“No, indeed. I’m the most right-handed person that ever was.”

“But you deal cards with your left hand,” said the observant Bateman. “I noticed the other night.”

“Oh, but that’s different entirely,” said Mr. O’Rourke easily.

A gong with a sombre note pealed out and everyone went upstairs to dress for dinner.

After dinner Sir Oswald and Lady Coote, Mr. Bateman and Mr. O’Rourke played bridge and Jimmy passed a flirtatious evening with Socks. The last words Jimmy heard as he retreated up the staircase that night were Sir Oswald saying to his wife:

“You’ll never make a bridge player, Maria.”