“Mr. Malleson!”
“Pardon me! I didn’t mean it.”
“Mr. Malleson!”
“I mean I did mean it, but I didn’t mean it offensively.”
“Oh, I’m so relieved. A woman in my station in life has to be so exceedingly careful of her reputation.”
“That’s all right, Mrs. Bradley. I wouldn’t do a thing, or say a thing to in any way—to——”
“Thank you!”
“And, besides, I’m honest in all this—dead honest. I mean it; really, I do.”
There was no doubt about his earnestness. His face glowed with it. His hands twitched with it. Every line of the body that he bent toward her was eloquent with it.
“Just what do you mean, Mr. Malleson?”