She scratched again. "Even if Katinka makes him your son-in-law?"
"That shall never be!" He hesitated, then attempted a bear-hug. "I will speak plainly, madame----"
"About Katinka and her infatuation? Oh, certainly."
Aksakoff bit his lip. Used as he was to verbal fencing, Leah's handling of her tongue baffled him. He took refuge in truth-telling.
"Demetrius does not love my daughter," he said bluntly.
"How fortunate for you, and disagreeable for her!"
"He loves an--an--an actress," explained Aksakoff, wondering if her interest in the man deepened to jealousy.
Apparently it did not. "That would interest Katinka more than it does me," she assured him; then, affecting the innocence of ignorance, "May I ask why you chronicle small beer?"
"Demetrius is your intimate friend."
"My husband's medical attendant," she corrected quietly.