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"It's too serious a question to decide at this late hour"

"Do you call it late?"

She returned his glance coolly "Yes; because I have still to talk business with Mr Archer for a little while"

"Ah," Beaufort snapped There was no appeal fro he recovered his composure, took her hand, which he kissed with a practised air, and calling out from the threshold: "I say, Newland, if you can persuade the Countess to stop in town of course you're included in the supper," left the room with his heavy important step

For a moment Archer fancied that Mr Letterblair ; but the irrelevance of her next ree his mind

"You know painters, then? You live in their milieu?" she asked, her eyes full of interest

"Oh, not exactly I don't know that the arts have a milieu here, any of them; they're more like a very thinly settled outskirt"

"But you care for such things?"

"Immensely When I'm in Paris or London I never miss an exhibition I try to keep up"

She looked down at the tip of the little satin boot that peeped fro draperies

"I used to care is But noant to try not to"