Sentence:  Captain Edward Carlisle...felt a curious sensation of helplessness seize upon him as he met her steady gaze,...; he could not tell what this prisoner might do. He <WSD>cursed</WSD> the fate which had assigned such a duty, <WSD>cursed</WSD> especially that fate 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:  To place a curse upon (a person or object).