50 THE SILVER FOX 



dark hair rose full and soft from her white 

 forehead, in the simplicity that is often 

 extolled, but is seldom becoming ; her com- 

 plexion was pale and tender with western 

 air and country living, the refinement that 

 was so ineffective at Hurlingham was here 

 pervading and subtle. Lady Susan looked 

 hard at her, and promoted her at once and 

 ungrudgingly from the ranks of non-com- 

 batants. Major Bunbury felt that his special 

 sister (who read Carlyle and played Scar- 

 latti) would like to meet her. Although he 

 hunted six days a week, he kept a soul 

 somewhere, and his sister knew where it was. 

 They all sat down in the firelight of the 

 drawing-room, where the tall west window 

 showed a clear twilight sky, tinged with 

 pink, and barbed with a moon as hard and 

 keen as a scimitar. There was a quaint and 

 sprawling paper on the walls, a band of 

 brass gleamed round the wide opening of 

 the fire-place, a slight smell of turf and 

 wood smoke added its sentiment of country 

 quietness to the air. 



