"
Then she looked towards the stage with apparent interest. Mrs. Leo sat
sideways with her trumpet lifted up towards her ear, Lord Holme had his
eyes fixed on the stage, and held his hands ready for the "rousin'
welcome." Mr. Laycock, at the end of the row, was also all attention.
Lady Holme glanced from one to the other, and murmured to Sir Donald with
a smile:
"I think we shall find to-night that the claque is not abolished in
England."
He raised his eyebrows and looked distressed.
"I have very little hope of her acting," he murmured back.
Lady Holme put her fan to her lips.
"'Sh! No sacrilege!" she said in an under voice.
She saw Leo Ulford shoot an angry glance at his father. Mrs. Wolfstein
nodded and smiled at her from the opposite box, and it struck Lady Holme
that her smile was more definitely malicious than usual, and that her
large black eyes were full of a sort of venomous anticipation. Mrs.
Wolfstein had at all times an almost frightfully expressive face.
To-night it had surely discarded every shred of reticence, and proclaimed
an eager expectation of something which Lady Holme could not divine, but
which must surely be very disagreeable to her. What could it possibly be?
And was it in any way connected with Miss Schley's anxiety that she
should be there that night? She began to wish that the American would
appear, but Miss Schley had nothing to do in the first act till near the
end, and then had only one short scene to bring down the curtain.
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