Venables and his friends, which were
invariably reproduced for Rachel's benefit with that slight but
unmistakable local accent of which these gentry were themselves all
unconscious. Steel had a wicked wit, and Rachel as a rule a sufficiently
appreciative smile, but this was to-night either lacking altogether or
of an unconvincing character. Rachel could never pretend, and her first
spontaneous remark was when her glass filled up with froth.
"Champagne!" said she, for they seldom drank it.
"It has been such a wretched day," explained Steel, "that I ordered it
medicinally. I am afraid it must have been perishing here, as it was in
the town. This is to restore your circulation."
"My circulation is all right," answered Rachel, too honest even to smile
upon the man with whom she was going to war. "I felt cold all the
morning, but I have been warm enough since the afternoon."
And that was very true, for excitement had made her blood run hot in
every vein; nor had Rachel often been more handsome, or less lovely,
than she was to-night, with her firm lip and her brooding eye.
"There was another reason for the champagne," resumed her husband, very
frankly for him, when at last they had the drawing-room to themselves.
Pages:
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183