The plate on the table, and the numerous paintings on the walls, to say nothing of the well-drilled servants in attendance, all betokened wealth. Mr. Dove must have money, and a good deal of it too; but what was his position in life, and who were the ladies and gentlemen assembled round his dinner-table?
The highly self-possessed young lady I took in to dinner, thinking, no doubt, I was a stranger, kindly entered into conversation with me as soon as we were seated at table.
"An odd collection," was her first remark.
Presuming that she referred to the numerous pictures hanging round the room, I replied—
"They do look curious. Good and bad, I suppose. Are they all English?"
This commonplace answer made her laugh.
"There are a few doubtful specimens among the French, but the most reputable are the English," she said.
"Perhaps Mr. Dove is not so easily deceived by the English; even experts are liable to be taken in by the artful French and Italian counterfeits."
Unknown to myself, I must have said something very funny, for Miss Bertram could not control her laughter.
"Does not our host get imposed on sometimes by worthless rubbish?" I asked.