She sat on Lord
Amersteth's right, flourishing her ear-trumpet, and drinking
champagne with her usual notorious freedom, as dissipated and
kindly a dame as the world has ever seen. It was a necklace of
diamonds and sapphires that rose and fell about her ample neck.
"They say it's worth five thousand pounds at least," continued my
companion. "Lady Margaret told me so this morning (that's Lady
Margaret next your Mr. Raffles, you know); and the old dear WILL
wear them every night. Think what a haul they would be! No; we
don't feel in immediate danger at the rectory."
When the ladies rose, Miss Melhuish bound me to fresh vows of
secrecy; and left me, I should think, with some remorse for her
indiscretion, but more satisfaction at the importance which it
had undoubtedly given her in my eyes. The opinion may smack of
vanity, though, in reality, the very springs of conversation
reside in that same human, universal itch to thrill the auditor.
The peculiarity of Miss Melhuish was that she must be thrilling
at all costs. And thrilling she had surely been.
I spare you my feelings of the next two hours. I tried hard to
get a word with Raffles, but again and again I failed. In the
dining-room he and Crowley lit their cigarettes with the same
match, and had their heads together all the time. In the
drawing-room I had the mortification of hearing him talk
interminable nonsense into the ear-trumpet of Lady Melrose, whom
he knew in town.
Pages:
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88