“Indeed?”
“On my word of honour.”
“And all this wonderful story about her beauty and captivation, and the running away and the secret marriage, how much of that does Mr. M’Kinlay believe?”
“I don’t know one word of what you allude to.”
“Oh, Mr. M’Kinlay, this is more than lawyer-like reserve!”
“I will swear it, if you desire.”
“But surely you’ll not say that you did not dine with Sir Within Wardle at the Hôtel Windsor, as you came through Paris?”
“I have not the slightest intention to deny it.”
“And is it possible, Mr. M’Kinlay, that nothing of what I have just mentioned was dropped during the dinner? No allusion to the beautiful Miss Luttrell, or Mrs. Ladarelle? Mr. Grenfell is in doubt which to call her.”
“Not a syllable; her name was never-uttered.”