"You live down here I suppose?"
"Yes. We live at Greenriver, about a mile from your bungalow."
"Ah. Been here long?"
"Only a few months."
"I see. You haven't known my husband very long, then?"
"No. He pulled me out of the river one day," said Toni, "and we have seen him pretty often during the summer."
"Then I suppose you know where I've been?" Her eyes shone maliciously. "Oh, don't pretend you didn't know. I'm sure my worthy husband must have told you the whole story."
Toni, scarlet with embarrassment, and wishing from the bottom of her heart that she had never offered the use of her car, said nothing; and with a grating little laugh the other woman continued her speech.
"I expect everyone knows I have been in prison." Luckily she did not raise her voice; and Herrick, possibly foreseeing the necessity, had taken care to engage the chauffeur in conversation. "Eighteen months—almost—spent in hell. Oh!" Her small, sharp teeth bit her lip venomously. "It drives me mad to think of it. And it could all have been avoided if my husband had been a man."
"Oh!" Toni revolted inwardly against her callousness.