"Dear Aunt, I am not an official. And a rumor is of no importance—until it is contradicted. Surely you are letting yourself get excited about nothing."
Aunt Caroline bestowed upon Desire the feminine glance which means, "What fools men are."
"That's all very well now," she said. "But it is incredible how rumor persists. And when you are a father—there! I knew you would end by breaking that cup."
"Aren't we being rather absurd?" asked Desire a little later when Aunt Caroline and the tea tray had departed together. "Besides, you can't break a cup every time."
Spence sighed. It was undoubtedly true that cups do come to an end.
"What we want to do," said Desire, angry at her heightened color, "is to be sensible."
"That's what Aunt Caroline is. Do you want us to be like Aunt Caroline?"
"I want us to face facts without blushing and jumping."
"I never blush."
"You jump."