* * * * *
Meanwhile Fanny's attention--and the surging anger of her thoughts--were
more and more directed upon the girl with the fair hair opposite. A
natural bond of sympathy seemed somehow to have arisen between her and
this Miss Drake--Diana's victim. Alicia Drake, looking up, was
astonished, time after time, to find herself stared at by the
common-looking young woman across the table, who was, she understood,
Miss Mallory's cousin. What dress, and what manners! One did not often
meet that kind of person in society. She wished Oliver joy of his future
relations.
* * * * *
In the old panelled drawing-room the coffee was circulating. Sir James
was making friends with Mrs. Colwood, whose gentle looks and widow's
dress appealed to him. Fanny, Miss Drake, and Mr. Birch made a group by
the fireplace; Mr. Birch was posing as an authority on the drama; Fanny,
her dark eyes fixed upon Alicia, was not paying much attention; and
Alicia, with ill-concealed impatience, was yawning behind her glove.
Hugh Roughsedge was examining the Donatello photograph.
"Do you like it?" said Diana, standing beside him.
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