He loved to look at her, as he loved to look at birds and flowers, and he loved to talk with her.

He had many opportunities to look and talk.

They stayed at the same houses in the country, and in London, when she was with old Miss Buchanan, he usually saw her every day.

If he didn't drop in for a moment on his way to work at ten-thirty in the morning, he dropped in to tea; and if his or Helen's day were too full to admit of this, he managed to come in for a goodnight chat after a dinner or before a dance.

He enjoyed Helen's talk and Helen's appearance most of all, he thought, at these late hours, when, a little weary and jaded, in evening dress and cloak, she lit her invariable cigarette, and mused with him over the events and people of the day.