She swept in with the sustaining consciousness of a highly dramatic entrance. To come in well is often half the battle.
'You here! The devil!' exclaimed Beaufort Chance.
'Mr. Chance! Well, I declare!' said Connie. 'And alone too!' She looked round suspiciously, as though Trix might perhaps be under the table. 'Well, I suppose Miss Ryle won't be long taking off her things.'
Beaufort already suspected a plot, but, his first surprise over, he would not plead guilty to being an object that invited one.
'I got away earlier than I expected,' he told her, 'and looked in here on my way to Cadogan Square. There was no chance of finding you at home so early.'
'And there was a chance of finding Mrs. Trevalla?' She sat down opposite him, showing her teeth in a mocking smile. His confusion and the weakness of his plea set her courage firmly on its feet.
'I don't know whether there was or not. She's not here, you see.'
'Oh, I'll amuse you till she comes!'
'I sha'n't wait for her long.'
'I sha'n't stay long either. You can drive me back home, can't you?'