“Of course I should hate it too. Any man who feels a woman is innocent—”

He broke off. She said nothing, and went on eating her little sandwiches as if she rather disliked them.

“Mrs. Chetwinde, do tell me. I believe you’ve got an extraordinary flair—will she win?”

“My dear boy, now how can I know?”

Dion felt very young for a minute.

“I want to know what you expect.”

Mrs. Chetwinde closed the small silver box with a soft snap.

“I fully expect her to win.”

“Because she’s innocent?”

“Oh no. That’s no reason in a world like this, unfortunately.”