She was shocked, in the first place, that Tamara should speak
so lightly of a breach of decorum; and, secondly, she was astonished at
another aspect of the case.
"I thought you never saw him at all that morning!" she exclaimed.
Tamara was nettled.
"Your description was so vivid; besides, I looked back!"
"You _looked back!_ Tamara! after I had told you he wasn't dressed! My
dear, how could you?"
"Well, I did.--Hush! he is coming toward us," and Tamara hurriedly
opened a book and looked down.
"At last Mrs. Loraine has arrived on deck," she heard Millicent say;
and then, for convention's sake she was obliged to glance up and bow
coldly.
The young man did not seem the least impressed; he sat down and pulled
his rug round his knees and gazed out at the sea. The sun had set, and
the moon would soon rise in all her full glory.
There was hardly twilight and the ship's electric lights were already
being lit. The old Englishman, Stephen Strong, greeted her and took the
chair at Mrs. Hardcastle's other side. That lady was in one of her
chatty moods, when each nicely expressed sentence fell from her lips
directly after the other--all so pleasant and easy to understand. No
one ever felt with Millicent he need use an atom of brain. These are
the women men like.
Tamara pretended to read her book, but she was conscious of the near
proximity of the Prince.
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