Mary cried, “Oh, Frank! You! How did you come? I didn’t expect—” And the tone of her voice showed that the surprise was hardly more agreeable to her than to her companion. However welcome her lover might be on other occasions, it was obvious that she had not wished to see him at this particular moment.
“Well, well, we must move on; we mustn’t block up the pavement,” the Major said hastily. He took his place by the kerb, which placed him next to Claire, and bent over with an assiduous air. “You must let me escort you! Where were you bound for next?”
Claire hesitated. She wished with all her heart that she had not mentioned Fuller’s, so that she could reply that they were bound for the Tube. Oxford Circus was only a step away; in five minutes they could have been seated in the train; but Cecil had declared that she was longing for tea, so it would be ungracious to withdraw the invitation.
“We were going to Fuller’s.”
“Right!” The Major’s tone was complacent. “Good idea! How shall we go? Taxi? Tube? Which do you prefer?”
Claire stared at him in surprise.
“But it’s here! Quite close. We’re nearly there.”
He looked disconcerted, unnecessarily disconcerted, Claire thought; for it was surely no disgrace for a man to be ignorant of the locality of a confectioner’s shop! From the other side came Cecil’s voice, cool and constrained—
“If you were going anywhere, Frank, you needn’t stay with us. We can look after each other. We are accustomed to going about alone.”
“Please allow me the pleasure. There’s plenty of time. I should enjoy some tea immensely. Always take it when I get the chance!”