“Surely you need not consult me. You appear to have made up your mind what I am to buy.”
“Very well. If you will leave it to me, I dare say we shall get on very well.”
He ordered a taxi, and they drove to one of the best furriers in town. Lady Sarah was passionately fond of furs, and was, he knew, anxious to have a sable cloak for the winter. He asked to have such a garment shown to him, and two magnificent cloaks, either of which might have adorned a princess, were brought and offered to him for inspection.
He turned to his wife.
“Is either of these the sort of thing you had in your mind?”
Ill-tempered as she was, Lady Sarah could scarcely resist the beautiful furs held out before her.
“Perhaps madam would like to try them on, and see which cloak became her the best.” For one moment Lady Sarah hesitated, then her ill-temper got the better of her taste again.
“It is not necessary,” she said. “They are both very handsome. It is for my husband to choose which he likes best.”
“Try them both on,” said Sir Robert, without appearing to note the coldness of her tone, which, while it could not be detected by the saleswoman, was quite evident to himself, knowing her moods as he did.
Lady Sarah took off the long coat of purple faced cloth which she was wearing, and obediently put on first one and then the other mantle. Both were beautiful, but the one was much better adapted to her slender little figure than the other.