"Hugh ... aren't you a bit thinner?"
"I believe so." He had a match for that impertinence: "But you, I see, have come off without a blemish."
"I am very well," she admitted, unperturbed. Her glance embraced the room. "You're very comfortable here."
"I have been."
"I hope that doesn't mean I'm in the way."
"To the contrary; but I sail day after to-morrow for Australia."
"Oh? That's very sudden, isn't it? You don't seem to have done any packing. Or perhaps you mean to come back before a great while?"
"I shan't come back, ever."
"Must I believe you made up your mind this morning?"
"I have only just read the announcement of your opening to-morrow night."