"Come with me—you can wait just outside the hall. I know what it is; you want to get outside at once—at once!"
Nell went out with her, and as she felt the cool, fresh air, she drew a breath of relief; then she turned to the girl.
"I am all right now; you must not wait. I have your wrap——"
Dick came up with the fly, and Drake appeared with her cloak and a glass of wine. He had got his hat and coat as he came along. She drank some of the wine, and turned to hold out her hand to the girl and wish her good night and thank her.
"I am quite, quite right now!" Drake heard her say; and his fears—for to a man a woman's fainting fit is a terrible thing—were somewhat dispelled.
They got into the fly, and it drove off. Nell, instead of sinking into the corner, sat bolt upright and forced a smile.
"What a jolly evening!" said Dick, with a deep sigh. "Don't wonder you girls are so fond of parties."
"Yes," she said, with a brightness which deceived both of them, "it has been very jolly. What a pretty girl that is with whom you were sitting out, Dick!"
"I always thought you had great taste," he said approvingly. "She was the nicest girl there—as I ventured to tell her."
Nell laughed—surely the hollowness of the laugh must strike them, she thought—but neither of the two noticed its insincerity, and Dick rattled on, suspecting nothing.