"Don't forget Emma Fornez ... you ought to go behind," said Gunther, for the opera was Carmen.
"Yes," said Beecher, with a little hesitation.
"Next act ... Let's drop in on Louise Fontaine, first..."
"There are reasons ... just at present..." said Gunther with a slight frown. "Anyhow, here's Slade's box—let's begin here."
Mrs. Slade at their entrance rose directly, and came to meet them in the antechamber.
"How nice of you to come here first," she said with genuine pleasure, extending both her hands. "Mr. Gunther, go into the box ... I want a few minutes alone with Teddy!" She turned to Beecher, motioning him to a seat on the cushioned settee in the little pink and white room that was like a jewel box. "I saw you at once ... Your wife has made a sensation!"
"It is you, Rita, who are astonishing!" he said abruptly.
"How so?" she said, already comprehending the frank wonder in his eyes.
"You always did fascinate us, you know," he said, reclining a bit, the better to take in the elegant sinuosities of her pose. "But that was nothing to you now ... You are the opera itself!"
"Not quite yet," she said, with a confident little bob of the head. She added, "I am happy!"