"Must you go?" she asked.
"Yes, by twelve o'clock I ought really to…."
She was seized with an intense uneasiness at the prospect of having to be alone again so soon, and she said:
"I have plenty of time—as much as you like. But, of course, it must not be too late."
"Is your cousin so strict then?"
"But—" she said, "this time, as a matter of fact, I'm not staying with her, you see."
He looked at her in astonishment.
She grew red.
"Usually I do stay with her…. I mean, sometimes…. She has such a large family, you know."
"So you are staying at an hotel," he said, rather impatiently. "Well, there, of course, you are accountable to no one, and we can spend the evening together quite comfortably."