Admiration was, I repeat, the first impression.

But the second was criticism.

There was something subtly wrong with the face, some coarseness of expression, some hardness, perhaps, of eye, some looseness of lip which marred its perfect beauty.

But these, of course, are after-thoughts.

At the moment I was simply conscious that I was in the presence of a very handsome woman, and that she was asking me the reasons for my visit.