The Salamanca Corpus: Yeoman Fleetwood (1900 ... - Gredos

The Salamanca Corpus: Yeoman Fleetwood (1900)
She spoke pantingly, her voice being still quite unmanageable, her sentences coming in
gusts and being broken every now and then by a shriek of that horrible, unnatural
laughter; her hands were pressed tightly on her bosom, her teeth gleamed through her
drawn lips—only her beautiful piteous eyes retained any semblance of their former
selves.
Simon was thunderstruck at the sight of her frenzy. Having measured her love by his
own, and imagined in his simplicity that her standpoint must necessarily be the same as
his, it had never even occurred to him that the method he had employed in doing away
with the barrier between them could be misjudged by her. Indeed, he had innocently
looked forward to the day when he should be free to divulge it to her, to relate how the
idea, first suggested by her own chance reference to her namesake Rachel, had
gradually taken hold of him; how, when the compact was actually concluded, he had
been proud to think that he was serving her father as Jacob had served Laban; how, at
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the conclusion of each day, he had comforted himself with the thought that he was
working for her — striving to earn the right to win her. He was now so overcome at the
sudden revelation of the aspect which his conduct wore in her eyes that he was for the
time incapable of speech. Even Humphrey was almost frightened at the mischief he had
wrought. She turned to him presently with startling suddenness.
"You, too, Cousin Humphrey,” she cried; "surely you would not be behindhand. You'll
stand your chance with the others, will you not? A younger son's son is not worth much,
it is true, but the heir to Charnleigh may do something. Come, you will make an offer
— you must make an offer."
"I am indeed anxious to help you, Rachel," said Humphrey confusedly, "and it is for
that very purpose I proposed to visit Charnleigh. My father and I are willing to cut off
the entail on a portion of the property, so that it can be sold, and thus defray my uncle's
liabilities."
"And somebody else's liabilities, too, eh?" said the girl; her lips were quite unsmiling,
but her frame continued to shake with recurring spasms of laughter. "I know all about
your debts, Humphrey, and feel sure that you have made good terms for yourself Pray,