He was chattered to and whispered about and spent half an hour in a polite vortex of presentation.

He was not as highly entertained as his companion was because he was thinking of something else--of a place which seemed incredibly far away from London drawing-rooms--even if he could have convinced himself that it existed on the same earth.

The trouble was that he was always thinking of this place--and of others.

He could not forget them even in the midst of any clamour of life.

Sometimes he was afraid he forgot where he was and might look as if he were not listening to people.