‘Only an hour ago; Sir Marmaduke would stay at Frankfort yesterday, to see Duvernet dance, and so we were detained beyond our time.’
The old gentleman half blushed at this charge, and while a look of pleasure showed that he did not dislike the accusation, he said—
‘No, no; I stayed to please Calthorpe.’
‘Indeed!’ said the lady, turning a look of very peculiar, but unmistakable, anger at him of the yellow moustache. ‘Indeed, my lord!’
‘Oh yes, that is a weakness of mine,’ said he, in an easy tone of careless banter, which degenerated to a mutter, heard only by the lady herself.
‘I ought to have a place somewhere here about,’ said the tall man. ‘Number 14 or 15, the waiter said. Hallo, garçon——-’
At this he turned round, and I saw the well-remembered face of my fellow-traveller, the Honourable Jack Smallbranes. He looked very hard at me, as if he were puzzled to remember where or when we had met, and then, with a cool nod, said, ‘How d’ye do?—over in England lately?’
‘Not since I had the pleasure of meeting you at Rotterdam. Did you go far with the alderman’s daughters?’
A very decided wink and a draw down of the brows cautioned me to silence on that subject; but not before the lady had heard my question, and looked up in his face with an expression that said—‘I’ll hear more of that affair before long.’
‘Monsieur has given you his place, sir,’ said the waiter, arranging a chair at No. 14. ‘I have put you at 83.’