"But the circumstances are sometimes—queer?"
"The circumstances are usually complex."
"The circumstances are complex," she mused aloud. "I'll tell Alice that."
"What has Alice to do with it?"
"She seems bothered about the circumstances—that's all,—the circumstances and Steve."
"I guess Steve can manage the circumstances by himself," he replied coldly, turning over the evening paper. "She probably reads the magazines and believes all she hears."
"All intelligent women read the magazines—and believe what they hear or else what their husbands tell them," she rejoined flippantly. Presently, as Lane continued to look over the stock page of the paper, she observed:—
"Don't you suppose that in Vickers's case the circumstances may have been—complex?"
Lane looked at her steadily.
"I can't see what that has to do with the question."