'You didn't expect it; I can see that.'
'You told me that Mr. Armitage would recognise your name,' I answered evasively.
'Precisely. Not long ago I gave him, through an agent, a very handsome price for some pictures he had to sell.'
Again he looked at me, watching the effect of his words.
'Of course,' he continued, 'there were ample apologies for his treatment of us yesterday. By the bye, I take it for granted you don't carry a dress-suit in your bag?'
'Heaven forbid!'
'To be sure—pray don't misunderstand me. I meant that you had expressly told me of your avoidance of all such formalities. Therefore you will be glad that I excused you from dining at the Hall.'
For a moment I felt uncomfortable, but after all I was glad not to have the trouble of refusing on my own account.
'Thanks,' I said, 'you did the right thing.'
We walked over to the inn, and sat down at a rude but not unsatisfying table. After dinner, Ireton proposed that we should smoke in the garden. 'It's quiet, and we can talk.' The sun had just set; the sky was magnificent with afterglow. Ireton's hint about privacy led me to hope that he was going to talk more confidentially than hitherto, and I soon found that I was not mistaken.