"But which gentleman is in the ascendant? The god-like one? Or the conventional Mr. Neville? Or—the bad and very lovable and very human Louis?"
"Stop talking-nonsense, Valerie. What are you doing?"
"Conversing with an abrupt gentleman called Louis Neville. I was reading."
"All alone in your room?"
"Naturally. Two people couldn't get into it unless one of them also got into bed."
"You poor child! What are you reading?"
"Will you promise not to laugh?"
"Yes, I will."
"Then—I was reading the nineteenth psalm."
"It's a beauty, isn't it," he said.