Yes, she was still very good-looking, and had been sensible enough not to spoil herself by paint and powder, unlike that silly child, Helena, who was yet so much younger--twenty-two years younger, almost.

It seemed incredible.

But he could reckon Cynthia's age to a day; for they had known each other very well as children, and he had often given her a birthday present, till the moment when, in her third season, Cynthia had peremptorily put an end to the custom.

Then he had gone abroad, and there had been a wide gap of years when they had never seen each other at all.

And now, it was true, she did often bore him, intellectually.