And, from the frank wonder and satisfaction she evinced at the coincidence, no one could possibly have surmised that the sole cause and origin of her “flying visit” was a short paragraph contained in the _Morning Post_, a copy of which, by her express order, had been delivered daily at Chateau Varigny ever since her return thither from the Swiss Alps. The paragraph referred simply to the arrival at Claridge’s of Lady Anne Brennan, accompanied by her two sons and Miss Jean Peterson. “And are you making a long stay in London?” enquired Madame de Varigny. Lady Anne shook her head. “No. We go back to Staple to-morrow.” The other’s face fell. “But how unfortunate! I shall then see nothing of my dear Mees Peterson.” She seemed so distressed that Lady Anne’s kind heart melted within her, albeit it accorded ill with her plans to increase the number of her party. “We are going on to the theatre,” she said impulsively. “If you have no other engagement, why not come with us? There will be plenty of room in our box.” Madame de Varigny professed herself enchanted. Curiously enough, she seemed to have no particular wish to draw Jean into anything in the nature of a private talk, but appeared quite content just to take part in the general conversation, while her eyes rested speculatively now upon Jean, now upon Tormarin, as though they afforded her an abstract interest of some kind. Even at the theatre, where from her corner seat she was able to envisage the other occupants of the box, she seemed almost as much interested in them as in the play that was being performed on the stage. Once, as Tormarin leaned forward and made some comment to Jean, their two pairs of eyes meeting in a look of mutual understanding of some small joke or other, the quiet watcher smiled contentedly, as though the little byplay satisfied some inner questioning. With the fall of the curtain at the end of the first act, she turned to Lady Anne, politely enthusiastic. “But it is a charming play,” she said. “It is no wonder the house is so full.” Her glance strayed carelessly over the body of the auditorium, then was suddenly caught and held. A minute later she touched Jean’s arm. “I think there is someone in the stalls trying to attract your attention,” she observed quietly. Even as she spoke, Nick, too, became aware of the same fact. “Hullo!” he exclaimed. “There’s Geoffrey Burke down below. I didn’t know he was in town.”