Sentence:  Captain Edward Carlisle...felt a curious sensation of helplessness seize upon him as he met her steady gaze,nb...; he could not tell what this prisoner might do. He cursed the <WSD>fate</WSD> which had assigned such a duty, cursed especially that <WSD>fate</WSD> which forced a gallant soldier to meet so superb a woman as this under handicap so hard. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  The presumed cause, force, principle, or divine will that predetermines events.