He'll be in the thick of it directly.' 'Oh no,' said Cicely, twisting the ends of her veil lightly between a finger and thumb.

'Just a "cushy" wound, that'll bring him home on a three months' leave, and give her the bore of nursing him.' 'Cicely, you are a hard-hearted wretch!' said her brother, angrily.

'I think Marsworth and I will go and stroll till the motor is ready.' The two men disappeared, and Cicely let herself drop into an arm-chair.
Her eyes, as far as could be seen through her veil, were blazing; the redness in her cheeks had improved upon the rouge with which they were already touched; and the gesture with which she pulled on her gloves was one of excitement.
'Cicely dear--what is the matter with you ?' said Miss Martin in distress.

She was fond of Cicely, in spite of that young lady's extravagances of dress and manner, and she divined something gone wrong.
'Nothing is the matter--nothing at all.

It is only necessary, sometimes, to shock people,' said Cicely, calming down.