"

The second act ended soon afterwards, and Lord Jasper scrambled to his
feet ... he had been sitting on the ground at the back of the box,
yawning and yawning ... and made for the door. "Come and have a drink,
Quinn!" he said.

"No, thanks," Henry replied.

"Come on. Be a sport!"

"Do go with him, Mr. Quinn, please," Lady Cecily said. "He's sure to get
lost or troublesome or something. Aren't you, Jimphy dear?"

"Aren't I what!"

"Aren't you sure to get lost or troublesome or something!"

Lord Jasper did not reply to his wife. "Come along, Quinn!" he said.
"Cecily thinks she's being comic!..."

Henry hesitated for a moment or two. He did not wish to go to the bar,
and he was sick of the sight of Lord Jasper. He wished very much to stay
with Lady Cecily, and he felt hurt because she had urged him to
accompany her husband. He would have to do as she had asked him, of
course.... While he hesitated, Gilbert got up quickly from his seat and
went to the door of the box. "I'll come with you, Jimphy!" he said, and
then, almost pushing Lord Jasper in front of him, he went out, closing
the door of the box behind him. Henry stared at the door for a second or
two, nonplussed by the swiftness of Gilbert's action, and then he turned
to Lady Cecily. A look of vexation on her face instantly disappeared and
she smiled at Henry.

"Come and sit here," she said, "and tell me all about yourself. I
haven't really got to know you, have I? Gilbert says you're Irish!"

"Yes," he answered, sitting down.

"How jolly!" she said.

"Do you think so?"

"Oh, yes. It's supposed to be awfully jolly to be Irish. All the Irish
people in books seem to be very amused about something. I suppose it's
the climate. They say there's a great deal of rain in Ireland...."

"Yes," he answered vaguely, "there is some sometimes!"

She questioned him about Gilbert and Ninian Graham and Roger Carey.

"It must be awfully jolly," she said, "to be living together like that,
you four men!"

He noticed that Lady Cecily always spoke of things being "awfully jolly"
and wondered why her vocabulary should be so limited in its expressions
of pleasure.

"We get on very well together," he replied, "and it's very lively at
times. Gilbert's very lively...."

"Is he?" she said. "He always seems so ... so ... well, not lively. I
don't mean that he's solemn or pompous, but he's so ... so anxious to
have his own way, if you understand me. Now, I'm not like that