Columbus grunted appreciatively and leaned harder against her. He liked to be included in the conversation.
Green suddenly bent and pulled the other ear. "You're a jolly lucky chap,
Columbus," he said. "I'll change places with you any day in the week."
Columbus smiled at him indulgently, and edged his nose onto his mistress's knee. He knew his position was secure.
"Don't you listen to him, Christopher!" said Juliet. "He wouldn't be in your place two minutes. If I dared to thwart him in anything, he'd turn and rend me."
"He wouldn't," said Green decidedly. "Anyone else—perhaps, but his mistress—never."
Columbus yawned. The topic did not interest him. But Juliet laughed again, and for a moment her eyes glanced upwards, meeting the man's look.
"Is that a promise?" she asked lightly.
"My word of honour," he said.
"How generous!" said Juliet. "And how rash!"
Mrs. Fielding looked round from the window and spoke fretfully. "The storm seems to have made it more oppressive than ever," she complained. "I believe it is coming up again."