'Was that all Stella said?' asked Ritchie after a pause; 'just to say good-bye? Was she at all put out that Louise wanted her at once, or was the thing a plant, do you think—just an excuse to be off?'
'Ted, don't ask so many questions, or I shall betray confidence,' said Laurette.
'Betray confidence? Bosh!' retorted Ritchie in a disdainful tone. 'You can't run with the hare and hunt with the hounds. At Christmas-time you thought you were going to do great shakes by getting Stella here, and showing her what a dash you cut; and now she's gone off in less than two weeks without even saying good-bye to me. And then there's something that you know in confidence. I should think I am the proper person to be taken into confidence, if there's anything to confide.'
'You asked if Stella only said good-bye,' said Laurette, in an impressive tone. 'Well, we had a long, private talk.'
Ted leant forward, no longer pretending to read the newspaper.
'Yes; and what was the talk about?'
'Before telling you that, I must get your promise that you will not let Stella know I told you.'
'I'm not such a confounded blab as to carry yarns between people.'
'Then tell me, has Stella, since she came here, said anything that led you to think she had been debating in her own mind whether or not she would accept you?'
'Yes; she told me that since I last saw her she had sometimes thought she would come to the scratch.'