"You have loved?"
"No," he answered, taken a little aback by the abruptness of the question.
"You grow more wonderful! How old are you, may I ask?"
"Twenty-eight."
"At the present moment, then, you are free from any distracting thoughts about women? You have no entanglements?"
"I have nothing of the sort," John declared, almost irritably. "There is one person who has made a wonderful change in my life. I believe I could say that I am absolutely certain of my feelings for her, but so far she has not given me much encouragement. Tell me, madame, why do you ask me these questions?"
"Because it interests me," she replied. "Why do you not insist that this lady should tell you the truth?"
"I have come to London to insist," he told her, "but I have been here only forty-eight hours."
"So you are waiting?"
"I am waiting," he assented.