'I suppose I had better have something to eat,' she sighed. 'Order something—anything,' she added, brushing the carte away. 'It was you I came to see.'
He recognized at once the fact that she was in no humour for trivialities. He gave a brief order to the waiters, waved them away and leaned towards her.
'You can command me,' he assured her. 'My time is yours.'
She drew a little sigh of relief. For a moment her little white fingers rested upon his strong brown hand, the tenseness passed from her manner, it was as though she found something composing in his strength.
'I have been travelling for forty-eight hours,' she said, speaking under her breath, 'and I had an escape, a very narrow escape, in Belgium. You do not want to understand everything, do you?'
'Nothing more than you choose,' he replied. 'I am your Man Friday.'
'Listen, then. Your car—it is in order?'
'Perfect. I came up from Bath the day before yesterday—sixty miles on the level and never changed speeds.'
'How long would it take you to get me down to the east coast?' she asked eagerly.
'What part?'