tself on them. Much as they
distrusted the information they dragged out of him, they adored hearing
about the Villa Faraglione, and dressed themselves in their very best
clothes to do so. Then again there was the quality of the lunch itself:
often there was caviare, and it was impossible (though the interrogator
who asked whether it came from Twemlow's feared the worst) not to be
mildly excited to know, when Mr. Wyse referred the question to Figgis,
that the caviare had arrived from Odessa that morning. The haunch of
roe-deer came from Perthshire; the wine, on the subject of which the
Major could not be silent, and which often made him extremely talkative,
was from "my brother-in-law's vineyard." And Mr. Wyse would taste it
with the air of a connoisseur and say: "Not quite as good as last year:
I must tell the Cont---- I mean my sister."

Again when Mr. Wyse did condescend to honour a tea-party or a
bridge-party, Tilling writhed under the consciousness that their general
deportment was quite different from that which they ordinarily practised
among themselves. There was never any squabbling at Mr. Wyse's table,
and such squabbling as took place at the other tables was conducted in
low hissings and whispers, so that Mr. Wyse should not hear. Diva never
haggled over her gains or losses when he was there, the Padre never
talked Scotch or Elizabethan English. Evie never squeaked like a mouse,
no shrill recriminations or stately sarcasms took place between
partners, and if there happened to be a little disagreement about the
rules, Mr. Wyse's decision, though he was not a better player than any
of them, was accepted without a murmur. At intervals for refreshment, in
the same way, Diva no longer filled her mouth and both hands with
nougat-chocolate; there was no scrambling or jostling, but the ladies
were waited on by the gentlemen, who then refreshed themselves. And yet
Mr. Wyse in no way asserted himself, or reduced them all to politeness
by talking about the polished manners of Italians; it was Tilling itself
which chose to behave in this unusual manner in his presence. Sometimes
Diva might forget herself for a moment, and address something withering
to her partner, but the partner never replied in suitable terms, and
Diva became honey-mouthed again. It was, indeed, if Mr. Wyse had
appeared at two or three parties, rather a relief not to find him at the
next, and breathe freely in less rarefied air. But whether he came or