She waved her fan in the direction of Mrs. Bell's fat back.
"Do you know them, Captain Bertram?"
His eyes fairly danced with mirth as he swept them over the little group.
"I must confess something, Lady Georgiana. I do know those young ladies and their mother. I have supped with them."
"Oh, horrors! And yet, how entertaining. What were they like?"
"Like themselves."
"That is no answer. Do divert me with an account of them all. I am sure they are deliciously original. I should like to sketch that mother's broad back beyond anything."
It was at this moment that Beatrice and Catherine appeared together on the scene. Captain Bertram, who thought himself an adept in a certain mild, sarcastic description, was about to gratify Lady Georgiana with a graphic account of the Bells' supper-table, when his gaze met the kind, clear, happy expression of Beatrice Meadowsweet's eyes. He felt his heart stir within him. The Bells were her friends, and she was so good, bless her—the best girl he had ever met. No, he could not, he would not, turn them into fun, just to while away an idle five minutes.
Mrs. Bertram called Catherine over to introduce her to Lady Verney, and Bertram, in a moment, was by Beatrice's side.
"This is lucky," he said. "I thought you had left me for the day."