“And why should I change my mind?”

“You might be angry with me,” he said, “for interfering in your concerns the night before last.”

“Perhaps I am,” she remarked, indifferently.

“Do you wish to withdraw from your promise?” he asked.

“I really haven't thought much about it,” she replied, carelessly. “By-the-bye, have you seen Beatrice lately?”

“We agreed, I think,” he reminded her, “that we would not talk about your sister.”

She looked at him over her shoulder.

“I do not remember that I agreed to anything of the sort,” she declared. “I think it was you who laid down the law about that. As a matter of fact, I think that your silence about her is very unkind. I suppose you have seen her?”

“Yes, I have seen her,” Tavernake admitted.

“She continues to be tragic,” Elizabeth asked, “whenever my name is mentioned?”