"Quinny!" said Gilbert after a while.
"Yes?" Henry answered.
"Have you ... have you seen Cecily since you came back?"
"Yes. Twice!"
Gilbert did not ask the question which was on the tip of his tongue, but Henry was willing to give the answer without being asked.
"She didn't appear to know I'd been away," he said.
"She knew all the same!..."
"She just said, 'Hilloa, Paddy I' and went on talking to the other people who were there too. I tried to outstay them, but Jimphy came in the first time, and there was a painter there the second time, who wouldn't budge. He's painting her portrait. I've not seen her since...."
"You're glad, aren't you, that I kidnapped you, Quinny?"
"In a way, yes!"