His new acquaintance, Terrapin, went gravely around the table, shaking
hands with every guest, and Ralph was wedged into the remotest corner,
with Terrapin upon his right, and upon his left a creature so naive and
petite that he thought her a girl at first, but immediately corrected
himself and called her a child.
Terrapin addressed her as Suzette, and stated that his friend Ralph was
a stranger and quite solitary; whereat Suzette turned upon him a pair of
soft, twinkling eyes, and laughed very much as a peach might do, if it
were possible for a peach to laugh. He could only say a horrible _bon
jour_, and make the superfluous intimation that he could not speak
French; and when Madame George gave him his choice of a dozen
unpronounceable dishes, he looked so utterly blank and baffled that
Suzette took the liberty of ordering dinner for him.
"You won't get the run of the language, Flare," said Terrapin,
carelessly, "until you find a wife. A woman is the best dictionary."
"You mean, I suppose," said Flare, "a wife for a time."
Little Suzette was looking oddly at him as he faced her, and when Ralph
blushed she turned quietly to her _potage_ and gave him a chance to
remark her.
She had dark, smooth hair, closing over a full, pale forehead, and her
shapely head was balanced upon a fair, round neck.
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