"Did I?" she said. Then, with an effort at a commonplace tone: "I was stupidly upset. You must excuse——"
He broke in.
"Who is Louise?" he asked her bluntly.
"A ghost," said Alwynne, white to the lips.
Again they were blankly silent.
Then she spoke, with extraordinary passion—
"If you laugh—it will be wicked if you laugh at me."
"I'm not thinking of laughing," he said, with the petulance of extreme anxiety.
She met his look and shrugged her shoulders.
"Then you think I'm crazy," she began defiantly. "I can't help it, what you think." She changed the subject transparently. "Roger, it's nice here. What are the names of all these flowers? Are those big ones daffodils, or jonquils, or narcissi? I never know the difference. I never remember——" Her voice trailed into silence.