Jack leant against the chimney-piece.
"Well?" said Dodo.
"I am making up my mind."
There was a dead silence. "What on earth are we quarrelling about?" thought Jack to himself. "Is it simply whether I stop here and talk to that cad? I wonder if all women are as obstinate as this."
It did seem a little ridiculous, but he felt that his dignity forbade him to yield. He had told her he did not distrust her; that was enough. No, he would go away, and when he came back to-morrow Dodo would be more reasonable.
"I think I am going," remarked he. "I sha'n't see you again till to-morrow afternoon. I am away to-night."
Dodo was turning over the pages of a magazine and did not answer. Jack became a little impatient.
"Really, this is extraordinarily childish," he said. "I sha'n't stop to see the Prince because he is a detestable cad. Think it over, Dodo."
At the mention of the Prince, if Jack had been watching Dodo more closely, he might have seen a sudden colour rush to her face, faint but perceptible. But he was devoting his attention to keeping his temper, and stifling a vague dread and distrust, which he was too loyal to admit.
At the door he paused a moment.