He was, she understood, captain of a rather famous regiment, and she liked his direct gaze, which did not detract from his easy suavity of manner.

However, he appeared somewhat unusually diffident that evening.
"You like all this ?" he asked, with a little wave of his hand which, she fancied, was intended to indicate the distant roar of the city as well as the music and dancing in the rooms behind her.
"Yes," she said with a smile, for he appeared to take it for granted, as others had done, that they had no brilliant social functions in Montreal.

"I think I do; but when you have so much of it, the thing seems a little aimless, doesn't it ?" "Aimless ?" inquired Kinnaird, who appeared to ponder over this until a light broke in on him.

"Well," he admitted, "I suppose it is.

Still, what else could half of them do ?" Ida laughed good-humoredly; and the man made a little expostulatory gesture.
"I generally avoid any discussions of that kind.