"Enter Rumour, painted full of tongues," Anthony murmured, more or less in his sleeve.
But at sight of him, Adrian halted, and struck an attitude.
"Oh, the underhand, the surreptitious villain!" he cried out. Then he turned his pink face towards Susanna. "Lady, beauteous lady, vision of loveliness," he saluted her, bowing to the ground. "But oh, to think of that dark, secret villain! He 's gone and made your acquaintance without waiting for me to introduce him, which I was so counting upon doing to-morrow morning. Already he groans and totters under the weight of obligations I 've heaped upon him. I wanted to add one more—and now he 's gone and circumvented me."
"You will add one more if you 'll be so good as to introduce me to Miss
Sandus," said Anthony.
And when the introduction was accomplished, he proceeded to make himself as agreeable to that lady as he possibly could. In the first place, he liked her appearance, he liked her brisk, frank manner; and then, is n't it always well to have a friend near the rose?
The result was that when she and Susanna were alone, Miss Sandus succinctly remarked, "My dear, your cousin is a trump."
X
The shadows were long, as he and Adrian strolled back to Craford Old
Manor.
"Well, now, Truepenny," Adrian began, "now that you 've met her, speak out, and tell me on your heart and conscience how she impresses you."
"She seems all right," was Anthony's temperate reply.