Brooks looked puzzled.
"It was very enjoyable," he declared. "I wanted to see you, Miss Scott," he added, turning to Mary. "I think that we can arrange that date for the lecture now. How would Wednesday week do?"
"Admirably!" Mary answered.
"Do you know whom you take in, Mr. Brooks?" Selina interrupted.
Brooks glanced at the card in his hand.
"Mrs. Seventon," he said. "Yes, thanks."
Selina looked up at him with an arch smile.
"Mrs. Seventon is most dreadfully proper," she said. "You will have to be on your best behaviour. Oh, here comes some one. What a bother!"
There was an influx of guests. Mrs. Bullsom, reduced to a state of chaotic nervousness, was pushed as far into the background as possible by her daughters, and Mr. Bullsom, banished from the hearth where he felt surest of himself, plunged into a conversation with Mr. Seventon on the weather. Brooks leaned over towards Mary.
"Wednesday week at eight o'clock, then," he said. "I want to have a chat with you about the subject."