The door opened and on the threshold stood Gibson, the smile he had meant for her fading from his face.
For a moment he paused, his hand still on the knob of the door, as if he hesitated to disturb them. Then, with the appearance of putting whatever thoughts he might have had from his mind, he strode in.
"Well!" he exclaimed. "This is a surprise. How are you, Gallant? Haven't seen you since the night we had our little engagement with 'Red Mike,' who, I have just been told, will recover."
"I'm so glad to hear that," said Consuello.
"And so was I," Gibson said. "No, no, Gallant, stay where you are. I'll sit here."
John had risen to offer Gibson the chair opposite Consuello. He sought a way of relieving the embarrassment he for one, felt when Gibson made his unexpected entrance.
"Miss Carrillo has revealed herself to me as Jean Hope," he explained. "Until this afternoon I had no idea she played in pictures."
Was it because she too, felt it necessary to make some explanation that she said:
"You see, I realized that Mr. Gallant would eventually learn about it and I wanted to surprise him myself."
"I'm proud of my Consuello," Gibson said, patting her hand and speaking to John. "She is famous—really, truly famous—far more, I'm afraid than you or I will ever be, Gallant. Still, she deserves it, and we don't—that is, I don't, at least. She is so famous that I find it difficult to keep myself from becoming jealous of her."