“An American,” said John. “At least he hailed originally from the States. He has been living in Africa since his boyhood.”
“I suppose he’s quite impossible?” said Elizabeth frowning.
“On the contrary,” owned John reluctantly, “he isn’t at all impossible, at any rate not in one way. Of course he’ll be entirely unsuited to his surroundings, but he is quite a decent fellow in himself.”
“Brr!” breathed Elizabeth, and there was a hint of impatience in the sound. “A kangaroo is a decent animal in itself, but you don’t want it in your drawing-room. What do the Delanceys think about it?”
“Oh,” quoth John, “they accept the inevitable. There’s a strong hint of the French aristocrats’ attitude towards the guillotine, in their manner; lacking, however, the scorn.”
“I see.” Elizabeth fell into meditation.
“I don’t think even you can reconstruct matters,” said John smiling. “You see, the whole thing turns on that missing document.”
“The whole thing,” said Elizabeth, “is so blatantly melodramatic as to be barely respectable.”
John laughed.
“Wait till you see Lady Mary,” he said. “She saves the situation completely.”