Between the two, the waters of the bay were furrowed by a light coming and going of pleasure-craft, through which, just at the culminating moment of luncheon, the majestic advance of a great steam-yacht drew the company's attention from the peas.
"By Jove, I believe that's the Dorsets back!" Stepney exclaimed; and Lord Hubert, dropping his single eye-glass, corroborated: "It's the Sabrina--yes." "So soon?
They were to spend a month in Sicily," Mrs.Fisher observed.
"I guess they feel as if they had: there's only one up-to-date hotel in the whole place," said Mr.Bry disparagingly.
"It was Ned Silverton's idea--but poor Dorset and Lily Bart must have been horribly bored." Mrs.Fisher added in an undertone to Selden: "I do hope there hasn't been a row." "It's most awfully jolly having Miss Bart back," said Lord Hubert, in his mild deliberate voice; and Mrs.Bry added ingenuously: "I daresay the Duchess will dine with us, now that Lily's here." "The Duchess admires her immensely: I'm sure she'd be charmed to have it arranged," Lord Hubert agreed, with the professional promptness of the man accustomed to draw his profit from facilitating social contacts: Selden was struck by the businesslike change in his manner.
"Lily has been a tremendous success here," Mrs.Fisher continued, still addressing herself confidentially to Selden.

"She looks ten years younger--I never saw her so handsome.

Lady Skiddaw took her everywhere in Cannes, and the Crown Princess of Macedonia had her to stop for a week at Cimiez.

People say that was one reason why Bertha whisked the yacht off to Sicily: the Crown Princess didn't take much notice of her, and she couldn't bear to look on at Lily's triumph." Selden made no reply.

He was vaguely aware that Miss Bart was cruising in the Mediterranean with the Dorsets, but it had not occurred to him that there was any chance of running across her on the Riviera, where the season was virtually at an end.