"Oh, then it was Vera who told you! You do give yourself airs of knowing every damn thing, Jimmy. It makes one think twice about consulting you on anything." "I was half pulling your leg," said Jimmy, with unwonted meekness. "As a matter of fact I did notice him paying a lot of attention to B, as long ago as last Christmas, when we had our play. She looked topping that night; I could hardly keep my eyes off her. If I hadn't been paying attention myself in another quarter--" "It would be rather a good sort of marriage for her," said Young George. "Wilborough is a jolly place, and it's only three miles from Abington. It would be jolly if she were to marry him and go and live there. We should see a lot of her." "There's one thing I will say about you, George, you're a jolly good brother to your sisters. I admire you for it. Other fellows' sisters are all very well, but it isn't many chaps who think such a lot of their own as you do. I've half a mind to take a leaf out of your book, and make a bit of a fuss of mine. They're not so good-looking as yours, but they're not so bad. I thought Vera had improved a good lot when I came home." There was a questioning note in his statement, but Young George did not catch it. "I think they're a very good-looking crowd," he said perfunctorily. "What I can't make out is whether B has taken to _him_ or not." "Ah, poor little girl!" said Jimmy sapiently. "She was knocked over by that affair last year. I don't suppose she's ready for it again yet." "Well, you do know something, after all. That's just what Caroline said when I asked her." "What, that she wasn't ready for it? You see, George, a girl's first affair is pretty serious with her. One or two of 'em have told me that. Of course she thinks it's the only one, and if she doesn't marry the fellow she'll never forget him, or care for anybody else, and all that sort of thing. When she's jolly well _got_ to forget him, like B, she still goes on thinking that it can't happen to her again." "H'm!" said Young George reflectively. "I'm not quite sure that B isn't waking up. I'll tell you something if you'll swear not to repeat it." Jimmy swore. "I didn't tell Caroline. I thought I'd pump her first. But she wasn't giving much away." "Women stick by one another," commented Jimmy. "Well, he rode over to lunch yesterday, and I _know_ he meant to stay for the afternoon, though he didn't actually say so. The Governor was up in London, and Caroline and the Dragon had gone over to lunch with Mollie Pemberton. Well, they made it pretty plain they didn't want me with them afterwards. B was as nice as possible about it--she always is decent with me--but--well, I needn't spin it out, but they went into the garden, and I found myself left." "Wait a minute," said Jimmy. "Let's get it straight. It was B who got rid of you." "Well, Dick did ask me if I'd be kind enough to take a message up to Worthing for him, but--yes, it was she who got me off."