I joked.

"For you particularly?"

"Yes, I've got a cold already."

He coughed.

"Pooh!" I said rather abruptly. "As long as you've nothing worse than that the matter with you."

I suddenly thought of him as a soft flabby creature, this tall fellow brought up by women. I think he guessed my thoughts.

"If only I had not got such a high temperature!" he said.

I shrugged my shoulders.

"High temperature! Who said you'd got a high temperature?"