'But how can I?'
'I will dictate you a letter,' she said. 'Far be it from me to interfere, and I don't pretend to know more about this sort of thing than anybody else. At the same time, if you'll take it down just as I tell it, and send it off, you'll find it will do admirably. Have you got a pencil?'
As if dully hypnotised, he took out a pencil and notebook.
'It would be awfully kind of you, Lady Everard. It might give me an idea anyway.'
'All right.'
She leant back and half closed her eyes, as if in thought; then started up with one finger out.
'We must be quick, because I'm expecting someone presently,' she said. 'But we've got time for this. Now begin. July 7th, 1912. Have you got that?'
'Yes, I've got that.'
'Or, perhaps, just Thursday. Thursday looks more casual, more full of feeling than the exact date. Got Thursday?'
'Yes, but it isn't Thursday, it's Friday.'