"But you did not speak to her when she came in!" she said. "You nodded
to the man, but took no notice of her!"

"I do not expect," he said quietly, "ever to speak to her again. I have
been a kind father; I think that on the whole I am a good-natured man,
but there are things which I do not forgive, and which I should forgive
my own flesh and blood less even than I should a stranger."

The colour faded from her cheeks.

"It seems terrible," she murmured.

"As for the man," he continued, "he is my enemy, although it is only a
matter of occasional chances which can make him in any way formidable.
We speak because we are enemies. When you have had a little more
experience, you will find that that is how the game is played here."

She was silent for several minutes. Her uncle turned his head, and
immediately two _maîtres d'hôtel_ and several waiters came rushing up.
He gave a trivial order and dismissed them. Then he looked across at his
niece, whose appetite seemed suddenly to have failed her.

"Tell me," he said, "what is the matter with you, Virginia?"

"I am a little afraid of you," she answered frankly. "I should be a
little afraid of any one who could talk like that about his own child."

He smiled softly.