She held out her arm with the bracelet on it. Chalfont had already noticed it. Now he gave it a closer inspection. Whilst being a good judge of precious stones he had a great liking for paste when it was old and good, but what he saw now was merely a product of the modern manufacturer. "A French copy, isn’t it?" he asked, thoughtlessly. Maggy’s eyes widened. French—copy? Her diamond bracelet a copy—imitation! She could not credit it. "But—they’re diamonds!" she stammered, filled with a horrible misgiving. Chalfont noticed the sharp note of disappointment in her voice and put it down to one of two causes. Either she had been defrauded by somebody or the bracelet was a present meant to deceive her. He made haste to modify the opinion he had expressed about it. Looking at it once more, he said: "Is it? I’m awfully sorry. Of course, I must be mistaken. Hullo!" he interjected with relief, "here are Mrs. Lambert and Miss Hersey." XIX Lunch was over. Chalfont had taken his departure; Mrs. Lambert had excused herself on account of a bad headache and gone to lie down. The two girls were alone. The personal equation began to trouble Maggy again. "I haven’t seen you to talk to since you came to the flat," she said diffidently. "Were you really cross with Fred? Of course, what he said about Lord Chalfont was only what he’d heard. I could see by your face you were shocked." "No, I wasn’t exactly shocked," Alexandra answered. "But you didn’t like it. Fred didn’t mean any harm. He’s like me: he doesn’t think what he says. I wish you liked him. You don’t, do you?" "You make me uncomfortable, Maggy. We can’t all like the same people." "But you’re sorry I’m so fond of him?" "Very sorry," said Alexandra in a low voice. "I can’t stop caring because of that. It’s—it’s in my system. Some girls fall in love with a man because they believe he’s good or noble or brave or something they’re particularly keen on; but if they find out they’re mistaken they’re off that man like fleas from a dead rabbit. If that sounds vulgar please forgive me, Lexie. The words just came out. It’s one of Fred’s expressions. What I mean is, I can’t love like that, though I know I should be much more comfortable if I could. If I knew you’d stolen Mrs. Lambert’s purse or gone off with a rag-picker it wouldn’t make a bit of difference to me. It’s you I love, not what you do. And I feel the same about Fred, only more so." Prior to this, Mrs. Lambert had asked Alexandra a few questions about Maggy’s relations with Woolf. The answers she had fitted in with certain information about the man himself previously imparted to her by Chalfont. What she deduced from the two statements made her sorry for Alexandra’s friend and a little anxious about her. "No girl is safe with a man like that," she had said to Alexandra. "If I were you I should try and persuade her to break with him."