“You might win if you’d try the right tactics,” he said. “But I know that it’s no use advising a man in love... You simply wouldn’t take the advice.”
“Well, let’s hear it, anyway,” Van Bleit said churlishly, still drumming on the tablecloth with his big, coarse fingers. “If I think it’s worth anything, I’ll follow it, I daresay.”
“Keep away from her for a time.”
Van Bleit looked up at him sharply.
“You say that!” he cried... “You!—just off on a honeymoon of your own! What would you reply if a man advised you to chuck it?”
“If you were off on your honeymoon,” Lawless returned calmly, “my advice would be unnecessary.”
“But why,” Van Bleit persisted, “should I keep out of her way? What purpose could it possibly serve? ... It would give others a chance, that’s all.”
“She would probably miss you,” Lawless answered. “When she realised that, she would want you; and when you returned you would be sure of your welcome... You needn’t scowl. You asked for the advice. I didn’t suppose you would take it, and I shan’t feel offended if you don’t.”
“I don’t believe in the efficacy of that plan,” Van Bleit said shortly.
“A man in love wouldn’t,” Lawless returned indifferently. “The moth has to make for the light.”