"Oh, don't be absurd!" she exclaimed in desperation. "How can I possibly talk to you there?"
"It depends upon what you want to say," said Nick. "If it is something particularly private—" He paused.
"Well?" she said.
"You can always come to me, you know," he pointed out. "But I shouldn't do that, if I were you. It would be neither dignified nor proper. And a girl in your position, dearest Muriel, cannot be too discreet. It is the greatest mistake in the world to act upon impulse. Let me entreat you to do nothing headlong. Take another year or so to think things over. There are so many nice men to choose from, and this absurd infatuation of yours cannot possibly last."
"Don't, Nick!" Muriel's voice held a curious mixture of mirth and sadness. "It—it isn't a bit funny to talk like that. It isn't even particularly kind."
"Ye gods!" said Nick. "Who wants to be kind?"
"Not you, evidently," she told him with a hint of bitterness. "You only aim at being intelligent."
"Well, you'll admit I hit the mark sometimes," he rejoined. "I'm like a rat, eh? Clever but loathsome."
She uttered a quivering laugh. "No, you are much more like an eagle, waiting to strike. Why don't you, I wonder, and—and take what you want?"
Nick's answering laugh had a mocking note in it. "Oh, I can play Animal Grab as well as anybody—better than most," he said modestly. "But I don't chance to regard this as a suitable occasion for displaying my skill. Uninteresting for you, of course, but then you are fond of running away when there is no one after you. It's been your favourite pastime for almost as long as I have known you."