It was Lady Pickering who overdid her side of the dialogue and brought to it a significance that Mr.Digby's eyes and smile disowned even while they evoked it.

One of the things of which Mr.
Digby had shown himself most completely unaware was Franklin Kane, who sat, as usual, just outside the circle in the sun, balancing his tea-cup on his raised knees and 'Fletcherising' a slice of cake.

Gerald had glanced at him as one might glance--Althea had felt it keenly--at some nice little insect on one's path, a pleasant insect, but too small to warrant any attention beyond a casual recognition of type.

But Franklin, who had a casual interest in nobody, was very much aware of the newcomer, and he gazed attentively at Gerald Digby as he had gazed at Helen on the first evening of their meeting, with less of interest perhaps, but with much the same dispassionate intentness; and Althea felt sure that he already did not approve of Gerald Digby.
She asked Helen that evening, lightly, as Helen had asked an equivalent question about Franklin and Miss Buckston, whether Mr.Digby and Lady Pickering were in love; she felt sure that they were not in love, which made the question easier.
'Oh no; not at all, I fancy,' said Helen.
'I only asked,' said Althea, 'because it seemed the obvious explanation.' 'You mean their way of flirting.' 'Yes.

I suppose I'm not used to flirtation, not to such extreme flirtation.