"Are you ashamed to be seen with me?" demanded Evan scowling.
"Silly! Didn't I propose this trip? The reason is very simple. Your ridiculous landlady looks on every man in the house as her property. I don't want to excite her ill-will, that's all."
Evan could not deny the truth of this characterisation of Carmen. "Go on ahead," he said. "I'll hang around in the Park for a while. See you to-night."
She stopped, and gave him an inscrutable look. "Oh, I'm sorry, I shan't be home to-night."
With this the ugly head of Corinna's mystery popped up again. It had been tormenting Evan all morning, but with a lover's pride he would not question her, and she volunteered no information.
"Oh!" said Evan flatly, and waited for her to say more.
But she seemed not to be aware that anything more was required and his brow darkened. "If it was me," he thought, "how eager I would be to explain what was taking me away from her, but she is mum!"
"Come to-morrow night," she said.
He bowed stiffly.
She hesitated a moment as if about to explain, then thought better of it, and hurried away, leaving Evan inwardly fuming.