They went down to supper.
2
Sometimes Basil and Evie lunched together. By habit they lunched in different shops and had different things to eat. Evie liked pea-soup, or a poached egg, bread and honey, a large cup of coffee with milk, and what she and the tea-shop young ladies called fancies. Basil didn't. When they lunched together they both had the things Basil liked, except in coffee.
'Did you tell him two noirs?' Evie would say. 'Rubbish, you know I always have lait.'
'A corrupt taste. One café au lait, waiter. You like the most ridiculous things, you know; you might be eight. You aren't grown-up enough yet for black coffee, or smoking, or liqueurs. You must meet my mother; you'd learn a lot from her.'
'Oh well, I'm happy in my own way.... As for smoking, I think it's jolly bad for people's nerves, if you ask me. Alix smokes an awful lot, and her nerves are like fiddle-strings. I don't go so far,' Evie said judicially, 'as to say I don't think it's good form for girls. That's what mother thinks, only of course she's old-fashioned, very. So is Kate. But after all, there is a difference between men and girls, in the things they should do; I think there's a difference, don't you?'
'Oh, thank goodness, yes,' said Basil, fervently, not having always thought so.
'And I don't know, but I sometimes think if girls can't fight for their country, they shouldn't smoke.'
'Oh, I see. A reward for valour, you think it should be. That would be rather hard, since the red-tape rules of our army don't allow them to fight. If they might, I've no doubt plenty would.'
Evie laughed at him. 'A girl would hate it. She'd be hopeless.'