“I—I've promised Lydia to stay here———”

“Oh, it isn't that. Will you try to convince Lydia that I meant no offence last night when I———”

“She understands all that perfectly, Yvonne.”

“No, she doesn't. A woman wouldn't understand.”

“I will square everything,” he said.

“It means a great deal to me,”

“In what way?”

There was a pause.

“No woman likes to be regarded as a fool,” she said at last, apparently after careful reflection. “Oh, yes; there is something else. We are dining out this evening.”

“You and I?” he asked, after a moment.