She gave him her card reluctantly. She would have liked to have refused, but she thought Micky would be annoyed; she did not know that he and this man were friends no longer.
She saw him glance at Micky’s many initials on her card, saw the half ironical smile he gave as he looked at her.
“Mellowes is back, then?” he said.
“Yes––he came with us to-night.”
“Really! I thought–––” he paused eloquently.
Marie flushed, she knew quite well what he meant; that he must have known how Micky had once deserted her.
“I understood that Mellowes was in Paris.”
Ashton went on calmly.
“At least I was told so by an ... acquaintance of mine––who was staying there with him.”