Seated at an open escritoire with writing materials before him, on the evening of a June day, was Vance Gilder.
He was not more than twenty-five, of medium height, dark brown hair, soft and wavy as the silk of Indian corn, large brown eyes, a clear complexion, an aquiline nose, [12] and a rather heavy, dark moustache, which in part hid a well-formed mouth.
Before him lay numerous packages of papers, but they were not claiming his attention. He was perusing a billet-doux written in a lady’s hand.
There was a refinement and gentleness in his face, while his dress and surroundings indicated a serious elegance, rich but unaffected.
“Who can she be?” was the exclamation that escaped him as he again read the letter which he held in his hand.
Tossing it down, he walked back and forth across the room with measured strides.
Stopping before the mantel, he lighted a cigar. “Louise Bonifield,” he ejaculated, between puffs of smoke, which he blew away in rings toward the ceiling, “where have I met her?
Walking back to the escritoire, he took up the letter and read aloud:
Father and I arrived in the city last night. He wishes me to call on you at three o’clock this afternoon; business of special importance to himself.
“No,” he said aloud, “I do not remember Miss Louise Bonifield. It is doubtless very stupid of me, and all that, but if ever I even heard the name before, it certainly has [13] passed from my memory. She says three o’clock,” and glancing at the French time-piece which helped to make up the furniture of his room, he saw it was preparing to strike the hour of three.
Scarcely had the sound of the mellow cathedral bell died away, when the door-bell clanged out like a harsh echo of the clock’s last stroke.
The servant brought in a card bearing the name of “Louise Bonifield,” and received instructions to admit the visitor at once.
The rustling of skirts was soon heard in the hallway.
With the deportment of a queen, she accepted the proffered chair and raised to Vance’s face a pair of laughing blue eyes that might be dangerous. The parting of her rosy lips displayed her ivory teeth to advantage, while her evident embarrassment tinged with pink her beautiful cheeks.
“I called,” she stammered, “to see Mr. Vance Gilder.”