"Anne!"
"Sara, for goodness' sake, let me alone a moment. Come," she added, throwing her arm about the young matron's waist, "let's talk about other things now. Come with me while I telephone and call off that stupid theatre party. Then we 'll go to town, exchange the tickets, and then—Sara, let's have a regular bat—alone. You know—one of our old ones. I dare you."
"Done," said Mrs. Van Valkenberg, thankful to change the girl's mood.
While Anne was telephoning and offering various explanations to various persons, Sara sat thinking. It had not taken her ten minutes to decide that she detested Koltsoff and that Anne was under a spell not easily to be broken. If Armitage had tried to break it, if he were there for that purpose, he had failed a long way of success. He had chosen, in any event, a poor method of campaigning. If he did not know what was good for him, so much the worse. She did and accordingly when Anne had finished with the last of her list of prospective guests, she said:
"Anne, I have fallen quite in love with your new chauffeur."
"I don't blame you one bit," said Anne carelessly. "He's a stunner. But I don't believe he 's a chauffeur by profession."
"I happen to know he is n't."
"You—know—he is n't! How do you know? Tell me what he is then. I don't believe I 'll ever have any more curiosity about anything; I 've used it all on him."
"He 's a naval officer and a very promising one, I believe. He is John Armitage and his father is United States Senator Armitage from Kentucky—they 're really a very fine family—one of the best in the State."
"How did—? oh, of course, you were a Kentuckian. You don't mean to say you know him!"