"But who is your real partner?" she asked, as they rose to go.
"You are,—who else? My permanent partner!" he answered, smiling down upon her. "I haven't a notion who the other is. Let's stop under this lamp and see."
He consulted his card, and his face clouded for a moment.
"It's Honor! That's rough luck. But at least one can tell her the truth, and feel sure she'll understand. There she is by that pillar, wondering what has come to me. Jove! How splendid she looks to-night! I wish the Major could set eyes on her."
The girl's tall figure, in its ivory and gold draperies, showed strikingly against a mass of evergreens, and the simple dignity of the dress she had herself designed emphasised the queenly element in her beauty.
"Did you think I had deserted you altogether?" Desmond asked, as they drew near.
"I knew you would come the first moment you could."
"You have a large faith in your friends, Honor."
"I have a very large faith—in you!" she answered simply.