"Then
why did you take me from my mother's side? You cannot love what shocks
you!"
To explain this conversation, it must be mentioned, that, in the
centre of Georgiana's left cheek, there was a singular mark, deeply
interwoven, as it were, with the texture and substance of her face. In
the usual state of her complexion- a healthy, though delicate bloom-
the mark wore a tint of deeper crimson, which imperfectly defined
its shape amid the surrounding rosiness. When she blushed, it
gradually became more indistinct, and finally vanished amid the
triumphant rush of blood, that bathed the whole cheek with its
brilliant glow. But, if any shifting emotion caused her to turn
pale, there was the mark again, a crimson stain upon the snow, in what
Aylmer sometimes deemed an almost fearful distinctness. Its shape bore
not a little similarity to the human hand, though of the smallest
pigmy size. Georgiana's lovers were wont to say, that some fairy, at
her birth-hour, had laid her tiny hand upon the infant's cheek, and
left this impress there, in token of the magic endowments that were to
give her such sway over all hearts. Many a desperate swain would
have risked life for the privilege of pressing his lips to the
mysterious hand. It must not be concealed, however, that the
impression wrought by this fairy sign-manual varied exceedingly,
according to the difference of temperament in the beholders.
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