“Goodness!… I hope you’re not?…” in quick alarm.
“Why do you hope so?”
“Oh, I don’t know, except that I’ve never known a Cabinet Minister in my life, and I never expected, if I met one, to treat him like… like—”
“An old and fatuous lump of superiority!” with a gay laugh. “Well, little woman, you needn’t be in the least sorry. I don’t know that I’ve ever enjoyed a motor ride more. When will you come again?”
“Are you a Cabinet Minister?…” she asked helplessly.
“Well, I hope you won’t disapprove, for I have to plead guilty to being Sir Edwin Crathie.”
“Sir Edwin Crathie?” in abashed tones.
“They called me Squib at school.” He said it in a whimsical, humorous voice, looking down at her with very friendly eyes.
But Hal had grown silent.
“I’m afraid by your manner you do disapprove?”