He shook his head.
"I've heard of him."
"Of course," she assented blandly. "He is sufficiently well known, not to say famous. And your name—if I may ask?"
He frowned, and was silent for an instant.
"Vernon," he said reluctantly, "Drake Vernon."
"Indeed! The name seems familiar to me. Of the Northumberland Vernons, I suppose?"
"No," he replied, rather shortly.
"No? There are some Vernons in Warwickshire, I remember," she suggested.
"I'm not connected with any of the Vernons," he said with a grim courtesy.