He murmured something into his beard. Meeting his childlike gaze of
admiration, she turned away and put her arm round Barbara's waist. The
ladies went indoors to take off their things, accompanied by Adrian, who
wanted a lover's word with Doria on the way. Jaffery followed her with
his eyes until she had disappeared at the corner of the hall-stairs.
Then he took me by the arm and led me up towards the terrace.

"Who is that singularly beautiful girl?" he asked.

"Doria Jornicroft," said I.

"She's the most astonishing thing I've ever seen in my life."

"I wouldn't find her too astonishing, if I were you," said I with a
laugh, "because there might be complications. She's engaged to Adrian."

He dropped my arm. "Do you mean--she's going to marry him?"

"Next month," said I.

"Well, I'm damned," said Jaffery. I asked him why. He did not enlighten
me. "Isn't he a lucky devil?" he asked, instead. "The most
pestilentially lucky devil under the sun. But why the deuce didn't you
tell me before?"

"You expressed such a distaste for female women that we thought we would
give you as long a respite as possible."

"That's all very well," he grumbled. "But if I had known that Adrian's
fiancée was knocking around I'd have lumped her in my heart with Barbara