Deerehurst, following her closely, narrowed his eyes with a touch of interest as he saw that, either by intention or accident, she had halted beside Sir Walter Gore.
"Well," he said in his thin, satirical voice, as he gained her side—"well, shall we combine forces as we did last night? I brought you luck, remember!"
She turned upon him almost sharply.
"No!" she said—"no! I don't play roulette."
At the vehemence of her denial, he raised his eyebrows; and Sir Walter Gore looked round. Seeing the speaker, an involuntary gleam of surprise crossed his face.
"Surely you are not so unfashionable as to disapprove of gambling, Mrs. Milbanke?" he asked.
Clodagh raised her eyes; and this time her glance was free from coquetry.
"I have not been fashionably brought up," she said.
"Indeed!"
The surprise—and, with it, a reluctant interest—deepened in Gore's glance. But his eyes wandered doubtfully over her dress.