Augustus and Lady Grenellen would have arrived by the time I got down to the hall again. They ought to have been here before me, but no doubt the train was late.
The soft crêpe de chine of my skirts made no frou-frou. Antony did not see me as I looked over the bend of the stairs descending; he was staring into the fire, an expression I have never seen before on his face.
I stopped. Presently he looked up.
"How silently you came, Comtesse! I did not hear you."
"You were thinking deeply. Upon what grave matters of state?"
"None at all. Do you know Lady Grenellen and your husband have not arrived? The brougham has with difficulty returned from the station after waiting until the train was in, and there was no sign of them."
A joy, unbidden and instantly suppressed, pervaded me as he spoke.
"Perhaps they missed the train and will catch the next," I hazarded.
"The fog in London is quite exceptional, the guard said. I have given orders for the coachman to return and try for the next train. It gets in at 6:42. After that there is one at 7, and the last one is at 10:18. But they will probably telegraph."
"It makes me laugh," I said.