It was in vain.

His clothes, even the white slip, the pearl in his tie, seemed to intercept her quick glance, and to proclaim the futility of such inquiries of a discreet, urbane gentleman, who balanced his cup of tea and poised a slice of bread and butter on the edge of the saucer.
He would not meet her eye, but that could be accounted for by his activity in serving and helping, and the polite alacrity with which he was answering the questions of the American visitor.
It was certainly a sight to daunt any one coming in with a head full of theories about love.

The voices of the invisible questioners were reinforced by the scene round the table, and sounded with a tremendous self-confidence, as if they had behind them the common sense of twenty generations, together with the immediate approval of Mr.Augustus Pelham, Mrs.Vermont Bankes, William Rodney, and, possibly, Mrs.Hilbery herself.

Katharine set her teeth, not entirely in the metaphorical sense, for her hand, obeying the impulse towards definite action, laid firmly upon the table beside her an envelope which she had been grasping all this time in complete forgetfulness.

The address was uppermost, and a moment later she saw William's eye rest upon it as he rose to fulfil some duty with a plate.