' Let them gossip and envy!
It was a strange night that followed. Between one and two o'clock
the heavens began to be overflashed with summer lightning; there was
no thunder, no rain. The blue gleams kept illuminating the room for
more than an hour. Clara could not lie in bed. The activity of her
brain became all but delirium; along her nerves, through all the
courses of her blood, seemed to run fires which excited her with an
indescribable mingling of delight and torment. She walked to and
fro, often speaking aloud, throwing up her arms. She leaned from the
open window and let the lightning play freely upon her face: she
fancied it had the effect of restoring her wasted health. Whatever
the cause, she felt stronger and more free from pain than for many
months.
At dawn she slept. The striking of a church-clock woke her at nine,
giving her just time to dress with care and set forth to keep her
appointment.
CHAPTER XI
A DISAPPOINTMENT
On ordinary Sundays the Byasses breakfasted at ten o'clock; this
morning the meal was ready at eight, and Bessie's boisterous spirits
declared the exception to be of joyous significance.
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