"How long have you been here?"
"Three hours."
"And you don't know what Mrs Hamilton is?"
"No."
"What?" he cried excitedly.
"Tell me! Tell me!"
"Just tell me how you met her."
She told him in short words; she was reluctant to make a confidant of the man who had ravished her lips; she was dimly conscious that he may have had a remote excuse for his behaviour. When she had done, he said:
"Mrs Hamilton is one of the worst women in London. She'd have been 'run in' long ago if she weren't so rich and if her clients weren't so influential."
Mavis looked at him wide-eyed.