"I'm afraid," he said, looking at Miss Carstairs, "that Mr. Hare's
admirers are likely to detain him some time. If you don't care to wait
so long, perhaps you would again give me the pleasure of supplanting him
and taking you home--you and Miss--Miss Jenny?"
"No, thank you--I am sure he will be out soon ... You look awfully
trampled on and--mashed, Jenny," she continued, twitching the child's
hat on straight. "And _my dear! Don't_ eat so fast."
Despite himself, Varney felt his blood rising a little. "Miss
Carstairs," he said slowly, "I must tell you that I came with Miss Jenny
on purpose to see you. There is something that I wanted to say."
She raised her eyes then, and though their look was very young and
embarrassed, he felt himself lose something of his composure under it.
"You wanted to say something--to me?"
"A good deal. I have an explanation to make--"
"I'm afraid that I have not time to--listen--Mr. Hare--"
"You must listen--to be fair," he said slowly. "I have to blame myself
for it, but you are doing me an injustice at this moment. I am not--that
man."
She made no answer. Beside them, Miss Jenny ate ice-cream succulently.
All around them were people jostling this way and that, laughing,
shouting: but they might have been alone on a mountain-top for all
either was aware of them.
"Since I have been in Hunston--just a day," Varney said easily, "I seem
to have done nothing but explain over and over that I am not Mr.
Stanhope. I got awfully tired of it, Miss Carstairs; it seemed so
horribly useless. Like the others, you insisted that I was he. You
candidly didn't believe me--"
"No," she said, "that is true."
"I shall make you believe me now," said Varney.
A great hullabaloo suddenly arose around them. Four or five men broke
pellmell, and for the most part backwards, out of the swing-doors,
evidently ejected from within. A lonely-looking policeman, on guard at
the entrance, charged them. The lobby was already thronged; now people
retreating before that violent infusion of arms and legs crowded them
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