“Take it,” he repeated, and closed the door.
Hilda sat still for some time after the servant had finished unlacing her shoes. A little tender smile played oddly about her carmined lips. “Dear heart,” she said aloud, “I was going to.”
CHAPTER XXIII
“I would simply give anything to be there,” Miss Livingstone said, with a look of sincere desire.
“I should love to have you, but it isn't possible. You might meet men you knew who had been invited by particular lady friends among the company.”
“Oh, well, that of course would be odious.”
“Very, I should think,” Hilda agreed. “You must be satisfied with a faithful report of it. I promise you that.”
“You have asked Mr. Lindsay,” Alicia complained.
“That's quite a different thing. And if I hadn't, Llewellyn Stanhope would; Stanhope cherishes Duff as he cherishes the critic of the Chronicle. He refers to him as a pillar of the legitimate. Whenever he begs me to turn the Norwegian crank, he says, 'I'm sure Mr. Lindsay would come.'”