He had a brilliant intellect," the doctor continued,
forgetting to whom he was talking, as his mind went back to the Valentine
of the old days. "But, far more than that, he was born with a very
wonderful and unusual nature. It was written in his face in the
grandeur--I can call it nothing else--of his expression. And it was
written in his life, in all his acts. But, most of all it was written
in all he did for Julian. Ah, you look surprised!"
Indeed Cuckoo's face, such of it as was visible under the black shadow of
the veil, was a mask of blank wonderment. She looked upon the doctor as
all that was clever and perfect and extraordinary; so this, it seemed
to her, idiocy of his outlook upon Valentine was too much for her manner.
"Well, I never! Him!" she could not help ejaculating with a long breath,
that was almost like a little puff.
"Remember," said Dr. Levillier, "this was before you knew him."
He had taken the trouble to ascertain from Julian the exact date of
Valentine's first introduction to the lady of the feathers.
"Oh yes," said Cuckoo, still with absolute incredulity of the truth of
the doctor's panegyric expressed in voice and look.
"Men change greatly, terribly."
"Oh, not like that," she jerked out suddenly, moved by an irresistible
impulse to contradict his apparent deduction.
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