‘Yes, certainly I like them; I was born in Italy.’
‘But you’re an American,’ she said quickly.
He laughed at her tone.
‘You surely want to be an American,’ she insisted.
‘As Henry James says, Miss Marcia, one’s country, like one’s grandmother, is antecedent to choice.’
She studied the fire for some time without speaking, and Sybert, leaning back lazily, studied her. Her next observation surprised him.
‘You said the other day, Mr. Sybert, that every man lived for some idea, and I’ve been wondering what yours was.’
A curious expression flashed over his face.
‘You couldn’t expect me to tell; I’m a diplomatist.’
‘I have an idea that it is not very much connected with diplomacy.’