And Selwyn
saw her.
For a moment he looked at her--looked at Gerald beside her, and Neergard
on the other side, and Rosamund opposite; and at the others, whom he had
never before seen. Then quietly, but with heightened colour, he turned
his attention to the glass which the servant had just filled for him,
and, resting his hand on the stem, stared at the bubbles crowding upward
through it to the foamy brim.
Nina and Boots had begun, ostentatiously, an exceedingly animated
conversation; and they became almost aggressive, appealing to Austin,
who sat back with a frown on his heavy face--and to Eileen, who was
sipping her mineral water and staring thoughtfully at a big, round,
orange-tinted lantern which hung like the harvest moon behind Gerald,
throwing his curly head into silhouette.
[Illustration: "Gerald beside her, and Neergard on the other side."]
What conversation there was to carry, Boots and Nina carried. Austin
silently satisfied his hunger, eating and drinking with a sullen
determination to make no pretence of ignoring a situation that plainly
angered him deeply.
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