"Then—do you ever, by any accident, think of me?"
She foresaw at once what was coming, bit her lip, but saw no way to avoid it.
"I think of my friends—and you among them."
"Do you always think of me as 'Mr. Quarren'?"
"I—your friends—people are eternally dinning your name into my ears——"
"Please answer."
"What?" She turned toward him disdainfully: "Would it gratify you to know that I think of you as Rix, Ricky, Dick—whatever they call you?"
"Which?" he insisted, laughing. And finally she laughed, too, partly in sheer exasperation.
"Rix!" she said: "Now are you satisfied? I don't know why on earth I made such a scene about it. It's the way I think of you—when I happen to remember you. But if you fancy for a moment I am going to call you that, please awake from vain dreams, my airy friend——"
"Won't you?"