"No."
"His wife; he does that to his wife, and she—she is not a nice person, and likes it! Aha!"
"He has no wife," said the maid.
It was this she was hungry to hear.
"How do you know? Did he tell you?"
"No. But he wears stockings, not tabi. All soldiers do."
"Well, you suspicious little beast, what has that got to do with his wife?"
"I wash them."
"Well?"