But although the experience had
proved disastrous, she had retained the nom de guerre, and during the
past four years had several times appeared at war charity garden-
parties as a classical dancer--to the great delight of the guests and
greater disgust of her family. Her maternal uncle, head of her house,
said to be the most blase member of the British peerage and known as
"the noble tortoise," was generally considered to have pronounced the
final verdict upon his golden-haired niece when he declared "she is
almost amusing."
Mollie received her visitor with extravagant expressions of welcome.
"My dear Miss Halley," she cried, "how perfectly sweet of you to come
to see me! of course, I can guess what you have called about. Look! I
have every paper published this morning in London! Every one! Oh!
poor, darling little Rita! What can have become of her!"
Tears glistened upon her carefully made-up lashes, and so deep did her
grief seem to be that one would never have suspected that she had
spent the greater part of the night playing bridge at a "mixed" club
in Dover Street, and from thence had proceeded to a military
"breakfast-dance."
"It is indeed a ghastly tragedy," said Margaret. "It seems incredible
that she cannot be traced.
Pages:
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260