CHAPTER VII


IN WHICH MARY CARSTAIRS IS INVITED TO THE YACHT "CYPRIANI"

But he recovered in a flash, aware of the criticalness of that moment,
and met her bewildered gaze steadily.

"Terrible? Certainly not. Your name surprised me a little. That was all.
I thought, you see, that you were somebody else."

"Yes? Who?"

"I really--do not know exactly. Do forgive my stupidity, won't you? As I
say, I was just a little surprised."

"You would explain to a man," she said, "and don't you think you ought
to to me? If you did not know exactly who you thought I was, why should
my name surprise you so?"

He picked up a hideous china swan from a smart little oak stand and
examined it with excessive interest.

"It was merely that I happen to know some one in New York who had
mentioned you--and done it in a way to make me think you were not--very
old. In fact, I had supposed that Miss Mary Carstairs wore short dresses
and a plait down her back. You see," he said, with a well-planned smile,