"Flattered, Mr. Purnett."
"Oh, rot. I mean, hoping you weren't unhappy, and so on, you know."
Winnie moved her small hands in a gesture expressive of a reasoned endurance.
"But, I say, pretty quiet here, isn't it?"
"Oh yes, but I don't mind that."
"Don't want to sit down here all your life, do you?"
"That is rather a large order, isn't it? Have you anything else to suggest?"
"You've begun to laugh at a fellow already!"
"Already? Good gracious, is there anything tremendous coming?"
Bob got up from his chair, moved across the hearthrug, and stood by her. He cleared his throat and lit a cigarette. Winnie began to be curious; she smiled up at him. "I believe you've got something on your mind. Out with it." A sudden idea flashed into her head. "You've not come from Godfrey? Because that's utterly impossible."