He raised his shoulders slightly.
“Ladies prefer to buy their own necklaces,” he said briefly.
She gave him a furtive look out of the corner of her eye.
“Monsieur, suppose I beg you to take me back to the hotel and henceforth never speak to me!”
He did not appear in the slightest degree alarmed. Instead he put his hand beneath her arm and turned her for another round of promenade.
“I think the automobile will be best,” he said tranquilly. “I will find you a good chauffeur, and you can go to Zurich on its wheels.”
“I only said ‘if,’ you know,” she murmured.
“Yes, I know,” he replied; “but an automobile is always useful.” He thought a moment and then added, “About how much will you choose to pay for it?”
In spite of herself she started and stared at him. He met her eyes with a smile of mockery; Its innuendo was unbearable.
“You know very well,” she burst forth impetuously, “that I would never have thought of really accepting an automobile from you!”