“Lovely name! Did you live there, too?”
“No; I lived in Ohio with my parents. An uncle, my mother’s brother, took Robert to live with him, in New Hampshire, when the boy was quite small. That’s why Robert and I never saw much of each other. We were affectionate enough when we met, but living apart, we were not really intimate. I was surprised when he came East, and we renewed our family relations. Then——”
“Then he fell in love with Phyllis”—Zizi interrupted. “And it wasn’t reciprocated.”
“Quite true,” Phyllis said, calmly.
“Yes,” Millicent agreed, “it was really love at first sight. And as Phyllis had any number of suitors, Robert tried to cut them out by promises of such luxuries and dazzling prospects as his wealth could offer. But Phyllis couldn’t seem to bring herself to say yes——”
“But she had, hadn’t she?” Zizi didn’t look at Phyllis. “Wasn’t the dinner party to be an announcement?”
Millicent shrugged her shoulders.
“I don’t know,” she said: “ask her.”
Zizi turned. “How about it, Phyllis?”
“I don’t know, either,” Phyllis said, slowly. “I had half promised—because—oh, why not tell? because Mr Gleason had promised me a lot of money—which I very much needed—at once—if I would make the announcement that night.”