them, chiefly of the languorous or pathetic sort. He was clothed in faultless white flannels, and wore tennis shoes, on the noiseless soles of which he had been able to approach unheard. It was impossible to say how long he might have been standing propped against the window frame, listening to the conversation within. Lady Adelaide had a flashing smile of welcome, as she wheeled round in surprise. Somehow, in a way not unusual with ladies of maturing years, she had developed an open infatuation for the young man, whose attentiveness to herself was of a description apt to strike onlookers almost as an impertinence. His speciousness she took for brilliancy; his smartness for wit; his flow of chosen words and imagery for the genius of the born orator. No compliment was too outrageous, from his lips; no glance of meaning too open, from his eyes, where she was concerned. She believed that he cherished a hopeless adoration for her — which in no way interfered with, but rather furthered the plan which had come to be formed between them on the subject of her niece. "It's Mr. Blaise," she now cried, in delighted tones....« less