Girl in Cairo (Diagnosis)

When Paul Dorrance and Eleanor travel through Africa they meet a girl in Cairo. Her appearance is described vividly: “He [Paul Dorrance] felt the shock of her young fairness, saw the fruity bloom of her cheeks, the light animal vigor of every movement, he heard her rich beckoning laugh, and met the eyes questioning his under the queer slant of her lids.”[i]

Rumors say that she refused an offer by another rich man because of Paul Dorrance.

Nevertheless, Paul is too loyal to Eleanor Welwood to answer the Cairo girl's letters (but one could argue that Paul regrets his faith later on).

[i] Wharton, Edith; Robinson, Roxana (2007): The New York stories of Edith Wharton. New York, NY: New York Review Books (New York Review Books classics). p.396.