He smoothed away her embarrassment with a raillery: "By your polish shall ye be known."
"Yes," she replied, with more seriousness than banter; "that's exactly what I mean. I'm not used to men whose polish extends beyond their finger-nails."
She worked with her head bent low, and he regarded the shining coils of her hair.
"How droll you are!" he said.
She pushed back the half-moons of his fingers with an orange stick dipped in cold-cream.
"You ought to watch your cuticle, Mr. Chase, and be more regular about the manicures. Your hands are more delicate than most."
He started.
"Of course I should pay more attention to them, but I'm pretty busy and—and—"
"Of course I understand manicures are expensive luxuries these days."
"Yes."