'I should call that a very short time!' Margaret tried to laugh a little, with a lingering hope that he might unbend.
'It's quite long enough for me, thank you,' he answered roughly. 'Good-bye!'
He lifted his hat again and walked off very fast. Margaret's face fell, and Logotheti saw the change of expression.
'He's an awfully good fellow in spite of his shyness,' he said quietly. 'I wish we could have made him stay.'
'Yes,' Margaret answered, in a preoccupied tone.
She was wondering whether Logotheti had guessed that there had been anything between her and Lushington. Logotheti ushered his guests in under the main entrance.
'Do you know Mr. Lushington well?' she asked.
'Yes, in a way. I once published a little book, and he wrote a very nice article about it in a London Review. You did not know I was a man of letters, did you?' Logotheti laughed quietly. 'My book was not very long—only about a hundred pages, I think. But Lushington made out that it wasn't all rubbish, and I was always grateful to him.'
'What was your book about?' asked Margaret, as they entered the house.
'Oh, nothing that would interest you—the pronunciation of Greek. Will you take off your hat?'