“He was, was he? I’m glad to know that, because—”
“If you are going to talk about prizefights, I’ll leave you,” interposed Miss Thane.
“No, don’t do that,” said Ludovic. “I’m not interested in prizefights. By-the-by, did you find that panel?”
This casual reference to her morning’s labour made Miss Thane reply tartly: “No, Ludovic, we did not find that panel.”
“I didn’t think you would,” he said.
Miss Thane appeared to struggle with emotions. Her brother, showing a faint interest in what he had caught of the conversation, said sympathetically: “Lost something?”
“No, dear,” replied Sarah, with awful calm. “It is Lord Lavenham who has lost a talisman ring. I told you all about it three days ago. He lost it at play one night at the Cocoa-Tree.”
“I do remember you telling me some rigmarole or another,” admitted Thane. “If you want my advice, Lavenham, you won’t play at the Cocoa-Tree. I met a Captain Sharp there myself once. Hazard it was, and the dice kept running devilish high. I’d my suspicions of them from the start, and sure enough they were up-hills.”
“Oh, the play was fair enough,” said Ludovic indifferently.
“What I’m telling you is that it wasn’t,” said Sir Hugh, patient but obstinate. “I split the dice myself, and found ’em loaded.”