CHAPTER II. AURORA.
This witch got two ladies to visit her. One of them belonged to thecourt, and her husband had been sent on a far and difficult embassy.The other was a young widow whose husband had lately died, and who hadsince lost her sight, Watho lodged them in different parts of hercastle, and they did not know of each other's existence.
The castle stood on the side of a hill sloping gently down into anarrow valley, in which was a river, with a pebbly channel and acontinual song. The garden went down to the bank of the river,enclosed by high walls, which crossed the river and there stopped.Each wall had a double row of battlements, and between the rows was anarrow walk.
In the topmost story of the castle the Lady Aurora occupied a spaciousapartment of several large rooms looking southward. The windowsprojected oriel-wise over the garden below, and there was a splendidview from them both up and down and across the river. The oppositeside of the valley was steep, but not very high. Far away snow-peakswere visible. These rooms Aurora seldom left, but their airy spaces,the brilliant landscape and sky, the plentiful sunlight, the musicalinstruments, books, pictures, curiosities, with the company of Wathowho made herself charming, precluded all dulness. She had venison andfeathered game to eat, milk and pale sunny sparkling wine to drink.
She had hair of the yellow gold, waved and rippled; her skin was fair,not white like Watho's, and her eyes were of the blue of the heavenswhen bluest; her features were delicate but strong, her mouth largeand finely curved, and haunted with smiles.