"Bon soir, p'tit homme."
There was a quality of friendship in her voice; her whole manner suggested a desire to be amiable; she accepted Humphrey as a friend without question, and, as for Charnac, she treated him as if he were one of the family, as a brother. The women in the room stared at the party every few moments, absorbed in the details of Desirée's dress, and the men glanced at her with smiles that irritated Humphrey.
"It is a little friend of mine—an Englishman," Charnac said to Desirée.
"An Englishman!" said Desirée, in a way that seemed to be the echo of her sister's remark a few minutes earlier. "I have a friend in England." She spoke French in a clipped manner, abbreviating her words, and scattering fragments of slang through her phrases.
"Is that so?" Humphrey said. "What part of England?"
"Manchestaire," she replied. "His name was Mr Smith. You know him?"
Humphrey laughed. "I'm afraid I don't—Manchester's a big place, you know."
"Is it as big as London?"
"Oh no. Not as big as London."