" She had made a disastrous mistake in her life, but
it was not too late.
The cathedral should go on in its unseen growth, and every conquered
tear, every brave smile was a fresh stone bringing it nearer to
perfection. God be thanked for the fetishes with which the less
fortunate of us are still allowed to adorn the barren walls of our
life! The cathedral, the imaginary "sheltering-place for others," was
Lois' fetish, and the thought of it and of the strong-faced man with
whom she worked in spiritual partnership was a deep, inspiring
consolation. It stood at her right hand and helped partly to overthrow
the weight of dread and evil presentiment which had borne down upon
her all too sensitive and superstitious temperament as she had left
her husband and Stafford alone.
Thus it was that, when the curtains of her room were suddenly parted
and Beatrice stood on the threshold, she could face the new-comer with
a calm if grave demeanor. She remembered her husband's last
injunctions, but it was too late; and moreover, there was an
expression on Beatrice's face which told her that the visit was no
ordinary one. A woman's instinct is her spiritual hand feeling through
the darkness to another's soul. Beatrice and Lois watched each other
without smile or greeting. They forgot the outward formalities of life
in the suddenly aroused interest which they found in each other, in
the consciousness that in this, their first meeting alone, they were
to become closely united.
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