"I promised him the third dance after this."
For a time Landis could not trust his voice. Then: "Kind of sorry about that. Because I'll be going home before then."
At this she raised her eyes for the first time. He was astonished and a little horrified to see that she was not in the least flustered, but very angry.
"You'll go home before I have a chance for that dance?" she asked. "You're acting like a two-year-old, Jack. You are!"
He flushed. Burning would be too easy a death for Donnegan.
"He's making a laughingstock out of me; look around the room!"
"Nobody's thinking about you at all, Jack. You're just self-conscious."
Of course, it was pouring acid upon an open wound. But she was past the point of caution.
"Maybe they ain't," said Landis, controlling his rage. "I don't figure that I amount to much. But I rate myself as high as a skunk like him!"
It may have been a smile that she gave him. At any rate, he caught the glint of teeth, and her eyes were as cold as steel points. If she had actually defended the stranger she would not have infuriated Landis so much.