Sentence:  The Countess had liked Elsa from the first moment when she saw her, ragged, unkempt and forlorn, among the <WSD>lowering</WSD>, suspicious men-at-arms in the courtyard, and now that she knew the dangers and the privations the girl had braved for the sake of Wilhelm, the affectionate heart of Beatrix found ample room for the motherless Elsa. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  That lowers or frowns.