Helen would have been as incapable of sitting down to play Bridge in her own house, while leaving two guests, the one to look at the evening paper, the other to observe her own play, as of suggesting that she herself should go to bed and leave the others to amuse themselves. She made a disclaimer as regards playing Bridge at all. But instantly her hostess’s face clouded.
“Oh, but Mr. Boyton likes his Bridge so much,” she said, “and so does Hermann. Hermann said this afternoon that we should be able to have a rubber after dinner, didn’t you, Hermann? And Mrs. Tempest will enjoy seeing you play so much.”
There was no possibility of making further indications, so thought Helen Grote, for if Aline had no inkling of the ill-breeding of such a scheme it was no use making hints. Besides, primarily she was here as a guest, and it was no part of a guest’s duties to teach her hostess manners. So with more directions from Aline to Mr. Tempest as to where he would find the Sketch and the Graphic when he had finished the evening paper the rubber began. But Mrs. Tempest was not long allowed the pleasure and instruction of watching Helen play, for almost at once Aline summoned her to another chair where she could watch the brilliant manœuvres of herself. Then Mr. Tempest was called from his perusal of the evening paper.
“Sit here by me, Mr. Tempest,” she said, “and see how I play this hand. Mr. Boyton has gone two no-trumps, you see, and I have doubled. That is where I shall defeat him. Look, too, Mrs. Tempest: was I not right to double? Now watch!”
Aline was now quite happy. There were two people completely engaged in looking at her skill, and naturally admiring it, while her opponents were sitting paralysed under her long suit. She fined them, she made them bow down to her cleverness, and while she was yet in the heyday of her triumph, her husband, who with Mr. Boyton was playing against her, suddenly spoke in German.
“Then you have revoked, my dearest,” he said, as she was gathering up a trick.
“No, I haven’t,” said she; “and besides, Hermann, you had no right to say that, for you are dummy.”
She, too, had replied in German: he recovered the sense of locality first.
“Ah, that is so,” he said. “I am sorry, Mr. Boyton. But she did revoke.”
Her voice grew shrill and querulous.