“Don't you think I'd better come to see you?”
“I've only a little flat. I don't think you'll like it.”
“That's nonsense. Where is it?”
She gave him the address.
“When shall I come?”
“Whenever it suits you. I have nothing to do. Say this afternoon about four.”
That “nothing to do” was an odd change, in itself, for Audrey had been in the habit of doling out her time like sweetmeats.
“Where in the world have you been all this time?” he demanded, almost angrily. To his own surprise he was suddenly conscious of a sense of indignation and affront. She had said she depended on him, and then she had gone away and hidden herself. It was ridiculous.
“Just getting acquainted with myself,” she replied, with something of her old airy manner. “Good-by.”
His irritation passed as quickly as it came. He felt calm and very sure of himself, and rather light-hearted. Joey, who was by now installed as an office adjunct, and who commonly referred to the mill as “ours,” heard him whistling blithely and cocked an ear in the direction of the inner room.