Eustace examined it with a smile. "Very nice! Did you think of it all by yourself, Isabel?"
"No," she said with dreary listlessness. "Biddy reminded me."
Eustace's face changed. He frowned slightly and gave the case back to his brother.
He took one absently, and Scott did the same.
"How did you get on with the lady in red?" he asked.
Eustace threw him a glance half-humorous, half-malicious. "If it comes to that, how did you get on with the little brown girl?"
"Oh, very nicely," smiled Scott. "Her name is Dinah. Your lady's name is Rose de Vigne, if you care to know."
"Really?" said Eustace. "And who told you that?"
"Dinah, of course, or Dinah's brother. I forget which. They belong to the same party."
"I should think that little snub-nosed person feels somewhat in the shade," observed Eustace.
"I expect she does. But she has plenty of wits to make up for it. She seems to find life quite an interesting entertainment."
"Can't she? You'll have to give her a hint or two. I am sure she would be very grateful."
"I'm not going to tell you what she told me. It wouldn't be fair."
Eustace laughed with easy tolerance. "Oh, I've no objection to giving her a hand now and then if she's amusing, and doesn't become a nuisance. I'm not going to let myself be bored by anybody this trip. I'm out for sport only."
"Oh, perfect. I'm going to ski this afternoon. How do you like it, Isabel?"
Abruptly the elder brother accosted her. She was walking between them as one in a dream. She started at the sound of her name.
"I don't know yet," she said. "It is rather cold, isn't it? I--I am not sure that I shall be able to sleep here."
Eustace's eyes held hers for a moment. "Oh, no one expects to sleep here," he said lightly. "You skate all day and dance all night. That's the programme."
Her lips parted a little. "I--dance!" she said.
She made a gesture that was almost expressive of horror. "When I dance," she said, in her deep voice, "you may put me under lock and key for good and all, for I shall be mad indeed."
She shrank as if at a blow, and on the instant very quietly Scott intervened. "Isabel and I prefer to look on," he said, drawing her hand gently through his arm. "I fancy it suits us both best."
His eyes met his brother's quick frown deliberately, with the utmost steadiness, and for a few electric seconds there was undoubted tension between them. Isabel was aware of it, and gripped the supporting arm very closely.