He was rather crochety that day," she added,
smiling.
Diana smiled in sympathy.
"Well, if he was crochety with you, Miss de Gervais," she observed,
"you can perhaps imagine what he was like to me!"
"Was he so very bad?" asked Adrienne, laughing. "Every one says his
temper is diabolical."
"It is," replied Diana, with conviction.
"Still," broke in Errington's quiet voice, "I should have thought he
would have found it somewhat difficult to be very angry with Miss
Quentin."
Diana fancied she detected the familiar flavour of irony in the cool
tones.
"On the contrary, he apparently found it perfectly simple," she
retorted sharply.
"And yet," interposed Adrienne, "from the panegyrics he indulged in
upon the subject of your voice after you had gone, I'm sure he thinks
the world of you."
"Oh, I'm just a voice to him--nothing more," said Diana.
"To be 'just a voice' to Baroni means to be the most important thing on
earth," observed Errington. "I believe he would imperil his immortal
soul to give a supremely beautiful voice to the world."
"Nonsense, Max," protested Adrienne. "You talk as if he were perfectly
conscienceless."
"So he is, except in so far as art is concerned, and then his
conscience assumes the form of sheer idolatry. I believe he would
sacrifice anything and anybody for the sake of it."
"Well, it's to be hoped you're wrong," said Adrienne, smiling, and
again Diana thought she detected a glance of mutual understanding pass
between the actress and Max Errington.
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