“You should have welcomed them.”
“I did. I wanted to see two of nature's noblemen, and I knew they would probably be pleasanter company than their representative. They came; very respectable persons, one with a blue necktie, the other with a red one: both had diamond pins in their shirts, and were carefully brushed in respect to their hair. They said nothing, ate little, drank less, and were much better behaved than I am. When they went away, they unanimously asked me to stay with them when I visited Yahoo city.”
“You will not want guests if you always do that.”
“I don't know. I think it was pure ignorance on their part. They knew no better, and they seemed modest enough. My only complaint was that I could get nothing out of them. I wonder whether their wives would have been more amusing.”
“Would they be so in England, Lord Skye?”
He looked down at her with half-shut eyes, and drawled: “You know my countrywomen?”
“Hardly at all.”
“Then let us discuss some less serious subject.”
“Willingly. I have waited for you to explain to me why you have to-night an expression of such melancholy.”
“Is that quite friendly, Mrs. Lee? Do I really look melancholy?”