‘How about Lady Creedmore?’

’My mother is on the continent.  Why in the world do you not want to come?’

‘Oh, I don’t know,’ answered Mr. Van Torp vaguely.  ’Just like that, I suppose.  I was thinking.  But it’ll be all right, and I’ll come any way, and please tell your father that I highly appreciate the kind invitation.  When is it to be?’

’Come on Thursday next week and stay till Tuesday.  Then you will be there when the first people come and till the last have left.  That will look even better.’

‘Maybe they’ll say you take boarders,’ observed Mr. Van Torp facetiously.  ‘That other piece belongs to you.’

While talking they had finished their tea, and only one slice of bread and butter was left in the sandwich-box.

‘No,’ answered Lady Maud, ‘it’s yours.  I took the first.’

‘Let’s go shares,’ suggested the millionaire.

‘There’s no knife.’

‘Break it.’

Lady Maud doubled the slice with conscientious accuracy, gently pulled the pieces apart at the crease, and held out one half to her companion.  He took it as naturally as if they had been children, and they ate their respective shares in silence.  As a matter of fact Mr. Van Torp had been unconsciously and instinctively more interested in the accuracy of the division than in the very beautiful white fingers that performed it.

‘Who are the other people going to be?’ he asked when he had finished eating, and Lady Maud was beginning to put the tea-things back into the basket.

’That depends on whom we can get.  Everybody is awfully busy just now, you know.  The usual sort of set, I suppose.  You know the kind of people who come to us—­you’ve met lots of them.  I thought of asking Miss Donne if she is free.  You know her, don’t you?’

’Why, yes, I do.  You’ve read those articles about our interview in New York, I suppose.’

Lady Maud, who had been extremely occupied with her own affairs of late, had almost forgotten the story, and was now afraid that she had made a mistake, but she caught at the most evident means of setting it right.

’Yes, of course.  All the better, if you are seen stopping in the same house.  People will see that it’s all right.’

’Well, maybe they would.  I’d rather, if it’ll do her any good.  But perhaps she doesn’t want to meet me.  She wasn’t over-anxious to talk to me on the steamer, I noticed, and I didn’t bother her much.  She’s a lovely woman!’

Lady Maud looked at him, and her beautiful mouth twitched as if she wanted to laugh.

‘Miss Donne doesn’t think you’re a “lovely” man at all,’ she said.

‘No,’ answered Mr. Van Torp, in a tone of child-like and almost sheepish regret, ’she doesn’t, and I suppose she’s right.  I didn’t know how to take her, or she wouldn’t have been so angry.’

‘When?  Did you really ask her to marry you?’ Lady Maud was smiling now.