Lucy’s beauty and ability to attract people is regularly referred to in ways that make it seem almost supernatural. Here, as Lucy sits painting and talking to Mrs. Dawson, Braddon uses hyperbolic language and a metaphor referring to an angel’s halo to emphasize its power:

The governess lifted her head from its stooping attitude, and stared wonderingly at her employer, shaking back a shower of curls. They were the most wonderful curls in the world—soft and feathery, always floating away from her face, and making a pale halo round her head when the sunlight shone through them.

Although Lucy is always described as ravishing, it seems unlikely that her hair is more wonderful than that of anyone else on the planet. Here, the hyperbolic statement, "the most wonderful curls in the world," serves to exaggerate Lucy's beauty to emphasize its constant draw. Even if her hair isn’t actually a cloud of "the most wonderful curls in the world," that’s how Mrs. Dawson perceives them. This exaggerated language establishes the younger woman’s beauty as something beyond the ordinary. She is seemingly irresistible, even to this gossiping older woman. In moments like this, the author’s use of hyperbole points to the irresistible pull Lucy’s appearance exerts. The passage assists in building a plausible foundation for the extreme heights to which beauty raises the soon-to-be Lady Audley. It also provides a rationale to explain some of her questionable behavior toward others.

The metaphor that her hair creates "a pale halo round her head" when it’s illuminated by sunlight is another step in this direction. By comparing her curls to a halo—a symbol traditionally associated with saints and angels—the author implies that Lucy’s appearance is a vital part of her quest to seem innocent. It’s especially relevant at this early moment in the novel because Mrs. Dawson has just suggested Lucy could make Sir Michael Audley marry her if she wanted. Because Lucy looks so innocent, people are inclined to think she has pure intentions, as Mrs. Dawson does here. Rather than being a true reflection of her character, Lucy’s angelic “halo” is a disguise that allows her to avoid accountability and suspicion for her choices.