Then, after a moment's pause, during which he studied closely his companion's imperturbable face, he added the question which forced its way to his lips.
"Have you ?" Mr.Sabin looked along his cigarette and pinched it affectionately.

It was one of his own, which he had dexterously substituted for those which his host had placed at his disposal.
"The Countess is a very charming, a very beautiful, and a most attractive woman," he said slowly.

"Her marriage has always seemed to me a matter of certainty." Mr.Brott hesitated, and was lost.
"You are an old friend of hers," he said.

"You perhaps know more of her recent history than I do.

For a time she seemed to drop out of my life altogether.