"Do you know, that is one of my greatest pleasures. With a last year's
Continental Bradshaw and a few tattered Baedekers I journey far
afield. I know the times, the fares, and the stopping places of all
the main routes from Calais and Boulogne. I could pass a creditable
examination in most of the boat and train services by way of Ostend,
Flushing, and the Hook of Holland. I assure you, Millie, when my ship
does come home, or the glittering lady whom I have invoked deigns to
visit my lodgings, I shall call a cab for Charing Cross or Victoria
with the assurance of a seasoned traveler."
For some reason, Miss Jaques refused to share her friend's enthusiasm.
"You are easily pleased," she said listlessly. "For my part, after one
shuddering glance at the Channel, I try to deaden all sensation till I
find myself dressing for dinner at the Ritz. I positively refuse to go
beyond Paris the first day. Ah, bother! Here comes a man whom I wish
to avoid. Let us be on the move before he sees us, which he cannot
fail to do. Don't forget that I have a rehearsal at three. I haven't,
really; but we must escape somehow."
Spencer, who had salved his conscience by endeavoring to read a
technical letter on mining affairs, would be less than human if he did
not lift his eyes then. It is odd how the sense of hearing, when left
to its unfettered play by the absence of the disturbing influence of
facial expression, can discriminate in its analysis of the subtler
emotions. He was quite sure that Miss Jaques was startled, even
annoyed, by the appearance of some person whom she did not expect to
meet, and he surveyed the new arrival critically, perhaps with latent
hostility.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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