talking to Miss Fancourt."

"It comes to the same thing, because we talked about 'Ginistrella.' She
described it to me--she lent me her copy."

"Lent it to you?"

"She travels with it."

"It's incredible," Paul blushed.

"It's glorious for you, but it also turned out very well for me. When
the ladies went off to bed she kindly offered to send the book down to
me. Her maid brought it to me in the hall and I went to my room with it.
I hadn't thought of coming here, I do that so little. But I don't sleep
early, I always have to read an hour or two. I sat down to your novel on
the spot, without undressing, without taking off anything but my coat. I
think that's a sign my curiosity had been strongly roused about it. I
read a quarter of an hour, as I tell you, and even in a quarter of an
hour I was greatly struck."

"Ah the beginning isn't very good--it's the whole thing!" said Overt, who
had listened to this recital with extreme interest. "And you laid down
the book and came after me?" he asked.

"That's the way it moved me. I said to myself 'I see it's off his own
bat, and he's there, by the way, and the day's over and I haven't said
twenty words to him.' It occurred to me that you'd probably be in the
smoking-room and that it wouldn't be too late to repair my omission. I
wanted to do something civil to you, so I put on my coat and came down. I