"Yes."
"Don't let me stop you from going and please don't let it harden your heart against me."
"Mother, are you sure you're not making a sad mistake in letting your heart harden against her?" he could not resist saying.
Her lips trembled and her handkerchief went to her eyes. Leaving his chair he crossed to where she was sitting and put his arm around her.
"There, mother, we must not let anything come between us," he said, tenderly. "It's all right, mother; it's all right!"
The next day, Saturday, he telephoned to Consuello early in the morning, soon after he reached the office, in order to catch her before she left for the studio.
"I was just about to call you," she said. "Did you get my note?"
"Yes."
"I'm so sorry, but it will be impossible for me to get home, tomorrow. My director insists that we go out on location in the morning. You understand, don't you?"
"Certainly," he replied. He had decided to tell her that his mother was ill and unable to accept her invitation. His relief was beyond words when he discovered that it would be unnecessary for him to fabricate an excuse for Mrs. Gallant, although he realized it was only postponing the time when he should be compelled to prevent Consuello learning of his mother's harsh judgment of her.