"I often think," remarked Lady Tanagra as she helped herself a second time to hors d'oeuvres, "that if Godfrey could only be condensed or desiccated he would save the world from ennui."
Elton looked up from a sardine he was filleting with great interest and care; concentration was the foundation of Godfrey Elton's character.
"Does that mean that he is a food or a stimulant?" enquired Patricia, Elton having returned to his sardine.
Lady Tanagra regarded Elton with thoughtful brow.
"I think," she said deliberately, "I should call him a habit."
"Does that imply that he is a drug upon the market?" retorted Patricia.
Bowen laughed. Elton continued to fillet his sardine.
"You see," continued Lady Tanagra, "Godfrey has two qualities that to a woman are maddening. The first is the gift of silence, and the second is a perfect genius for making everyone else feel that they are in the wrong. Some day he'll fall in love, and then something will snap and—well, he will give up dissecting sardines as if they were the one thing in life worthy of a man's attention."
Elton looked up again straight into Lady Tanagra's eyes and smiled.
"Look at him now!" continued Lady Tanagra, "that very smile makes me feel like a naughty child."