But I had no idea that I should ever meet you in the flesh!" "Really ?" he said.

"Then that's funnier still; but I suppose Mr.Steel didn't want to frighten you.

We saw quite a lot of each other last year; he wrote to me from Florence before you came over; and I should have paid my respects long ago, but I have been up in town, and only just come back." The flush had died out of Rachel's face.

Her husband told her nothing--nothing! In her indignation she was tempted to say so to the stranger; she had to think a moment what to say instead.

A falsehood of any sort was always a peculiar difficulty to Rachel, a constitutional aversion, and it cost her an effort to remark at last that it was very stupid of her, she had quite forgotten, but now she remembered--of course! And with that she turned to her host, who was offering an observation across his empty plate.
"Strange thing, Mrs.Steel, but you can't get the meat in the country that you can in town.