"Oh! what have I been saying?" said he, with an air of perplexity. "You know the worst of me is, I never know what I'm talking about. When I begin talking I get dreadfully puzzled."
"Most people explain what they mean by talking, not obscure it."
"Well, it's just the opposite way with me," said he, serenely. "I know what I think all right before I begin to say it, but as soon as I begin to say it, I begin not to know what I think."
This confident assertion failed to satisfy Gertrude.
"You said you didn't mind a woman being immoral, if she was only beautiful," she said.
"Oh! I never said a word about immorality," exclaimed Reggie. "I don't think it's right to talk about such things. Gerty, what do you mean. As if I should say such things to you, especially since I never think them at all."
The open candour of her lover's face had its due effect.
"Well, you're quite sure you meant nothing of the sort, are you?" she asked, ready to be mollified.
"Of course I am," said he with sincerity. "I don't understand what you mean."
"What did you say, then?"