“His wife?” said Mr. Vandeleur.
“The root of an evil,” said the Husband of the Hostess, who, to be sure, was right at the other end of the mahogany.
“Your boy has married a wife, has he?” said Mr. Vandeleur, with the air of one who asks politely for information.
And who do you think, my lords and gentlemen, was seated opposite the Great Man? No less an individual than his Britannic Majesty’s former Ambassador to Persia.
Not a living soul saw the glance that may or may not have passed between them.
“A great deal of marrying and giving in marriage these days, apparently,” mused Mr. Everard Vandeleur.
“Your turn next, Van,” said a Privileged Individual, whose brilliant sally, of course, set the table in a roar.
“Married a wife, has he?” mused Mr. Everard Vandeleur. “Good for the state, although not always good for the state of Denmark. And she has brought him to this. Well, well.”
“It is revenge, of course,” said S. of P.
A word so sinister caused the whole table to cock its ears.