"No," he replied, "it seems now just the opposite. But I can't help that."
"You could have helped it ... once," she said.
"Oh, we can always help things once," he objected.
"Did you know her when we were at Bramley?"
"Yes, very slightly."
"Very slightly, only three months ago," she repeated incredulously.
"Yes," he said.
There was a pause. Ethel Vernon's fingers were playing nervously with a ring.
"When did you want to marry her?" she asked at length.
He hesitated in his turn.