He leaned further forward, stretched out a quiet hand that grasped and held her own.
He took the pipe from her with the utmost gentleness and laid it aside; but he kept her hand, and after a moment he left his chair and knelt beside her.
She did not draw back from him, but she stiffened on the instant. Her breathing quickened.
There followed a silence, which she found peculiarly hard to bear, and which she eventually broke.
"Perhaps I ought to go to Bunny for a little. He will feel neglected."
"He's not expecting you," said Jake. "Say,--Maud!"
"What is it?" she said.
She strove for composure and attained an aloofness that startled herself. He released her hand and began to gather up the litter of tobacco in her lap.
"I was going to speak to you about Bunny," he said. "I've settled to sleep with him to-night."
"You?" She looked at him in quick surprise.