"It doesn't suit me either," she said reflectively.
"You seem to thrive on it, anyway!"
"Oh! I am one of those chameleon people who can adapt themselves to any surroundings. I could be happy anywhere, on a desert island, in the Indian jungle—more particularly in the Indian jungle, provided——"
She paused and flicked some cigarette ash on to the carpet.
He took a little china saucer from the mantelpiece and placed it on a table beside her. "You must learn to be tidy wherever you are!" he said with mock severity, and added: "What was it you had to tell me?"
"A secret! Such a nice one, though soon it will be a secret no longer."
"Oh! Are you going to be married in spite of your contempt for my sex?"
She drew in her breath sharply, as though something had hurt her. "Why do you remind me of my silly ideas? Don't you think I have the sense to see when I have been wrong?"
He evaded reply to the question. "Well, out with this wonderful secret. Don't keep me in suspense."
"It's this—you are to have the C.S.I.!" she told him triumphantly. "The Star of India! Doesn't it sound splendid—glittering, glorious, grand!"