Another minute, and the train was movings lowly out of the station, while the two young people continued their cross-examination, confronting each other from their separate corners.
“This is an unexpected visit, is it not? I understood from Miss Ramsden that she expected you to call at the Manor to-day or to-morrow.”
(Cornelia scored a point against him, for his own desertion, in the face of so interesting a prospect!)
“Vury unexpected! I got a wire from a friend and came off within two hours. I understood from Mrs Greville that you were making quite a good stay?”
Guest grimaced eloquently.
“I was—but—circumstances alter cases! To tell you the honest truth, Miss Briskett, I’m just a bit fed up with playing gooseberry by day, and piquet (with Madame!) by night, and the idea of spending a few days at the club presented itself as an agreeable novelty. My friends are almost all in town just now, and there is a good deal going on. I generally put in a week or so of the season, so I thought I might as well clear out at once. They don’t want me here!”
“I don’t know about that,” returned Cornelia, thoughtfully. “What about Madame? Someone’s got to keep her occupied! What’s to happen to her in the evenings now? There’ll be nothing for it but a three-handed game, and that’s the limit! If you’d been a kind, self-sacrificing friend, you’d have stayed on, and worked that piquet for all you were worth!”
“But I’m not self-sacrificing, you see!” Captain Guest explained, and in truth he did not look it. Cornelia’s glance took in the magnificent proportions of the man, the indefinable air of birth and breeding, the faultless toilette; the strong, dark features. To one and all she paid a tribute of admiration, but the expression on the face was of concentrated self-sufficiency. At this point admiration stopped dead, to be replaced by an uneasy dread. Was Geoffrey Greville, even as his friend, frankly indifferent to everything but his own amusement, and if so, what of poor Elma and her dream? It was an awful reflection that in such a case she herself would be largely responsible for thrusting Elma into danger. Her expression clouded, and she stared through the window with unseeing eyes. Captain Guest’s words had been so exceedingly plain that she had not affected to misunderstand their meaning, and the ice once broken, she was glad of the opportunity of solving her doubts.
“You know Mr Greville very well. Is he—a flirt?”
Captain Guest flashed a glance at her; a rapid, understanding glance.