Catherine left the room, and went down the passage to her own. Outside her husband's dressing-room, next hers, was standing his valet, and a sudden thought occurred to her.
"Is his lordship dressed, do you know?" she asked.
"No, my lady. His lordship told me he would call me when he began," said the man.
She went to the door, tapped, and entered.
"Flynn told me you were not dressing yet," she said, "though both you and I will be late if we don't begin."
"I waited till I heard you come to your room," he said. "What is it?"
"Only I am afraid you must take in Alice Yardly and have Theodosia next you. I am sorry: it is the upper and nether millstones. But we'll change about to-morrow."
Thurso was lying on his sofa, doing nothing, and with no book or paper near him; nor did he look as if he had been sleeping. His eyes were bright and alert. He looked radiantly happy and cheerful; it was not the same man who had frowned and started all the way down in the car.
"Why should we change about to-morrow?" he said. "I delight in Theodosia and I adore Alice. Her extraordinary silliness makes me feel wise in my own conceit, and conceited in my own wisdom. Is it really dressing-time? How tiresome! Don't let us dine till nine to-morrow. It is absurd dining before in the summer. One oughtn't to lose a minute of this heavenly twilight hour by doing anything in it."
Catherine had walked to the open window by which his sofa was drawn up; and was observing him closely. He stretched himself with the luxuriousness of some basking animal as he spoke, and she saw he had a cigarette in each hand, both of which were burning.
"Is that a new plan?" she said, "smoking two cigarettes at once?"
"Yes, so far as I am concerned; but it's not original. Don't you remember the Pirate King in 'Peter Pan' smokes two--or was it three?--cigars together, because he is such an astounding swell? My God! what a play! It put the clock back thirty years. The moral is that you can't have too much of a good thing. You should lay your pleasures on thick, not thin; butter your cake on both sides, and put jam on the top. I am awfully happy to-night. It was an excellent idea of yours to come down here. How wonderful the light is! how good everything smells!"