Nance gave a little cry of recollection.
"Remember, Clo! Could I forget?"
Then followed another impulsive embrace, a kiss, and a whole torrent of reminiscence. And a quarter of an hour had slipped away before the entrance of Simonetta with Clodagh's dress recalled them to the knowledge of present things.
Five minutes before the dinner hour had struck, the sisters entered the hall. At the foot of the stairs Nance was detained by George Tuffnell; while Clodagh, left alone for the moment, was at once claimed by Serracauld.
He came forward from one of the windows, moving with his usual graceful indolence, and, pausing beside her, looked intently into her face.
"You look radiant to-night," he said.
She laughed.
"Can one ever look radiant in black?"
Serracauld's eyes passed slowly from her face to her slim white neck.
"Yes," he said, in his cool, deliberate voice.