"It would hurt me," said Claude, with a shudder.
"Hurt you! Hear that, Livingstone? It would hurt him to hear how we knocked down our last little cheque! That's the best one I've heard since I left the ship!"
"Nevertheless it's the case."
"And do you mean to tell me you were never like that yourself?"
"Never in my life."
"Well, shoot me dead!" whispered the Duke in his amazement.
"It ought not to surprise you," said Claude, in a tone that set the Times shaking in the far corner of the carriage.
"It does, though. I can't help it. You're the first I've ever met that could say as much."
"Pray let us drop the subject. I prefer to hear no more. You pain me more than I can say!"
Claude's flush had deepened; his supersensitive soul was indeed scandalised, and so visibly that an answering flush showed upon the Duke's mahogany features, like an extra coat of polish.