"Where's Mother?"
"Gone downstairs to see how the Noon baby is."
"Norma," said Wolf, without preamble, "did you see Chris Liggett to-day?"
Her colour flamed high, but her eyes did not waver.
"Yes. We met at Sherry's. We had lunch together."
"You didn't meet by accident?" There was desperate hope in Wolf's voice. But Norma would not lie. With her simple negative her head drooped, and she looked at her locked fingers in silence.
Wolf was silent, too, for a long minute. Then he cleared his throat, and spoke quietly and sensibly.
"I've been a long time waking up, Nono," he said. "I'm sorry! Of course I knew that there was a difference; I knew that you—felt differently. And I guessed that it was Chris. Norma, do you—do you still like him?"
She looked up wretchedly, nodding her head.
"More"—he began, and stopped—"more than you do me?" he asked. And in the silence he added suddenly: "Norma, I thought we were so happy!"