In the morning he met her coming back from the sands with an enormous sunshade, in the "early bath" costume; and he met her later wearing a picture hat in the "after bath" costume: also he saw her in the costume she put on when _déjeuner_ was over--and still she was unapproachable. If she proved too elusive, he'd be tempted to swim after her next day and try his luck in the water. But could he be sentimental with his hair dripping? And even in Ostend it wouldn't be--Oh, in the wrong key altogether!
She was scribbling on a picture postcard at one of the little writing tables, and there was nobody else there.
"May I remind Mrs. Adaile that I have had the happiness of being presented to her?"
She turned her head, and there was approval in the lady's gaze. There was, however, not a scintilla of recognition in it.
"Oh yes," she murmured; "I'm so short-sighted----how d'ye do?" But he saw that she was twenty years away from knowing who he was.
"This is tremendously nice of you," he exclaimed; "I was afraid you wouldn't remember me."
"How absurd!" she said perfunctorily. "Why shouldn't I? We met at----?"
"But so long ago. I _was_ afraid, really. I've been warning myself that you couldn't be expected to remember--and yet I knew I should be so pained if you forgot."
She made a little amiable movement of her hands. He understood it to signify that his doubts had done injustice to them both. Inwardly he laughed.
"Is your husband in Ostend, Mrs. Adaile?"
"No," she said, "no, he's in the Tyrol--Innsbruck. I'm here with my sister and my brother-in-law. You know them, don't you?"
"No, I've never had the pleasure. They weren't with you there."
"Ah, no," she said, "no, they weren't.... Ostend is very dull this year, don't you think?"
"I've found it very exciting; I saw you yesterday at dinner, and I've been trying to meet your eyes ever since."
"Really?" said the lady. She allowed him to meet them, and looked away, her expression vacillating between a pucker and a smile.
"My courage wasn't equal to risking a snub from you publicly, and you were never alone. You balked me last night, you escaped me this morning, and you drove me to desperation this afternoon. I ought to have known you wouldn't forget, but I always had misgivings, hadn't I?"