“You know why.”
“Have I asked you to go?”
“No, but I think I shall clear out. I don’t feel like acting a part to a boy. I’ve never done such a thing, and it isn’t at all the sort of thing I could do well.”
“There will be no need to act a part. Be with Jimmy as you were in London.”
“Look at me!” he exclaimed with intense bitterness. “Am I the man I was in London?”
“If you are careful and reasonable, Jimmy won’t notice any difference. Hero worship doesn’t look at things through a microscope. Jimmy’s got his idea of you. It will be your fault if he changes it.”
“Did you tell him I should be here during the holidays?”
“Yes.”
“I can’t help that,” he said, almost brutally.
“What do you mean?”