Her laugh had a piteous quiver in it.
"You think me very young and foolish, don't you?" she said.
He sat up and looked at her.
"I think," he said, "that you stand in very serious need of someone to look after you."
She made a slight, impatient movement.
"Why go over old ground? If you really have any definite suggestion to make, why not make it?"
Rivington clasped his hands about his knees. He continued to look at her speculatively, his pipe between his teeth.
"Look here, Chirpy," he said, after a moment, "I can't help thinking that you would be better off and a good deal happier if you married."
"If I—married!" Her eyes flashed startled interrogation at him. "If I—married!" she repeated almost fiercely. "I would rather die!"
"I didn't suggest that you should marry Dinghra," he pointed out mildly. "He is not the only man in the world."