"I think," he said again, "that I will not
accompany you to-night, if you will be good enough to excuse me."
"You must excuse us both," Alicia said, definitely, "I should much
rather stay at home and talk to Stephen."
At this they all cried out, but Miss Livingstone would not change her
mind. "I haven't seen him for three weeks," she said, with gentle
effrontery, making nothing of his presence, "and he's much more
improving than either of you. I also shall choose the better part."
"How you can call it that, with Hilda in the balance----" Duff
protested.
"But then you've invited Lady Dolly. After winning six thousand there
will be no holding Lady Dolly. She'll be capable of cat-calls! How I
should love," Alicia went on, "to have Hilda meet her. She would be a
mine to Hilda."
"For pity's sake," cried her brother, "stop asking Hilda and people who
are a mine to Hilda! It's too perceptible, the way she digs in them."
"You dear old thing, you're quite clever to-night! What difference does
it make? They never know--they never dream! I wish I could dig." Alicia
looked pensively at the olive between her finger and thumb.
"Thank heaven you can't," Duff said warmly.
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