He seemed anxious to get away from Ermengarde, and she noticed it, and once more the cloud settled on her brow.
"Come out, Mag; I want to speak to you," said Basil. "You are free at last, I suppose?"
"Oh, yes; I'm free. What were you so chuffy to Ermie, for? You seemed as if you didn't care to have her with you!"
"Oh, don't I care? I'm thinking of her all the time. It's about her I want to speak to you, Maggie, But, first of all have you heard of Miss Nelson's loss?"
"No, what loss?"
"Some one has taken a miniature out of her sitting-room."
"A miniature? Which—which miniature? Speak, Basil."
"You needn't eat me with your eyes, Maggie. I don't know. I didn't do it!"
"Oh, no; but what miniature is it, Basil?"
"I tell you, I didn't see it, Maggie. It hung over her mantelpiece, and she kept flowers under it. She seemed to prize it a great lot."