“I see! A fascinating subject like that must be difficult to get away from.”

“Yes—very! What a delightful woman Mrs. Hodson is.”

“I think her extremely wearisome. Her nature is as wrinkled as her face. And now I must be on my way to Adela Sellingworth’s.”

“May I walk with you as far as her door?”

“Of course.”

When they were out in Piccadilly he said:

“And now what about my promise to Mr. Craven?”

“I shall be delighted to meet him again,” said Miss Van Tuyn in a careless voice. “And I would not have you break a promise on my account. Such a sacred thing!”

“But if he bores you—”

“He doesn’t bore me more than many young men do.”