He held the door open, and she swept gently past; Robert smiled, so pleasantly did her grace of movement affect him. There are women who enter a room like the first notes of a sonata, and leave it like the sweet close of a nocturne; Isabel was of them.
“How long does Miss Warren intend to stay in London?” he inquired, as they seated themselves.
“Indefinitely.”
“Her friends there are congenial?”
“Entirely so. Mr. Meres is a clever man; he has more influence over her than any one else.”
“You give that as an illustration of his cleverness?”
“No; as the result of it. Ada wants intellectual society; she has no pleasure in talking of anything but books and art. And he has always been a sort of guide to her.”
“Then you have the prospect of being alone for some time?”
“I shall go up as usual in May. Have you read this account of Indian jugglers in the Cornhill?”
“No, I have not.”