She was pleased, astonished, but more than all, disturbed. The only man
who might claim a right to this figurative possession of her tastes
and habits was the one whom she had quietly, reflectively, and
understandingly half accepted as her lover, and on whose account she had
come to consult Rushbrook. But Somers was not a sentimentalist; in
fact, as a young girl, forced by her independent position to somewhat
critically scrutinize masculine weaknesses, this had always been a point
in his favor; yet even if he had joined with his friend Rushbrook to
perpetuate the memory of their first acquaintanceship, his taste merely
would not have selected a chambre de garcon in Mr. Rushbrook's home for
its exhibition. Her conception of the opposite characters of the two men
was singularly distinct and real, and this momentary confusion of them
was disagreeable to her woman's sense. But at this moment James came to
release her and conduct her to Rushbrook's study, where he would join
her at once.
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