"Yes, then?"
"No more—nothing."
"I'm sceptical of that."
Max glanced up. "Well, to you I always say the truth. The girl Jacqueline came in and chattered to me, and—"
"Oh, ho!"
"Do not say that! I cannot bear it."
"Nonsense! I'm only teasing you! Though why a little girl with hair like spun silk and skin like ivory—"
"Ah! You admire her, then?"
"I do vastly—in the abstract."
"And what does that mean—in the abstract?"