"How d'you do, sir?" he said. "Are you making a long stay in Venice?"
With a friendly movement, he pulled forward one of the wicker chairs and seated himself beside Milbanke.
Clodagh, leaning far back in her own long, low seat, looked at him curiously. Unconsciously the remembrance of Serracauld's careless manner upon a similar occasion of first introduction recurred to her mind, coupled with the knowledge of Barnard's contemptuous idea of her husband—his fads and his peculiarities. What could this man see to attract him in a dry archæologist of twice his age? She found herself waiting intently for his next remark—his next action.
"Are you making a long stay?" he repeated, settling himself in his chair.
Milbanke, surprised and pleased at the unexpected attention, sat up stiffly in his seat.
"Oh no!" he said—"no! We are leaving in three or four days. I—I am interested in antiquity, and should, properly speaking, be in Sicily at the present moment. Perhaps you have heard of the very remarkable researches that are being carried on there?"
Gore smiled.
"No, I'm afraid I must confess ignorance. I know disgracefully little about the past."
Barnard, fearing a dissertation from Milbanke, interrupted with a laugh.
"I'm afraid most of us find the present more alluring!"