"Jealous, Jackie?"
"Oh—if you insist."
She laughed. "The most encouraging symptom you've yet betrayed!... I didn't ask him. Tankerville did. He likes him. The man's amusing, after all."
"But you like him?"
"He amuses me."
"He's not precisely a tame cat...."
"Dear boy!" she laughed again, "I didn't fetch you out here to worry about me. I'm fire-proof. Venetia's quite another pair of shoes. Fret about her as much as you like."
"When does he go—Marbridge, I mean?"
"Monday, I think. At least, I believe Tankerville asked him for a week only."
"And that's why you asked me, this particular week?"