'You needed a great deal of urging then?' He betrayed the half-amused, half-ironic surprise of the man accustomed to find people ready enough, as a rule, to clutch at excuse for a tête-à-tête. Although she had flushed with mingled embarrassment and excitement, he proceeded to increase her perturbation by suggesting, 'Mrs. Freddy had to overcome your dislike for the mission.'
'Dislike? Oh, no!'
'What then?'
'My—well——' She lifted her eyes, and dared to look him full in the face as she said, 'I suppose you know you are rather alarming.'
'Am I?' he smiled.
People less interested in him than Jean were grateful to Geoffrey Stonor when he smiled. They felt relieved from some intangible responsibility for the order of the universe.
The girl brightened wonderfully. 'Oh, yes, very alarming indeed,' she assured him cheerfully.
'How do you make that out?'
'I don't need to "make it out." It's so very plain.' Then a little hastily, as if afraid of having said something that sounded like impious fault-finding, 'Anybody's alarming who is so—so much talked about, and so—well, like you, you understand.'