re a lucky man, Rob, to find Miss
Strangeways disengaged."

She rustled away, and the tall man seated himself by Vanna's side with a
sigh of content. He did not ask for dances, however, and it was she who
made the first move towards conversation.

"Have you really just arrived, or is that merely a figure of speech?
You have not been dancing at all?"

He shook his head.

"I have not been in the room five minutes. I am an even worse offender
than you suppose, for I am staying in the house. I did not intend to
come down at all. I was going to bed, but there was such a confounded
noise going on that there seemed no chance of sleep--"

For the first time that evening Vanna found herself surprised into a
bright, natural laugh. The man's utter unconsciousness redeemed his
remark from any hint of rudeness; and she felt nothing but pure
refreshment in so unusual a point of view. She leant back in her chair,
looking at him over the top of a waving fan, with a scrutiny as frankly
unembarrassed as his own. The deep tan of his skin spoke of a sojourn
under eastern skies, as did also the lines round the eyes--the result of
constant puckerings to avoid the sun's glare. His hair was brushed in a
straight line across his forehead, the chin itself was slightly square,
but the line of the jaw was finely, even delicately rounded; he was
clean shaven, and his mouth was good to look at, the lips well shaped,
and fitting closely together. His age might have been anything from
thirty to thirty-five, but there was something inherently boyish in
manner and expression.

"You evidently don't care for dancing."

"No! I'm out of practice. I have been abroad for the last ten years,
in out-of-the-way places for the most part, where balls don't come into
the programme. I'm afraid I'm not much of a partner, but if you will be
good enough to try--"

"But I am not anxious to dance any more. I am tired and hot. If you
are contented to talk--"

"You mean it? Really? That _is_ jolly!" he cried eagerly. "Then, what
do you say--shall we go to the balcony? It's quieter there, and we may
get a breath of air. There are some comfortable chairs, I know, for I
helped to arrange them."

Vanna rose, nothing loath. The evening was closing more pleasantly than
she had anticipated, for this Mr Gloucester was a distinct change from
the ordinary habitue of the ballroom, and his conversation promised to
afford some interest. She seated hers