but definitely at her; so that during more than one ardent passage, she felt herself go hot all over, as though alone with him, an acknowledged object of his adoring, despairing declarations.  This she shrank from, yet—­it must be owned—­found stirring, strangely and not altogether unpleasantly agitating.  For was not this protege of Henrietta’s—­whom the latter implored her to encourage and treat kindly—­something of a genius?  Capable of sudden and amazing transformation, talking to you with a modesty and deference agreeably greater than that of most young men of his age; then, on an instant, changing at will, and extraordinarily voicing the accumulated wrongs, joys and sorrows of universal humanity?  Could Henrietta, who usually spoke of him in tones of commiseration, not to say of patronage, be aware how remarkable he really was?  Damaris wondered; regarding him, meanwhile, with innocent respect and admiration.  For how tremendously much he must have experienced, how greatly he must have suffered to be able to portray drama, express profound emotion thus!  That the actor’s art is but glorified make-believe, the actor himself too often hollow as a drum, though loud sounding as one, never for an instant occurred to her.  How should it?

Therefore when Mrs. Frayling—­recollecting certain mysteries of the toilet which required attention before the arrival of her expected guests—­brought the performance to an abrupt termination, Damaris felt a little taken aback, a little put about, as though someone should be guilty of talking millinery in church.

For—­“Splendid, my dear Marshall, splendid,” the lady softly yet emphatically interrupted him.  “To-day you really surpass yourself.  I never heard you read better, and I hate to be compelled to call a halt.  But time has flown—­look.”

And she pointed to the blue and gold Sevres clock upon the mantelpiece.

“Miss Verity is an inspiring auditor,” he said, none best pleased at being thus arbitrarily arrested in midcourse.  “For whatever merit my reading may have possessed, your thanks are due to her rather than to me, Cousin Henrietta.”

He spoke to the elder woman.  He looked at the younger.  With a nervous yet ponderous movement—­it was Marshall Wace’s misfortune always to take up more room than by rights belonged to his height and bulk—­he got on to his feet.  Inattentively let drop the volume of poems upon a neighbouring table, to the lively danger of two empty coffee cups.

The cups rattled.  “Pray be careful,” Mrs. Frayling admonished him with some sharpness.  The performance had been prolonged.  Not without intention had she effaced herself.  But, by both performance and effacement, she had been not a little bored, having a natural liking for the limelight.  She, therefore, hit out—­to regret her indiscretion the next moment.

“Nothing—­nothing,” she prettily added.  “I beg your pardon, Marshall, but I quite thought those cups would fall off the table—­So stupid of me.”