"Coming?" he said curtly.
They rose, bowed coldly to Nell, and rustled from the room, accompanied by Denis. Ted stood a moment, hesitating. Nell held out her hand.
"Good-bye, Ted."
"Good-bye."
He turned and strode from the room.
"Come early to-morrow!" she called, following him.
"Say, Lancaster, you might have given these steps a rub if you'd been able to stay," came Denis's musical voice.
And Nell ran back into the drawing-room, subsided into a chair, and laughed.
Denis came back fairly shouting.
"Oh, aren't they rich? Their faces!—I feel quite exhausted—have I swelled with compressed laughter, Nell? Let's open the windows! I can't stand that scent."