She and Miss Watts were summoned before the bar of judgment as soon as they reached the house. Max met them in the library and after a perfunctory greeting opened fire.
“Miss Watts, what does this mean?”
“I am sorry, Mrs. Bryce, but I must ask you to be more explicit.”
“Explicit? I send my daughter away in your charge and you bring her back engaged to some unknown poilu. Then you ask me to be explicit!”
“But I know nothing of this affair, Mrs. Bryce. It is as much a surprise to me as it is to you.”
Mrs. Bryce turned an exasperated look to the girl.
“It’s true,” said Isabelle, “she doesn’t know anything about it.”
“But how could you get engaged to him without her knowing it? She could see him around, couldn’t she?”
“But he wasn’t around. We met no Frenchman in Bermuda,” protested Miss Watts, utterly at sea.