Dick fussily brought forward a chair for Lucy to sit in, and offered to disembarrass her of the jacket she was wearing.
'You must make my excuses for not leaving a card on Lady Kelsey before going away,' said Alec. 'I've been excessively busy.'
'It doesn't matter at all,' Lucy answered.
Julia glanced at him. She saw that he was determined to keep the conversation on the indifferent level which it might have occupied if Lucy had been nothing more than an acquaintance. There was a bantering tone in his voice which was an effective barrier to all feeling. For a moment she was nonplussed.
'London is an excellent place for showing one of how little importance one is in the world. One makes a certain figure, and perhaps is tempted to think oneself of some consequence. Then one goes away, and on returning is surprised to discover that nobody has ever noticed one's absence.'
Lucy smiled faintly. Dick, recovering his good-humour, came at once to the rescue.
'You're overmodest, Alec. If you weren't, you might be a great man. Now, I make a point of telling my friends that I'm indispensable, and they take me at my word.'
'You are a leaven of flippancy in the heavy dough of British righteousness,' smiled Alec.
'It is true that the wise man only takes the unimportant quite seriously.'
'For it is obvious that one needs more brains to do nothing with elegance than to be a cabinet minister,' said Alec.