He paused again and concluded,
"The Omofaga prospectus will be out to-morrow."
"Bessie is really quite annoyed," remarked Lord Semingham. "I have seldom seen her so perturbed—but I've sent Ruston to talk to her."
"And why did you do it?" asked Adela.
"I should like to tell you a little history," said he.
And he told her how Mrs. Dennison had sent a telegram to Frankfort. This history was long, for Lord Semingham told it dramatically, as though he enjoyed its quality. Yet Adela made no comment beyond asking,
"And wasn't she right?"
"Oh, for the Empire perhaps—for us, it means trips to the seaside."
He drew his chair a little nearer hers, and dropped his affectation of comic plaintiveness.