"I can bear it," Lucy said. "Has anyone heard how Rouse is?"
"Miss Hodge has just been on the telephone. She is still unconscious."
Lucy, seeing Henrietta's head through the window of her office-it was known as the office but was in reality the little sitting-room to the left of the front door-went in to compliment her on the success of the afternoon and so take her mind for at least a moment or two off the thing that oppressed it, and Miss Lux walked on. Henrietta seemed glad to see her, and even glad to have repeated to her the platitudes she had been listening to all the afternoon, and Lucy stayed talking to her for some time; so that the gallery was almost filled again when she took her seat to watch the dancing.
Seeing Edward Adrian in one of the gangway seats she paused and said:
"Catherine is coming."
"And you?" he said, looking up.
"No, alas; I am having a migraine at six-thirty sharp."
Whereupon he said: "Miss Pym, I adore you," and kissed her hand.
His next-door neighbour looked startled, and someone behind tittered, but Lucy liked having her hand kissed. What was the good of putting rose-water and glycerine on every night if you didn't have a little return now and then?
She went back to her seat at the end of the front row, and found that the dowager with the lorgnettes had not waited for the dancing; the seat was empty. But just before the lights went down-the hall was curtained and artificially lit-Rick appeared from behind and said: "If you are not keeping that seat for anyone, may I sit there?"