"I forgot," she said.
"I booked by telephone just fifteen minutes ago while you were dressing, my dear," said Stainton, "and when I was rude enough to leave the Captain for a few minutes with his dubonais. We have an outside stateroom on the upper deck of the Prinzess Wilhelmina, and we sail from Genoa."
He fell to talking of what he had heard of the advantages of the southern route for the return journey to America. Presently he produced another surprise.
"By the way, Captain," he said, "do you know anything about the trains to Lyons? I shall have to run up there to-morrow. I can't get back here until the next day, but I want to start as early as possible."
This time Muriel felt herself forced to speak.
"Why, Jim," said she, "you never mentioned this to me."
"Didn't I?" he said. "That's curious. Or, no, come to think of it, it's not curious, for the letter was waiting for me when we came in, and you had to to run right off to dress, you know."
"Why must you go?"
"Those French purchasers again."
"I thought you were through with them."