Ten minutes later, escorted by a sympathetic manager, they were making their way toward a small table in the balcony of the famous Strand restaurant.
"You order the dinner," said Nancy, as they took their seats. "I always enjoy things much more if somebody else chooses them."
She leaned forward in her chair and looked down contentedly at the animated scene below, while Colin picked up the menu and studied it with becoming gravity.
"I think we'll have a little clear soup to start with," he began, "followed by sole à la bonne femme, a roast grouse, and iced meringues." He paused. "Do you prefer champagne or sparkling Moselle?"
"I don't know," said Nancy frankly. "I've never tasted either of them."
"We'll have a half bottle of both then," said Colin. "You can try them and see which you like best, and I'll drink the other."
"By the way," he added, as the waiter hurried off with the order, "have you been seeing anything of that friend of yours, Major Fenton—the chap you introduced me to in Jubilee Place?"
For a moment Nancy remained silent.
"Why do you ask me that?" she inquired.
"Oh, I don't know," said Colin casually. "It just happened to come into my head."