Pat laughed derisively, so that Socky got up and barked. “Shut up, you fool; I’m laughing at my sister, who has the foolishness of a babe! Have you known Paton all these years and not seen beneath the surface? Gracious! even if he likes me—which he doesn’t expect to crack jokes with—that would be the last man I’d experiment with. He’s full of emotion underneath that quiet exterior. If I could return it, I’d rather like to be loved by Colin Paton. Why, he’d make the most tender and ardent of lovers if he gained the heart of the right woman. Have you seen him with his widowed mother? Oh! he’s perfectly sweet to her, and she adores him. She’s such a nice, cosy thing, too; you feel you want to sit on a footstool at her feet and have her stroke your hair.”
“If you’re right, it’s curious he hasn’t married.”
She was looking out of the window again, and she didn’t see the curious look her sister cast at her. Pat finished up the conversation with:
“Come on, Socks, we’re going to our happy home. Men like Colin Paton often get left because most women are fools where love is concerned. It’s been the study of their lives for centuries, and even now they can’t tell a piece of glass from a diamond. Because a man doesn’t come along like a raging whirlwind they think he’s cold, and because he loudly swears fidelity like a tinkling cymbal they think they can put their money on him. The metaphors are a bit mixed, but what I’m driving at is this. Women seldom have any judgment where men are concerned, and the nicer the woman the less sound is her judgment. Only bad women have good judgment regarding men. I—Patricia Iverson—have spoken. Selah! Socks!”
CHAPTER XIII
A DANGER SIGNAL
Fritz Neeburg was busily writing in his study when his man came to tell him that Carey Image had called to see him. He was just starting a chapter of his new book, entitled “Neurasthenia and its Causes,” but he at once put his pen down.
“This is good of you to receive me,” said Image warmly; “I can see you are busy.”
“Not too busy to stop and have a chat with you. I hope you don’t want to consult me professionally? You haven’t got the disease of the age, have you?”