Lois frowned slightly. Saton’s face remained inscrutable. In the general exodus Rochester found himself for a moment behind with his wife.
“Did you encourage that young man to stay to tea?” he asked. “I thought you disliked him so much.”
Lady Mary sighed. She was a gentle, fluffy little creature, who had a new whim every few minutes.
“I am so changeable,” she declared. “I detested him yesterday. He wore such an ugly tie, and he would monopolize Lois. This afternoon I found him most interesting. I believe he knows all about the future, if one could only get him to tell us things.”
“Really!” Rochester remarked politely.
“He has been talking in a most interesting fashion,” continued Lady Mary.
“Has he been telling you all your fortunes?”
“You put it so crudely, my dear Henry,” his wife declared. “Of course he doesn’t tell fortunes! Only he’s the sort of person that if one really wanted to know anything, I believe his advice would be better than most peoples’. Perhaps he will talk to us about it after dinner.”
“What, is he dining here?” Rochester asked.
“I have asked him to,” Lady Mary answered, complacently. “We are short of young men, as you know, and really this afternoon he quite fascinated us all. The dear Duchess is so difficult and heavy to entertain, but she quite woke up when he began to talk. Lady Penarvon just told me that she thought he was wonderful.”