“Then what’s the good of talking?” cried Jill. “It only hurts.”
“But—won’t you come back to England?”
“No.”
“Oh, I say! Be a sport! Take a stab at it!”
Jill laughed again—another of those grating laughs which afflicted Freddie with a sense of foreboding and failure. Something had undoubtedly gone wrong with the works. He began to fear that at some point in the conversation—just where he could not say—he had been less diplomatic than he might have been.
“You speak as if you were inviting me to a garden-party! No, I won’t take a stab at it. You’ve a lot to learn about women, Freddie!”
“Women are rum!” conceded that perplexed ambassador.
Jill began to move away.
“Don’t go!” urged Freddie.
“Why not? What’s the use of talking any more? Have you ever broken an arm or a leg, Freddie?”