"Of course she didn't. How stupid of me. Where is he stopping?"
"With his grandfather, I suppose," said Mrs. Tresslyn, as tolerant as possible.
"Naturally. I should have known that without asking. Getting the old boy braced up for the wedding, I suppose. Pumping oxygen into him, and all that sort of thing. And that reminds me of something else. I may give myself the pleasure of a personal call upon my prospective brother-in-law to-morrow."
"What?" cried his mother sharply.
"Yep," said George blithely. "I may have to do it. It's purely a business matter, so don't worry. I shan't say a word about the wedding. Far be it from me to distress an old gentleman about—"
"What business can you have with Mr. Thorpe?" demanded his mother.
"Well, as I don't believe in keeping secrets from you, mother, I'll explain. You see, I want to see if I can't negotiate the sale of a thousand dollar note. Mr. Thorpe may be in the market to buy a good, safe, gilt-edge note—"
"Come to the point. Whose note are you trying to sell?"
"My own," said George promptly.
Anne laughed. "You would spell gilt with a letter u inserted before the i, in that case, wouldn't you?"