"You seem to have come prepared," she smiled. "Did Elfie and you plan all this out?"
He chuckled as he replied:
"Not planned—just hoped. I think you'd better go to some nice hotel now. Later we can arrange."
She offered no objection, accepting everything suggested as a matter of course. Having sold herself, as it were, to the highest bidder, it was not her place to raise any further obstacles. Dispassionately, therefore, she said:
"Will, we'll always be frank. I said I was ready to go. It's up to you—when and where."
He smiled, surprised to find her so tractable.
"The hotel scheme is the best, but, Laura——"
"Yes?"
He looked at her keenly, trying to penetrate beneath the surface of her almost unnatural calm. He did not wish to be fooled again.
"You're quite sure this is in earnest?" he demanded. "You don't want to change? You've time enough now."