"Then I wish I were still more dangerous," he laughed, "for apparently I haven't succeeded."
"I want to talk to you seriously," said Victoria; "that is the only reason I'm permitting you to drive me home."
"I am devoutly thankful for the reason then," he said,—"my horse is tied in the field."
"And aren't you going to say good-by to your host and hostess?"
"Hostess?" he repeated, puzzled.
"Hostesses," she corrected herself, "Mrs. Pomfret and Alice. I thought you had eyes in your head," she added, with a fleeting glance at them.
"Is Crewe engaged to Miss Pomfret?" he asked.
"Are all men simpletons?" said Victoria. "He doesn't know it yet, but he is."
"I think I'd know it, if I were," said Austen, with an emphasis that made her laugh.
"Sometimes fish don't know they're in a net until—until the morning after," said Victoria. "That has a horribly dissipated sound—hasn't it? I know to a moral certainty that Mr. Crewe will eventually lead Miss Pomfret away from the altar. At present," she could not refrain from adding, "he thinks he's in love with some one else."