She tried to laugh. "It was very absurd of me. The initials weren't very clear. I thought they were—someone else's."
"Noel's?" he said.
She nodded.
There was a brief silence, during which she dared not look round. Then he spoke, his voice drily humorous. "I suppose you thanked him for it then?"
"No, I didn't," she said. "At least—at least—I was vexed, but I didn't want to hurt his feelings."
"No?" said Max, in the same cynical tone.
Her hand slipped free at last. She spoke more firmly. "I told him I couldn't accept it."
"Poor Noel!" observed Max. He took his hand from her shoulder also, and she knew that he thrust it into his pocket. "And what did he say to that?"
She hesitated. "Well, of course he—he explained—that he hadn't sent it."
"And you believed him?"