‘Certainly, if you wish.’
She felt for it in her bosom and handed it to him. It shook in her fingers.
‘Why does she think you’d rather she didn’t come?’
‘I suppose because the occasion seems to her painful.’
‘I don’t see that it was painful at all. What did you think of my speech?’
‘The first one or the second?’
‘Both, if you like. I meant the first.’
‘You told the story very well.’
‘You’ll never spoil me by over-praise.’
Adela was silent.