"And you admire that."
"Certainly—hearts are a great bore."
"You were always a cynic, Hector; that is perhaps what makes you so attractive."
"Am I attractive?"
"I can't judge," said Mrs. Ellerwood, nettled for a moment. "I have known you too long, but I hear other women saying so."
"That is comforting, at all events," said Lord Bracondale. "I always have adored women."
"No, you never have, that is just it. You have let them adore you, and utterly spoil you; so now sometimes, Hector, you are insupportable."
"You just said I was attractive."
"I shall not argue further with you," said Mrs. Ellerwood, pettishly.