"Oh, I don't find much. I talk about the same thing at every tea. If you meet other people it makes no difference."
"How clever of you!"
"On the contrary it's simply dulness, and because I'm lazy—I——" but he left his sentence unfinished, for Miss Campbell's attention was palpably wavering, and her glance spoke of approaching deliverance. He looked over his shoulder to see Darcy advancing with Lieutenant Kingsland.
The two officers had met in the crush a few minutes before, and the Colonel had lost no time in taking Kingsland to task for his stupidity of the past night.
"I'm no end sorry," the Lieutenant said, in very apologetic tones.
"That doesn't give me my letter," growled the Colonel.
"I know I'm an awful duffer," assented Kingsland, "but when he came up behind me and asked questions about it, I was so staggered I let him take it right out of my hands. It wasn't addressed, you know, and I naturally couldn't say who gave it to me."
"I should hope not indeed."
"Well, what shall I do—ask him for it?"
"No, no, leave it alone; you've blundered enough. You all meet at a country house to-morrow."