"My working-clothes are very shabby," said Paul. "Still, if I had thought you wanted to see them, I would have brought them."
The lady laughed good-humouredly. "Oh, but do remain unconventional!" she said. "Don't become a polished Society man. If you are to be interesting, always keep off the beaten tracks."
"Even at the expense of politeness?" said Paul.
The lady looked at him quizzically. "Yes, even at the expense of politeness."
"Then I'll run away. There's someone over here I want to speak to," he said.
The truth was, at that moment he had caught sight of a face which had set his heart beating wildly, for he felt sure it was that of Mary Bolitho. "Oh, I wonder, after all, whether it can be!" he said to himself.
Regardless of passing faces, he found his way toward the spot where he thought he had seen her, and to his delight he discovered that he had not made a mistake. Their eyes met as he came up, and she held out her hand with a smile.
"This is splendid!" he said. "It's so pleasant to see a face that one knows amid a crowd of strangers!"
"But surely you must know hosts of people here," was her response.
"No, I know very few," replied Paul. "Some of the men I have met in the Members' Lobby, but nearly everyone is a stranger to me."