"
"And I will walk too," said Anna, who had just come up. "There is no need
at all for us to take you out of your way. You had better drive at once
into the open country, Sylvia."
And so they all started, Madame Wolsky and her tall, gaunt, morose
companion, walking, while Sylvia and Madame Wachner drove off in the
opposite direction.
The country immediately round Lacville is not pretty; the little open
carriage was rather creaky, and the horse was old and tired, and yet
Sylvia Bailey enjoyed her drive very much.
Madame Wachner, common-looking, plain, almost grotesque in appearance
though she was, possessed that rare human attribute, vitality.
Sometimes she spoke in French, sometimes in English, changing from the
one to the other with perfect ease; and honestly pleased at having
escaped a long, dull, hot afternoon in the Casino, the older woman set
herself to please and amuse Sylvia. She thoroughly succeeded. A clever
gossip, she seemed to know a great deal about all sorts of interesting
people, and she gave Sylvia an amusing account of Princess Mathilde
Bonaparte, whose splendid chateau they saw from their little carriage.
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