He stood by the side of the young lady, and he seemed to be suffering from some embarrassment.
"Will you pardon my asking, madam, if you have seen the newspapers this morning ?" he inquired.
Without a doubt, her first thought was that the question savored of impertinence.

She looked at him with slightly upraised eyebrows.

She was slim, of medium complexion, with dark brown hair parted in the middle and waving a little about her temples.

She was irreproachably dressed, from the tips of her patent shoes to the black feathers in her Paris hat.
"The newspapers!" she repeated.

"Why, no, I don't think that I have seen them this morning.