"Three weeks next Friday," said Nick.
Max grunted, and the silence was renewed.
It was Nick's voice, cracked and careless, that next broke the spell. He seemed to speak on the edge of a laugh. "It's just six years ago since the woman I wanted went to India. Curious, isn't it?"
"What's curious?" said Max.
Nick explained, still with a suspicion of humour in his words: "Well, the funny part of it was that she hoped and believed she was going to get away from me. However, I viewed the matter otherwise, and—I followed her."
"Did you though?" said Max. "And how did the lady take it? Was she pleased?"
"My dear chap, she didn't know." The laugh was more apparent now. Nick removed his cigar to indulge it. "I was most careful not to get in her way, you understand. I was simply there—if wanted."
"And events proved you justified, I suppose?" Max sounded interested after a cynical and quite impersonal fashion.
"They did," said Nick. His own elastic grin appeared for an instant and was gone. "Events can generally be trimmed to suit your purpose," he said, "if you are sufficiently in earnest."
"That has not been my experience," observed Max briefly.