Miss De Voe had told him casually that Dorothy would be there, and Dorothy was there.

Yet he saw wonderfully little of her.

It is true that he could have seen more if he had tried, but Peter was not used to practice finesse to win minutes and hours with a girl, and did not feel called upon, bluntly, to take such opportunities.

His stay was not so pleasant as he had expected.

He had thought a week in the same house with Miss De Voe, Dorothy and Lispenard, without much regard to other possible guests, could not but be a continual pleasure.
But he was conscious that something was amiss with his three friends.
Nor was Peter the only one who felt it.