"Well, I'm not so sure." And she exposed her theory of the entire satisfactoriness of their present situation, of the needlessness of fresh risks, and of Edwin's unsuitability for enterprise. "Of course he's splendid," she said. "But he'll never push. I can look at him quite impartially--I mean in all those things."
Ingpen murmured as it were dreamily:
"Have you had much experience of business yourself?"
"It depends what you call business. I suppose you know I used to keep a boarding-house." She was a little defiant.
"No, I didn't know. I may have heard vaguely. Did you make it pay?"
"It did pay in the end."
"But not at first? ... Any disasters?"
She could not decide whether she ought to rebuff the cross-examiner or not. His manner was so objective, so disinterested, so innocent, so disarming, that in the end she smiled uncertainly, raising her thick eyebrows.
"Oh yes," she said bravely.
"And who came to the rescue?" Ingpen proceeded.