“I suppose he would be horrified at this outing?”
“I strongly suspect he would.”
“What if he hears you were out motoring at Richmond with me?”
“Oh, well, I shall tell him you are old enough to be my father, and not to be absurd.”
“Why do you harp on my age so?… If I am old enough to be your father, it doesn’t follow that I’m too old to be your lover?”
He was standing close to her now, looking down into her face, and Hal felt a little conscious tremor run through her blood. She faced him squarely, however, and answered in a gay, careless voice:
“Of course it doesn’t, only, as I don’t happen to want a lover, it’s a contingency not worth considering.”
“Perhaps the post is already filled?” he suggested, refusing likewise to be daunted.
“Quite filled. It’s a case for a placard stating ‘House Full’, and you,” she finished, “would naturally be at the tail end of the queue which has to go away.”
He laughed with relish, and gave it up.