“A village outside Brighton, three or four miles, not more. I have a studio there; you must come and see it.”
“You must paint me. But what would your lady love say if she found me in your studio? She’d have me out of it pretty quick. Tell me about her; I want to hear how you fell in love.”
“It happened in the most curious, quite providential way. I have told you that I knew them since I was a boy. Maggie has often sat on my knee.”
“Maggie is her name, then?”
“Yes, don’t you like the name? I do. Her brother was a school-fellow of mine. We were at Eton together, and one time when Mount Rorke was away travelling they asked me to spend my holidays at Southwick. That’s how I got to know them. One day Maggie and Sally were at my studio; Sally has a sweetheart—”
The sentence was cut short by
