“He would get out of the way, and he would make the way easy for her, and he would be very gentle with her.”
“Let us bring the argument right home,” Hancock said. “We’ll suppose you’re in love with Mrs. Forrest, and Mrs. Forrest is in love with you, and you run away together in the big limousine—”
“Oh, but I wouldn’t,” the boy blurted out, his cheeks burning.
“Leo, you are not complimentary,” Paula encouraged.
“It’s just supposing, Leo,” Hancock urged.
The boy’s embarrassment was pitiful, and his voice quivered, but he turned bravely to Dick and said:
“That is for Dick to answer.”
“And I’ll answer,” Dick said. “I wouldn’t kill Paula. Nor would I kill you, Leo. That wouldn’t be playing the game. No matter what I felt at heart, I’d say, ‘Bless you, my children.’ But just the same—” He paused, and the laughter signals in the corners of his eyes advertised a whimsey—"I’d say to myself that Leo was making a sad mistake. You see, he doesn’t know Paula.”
“She would be for interrupting his meditations on the stars,” Terrence smiled.
“Never, never, Leo, I promise you,” Paula exclaimed.