"
"I crossed the Atlantic with her in the Meridiana," said Mount Dunstan.
"Indeed! That is interesting. You did not, of course, know that she was
coming here."
"I knew nothing of her but that she was a saloon passenger with a suite
of staterooms, and I was in the second cabin. Nothing? That is not quite
true, perhaps. Stewards and passengers gossip, and one cannot close
one's ears. Of course one heard constant reiteration of the number of
millions her father possessed, and the number of cabins she managed to
occupy. During the confusion and alarm of the collision, we spoke to
each other."
He did not mention the other occasion on which he had seen her. There
seemed, on the whole, no special reason why he should.
"Then you would recognise her, if you saw her. I heard to-day that she
seems an unusual young woman, and has beauty."
"Her eyes and lashes are remarkable. She is tall. The Americans are
setting up a new type."
"Yes, they used to send over slender, fragile little women. Lady
Anstruthers was the type. I confess to an interest in the sister."
"Why?"
"She has made a curious impression. She has begun to do things. Stornham
village has lost its breath." He laughed a little.
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