“Never, in public.”
She motioned me to a seat and, looking at me intently, said:
“Tell me, where have we met before?”
“I am certain that I have never seen you.” I was on the point of adding, “For I could not have forgotten it,” but instinctively feeling how banal the answer would seem to her satiated ears, I refrained.
She looked at me, unconvinced.
“You are quite certain?”
“Yes, quite.”
“As children, perhaps?”
“No.”
My manner seemed to amuse her. She studied my face a moment, and then said: