"I glared at him viciously. Speak I could not, but he paid no further attention to me, and his make-up was now pronounced to be perfect by his critical companion.
"'Vous etes un très bel Anglais, mon vieux,' she cried, coquettishly setting her head on one side and glancing first at him and then at me."
"The cat!" cried Edith. "She evidently thought you good-looking, Jack."
Talbot blushed and laughed at the involuntary slip.
"I am not responsible for her opinions," he said. "I am simply telling you what happened.
"Dubois left the room," he continued, "and returned in a few moments, dressed in an English tweed suit, with my overcoat and a deerstalker cap. Upon my honour, he was so like me that, notwithstanding my rage, I was compelled to smile at him. He caught my transient mood for an instant.
"'Tiens!!' he cried, 'that is better. The surgical operation is beginning to take effect. You see the joke?'
"'It is a somewhat bitter species of humour,' I replied. 'Perhaps in the future it may have a sequel.'
"'Life is made up of sequels,' was the airy answer. 'Events generally turn out to be so completely opposite to that which I anticipated that I no longer give them a thought. I live only for the present, and at this moment I am victorious. But now, Mr. Talbot, I purpose taking a little trip to the Continent on your account. I hope, therefore, for your sake, that the Channel will be smooth.'