And it was Paul who remembered her.Having gazed into the eyes of the radiant Sophie much as a shipwrecked seaman, standing on the beach of a desert island, gazes at a ship that is steaming in his direction, and kissed both of the hands that were extended towards him—with a bemused fervour, or so it struck Lucy—he said something about being utterly unprepared for such an astonishing piece of good fortune, and then remembered the girl who was standing beside him.“Forgive me, Lucy,” he said, very quietly and formally. “Ulla’s little surprise made me forget my manners.” Then he made the two girls known to one another. “Mademoiselle Devargue, Miss Gray. Sophie, you have a habit of springing surprises, but this is surely the finest surprise you have ever sprung!”“Ulla seemed to think it would be,” Sophie murmured demurely. She had offered the tips of her fingers to Lucy, and then decided to ignore her altogether. “Of course, if I could have let you know in advance I would have done so.
