She glanced at him sideways, as a woman does when she hears a man's tone change suddenly, and she is not sure what he may do or say next.
'You do not make it easy to understand you, my lord,' she said after an instant's hesitation.
'The matter is simple enough. I find you in a bad humour——'
'Oh no! I assure you!' Zoë broke in, with a woman's diabolical facility in interrupting a man just at the right moment for her own advantage. 'I was never in a better temper in my life!'
To prove this, she took a bird and some salad, and smiled sweetly at her plate, leaving him to prove his assertion, but he did not fall into the trap.
'Then you are not easy to live with,' he observed bluntly. 'I am glad it is over.'
'Do take some of this salad!' suggested Zoë. 'It is really delicious!'
'To-morrow,' Zeno said, without paying any attention to her recommendation, 'I shall have a few guests at dinner.'
'I should advise you to give them a salad exactly like this,' answered Zoë. 'It could not be better!'
'I am glad you like it. I leave the fare to Omobono. It is about another matter that I have to speak.'