“And it went as far as an engagement?”
“I only surmise that from what Miss Prall has hinted—not, I must say, from anything poor Sir Herbert said! But you know what old maids are——”
“How comes it that, while you and Miss Prall are at such odds, you have the same admirers? I’m told Mr Crippen is a beau of both.”
Zizi sensed the widow’s willingness to exploit her conquests and utilized the knowledge.
“Oh, he didn’t care for Letitia! He was rather polite to me, but I had to discourage him. One can’t be too careful. And if you give a man a kindly smile, he thinks he may presume on it.”
“Was Sir Herbert like that?”
“Yes, indeed! Although he was Richard’s uncle, he was no kin to Richard’s aunt Letitia, and he didn’t hesitate to tell me how little he admired that Grenadier type of woman.”
“Preferring more feminine natures?”
“Yes,” Mrs Everett preened herself. “How you do understand, Miss Zizi! I expect you’re a heart-breaker yourself.”
“Oh, rather!” and Zizi’s big dark eyes rolled roguishly. “But I say, Mrs Everett, if this breach of promise case is a true bill, it’s a straw to show which way the wind might have blown,—at least.”