He considered several dominoes of sugar and selected a small half. "In what way?" he risked, aware that his cousin was more than a match for him in the conversational arena.
"Her engagement was announced on Monday and she was married on Thursday."
"That doesn't show that the engagement had only existed since Monday."
"But it does show just that. Up to Monday Belhaven had been making violent love to Eva Astry; everybody knew it."
Charter's face flushed darkly. "I hope you don't repeat any such malicious gossip as that, Pamela!"
"It isn't gossip; ask Paul. We were out there for a week-end; so was Massena, the Italian Chargé d'Affaires, and he was perfectly amazed. Belhaven was simply devoted to Eva, and then to our surprise Astry announced his engagement to Rachel."
"All this only goes to show that he needed a thrashing."
"Belhaven isn't the sort to get it. You know he's rather charming, but I'm quite sure that Rachel never cared for him."
"I can see no other reason for her accepting him."
"Nor I, yet I've heard things—" Pamela stopped; after all Charter was the last one to hear all this gossip; he would loathe it.