He brought the car to a stop, said uneasily, "I forgot to tell you. I have...." He paused, started over again. "There is another girl in my apartment, too. She.... Well.... There are three bedrooms. I don't think we'll be too crowded. Do you?" He mopped his brow with his handkerchief.
The Duchess was regarding him, a steel-like glint in her gray eyes.
"Of all the deceitful, lecherous rogues it's been my misfortune to meet," she said, her tone low, gentle, "in a profession where rogues abound, you are the lowest."
"Now I say ..." he protested, but the Duchess swept his words aside.
"You wolf, bleating like a lamb. Oh, you're clever. I haven't a thing to reproach you with. You fixed it so it was I who asked you to buy me. But mark this, handsome, our association is going to be strictly business. You supply me with food and shelter; I supply the Sinn Feiners with green suits."
"But isn't that why I bought you?" he asked in perplexity.
"What?" said the Duchess, hauling herself up short.
"I mean, you didn't like the library, and you needed more freedom any way to contact the factory workers. It looked to me like a sensible plan."
"Well, I'll be darned," said the Duchess.
"What?" he asked.