one after one
She might , he felt , demand a reason , exact from him the meaning of his unexpected appearance ; there was even a hideous possibility that she might fly into a temper . The wind was bitter and he went into the lobby , where a few men were hurrying out to secure their carriages . Then at last came the crowd in evening dress , and it seemed to him that the acuteness of his perception was reinforced by an almost unnatural power of vision . Out of the moving throng the face of each woman stood forth distinctly as if relieved by a spectral illumination ; and he saw them clearly one after one , fair or dark , plain or beautiful , until from among them there shone toward him the elaborately arranged blonde head of Connie , under a winking diamond which shed over her an unbecoming light . He had hoped to the last that she would be with several others , but he perceived when she came out at Brady 's side , with her babyish chin tilted upward and her thin features working in a forced and unhealthy animation , that they were alone and would probably be alone for the remainder of the evening . Standing beyond the entrance , and watching her unseen , while she paused for an instant in the crowded lobby , Adams felt again the strange stir of emotion he had experienced when he looked at her the evening before under the lamplight in his study . In a single vivid instant he saw her winking diamonds , her rouged cheeks , the nervous flutter that shook her fragile figure , and the consuming fire which was destroying the appealing prettiness of her face .