"If you really wish it, though, I don't--I don't--" Her speech was broken off in a somewhat extraordinary manner.

She was leaning a little forward in her chair, all her listlessness and pallor seemed to have been swept away by a sudden rush of emotion.

The colour had flooded her cheeks, her tired eyes were suddenly bright; was it with fear or only surprise?
The Baroness wasted no time in asking questions.
She raised her lorgnettes and turned round, facing the direction in which Louise was looking.

Coming directly towards them from the further end of the restaurant was a young man, whose eyes never swerved from their table.

He was pale, somewhat slight, but the lines of his mouth were straight and firm, and there was not lacking in him that air of distinction which the Baroness never failed to recognize.