The telephone rang.
Everard, putting aside in Roman fashion all thoughts of family life, got up and took the receiver off.
“It’s for you, Colin,” he said. “Long distance.”
“Who on earth would ring me up here?” said Colin, at the same time going bright red in the face, a symptom which did not escape the lynx though loving eye of his sister Lydia.
Colin, for the first time in his life looked almost coldly at his younger sister and went to the telephone. In the ordinary course of things no one would have paid much attention, but there was something in his manner, a mixture of pleasure, annoyance, uncertainty and a kind of boorishness very foreign to him, that made it almost impossible for the rest of the party not to listen. They made, it must be said to their credit, praiseworthy attempt
