"Is—that so terrible?" she laughed, a little uncertainly.
CHAPTER VII
IN WHICH MARY CARSTAIRS IS INVITED TO THE YACHT "CYPRIANI"
But he recovered in a flash, aware of the criticalness of that moment, and met her bewildered gaze steadily.
"Terrible? Certainly not. Your name surprised me a little. That was all.
I thought, you see, that you were somebody else."
"Yes? Who?"
"I really—do not know exactly. Do forgive my stupidity, won't you? As I say, I was just a little surprised."
"You would explain to a man," she said, "and don't you think you ought to to me? If you did not know exactly who you thought I was, why should my name surprise you so?"
He picked up a hideous china swan from a smart little oak stand and examined it with excessive interest.
"It was merely that I happen to know some one in New York who had mentioned you—and done it in a way to make me think you were not—very old. In fact, I had supposed that Miss Mary Carstairs wore short dresses and a plait down her back. You see," he said, with a well-planned smile, "how absurdly wrong I was. And then, just now, somebody pointed out your house to me. There was a girl standing in the doorway—a small, dark girl, with—"