The summons to tea greeted the wanderers before they had had time to
cleanse their hands of fishy odours; consequently Mr. Bigglethorpe and
the lawyer were a minute or two late. They found the man of the
eye-glass seated on one side of Miss Carmichael, and, as she beckoned
the fisherman to the other, she introduced her protege to him as Mr.
Arthur Lamb, a very old friend. Miss Halbert made way for Coristine
beside her, and he congratulated her on the doctor's reappearance at the
table.
"Mr. Coristine," said Miss Carmichael, and the lawyer, with a somewhat
worn society face, looked across.
"Mr. Lamb, who is an old friend of ours, tells me he met you in the
garden, but you did not introduce yourself. Let me introduce you, Mr.
Lamb, Mr. Coristine."
Coristine gave the merest nod of recognition, and went on talking to
Miss Halbert. He thought Perrowne was right; there was some
satisfaction conversing with a girl like that, a girl with no nonsense
about her. The minister's gloves had got fishy, handling Marjorie's
catch, so he had taken them off when preparing himself for tea, and had
left them in his room.
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