"Was it so bad as that?" Gladys asked.
"Worse—far worse, I suspect."
"Then don't voice it—keep it dark."
"I will. I'll go away and leave you with Pendleton—and with an insane curiosity to know just what I suspect. In fact, you will give him no rest until he tells you.—See?" and with a laugh and a nod he arose and strolled away.
Gladys watched him with an amused smile until he turned the corner of the piazza—then she spoke.
"He doesn't suspect the real reason?" she asked.
Pendleton shook his head rather shortly.
"No more than that there was a reason," he answered. "A reason which, I fear, was very foolish and absurd. You see where it has led and is leading?—Were you at the Croydens last night?"
"For a little while."