Tavernake attempted to follow his example.
“There is no occasion for your friend to leave,” he protested. “If you have any instructions for us, a note to the office will always bring some one here to see you.”
She sat up on the couch and smiled at him. His obvious embarrassment amused her. It was a new sort of game, this, altogether.
“Come, Mr. Tavernake,” she said, “three minutes more won't matter, will it? I will not keep you longer than that, I promise.”
He came reluctantly a few steps back.
“I am sorry,” he explained, “but we really are busy this morning.”
“This is business,” she declared, still smiling at him pleasantly. “My sister has filled you with suspicions about me. Some of them may be justifiable, some are not. I am not so rich as I should like some people to believe. It is so much easier to live well, you know, when people believe that you are rolling in money. Still, I am by no means a pauper. I cannot afford to take Grantham House, but neither can I afford to go on living here. I have decided to make a change, to try and economize, to try and live within my means. Now will you bring me a list of small houses or flats, something at not more than say two or three hundred a year? It shall be strictly a business proceeding. I will pay you for your time, if that is necessary, and your commission in advance. There, you can't refuse my offer on those terms, can you?”
Tavernake remained silent. He was conscious that his lack of response seemed both sullen and awkward, but he was for the moment tongue-tied. His habit of inopportune self-analysis had once more asserted itself. He could not understand the curious nature of his mistrust of this woman, nor could he understand the pleasure which her suggestion gave him. He wanted to refuse, and yet he was glad to be able to tell himself that he was, after all, but an employee of his firm and not in a position to decline business on their behalf.
She leaned a little towards him; her tone was almost beseeching.
“You are not going to be unkind? You will not refuse me?” she pleaded.