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Updated: June 16, 2025
Miss Van Tuyn's keen though still girlish eyes looked sharply into Craven's for an instant. "I believe you men, you modern men are very apt to think terrible things about women," she said. Craven warmly defended himself against this abrupt accusation. "Well, but what did you mean?" persisted Miss Van Tuyn. "Now, go against your sex and be truthful for once to a woman."
Perhaps they had arranged the other evening to dine there again and without Beryl Van Tuyn this time! If so, the intervention at the telephone must have seemed an ironic stroke to them both. For a moment Miss Van Tuyn's injured vanity made her feel as if they were involved in a plot directed against her and her happiness, as if they had both behaved abominably to her.
"She has betrayed the 'old guard. She has disobeyed the command inscribed on their banner. She has given up." "Yes. They will never pardon her, never!" "I wonder what made her do it?" said Craven. And he proceeded to touch on Miss Van Tuyn's desire to get Lady Sellingworth to Paris. He soon found out that she did not know about the jewels episode.
Some instinct had told him what to say to her to make her change her mind. At least, he supposed so. For she had abruptly changed her mind after hearing of Miss Van Tuyn's invitation. But why had she meant to give up the dinner? What had happened between his exit from her house and her ringing him up? For he could not believe in the excuse of ill-health put forward by her. He was puzzled.
It's always a pleasure to have a talk with her." "Yes, indeed! By the way, who is Beryl Van Tuyn's extraordinarily good-looking young friend? Do you happen to know?" "What friend?" asked Craven, with sudden sharpness. "The tall man she has been seen about with lately." "I don't know."
On a second reading irritation predominated in him. Miss Van Tuyn's determined relegation of Lady Sellingworth to the past seemed somehow to strike at him, to make him or to intend to make him ridiculous; and her deliberate classing of him with herself in the underlined "our" seemed rather like an attempt to assert authority, the authority of youth over him. But no doubt this was very natural.
He heard of them dining together at the Bella Napoli, playing golf together at Beaconsfield or was it Chorley Wood? He was not quite sure. He heard of young Craven being seen at Claridge's going up in the lift to Miss Van Tuyn's floor. All this was very encouraging. Braybrooke's former fears were swept away and his confidence in his social sense was re-established upon its throne.
Even Garstin was being thoroughly absurd, although his adherents stood round catching his vociferations as if they were so many precious jewels. "The most ridiculous human beings in the world at certain moments are those who work in the arts," was Miss Van Tuyn's mental comment. "Painters, poets, composers, novelists! All these people are living in blinkers. They can't see the wide world.
"Yes, and if you will allow me I am going to leave you at your door," said Craven, with decision. A line appeared in Miss Van Tuyn's low forehead, but she only said: "And then you will come back and join us." "Thank you," said Craven. He took off his hat. Miss Van Tuyn gave him a long and eloquent look, which was really not unlike a Leap Year proposal. Then she entered the cafe with Jennings.
Over there shone the light above the door of the house in which she was at this moment. How would it be now? A hard, resolute look came into Miss Van Tuyn's face as she walked past the block of flats at the top of the square. She had a definite and strong feeling that she must keep Craven as her friend, that she might need him in the future. And of what use is a man who belongs to another woman?
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