His imaginative eyes looked suddenly distressed, almost persecuted, and he raised his eyebrows.
"She is very clever at creating prettiness around her," he continued, after an instant of silence, during which Mrs. Mansfield looked down. "It is quite wonderful. And how energetic she is!"
"Yes, Charmian can be very energetic when she likes. Adelaide Shiffney never turned up to-night."
"She telegraphed this morning that she had to go over unexpectedly to Paris. Something to do with the Senniers probably. You know how devoted she is to him. And now he is the rage in America, Charmian says. Every day I expect to hear that Mrs. Shiffney had sailed for New York."
He laughed, but not quite naturally.
"What a change in his life that evening at Covent Garden made!" he added.
"And what a change in yours!" was Mrs. Mansfield's thought.
"He found himself, as people call it, on that night, I suppose," she said. "He is one of those men with a talent made for the great public. And he knew it, perhaps, for the first time that night. He is launched now on his destined career."
"You believe in destiny?"
She detected the sadness she had surprised in his eyes in his voice now.