Then the garrulous shopwoman, having exhausted her budget, reckoned up the purchases which Emilia had made, and having received payment, bade her customer good day.
Emilia's next visit was to a flower shop, where she bought some loose flowers; then to the churchyard, where she was directed to the grave of the maiden sisters. She knelt and prayed there, and left the flowers on their grave.
She had learned that Leonard was in London, and as there was no occasion for her to remain any longer in the town she took an earlier train than that she had marked, and arrived home four hours before Constance expected her. Reflecting upon her situation during that night, she felt how powerless she was. Leonard, she had every reason to believe, was in London, but to look for him in that vast city in the hope of finding him was scarcely within reason. And, indeed, had she not been befriended by some strange chance she might have remained in London for years without meeting the man for whom she was seeking. But it happened so, and an important stage was reached in her inquiry.
The weather was bitterly cold, and snow was falling heavily, but this did not keep her at home. In a kind of fever she traversed the streets of the city, selecting those which a man of fashion and fond of pleasure would be most likely to frequent. On the fourth day of her search she was walking in Regent Street, when she suddenly stopped with her hand at her heart. It was as much as she could do to prevent herself from screaming aloud, for walking leisurely before her, with a light step and jaunty air, was Leonard Paget himself. By a powerful effort she controlled her agitation, and set herself the task of following him. She had caught a glimpse of his face, and she could not be mistaken. He looked older and thinner, but his expression was that of a man who was enjoying the pleasures of the world and making the most of them. Having thus providentially tracked him down, Emilia determined not to lose sight of him. Her desire was to ascertain where he lived, and in the doing so to keep herself from his sight. To accost him in the open street would be madness. No, she must speak to him in a place where he could not easily escape from her, where he could not thrust her off. "If he takes a cab," she thought, "I will take another and follow him. If he walks all day and night, I will walk after him. He shall not, he shall not, evade me now." No detective could have been more determined and wary than she, but her present task did not occupy her very long. The cold day was no temptation to the man before her, and it happened fortunately for Emilia, that his face was homeward turned. He walked to the bottom of Regent Street, and plunged into the narrow tangle of thoroughfares on the left. The numbers of people favored her pursuit, and she was not noticed. True, the man did not know he was being followed, and only looked back when a pretty girl passed him. Presently he was in Soho, and in one or two of the streets through which she passed Emilia feared detection, there being fewer persons in them; but still he had no suspicion, and walked carelessly, gayly on. At length he stopped before a house in Gerard Street, took a latch-key from his pocket, opened the door, entered, and closed it behind him.