Something in her face seemed to tell Freddie that he was not saying the right thing, but he stumbled on.
"You've no notion how busy he is. I mean to say, elections coming on and so forth. He daren't stir from the metrop."
"Of course I couldn't expect him to do anything that might interfere with his career, could I?"
"Absolutely not. I knew you would see it!" said Freddie, charmed at her reasonableness. All rot, what you read about women being unreasonable. "Then I take it it's all right, eh?"
"All right?"
"I mean you will toddle home with me at the earliest opp. and make poor old Derek happy?"
Jill laughed discordantly.
"Poor old Derek!" she echoed. "He has been badly treated, hasn't he?"
"Well, I wouldn't say that," said Freddie doubtfully. "You see, coming down to it, the thing was more or less his fault, what?"
"More or less!"