"Yes, that's just what I was saying," put in the irrepressible Jack. "I think he'd better go home."
"How rude you are!" said his sister. "Come, Mr. McAllister, come into the house, and I will give you a cup of tea. That will do you good, and then I will introduce you to Mademoiselle Laurentia."
"Oh! Miss Elsie, there's nothing the matter with me. I should like to be introduced to Mademoiselle Laurentia now."
"Very well. See, she is coming this way," said Elsie. "Is she not pretty? Have you ever seen her before?"
"Seen her before? How could I have seen her before?"
He told the untruth unblushingly; it was by no means his first.
Mademoiselle Laurentia was close to them now, and Elsie said, in her clear, distinct tones:
"Let me introduce Mr. McAllister to you, mademoiselle. You are compatriots."
Just then Lady Severn called Elsie, and Marie Gourdon and Noël McAllister were left alone for a moment. She was the first to break the awkward silence, as she said in her quiet voice, without the faintest shade of embarrassment in it:
"How do you like this country, Mr. McAllister?"