Read "The Time of Roses" by L.T. Meade online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
Florence sat for a long time with the manuscript of Bertha's story on her lap. Having read the letter once, she did not trouble herself to read it again. It was the sort of letter Bertha always wrote -- the letter which meant temptation, the letter which seemed to drag its victim to the edge of an abyss.
Florence said to herself: "Shall I read the manuscript or shall I not? Shall I put it into the fire or shall I waste a couple of pence in returning it to Bertha, or shall I -- "