W. Somerset Maugham

The painted veil

you couldn't help being conscious of the devastating passion which was in his heart.

she had felt an aloofness which oppressed her. They were friendly and even cordial, but at the same time they held something back, she knew not what, so that she was conscious that she was nothing but a casual stranger. There was a barrier between her and them. They spoke a different language not only of the tongue but of the heart.

She rose and with the easy dignity which her voluminous habit could not conceal left the room.

Like a rich melody on a harp that rang in exultant arpeggios through the complicated harmonies of a symphony, one thought beat in her heart insistently.

The painted veil quotes

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