Language failed him.

"Tell me why you wondered," he begged.

"Because——You're wickedly persistent!"

"I am everything that is awful. Cynthia?"

"Yes?"

"Because you liked me?"

"Perhaps; the weeniest scrap in the world. Oh, you are horrid! What things you make me say! And we are only just——"

"Engaged! It's a glorious word; don't be afraid of it."

"I shall be afraid of you in a minute. How do you think of your—your proposals in your books?"

"I've only written one book."