“Exactly,” replies Féodorovna, with her baffling literalness. “I sent up my name, and he saw me almost at once.” She pauses.
“And you made your proposal?”
“Yes.”
“He accepted it?”
Féodorovna’s pale eyes have been meeting those of her interlocutor. They continue to do so, without any shade of confusion or mortification.
“No; he refused it point-blank.”
As any possible comment must take the form of an admiring ejaculation addressed to the medical officer in question, Susan bites her lips to ensure her own silence.
“He put me through a perfect catechism of questions,” continues Miss Prince, with perfect equanimity. “Had I had any professional training?”
“You haven’t, have you?”
“I answered that I hadn’t, but that I could very easily acquire some.”