'I thought so,' said Wentworth; 'just look at the divine influence of woman! Miss Longworth rises early, therefore John Kenyon rises early. Miss Brewster rises late, therefore George Wentworth is not seen until breakfast-time. If the conditions were reversed, I suppose the getting-up time of the two men would be changed accordingly.'
'Not at all, George—not at all. I would rise early whether anybody else on board did or not. In fact, when I got on deck this morning, I expected to have it to myself.'
'I take it, though, that you were not grievously disappointed when you found you hadn't a monopoly?'
'Well, to tell the truth, I was not; Miss Longworth is a charmingly sensible girl.'
'Oh, they all are,' said Wentworth lightly. 'You had no sympathy for me the other day. Now you know how it is yourself, as they say across the water.'
'I don't know how it is myself. The fact is, we were talking business.'
'Really? Did you get so far?'
'Yes, we got so far, if that is any distance. I told her about the mica-mine.'
'Oh, you did! What did she say? Will she invest?'
'Well, when I told her we expected to form a company for fifty thousand pounds, she said it was such a small sum, she doubted if we could get anybody interested in it in London.'