"We hope that my sister will come to stay with us for a time," said Sydney, "and in that case you will be sure to see her."
"That will be so very nice," said the lady; "I am quite certain I shall like her immensely."
Sydney felt a little doubtful whether Lettice would like Mrs. Westray; and he also doubted whether his wife and his sister would be found to have much in common. But he was more or less consciously building on the hope that Dalton's suit would prosper, and that Lettice would settle down quietly as the mistress of Angleford Manor, and so be weaned from the somewhat equivocal situation of a successful author. It did not so much as enter his mind, by the way, that there was anything equivocal in Mrs. Westray's authorship. Her book had failed, and her husband was very wealthy, so that she could not be suspected of having earned money by her pen. But Lettice had cheques for her romances!
The dinner was very successful, and the Pynsents were charmed with the result. "It is a most suitable union," said Sir John, alluding to Nan's marriage to Sydney Campion, and hoping to crush his wife a little, seeing that she had objected to it: "it does great credit to my discernment in bringing them together. I always knew that Campion would get on. Lord Montagu was very much pleased with him."
"Nan looked lovely," said Lady Pynsent, ignoring her husband's innuendo. "She tells me that Sydney is very particular about her dress, and she seems perfectly happy."
Meanwhile, as Sydney and his wife were driving home, Nan nestled up to him and said coaxingly,
"Now tell me, dear, just what you were thinking of to-night."
"I was thinking that my wife was the most beautiful woman in the room."
"Oh, I did not mean anything of that kind. When you were talking at dinner-time, and after we had gone up stairs, what was really the uppermost thought in your mind?"
"Well," said Sydney laughing, "you deserve all my candor, Nan. I was thinking, if you must know, that I could meet any one of those men in debate, or in council, and hold my own against him. There's vanity for you! Now it is your turn."