"Right away, if you wish."
"Oh, no. Any time will do."
"I'll come at once. I'm not busy."
"No. Late this afternoon. Father asked me to call up and make sure. He wants to see you."
"Oh—not you?"
"I'm a business person," retorted she. "I know better than to annoy you, as I've often said."
He knew it was foolish, tiresome; yet he could not resist the impulse to say, "Now that I've heard your voice I can't stay away. I'll come over to lunch."
Her answering voice was irritated. "Please don't. I'm cleaning house. You'd be in the way."
He shrank and quivered like a boy who has been publicly rebuked. "I'll come when you say," he replied.
"Not a minute before four o'clock."