"All things to all men—and all women, like the genius that he is," said Narcisse, half to herself. Then to Neva, "What does he think of it?"
"He hasn't seen it.... I doubt if I'll ever show it to him—or to anybody, when it's finished."
"It does threaten to be an intrusion on his right of privacy," said Narcisse. "No, he's not attracting you in the least as a man."
Neva looked amused. "Why did you say that?"
"Because the picture is so—so impersonal." She laughed. "How angry it would make him."
When Narcisse, after a long, intimacy-renewing, or, rather, intimacy-beginning, stop, rose to go, she said, "I'm going to bring my friend, Amy Fosdick, here some time soon. She has asked me and I've promised her. She is very eager to meet you."
Instantly Neva made the first vivid show of her old-time shy constraint. "I've a rule against meeting people," stammered she. "I don't wish to seem ungracious, but——"
"Oh!" said Narcisse, embarrassed. "Very well."
An awkward silence; Narcisse moved toward the door. "I fear I've offended you," Neva said wistfully.
"Not at all," replied Narcisse, and she honestly tried to be cordial in accepting denial. "You've the right to do as you please, surely."