"I should say it was."
"Well, Devonshire's a nice county, not that I know much of it. What part of Devonshire do the Stranges live in—do you know?"
"North Devon," Reynold Harding answered, and then added, half reluctantly, "Sandmoor, near Ilfracombe."
"Ah, it isn't a part I know at all," said Adrian aloud, and to himself he repeated "Sandmoor, near Ilfracombe."
At that moment the door opened, and one of the daughters of the house came in. "Oh, Mr. Harding!" she exclaimed, advancing, and shaking hands in a quick, careless fashion, "I'm afraid you've been kept waiting a long while."
"It doesn't matter," said Harding, standing very stiffly. "Is Guy ready now, Miss Wilton?"
"Yes, he's waiting in the hall. Bob got him away to the stables, and I didn't know he was there till just now: you know what those boys are when they get together. I thought Guy had better wait in the hall, for I'm afraid he's not as clean as he might be."
"It doesn't matter," Harding replied again. "He very seldom is."
"I did try to brush him," said the girl good-humouredly, "but I didn't do much good."
"Wanted something a good deal more thorough, no doubt," Adrian suggested.