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‘Oh, you understand,’ she assured him. ‘Don’t think for a
moment that we’re not grateful for all you’ve done. And we
know you’ve had a hard time—‘
‘For God’s sake,’ he protested. ‘If I didn’t love Nicole it
might be different.’
‘But you do love Nicole?’ she demanded in alarm.
Collis was catching up with the conversation now and
Dick switched it quickly: ‘Suppose we talk about something
else—about you, for instance. Why don’t you get married?
We heard you were engaged to Lord Paley, the cousin of
the—‘
‘Oh, no.’ She became coy and elusive. ‘That was last
year.’
‘Why don’t you marry?’ Dick insisted stubbornly.
‘I don’t know. One of the men I loved was killed in the
war, and the other one threw me over.’
‘Tell me about it. Tell me about your private life, Baby,
and your opinions. You never do—we always talk about Ni-
cole.’
‘Both of them were Englishmen. I don’t think there’s any
higher type in the world than a first-rate Englishman, do
you? If there is I haven’t met him. This man—oh, it’s a long
story. I hate long stories, don’t you?’
‘And how!’ said Collis.
‘Why, no—I like them if they’re good.’
‘That’s something you do so well, Dick. You can keep a
party moving by just a little sentence or a saying here and
there. I think that’s a wonderful talent.’
‘It’s a trick,’ he said gently. That made three of her opin-

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