“Oh, well, you are denser than I thought. And I have been worrying myself all the afternoon for fear you were offended by the way I told you to take your seat at the table.”
“Offended? I shouldn’t have had the presumption to think of such a thing. Indeed, it was very kind of you to indicate my place. Such instructions are usually given by the steward.”
She bestowed a sly, sidelong glance upon me, and there was a somewhat uncertain smile at the corners of her pretty lips.
“Is that a little dig at me?” she asked.
“Nothing of the sort. It was a mere statement of fact.”
“Sometimes I think,” she said meditatively, more to herself than to me, “that you are not such a fool as you look.”
I was compelled to laugh at this, and replied with as much urbanity as I could call to my command:
“I am overjoyed to hear that statement. It seems to prove that I am making progress. Such evidence always encourages a man.”
“Oh, well,” she said, with a shrug of impatience, “don’t let’s talk any more about it. I didn’t want to go to Corea, and I did want to return to Yokohama; so here we are going to Corea. Don’t you think I am a very good-natured girl to let bygones be bygones so easily?”