I hope I may introduce Lord Vernon to you," he
added.
Both of them were laughing as they took, in turn, the hand which Vernon
rather eagerly held out.
"I'm awfully glad to meet you," he said, looking from one to the other
and trying to decide which was the prettier. "I feel that we _do_ owe
you a great deal. When Collins came back yesterday afternoon and told me
what he'd had the impudence to ask you, I was--I was--"
"Very wrathy, to put it mildly," said Collins. "But I took it meekly; it
was in a good cause."
"And we didn't think it impudent at all," said Sue. "Since we had caused
all the trouble, it was only fair that we should bear a part of it.
Besides, it wasn't by any means so difficult as Mr. Collins thought it
would be."
"You don't mean that Markeld actually asked you! I didn't believe he'd
do that, despite Collins's prophecy. He seemed to have too much of high
politeness about him."
"I was sure he would," put in Collins, triumphantly. "He couldn't afford
to neglect such an obvious way of making certain, and he's much too
clever to have overlooked it."
"You were quite right, Lord Vernon," said Susie, very quietly, though
there was a dangerous sparkle in her eyes. "The Prince did not ask
us--but a French creature did--a detective--"
"One of his emissaries," suggested Collins.
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