"I mean, I didn't see it coming."
I began to like Susan.
"'Slickest,'" snorted Mrs. Waterbrook. "Nasty vulgar slang. If you were going to be here longer, Captain Pleydell's wife should give you lessons in English. She isn't a teacher, you know. She's an American—with a silver tongue. And there's that wretched bell." She rose to her feet. "If I'd remembered that Manon had more than three acts, I wouldn't have come." She turned to me. "Is Jill here to-night?"
"She is."
"Will you tell her to come and find us in the next interval?"
"I will."
"Good. Half-past ten to-morrow. Good night."
On the way to the doors of the theatre she stopped to speak with someone, and Susan came running back.
"Captain Pleydell, is your wife here?"
I nodded.