“Well ... under the circumstances ...” he murmured.
“What circumstances?”
“You know what your father said—”
“No, I don’t, and I don’t care, either. Tell me!”
“Not here.”
“Then let’s walk!”
They strolled over the lawn, beyond earshot of the veranda.
“Well,” said he. “We had—words. He told me not to speak to any of you again. I said, of course, I’d speak to you as long as you cared to speak to me.... But—”
“How beastly!” cried Andrée. “How horrible! But please don’t pay any attention to it. Edna and I never do.”
“At first I thought I wouldn’t. They’re free agents, I thought; it’s up to them to say whether they want to drop me or not. I’ve never had much respect for parental authority, in regard to adults. But when I’d thought it over—I saw it wouldn’t do. It’s not fair to you. You’re not free agents. It puts you in a rotten position.”