“Business!” he replied, smiling.
“Which means, I must not ask, I suppose.”
He did not answer.
“Will you tell me one thing—just one?” she persisted. “Has Royster & Axtell’s failure anything to do with it?”
“Yes—it has!” he said, after a moment’s hesitation.
“And is it true that you are seriously embarrassed—have lost most of your fortune?”
“It was to be just one question!” he smiled.
“I’m a woman,” she explained.
They danced half the length of the room before he replied. He would tell her. She, alone, deserved to know—and, if she cared, would understand.
“I have lost most of my fortune!” he admitted. “I am not, however, in the least embarrassed—I have no debts.”