her was agreeable.  But she was insipid.  So he assessed the splendidly budding Laurencine, patronizing her a little.  Miss Wheeler gave him pause.  Her simple phrases had mysterious intonations.  He did not understand her glance.  He could not settle the first question about her—­her age.  She might be very wicked; certainly she could be very ruthless.  And he had no hold over her.  He could give her nothing that she wanted.  He doubted whether any man could.

“Have you been in London long?” he asked Laurencine.

“A week,” she said.  “I came over with Miss Wheeler.  I didn’t think mother would let me, but she did.”

“And did your sister come with you?”

“No; Lois only came yesterday.”

“By herself?”

“Yes.”

“I suppose you go about a lot?”

“Oh, we do It’s such a change from Paris.”

“Well, I should prefer Paris.”

“You wouldn’t!  London’s much more romantic.  Paris is so hard and matter-of-fact.”

“So’s London.”

She squirmed about lissomly on the seat.

“You don’t know what I mean,” she said.  “I never can make people see what I mean—­about anything.”

He smiled indulgently and dropped the point.

“Miss Wheeler taken you to Mrs. Orgreave’s yet?”

“Yes; we were there on Saturday afternoon.”

“Well, what do you think of Mrs. Orgreave?”

“Oh!  She’s very nice,” Laurencine answered, with polite tepidity; and added eagerly:  “Mr. Orgreave’s a dear.”

George was glad that she had not been enthusiastic about Mrs. Orgreave.  Her reserve showed that she could discriminate.  Ecstasy was not altogether a habit.  If she said that Lois was an angel, Lois probably was an angel.

The cars stopped at the foot of a huge block of masonry in a vast leafy square.  George suddenly became very nervous.  He thought:  “I shall be seeing her in a minute.”

Then, as he got out of the car, he heard Miss Wheeler saying to Lucas: 

“Well, good night.  And thank you so much.  It’s been most delightful....  We expect you soon, of course.”

She actually was not asking them to go up!  George was excessively disappointed.  He watched Miss Wheeler and Laurencine disappear into the rich and guarded interior with envy, as though they had entered a delectable paradise to which he could not aspire; and the fact that Miss Wheeler had vaguely invited him to call did not brighten him very much.  He had assumed that he would see Lois the angel that night.

V