But just then, Bella’s brother, having passed a boring guest on to his wife, came between the two who stood so oblivious of the rest of the company. The apparition of Tom Wayne brought Bella back to the every-day world, and to a half-frightened self-criticism, in view of the long flight she had taken from it in the last few seconds.
Her brother laid an affectionate hand on the shoulder of the sunburnt man, and said, laughing, to Bella: “You must be careful with this person. He’s the most desperate flirt.”
Bella winced inwardly, but she disguised the little hurt with smiling mockery. “Really! I should never have thought it!”
“Oh, yes, goes off with first one heart and then another. And he goes so far! That’s the worst of him.”
“Where does he go?”
“Lord knows! Let’s see, what God-forgotten place was the last book about?”
“Oh, you write books? Then you are distinguished—”
“You aren’t telling me you didn’t know who it was?” exclaimed her brother.
“Well, I thought I did, and I’ve been behaving as if I did.”