“What!”
“You’ll never breathe it?”
“Who—who—”
“It’s a man I’ve never seen.”
“How can you love a man you’ve never seen? What a baby you are!”
“I didn’t say I loved; I said I was in love. And a man I’ve never seen is the only sort I could go that far with. I hate every man I know, simply because he is a man; and I never want really to meet, even to see, this one. But it’s great fun to be in love with him, to live in an inner world of one’s own.”
“Oh!” Once more Nigel writhed with jealousy.
“And that isn’t all.” Julia’s eyes grew even more burdened with dreams. “When I have to be kissed— At first I just set my teeth— Now I shut my eyes and imagine it’s the other.”
Nigel stood up. His face was white. His hands shook.
“And who, may I ask, is this fortunate person?”