"Her brother ... I told you, didn't I? ... was at Cambridge with us. He came down a year before we did. As a matter of fact, he was sent down and told to stay down. He ducked a proctor in a water-butt and the dons were very cross about it. He's not a bad fellow. I think we'll ask him round here one evening. Lady Cecily's very fond of him ... she used to come up to Cambridge to see him ... before the affair with the proctor, of course ... and Gilbert and I took her and another female out in a punt once!"
Henry, who had been sitting in an arm-chair while Ninian told him about Lady Cecily Jayne, got up and walked across the room.
"Gilbert was very upset when you mentioned her name," he said. "I suppose her marriage was a blow to him?"
"Oh, I don't know. Look here, Quinny, if you're going to jaw any more about this female, you can just hop off to your own room, but if you'd like to hear me explaining these diagrams to you, you can stay...."
"Do you ever see Lady Cecily now?" Henry asked, ignoring what Ninian had said.
"Now and again. Gilbert sees her quite often...."
"Does he?" Henry said eagerly.
"Yes. At first nights. She goes to the theatre a lot. Do you want to meet her?"
There was some confusion in Henry's voice as he answered, "I should like to meet her. You see, I've never known a really beautiful woman...."
"Aren't there any in Ireland?"