It was Svengali.
He caught sight of Taffy and met his eyes, and Taffy said: "Good God! Look! look!"
Then Little Billee and the Laird got up and looked.
And Svengali for a moment glared at them. And the expression of his face was so terrible with wonder, rage, and fear that they were quite appalled—and then he sat down, still glaring at Taffy, the whites of his eyes showing at the top, and his teeth bared in a spasmodic grin of hate.
Then thunders of applause filled the house, and turning round and seating themselves, Taffy and Little Billee and the Laird saw Trilby being led by J—— down the platform, between the players, to the front, her face smiling rather vacantly, her eyes anxiously intent on Svengali in his box.
She made her bows to right and left just as she had done in Paris.
The band struck up the opening bars of "Ben Bolt," with which she was announced to make her début.
She still stared—but she didn't sing—and they played the little symphony three times.
One could hear Monsieur J—— in a hoarse, anxious whisper saying,