Ernie woke that night in the belief that Ruth was bending over him.
"Ruth!" he answered quietly. "Is that you?" But there was no reply.
Next morning he took the plunge.
"Good morning, Miss," he said as she passed him.
The other's curiously impassive face flashed into life.
"Good morning, Mr. Boots," she answered in a deep and humming voice like the sound of wings.
She said the words quite simply, and he saw she was not chaffing. She honestly believed Boots to be his name.
Céleste, dusting in an adjoining room, looked through an open door.
"She's an innocent," she said discontentedly. "She knows nothing. Ought to go back to her mother. Madame's got no business to put her here."
Ernie went on his way, that deep voice still thrilling in his ears.