At an
unfriendly criticism it could be roused on behalf of a chance stranger
from Colorado or California, and was generally quite impersonal. She
told herself that it was impersonal now, that she would have had the
same impulse of protection, of championship, for any one.
Nevertheless, there was a tone in her voice as she joined him that
struck a new note in their acquaintanceship.
"I'm glad you came when you did. I wanted you to meet Colonel Ashley.
You'll like him when you know him better. Just at first he was a little
embarrassed. We'd been talking of things--"
"I didn't notice anything--that is, anything different from any other
Englishman."
"Yes; that's it, isn't it? Meeting an Englishman is often like the first
plunge into a cold bath--chilling at first, but delightful afterward."
He stopped under the portico, to say with a laugh that was not quite
spontaneous: "Yes; I dare say. But my experience is limited. I've never
got to the--afterward."
"Oh, well, you will," she said, encouragingly, "now that you know
Colonel Ashley."
"I've heard of men plunging into a cold bath and finding it so icy that
they've popped out again."
"Yes; thin-blooded men, who are sensitive to chills.
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