"God forbid!" said Jack ironically.
"Then leave her alone," she said. "If you compromise her, I'll do no more for her, mind that."
"Just exactly what do you mean, compromise her?" he asked.
"Get her talked about—as you're trying to," she snapped.
He thought it over. He must anyhow appear to yield to circumstances.
"All right," he said. "I know what you mean."
"See you do," she retorted. "Now take me back to the ballroom."
They returned, in a silence that was safe, if not golden. He was inwardly more set than ever. His appearance, however, was calm and innocent. She was much more ruffled. She wondered if she had said too much or too little, if he were merely stupid, or really dangerous.
He politely steered a way back to the reception room, placed her in a chair and turned to disappear. One thing he could not stand, and that was her proximity.
But as she sat down, she clutched his sleeve, cackling her unendurable laugh.