"O but—" protested Dorothea.
"Don't be horrified. You know, of course, exactly how much I mean and don't mean. But, seriously, if one could inoculate those two with a touch of fun from somebody else, it would do no harm."
"They would not need to be less in earnest."
"Only to have a little froth overlying the solid element."
"I am afraid I should laugh too often to suit your sister. One can't help sometimes seeing the droll side of things. But I was going to ask you to tell me about your home—Craye. Where have I heard that name?"
"Craye is a mere village. Nothing happens there."
"And you live in the village?"
"Outside it. Ancestral house and grounds, etcetera, only unfortunately the ancestors were none of my own. My grandfather made a lot of money, and bought the place."
"And is it—pretty?"
"Exquisite!"—in her own tone.